Six,
FWL is back from Spring Break. Glad to go, glad to come back. Enjoyed the pause last week and this week dug right back into the pulse of our local market…left the beach chairs behind and connected with many of you…
At a glance for this week a few digestible bites to include our Q1 Seattle Market Review ready + Zillow toolbox + tip from Tune Up + cinco de mayo & WRE Cup is coming…ok, let’s sweep!
Our Seattle Market Review for Q1 is a wrap – here you go, click here. Your managers have three templates that can be personalized. Generic + broker + two brokers.
The “Z” word | Does the word Zillow elevate your blood pressure? The NWMLS was talking about Zillow this week and this communication seemed to put concern & confusion into our listings syndicating process (aka, your listings) to Zillow after May 1st 2017. Bottom-line, Windermere syndicates to Zillow now and we will continue to directly syndicate to Zillow after May 1st. No change. Feeling better? Good…moving on.
…more on Zillow though. Here is a consumer facing talking point – “idea worth spreading” from I good friend and colleague from our WRE Colorado market – Eric Thompson!
Does Zillow comes up in conversation with just about every customer? I’d bet yes. This is where I see blood pressure rising. Try this on next time a customer says, “Zillow says my home is worth…”
Instead of saying, “Oh, their data is off, inaccurate” etc…which makes a person feel like they have done something wrong – maybe not feeling too good about themselves in that interaction…
…try this instead – “That is a great place to start. Most people start there. In fact, over 40% nation wide start there. Let me show you the art of pricing and how we will dial that in together at a very micro level.” You then get the opportunity to show them your process…as we all know it’s both an art + a science and no Zestimate, automatic valuation model can be the golden ticket in pricing well.
Zillow toolbox for this week…
Click here on “how accurate is a Zestimate?”
***And your manager has our 2017 Zillow Best Practices whitepaper for you – just ask!***
A note from your Tune Up Team on Photo Gallery | Professional photos for listings are a must in the online marketing of listings, but are you really using these images that you have paid for to their fullest extent?
For some time now, the status quo has been to wait for NWMLS to sweep the photos from their site to ours, and leave it at that. This is certainly the easier way to handle it but by doing this, we are missing a huge opportunity to maximize the listing and your own professional branding.
Consider this: The MLS only allows 25 photos. How many times have you had a listing that had much more than 25 photos and you had to leave a few kitchen shots out to make sure you got one of each room? Plus, when you let MLS send them over, they send photos at a much smaller size and branded with their logo.
By building your own photo gallery on the WORC site, your photos are pushed to ancillary websites like Zillow, Realtor, and Luxury Portfolio in a much higher resolution and without the NWMLS logo. This value extends not only to Buyers looking at properties – but to Sellers looking for brokers who present their listings in the best manner.
For more information about utilizing the photo galleries on the WORC site, ask your friendly Tune Up Team TuneUp@windermere.com for help and visit the video tutorials on the WORC site here: PHOTO GALLERIES
– Happy Friday, Your Tune Up Team
Something just got easier! | Go to WORC and you’ll notice a new homepage tile, “My Listings” – circled image above. Yes, this is now where you easily access profile + listings + photo gallery etc.
Looking for Cinco De Mayo plans this year? Click here for the details and join us! Tickets still available for our pre Windermere Cup fun – the hot ticket for your next Friday night! Invite your people for some…
Taco Trucks, Live Music, Beer & Margaritas, Lawn Games & Fun!
Music by: Brian DiJulio & the Lovejacks (6:00 – 8:00 PM)
Spike & the Impalers (8:00 – 10:00 PM)
Ok, that’s a wrap for this week. And oh, if you were wondering – when your hair is on fire with this market, so is ours…this week our managers needed happy hour – it’s amazing what you can accomplish without an agenda, a drink in your hand, a few good eats and great people…
…and yes, what happens when you don’t bring your challenge coin to happy hour – you pay. Dave Hale, I took care of the bill this – but next time…
Welcome to Friday all, have a wonderful weekend in productive work + play, here to help. That is the ultimate goal. PS, next week marks my 52nd week of writing FWL – I’m having a blast with this – thanks for being a part! Inspired + designed for you.
Laura Smith, General Manager | Windermere Real Estate Co.
Ballard + Eastlake + Madison Park + Northgate + Sand Point + Wedgwood
I received these today at my office, too gorgeous not to share with all of you! Looking for signs of Spring anywhere I can take it!