Prudential has worked with major providers to put together discounts on phone service and accessories including:

Sprint – 18% off regular monthly service

T-Mobile – 12% off recurring monthly charges

Verizon – 10% off eligible plan, 25% off accessories

AT&T – 18% off qualifying services

To use: from the online supplier catalog click the phone company discount screen to go to the phone company page to sign up for a code to give your carrier to receive the discount.

In addition to phone services the Prudential Supplier Catalog has deals on:

• Ad Specialties/Apparel/Gifts
• Advertising
• Awards
• Back Office Management
• Canadian Suppliers
• Communication Products/Services
• Mortgage/Title/Insurance
• Name Badges
• Office Equipment/Supplies
• Personal Marketing
• Printed Materials
• Signs/Accessories
• Technology
• & More

Here is a link to the Prudential Supplier Catalog 2011-2011.

It can also be found by logging into prea.prudential.com clicking on Suppliers then Online Supplier Catalog.

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The least you need to know:  We have some new tools premiering in 2012.  The first one unveils at Tuesday’s sales meetings. 

The unabbreviated version: So I’ve decided to move.   I own a house in South County and am hoping to find a renter so I can try out city living.   I love the idea of stepping out my front door and being able to walk to a coffee shop.  Or of having a restaurant a few blocks down.  And let’s be honest, of not having a lawn to cut.   In an attempt to never get out the lawn mower again I recently began my search.

Confession time: I did not use our website system to search.

Let’s take just a moment to reflect on this.  This is HORRIBLE.  I’m the one primarily responsible for guiding decisions about our web presence and I’m not using our system when I need it.

During my search I forgot everything I knew about real estate technology and became just another home buyer. 

I remember standing outside of one particular home in Benton Park, frustrated.  There wasn’t a price on the flyer and I wanted to know the information ‘right now.’   (There has be an app for this! was my line of thinking).  I typed the address into the search on my mobile phone and pulled up links to Zillow and Trulia.  An ad on Trulia reminded me that had a great mobile application that could tell me the homes for sale around me. It simplified my search once I found it.  That's what I want for us. 

My experience with our online search was worse.   Although I had a plethora of options on DiscoverStL.com it was difficult to navigate through them.  And I know our website! What happens to the regular consumer that uses our search?  They must be overwhelmed.  

As we start planning for 2012 we're going to make some changes that ease your client's ability to search, save, and share.  Since it's the holiday season we're feeling in a warm and fuzzy, gift-giving type of mood. The first of these surprises is debuting at your next sales meeting.  Tune in.

P.S. if anyone knows someone looking to rent in the Lindbergh School District tell them to check out my home here!  

Sarah McCall
Director of Marketing & eBusiness
Prudential Select Properties 
Your local choice for St. Louis real estate 

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A friend said to me the other day, "Do you realize the internet is older than incoming freshman."  This started me thinking about technology over the last decade.  In 2002, when I was graduating with a masters in Digital Media Communications from Lindenwood, we never once talked about social media.  MySpace didn't exist until 2003 and Facebook until 2004.  

Last week, Jana and I met with a group of agents from the Des Peres office last week to discuss Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn and how to use social media for real estate.  Social media lets us reach the people we know and remind them about what we do.   Currently one of the main players in the action is Facebook.   Today there are 750 million Facebook users and 50% of these users log in once a day.  This is an evolving media.   What was the 'best practices' on Facebook ' two years ago is not necessarily the case today.  And it might not be the same in six months.  But I'll pass along to you a few of my thoughts about Facebook and the way it can currently work with your business. 

Should you have a Facebook Business Page? 
I'm sure you all have Facebook personal pages (if not get one!), but should you have a Facebook Business Page?  There's a great article about Facebook Business pages here called 'Your Facebook Page is Worthless.' Done right, a Facebook business page could allow you to reach out to your network.  Done wrong, it could be a huge waste of your time.  I think the biggest thing to consider before jumping into a business page is: - Who is your audience?  Who are you trying to reach?  

• Is it a farming area?  i.e., Oakmont Subdivision, Kirkwood, MO.  
  Then maybe you should considering sponsoring a neighborhood page.  Give them information on local events, information, services, etc. Weave information about neighborhood market trends, recently sold homes, demographics, etc. 
• Is it a group?  i.e., your bookclub, your bowling team, etc.
  Then maybe you should consider organizing a page for this group to connect. Post information about meetings and share articles, links and other things related to that group.  
• Is it your sphere of influence (friends, family, past customers)? 
  If you're marketing to your SOI,  I think that your personal page on Facebook should be your primary focus instead of a Business page.  Use the relationships you have already formed there to your advantage; don't try to re-invent the wheel and start a new page to collect the same group of people! Just remember if you're combining your business updates with your personal updates, keep it about 80% personal and 20% business.  Don't overwhelm your friends with too much business talk. 

How do you get 'fans'? 

• Send out email invitations or postcards invitations to your group (neighborhood, club, etc). to join you on Facebook.  

•  

  Add a Facebook 'like' button to your website and blog
•  Add links to your Facebook page on other profiles you have (Linked In, YouTube, etc). 
•  Add a link on your email signature
•  If you have a Twitter account, promote it there
•  If you have a Linked In account, promote it there
•  Routinely promote it in your advertising efforts, newsletters, postcards, etc. 
•  If you're targeting a specific group you could consider Facebook Ads to advertise to potential fans.  For example if your page discusses Kirkwood real estate you can actually target people that live in Kirkwood using this tool. 

What do you talk about? 
There's another great article on Inman I highly suggest you read called Facebook Posting Cheat Sheet. It's a great read for brainstorming on creative status updates that will engage your fans.  You can also check our company Facebook page here and simply share the information on your page by clicking the 'share' button. 

Can you add customization and content? 
Facebook has recently made a change that allows you to add more customized content to your Facebook pages through application tabs. These tabs could include a custom welcome page, a page of information about you, the community, etc. 

Example 1:
Here's an example of tabs on one of my personal Facebook Business Pages.  This is the first page the potential fan sees inviting them to 'like' the page before they can see the content.

Example 2: 
Here's an example of adding a tab of content on Kristen Turner's business page for Maryland Heights.  She installed the 'St. Louis Patio and Rooftop Bars' application Prudential Select Properties created by clicking on 'Add to My Page' on the left hand side.  Now viewers can view this information without leaving Facebook. --------> Get Yours Free

Example 3: 
Finally here's a third example of content from Zillow, who is now offering four free Facebook applications - a listings tab, a local information tab, a contact form tab and a ratings and reviews tab. ----------> Get Yours Free

Special thanks to Maryann Vitale for hosting last week's training session and Kathy Schmideskamp, Kristen Turner, Sally Harris, Kim Anderson, Gretchen Adams and Beth Maisak for joining us!

Questions? Comments? Post below or email me at Sarah@DiscoverStL.com.

Sarah Grobe, Director of Marketing & eBusiness
Prudential Select Properties  

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Marketing Results

I just wanted to touch base with you before tomorrow's office meeting and catch you up on the results of our new marketing program. We've positioned our listings in almost 4.5 million search results on Trulia, Zillow, Yahoo and Realtor.com and driven 168,833 views to our listings. Over 360 buyer email requests were sent out in July and 191 phone calls were placed to our offices.  We were only involved half of the month with our new Zillow and Yahoo exposure so I'm anticipating an increase in our August results. 

This is all great news! I've spoken with two managers this morning that both had call-in leads to their offices on property over $900,000 so make sure you're taking opportunity time! 

A few updated flyers. . . 

TodaysBuyers.pdf Download this file

JulyYTD.pdf Download this file

TodaysBuyers2.pdf Download this file

Scams using our listings

Lately some of our listings have been used in rental scams and I want to give you a heads up.  Scammers copy photos off the internet of a house that is actually for sale.  They take the photos and post them on Postlets, Craigslist, Trulia, Zillow, Yahoo, etc., claiming the house is for rent for a low price.  Usually the renter is asked to wire a security deposit to rent the home.

If you are aware of a scam contact the website where the ad was posted so they can remove the ad. You can file an Internet crime complaint with the Federal Bureau of Investigation at www.ic3.gov.

Changing Zestimates

As you all know Zillow gives an automatic value to every home called a Zestimate.   I know many of you have expressed that you're not fans of these!

You can't changethe Zestimate, but you can edit the facts that go into the Zestimate (under "edit" on the property details page if you've claimed the home).   Should the facts you change be significant, it will take some time for the Zestimate to respond (several weeks to several months),

Upgrades to Zillow, Trulia and Realtor.com

A number of you have asked what about the upgrade on each of these sites so I'll break down the options for you.  If I was an agent in today's market I would be investing my marketing dollars in one of these online initiatives. Things to keep in mind, if you're budget conscious you may want to look at Trulia. My experience with them has been they provide the most leads at the lowest cost.  However Zillow/Yahoo is the largest real estate portal now so realize that the Zillow/Yahoo relationship may be getting you more traffic.  

Realtor.com.  This upgrade allows you to feature your listings, add more photos and info, and display your direct line.  Your cost is determined by your listing inventory. 

Trulia Pro.  This upgrade costs betwen $39 - $149 a month and you essentially are paying for the same options you get with our current plan. My take: we're already providing the features of this enhancement so I would use your marketing dollars towards Trulia local ads or Zillow Premier. 

Trulia Local Ads. This upgrade allows you to buy a percentage of advertising space on Trulia by zip code or city.  For example you could buy 100% of 63121 and be on every detail page for that zip code, even your competitions. 

Zillow/Yahoo Premier. This upgrade allows you to display your direct line and capture leads on unclaimed listings on Zillow.com in the zip code of your choice. As with Trulia you can buy a percentage of the share or lock out other agents if you take 100%.  For example the zip code 63121 is $56.25 a month for 25%.  It would be $225 a month for 100%.  

As always let me know if you have questions! You can reach me at sarah@discoverstl.com. 

Sarah Grobe, Director of Marketing
Prudential Select Properties 

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I'm sure you've noticed by now that I'm a strong believer in transparency about what we are doing and why. Today I'm covering the changes we are making to our marketing plan as of July 2011. 

The Short and Sweet Version

• Our Classified ad budget in the St. Louis Post Dispatch will be re-allocated to Zillow and Yahoo Real Estate for the next six months.  This coming weekend will be our last week of corporately sponsored ads in the St. Louis Post Dispatch. 
• Our Search Engine Marketing budget will be re-allocated to Search Engine Optimization for the next six months.
• Our support of Your Next Home magazine is increasing.  The company will now support one month of advertising in Your Next Home for all new listings taken over $100,000.  Your personal web address and phone number will be included.
• Leads from the four major portals will be driven straight to you on all your listings.  You'll receive them by text/email.
• You'll see monthly reports on the campaign including the number of leads generated both online and via phone calls.

The Lengthy Version with Lots of Words and Graphics

Where is our advertising budget going? 
Last month we spent almost half of our advertising budget on classified advertising in the St. Louis Post Dispatch. This is a huge chunk of our advertising dollars to invest in a 5 line, text only ad.

Is this really the most effective use of our budget?  
I certainly don't have to tell you there's been a shift from print to online advertising or that we're the last broker with a corporate presence in the St. Louis Post Dispatch.  But we need to question if these ads:

• Can be proven effective
• Drive buyer leads to you
• Increase consumer interest

Re-investing our print budget online
By reallocating our St. Louis Post Dispatch expenditures we can increase our online exposure on the top four real estate portals. Together these portals drove over 45,000,000 visitors last month.  

How is this change good for you? 

When a consumer goes to Google or another search engine and enters 'st. louis real estate' you can guarantee that Zillow, Trulia, Realtor.com and Yahoo Real Estate are going to be within the top search results.  These national portals have an enormous amount of marketing dollars invested in SEO/SEM (search engine optimization and marketing).  Now if the consumer gets to any of these portals, they can also get to you.  Your listings will not only be there, they will be at the top of search results with leads directing to you.

1. Featured Listings 
When a visitor views a search result list on one of these portals, the listings at the top of the list are considered 'featured' properties.  If the search returns several hundred properties that match, an un-featured home may very well be the 175th on the list. Which means your listing never gets seen. With these changes your listings will now be featured (moved to the top) on Yahoo, Zillow, Trulia and of course, DiscoverStL.com. 

2. Buyer Leads
Any request from your listing on Yahoo, Realtor.com, Zillow, Trulia or DiscoverStL.com goes directly to you.  You'll get the request as a text to your mobile phone, sent to your email and recorded for future reference on your website's client management side.  As always, there is no referral fee on these -------> it's your listing. 

4. Results Reporting
Which brings me to my personal favorite thing about this change.  I am routinely going to send you updates on the number of calls, leads and visits we get from each online initiative.  You'll be able to view the direct results of this campaign and we'll be able to evaluate it's effectiveness.  If it doesn't work the way we're anticipating then we'll go back to the drawing board.  The important thing is to get these buyers into your hands. 

How to Identify Leads
Make sure you know how to identify these buyer leads so you don't miss an opportunity. Step-by-step guide below with examples.  

IdentifyingLeads.docx Download this file

Your Next Home Magazine
Prudential Select Properties will support new listings in Your Next Home for the first month of the listing.  The full color ad will direct to your website and have your mobile phone number.  

There is also now an option to add the Sunshine Kids logo to your listings in the magazine. 

SEM to SEO
For the next six months we'll be taking the part of the budget we were using for search engine marketing (buying ads on the first page results) and using it towards optimizing our site so we organically pull in the search results for keywords like 'st. louis real estate.'  I'll also be sending out reports on this each month.  We expect to be able to drive more leads to you with this change.

If you have questions remember you can email me at Sarah@DiscoverStL.com.  

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How to Update Your Clients About the Real Estate Market Using Facebook

In a Nutshell: Now send market related Facebook updates by just pushing 'share' from the Prudential Select Properties Facebook page. 

A number of you have approached me with the question, 'I want to use Facebook to share updates on the current real estate market. What do you suggest?"  I've also noticed how some of you struggle converting our materials into a format compatible with Facebook.  To help you out, anytime I release new marketing pieces I'm also going to release a Facebook compatible piece.

For example this flyer was released last week: 

May_2011.pdf Download this file

On the Prudential Select Properties Facebook page I added a corresponding image (see below).  On Facebook, all you have to do is push the 'Share' link to display it on your page for all your Facebook friends. 

I will try to add valuable real estate content for the consumer a minimum of once a week.  This will be added to the "Prudential Select Properties' Facebook page because it is consumer content instead of the 'You Know You're In Real Estate' Facebook page where I update you on marketing, tools, and in-company bulletins. These posts may include:

• Articles from local and national news sources
• Videos and materials from Prudential Real Estate (a.k.a. Mother Prudential)
• In-house materials that we (the marketing department in cooperation with George Bruns) create for your about local and national market conditions

If YOU see something that should be shared PLEASE let me know!!!! Remember you can email me anytime at Sarah@DiscoverStL.com.

Marketing Tip: When using Facebook for business remember 80% of your content should be SOCIAL and 20% should be BUSINESS.  You do not want your Facebook newsfeed to look like spam or an endless infomercial. 

This Week's Consumer Information: 2011 Real Estate Statistics

In a Nutshell: Visit the Prudential Select Properties Facebook page and 'share' these statistics.

I've taken statistics provided by Prudential Real Estate from their Online National Survey completed in January 2011 and created an online shareable picture gallery.  See it below or visit the "Prudential Select Properties' Facebook page to share them.

See the full gallery on Posterous

Trulia and Zillow Updates

In a Nutshell: Now your listings have unlimited photos on Trulia and Zillow.

We've always provided syndication to Trulia.com and Zillow.com for your listings.  However, in the past we've been capped at only showing five photos on these sites.  Starting last week, both Trulia and Zillow now display our entire photo feed from the local MLS.  Just one more way we're making sure you're providing the maximum amount of exposure on listings to your customers. 

Brand Campaign

In a Nutshell: Prudential has released a new brand campaign supported by print advertising, commercials and digital ads. 

Prudential Real Estate has just released a new brand campaign called 'Build Your Challenges.'  The full press release is available here. But in short, Prudential now has print advertisements (The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, USA Today, etc.), commercials on a number of major television networks (ABC, CBS, NBC, etc) and digital ads on major websites (Trulia, Realtor.com, Zillow, Yahoo, AOL, etc.) 

The campaign highlights the tough challenges facing the economy and Prudential's goal to help solve these.  As a part of the campaign Prudential has created a website (www.Prudential.com/BringYourChallenges) with short videos discussing these challenges. 

View a sample of the commercial, print ads and digital ads below: 

Commercial:  

Digital Ads:  

Print Ads:  

Brand Campaign Support Materials

In a Nutshell: New brand campaign flyers are now available on the Resource Center

Of course we've made new flyers for you to use with information about Prudential's brand campaign.  These are now available on the Resource Center for you to include in your listing presentations. Check them out below: 

PREA_Campaign_1.pdf Download this file

PREA_Campaign_2.pdf Download this file

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St. Louis, MO — Prudential Financial, Inc. [NYSE:PRU] is inviting individuals, financial professionals and institutions to “Bring Your Challenges” in its new advertising campaign, a multi-year initiative launched the week of May 23. The campaign builds on Prudential’s 135-year history of meeting clients’ financial challenges. 

“This is a significant new campaign designed to demonstrate the important leadership role Prudential plays in helping people and organizations tackle their biggest financial challenges,” said Colin McConnell, head of Prudential Advertising, the company’s in-house advertising agency. “’Bring Your Challenges’ will build on the strength of Prudential’s brand and our leadership position in our core businesses through a 360-degree advertising and marketing campaign across traditional and digital media platforms.”

George Bruns, President of Prudential Select Properties said the campaign’s message speaks directly to real estate consumers, who seek guidance as the market and economy stabilize and move forward. “Homeownership remains one of life’s most important decisions and it carries significant weight in people’s sense of security, permanence and financial well-being,” said Bruns.   “At Prudential Select Properties we invite consumers to ‘Bring Your Challenges’ and, together, we’ll roll up our sleeves to meet them and create homeownership dreams.”

The campaign debuted with advertisements in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, USA Today, The Star-Ledger of Newark, N.J., Barron’s and the Financial Times. It will include television, outdoor, digital, business, general interest and trade advertising. Initial advertising highlights some of the tough challenges the company is already working to address. It also outlines Prudential’s goal to help solve the financial challenges we all face – not in the short term, but for the long-term benefit of clients and communities.

“The campaign represents a significant, long-term investment in our brand and showcases the dynamic company Prudential is today, with considerable talent, thought leadership, innovation and deep capabilities across an array of businesses,” added McConnell.

As part of the campaign, Prudential has created a website (www.prudential.com/bringyourchallenges) featuring short videos of Prudential business leaders and industry thought leaders discussing the pressing financial issues our society faces today. New York-based creative agency Droga5 worked with Prudential’s in-house advertising agency on the development of the campaign.

Prudential Select Properties, formed in 2002, now has 10 offices in the St. Louis Metropolitan area, representing over 600 agents. They are ranked #31 in the Prudential Real Estate Services national network, ranked #3 in the St. Louis Business Journal Book of Lists of Top Real Estate firms, #2 in real estate transactions recorded by the St. Louis Association of Realtors and in the top 20% of real estate firms nationwide. Maryann Vitale, Deb Colburn and Angie Ignatowski share ownership of the company. George Bruns acts as President and Chief Executive Officer.  Read more about them at www.DiscoverStL.com

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I was in Chicago a few weeks ago standing in line for Garrett's popcorn when I noticed a tin reading 'Oprah's Favorite Things."  I'm sure most of you are familiar with the segments on the Oprah Winfrey Show where she shared products she felt were noteworthy. Well in honor of her final show last week I've decided to compile a 'favorite things' list of my own. 

St. Louis Patios
It won't come as a shock to some of you that the patio and rooftop restaurants are one of my favorite things about this city. I asked for your help  in compiling a list that combines all of our favorites.  You can view the list here (as well as on your personal website) and the corresponding eCard is below:

Roadtrips
With the price of gas these days cross-country road trips aren't a possibility, but there are a number of attractions within 3.5 hours or less. You can now find that list here (as well as on your personal website) and the corresponding eCard below.  

Marketing Newsflash: I added even more new eCards to the system, including one for our upcoming Golf Tournament in September, a Pumpkin Patch office event eCard and several holiday Coloring Contests.  See the full eCard inventory here. 

Voice Messages Sent to Text
I avoid phone conversations as much as possible. But I'm even worse about checking phone messages so I love Google Voice - a free service that transcribes your voice messages to emails and texts.  

When I receive a voice mail I also receive a text with the transcribed message:

As well as an email and an entry in my google account (which I can refer to at any time): 

However I do want to note that if the person leaving you the voice mail is in a noisy room or doesn't speak clearly you may end up with something like this: 

Hey it's me Looks like I'm not sure why she doesn't. But 82. Love you see, it's hectic you got saying you're gonna pick up the Baptist. 

That You donating note. I'mgonna walk into appointments. I don't know if that right. And if so I'll just plan on coming up to you or

something Friday but to get it let me know. Okay bye.

Google Voice does other fancy things too.  It allows you link up six phone lines to one number, block calls, route calls, record calls, and even allows free long distance calls.  But since that all has to do with the dreaded 'phone conversations' I'm not as interested. 

Facebook Share Button
I know a lot of you are Facebook users and if you haven't already downloaded the Facebook 'Share' Button than you must do it now, today, this instant.  It's a button that magically appears on your browser, letting you share any webpage, photo or video with just the click of a mouse.  Get it here.

Marketing Newsflash: Our 'You Know You're From St. Louis' Facebook page now has 2,589 fans! Thanks for your help! 

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eCards, eCards and more eCards
I'm determined to get this update out before I go home tonight!  It's National eCard week! Well ok, I made that up, but this IS the week we are loading the Prudential Select Properties series of eCards into the system. Below is a complete list and a sneak peak of what will be available by Friday.  If you have additional suggestions email me at sarah@discoverstl.com.

See the full gallery on Posterous

eCard Line-Up

• Holiday: New Years
• Holiday: Valentine's Day 
• Holiday: St. Patrick's Day
• Local: Storm and Tornado Tips
• Spring Forward  
• Local: Cardinals Schedule
• Local: River City Rascals Schedule
• Holiday: Easter
• Client Event: Photos with the Bunny
• Contest: Easter Coloring Contest 
• Garage Sale Tips 
• Local: Six Flags Discount
• Local: Summer in St. Louis 
• Local: StL Patios
• Local: One Tank Trips from StL
• Holiday: 4th of July
  
• Company Event: SSK Golf Tournament 
  
• Local: Mizzou Football Schedule 
• Local: Rams Football Schedule Waiting for schedule release
  
• Local: Wineries
• Fall Back
• Holiday: Veteran's Day
• Client Event: Pumpkin Patch
• Contest: Halloween Coloring Contest 
• Thanksgiving Letter
• Thanksgiving Wish
• Contest: Thanksgiving Coloring Contest 
• Why List over the Holidays
• Holiday Online Shopping Tips Coming Soon
• Request a Letter from Santa
• Client Event: Photos with Santa 
• Winter Car Care Tips Coming Soon
• Client Event: Blood Drive 
• Client Event: Magic House 
• Client Event: Community Shred Day 
• Buyers - New Customer Registration Letter  Coming Soon
• Buyers - Open Houses eCard
• Buyers - PHL Preapproval
• Buyers - Accepted Contract Checklist 
• Buyers - HSA 
• Buyers/Sellers - Moving Checklist & Discounts
• Buyers/Sellers - Connect Your Utilities 
• Buyers/Sellers - Lowes Discount 
• Sellers - HSA
• Sellers - Open House Tips Coming Soon
• Sellers - After Contract Checklist Coming Soon

Buyers Campaign 
I've asked Jana to put together a Buyer's - Accepted Contract campaign.  This campaign will include the following eCards: Accepted Contract Checklist, HSA/Home Warranty, Moving Checklist & Discounts, Connect Your Utilities and Lowes Discount.  This way you can just turn it 'on' for your buyers and cease to worry about getting this information out to them.  I'll let you know when it's available. 

Website Buttons
We'll also be creating buttons for your website to point to specific pages and resources. For example a button for the local winery information or holiday shopping tips.  You get the idea. 

Summer Seminar 
We've scheduled Rick DeLuca to join us on June 15, 2011 for a presentation on "Avoiding the 20 Biggest Agent Mistakes." The presentation will take place at the St. Louis Association of Realtors from 9:00 - Noon.  RSVP to your office admin as soon as possible because space is limited.

If you read that closely you'll note the contest has already begun! Yes, we're tricky that way. Congratulations to the agents who are already qualified for our drawings:

• Lisa Burkemper, Troy (6 points)
• Eleanor Lyons, Des Peres  (7 points)
• The Kerlick Team, South County (7 points)
• Chrissy Krewson, Town & Country (13 points!) 

I'll be talking to you again soon.  Have a great Tuesday!

Sarah

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Stuck for an idea the other night I asked my 8-year old daughter what I should blog about.  (By the way, I find most of life's questions can be answered by asking my 8-year old). 

"Just blog about what you do, "she responded.

Which was just the reminder I needed.  The reason I started this blog in the first place was to pass along to you what we are doing and why we are doing it. And then I wondered if you knew who 'we' were? I thought I might want to write at least one post about who we are in the marketing department.  The team is made up of myself, Jana Rice and newcomer, Nancy Logan. 

Nancy joined us just a few months ago. She's learning the ropes right now which for her includes putting together the St. Louis Post Open House ads and Your Next Home ads, updating the Resource Center, adding agents to our systems and assisting in general Help Desk and marketing duties. She is responsible for nasty things like deadlines and numbers in excel sheets. . . and she does an exquisite job of keeping things timely and orderly.

Jana really needs no introduction.  She's definitely a familiar name and face to you.  If you don't know her from your office meetings or company training sessions than you probably know her as the person who always answers the phone with a smile on her face. Jana joined us back in 2004, in the same month we introduced our current website system.  She's evolved with the system from aid, to trainer, to the authority on what the system can do and how to do it.  I even go to Jana with questions. She's been involved every step of the way on creating eBusiness policies and web-marketing strategies. 

And I'm Sarah. I introduced myself last year, promised you blog updates and disappeared for another year into obscurity.  Anyway, I joined Prudential Select Properties in 2003 just 11 months after they opened their doors. I had worked at a St. Louis RE/MAX office while working towards my Graduate Degree in Digital Media at Lindenwood.  After graduation it seemed an easy step to combine the marketing principles I'd been learning in class to the field of real estate I was already in.  So here I am, 8.5 years later. And goodness we've come a long way. Back in 2003 I stepped into a department that didn't exist and needed to be built from the ground up.   There was no Resource Center, no website system, no marketing materials or tools.  And while I'm thrilled with the progress we've made in putting together the tools and technology you use today I still feel like there's so much I still want to do for you. The rest of the year these projects are near and dear to my heart: 

• Evaluating and updating the tools and marketing materials we offer you
• Seeking out the best ways to distribute your listings online and push more leads to you
• Positioning Prudential Select Properties as the local choice for St. Louis real estate

As always your ideas are welcome; email me anytime at Sarah@DiscoverStL.com.

Talk to you soon,  

Sarah

P.S. Jana's been working on a list of events in and around St. Louis this summer.  An eCard is in the system that links to this list and is available to send to your clients.  She'll be sending out step-by-step instructions today in her Tuesday Tech Tip. I'll be sending out a complete marketing update next week with new materials! 

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Happy Monday all! As you may know, the Marketing Department was pretty swamped earlier this April as we prepared for our annual Awards Gala. (For more about the event click here). However, last week we started playing catch-up and are now rolling out a few new additions to you:

QR Code Labels
If you've been wanting to go sticker-crazy with QR codes you can now download these customizable labels from the Resource Center.  Stick them on the back of business cards, on flyers or pretty much anywhere. 

See the full gallery on Posterous

QR Code Signs
These 8x5 x 11 QR Code signs are now available on the Resource Center.  Download, customize and place them on Flyer Boxes at your listing.  

See the full gallery on Posterous

QR Code PREA eCards
You can now generate a QR code for each PREA eCard you create.  These can be placed on any printed materials and will take the user directly to the eCard on their mobile device.  While I haven't yet determined the full scope and intent of this addition, a few top-of-mind thoughts include directing visitors to a J.D. Powers video eCard or the PREA newsletter eCard.  

QR Code Just Listed Cards
Out within the next week or two, the Just Listed cards through Xpressdocs will have the option to include a QR Code that can direct to the listing detail page.  I'll shoot out a sample to you when available. 

Six Flags Client Discount
Back by popular demand is the Prudential Select Properties Six Flags discount for your clients which gives $45 off a season pass and $31 off a one-day pass. This eCard is now available in your website's letter library.

Open House Survey
This open house survey is now available in a customizable Publisher format on the Resource Center. 

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In the Prudential Select Properties marketing department there are five seasons - Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter and Awards season. Every year about mid-January we begin thinking about our annual awards banquet.  As we approach mid-April I sometimes wish we could shut down the department for a week. I actually tried that a few years back by sending a "The Marketing Department is Closed. We'll return after the Awards" message out to the admin and mangers. . . .  no one found it quite as funny as we did. :)

I took a stroll down memory lane this morning and got out all the Awards Programs from years past.  The work that goes into these little books is surprising.  Over the years we've picked out special papers, troubleshot printing issues, collated, folded, stapled, hole punched, bradded, gold leafed, and more.  

In 2006 the booklet was designed to look like a picture frame and after ironing gold metallic on vellum and x-acto kniving each cover individually, Kinko's botched the job and ruined all the meticulous work.  Kinko's and PSP Marketing have had a few issues over the years. . . another year they cut they books in half instead of folding them.  Nowadays we don't leave the store before threatening the manager. . . I'm sure we're intimidating. 

In 2007 we were printing the books in the evening so we wouldn't interrupt the agent's printer usage during the day.  Some faulty designer (cough, Joe Cordeal) decided to create a black background for every page. . . . which caused the printers to overheat and the pages to melt together.   I think we were there half the night printing a few pages at a time then waiting for the printer to cool. Thank goodness for Matt Muren, one of our sales associates, who jumped in to help Sara Fedele and I with refreshments of pizza and bud select. 

See the full gallery on Posterous

And here's 2008, one of my favorites.  We had the event at Mad Art Gallery, once a jail, which corresponded perfectly to our Monopoly theme. Alex Cota, our designer at the time, carried the theme meticulously through the event.    From customized PSP Monopoly board table covers to burlap money sacks filled with gold coins -  it really was outstanding.  Sara Fedele spent serious time hunting eBay for spare Monopoly houses while Jana Rice remembers cutting burlap circles for the favor bags until her hands were raw. 

The picture above is from earlier this month.  I had just finished cutting out the playing cards which were personalized with award winner names.  The cards were spread out on the floor of my office in an attempt to organize them by award winner order.  I'm sure I got strange looks from visitors passing by who probably thought I was playing a rather overzealous game of solitaire. 

Despite the work and occasional mishaps, each awards event is well worth the effort because we get a chance to celebrate YOU at one of my favorite parties of the year. This year's Gala took place at the Nightclub of Ameristar Casino in St. Charles.  George Bruns and Maryann Vitale acted as MCs for the night and started the event off by giving away cash if you could answer their trivia questions. 

Our winners at a glance:

• Top Team in GCI: Diane Denny Team, Des Peres 
• Top Team in Units: Leslie Cheek Team, Jefferson County
• Top Individual in GCI: Cindy Baker, Town & Country
• Top Individual in Units: Theresa Curtis, Troy
• Rookie of the Year: Mark Warren, St. Charles
• Administrator of the Year: Julie Morrow, St. Charles
• Top Sunshine Kids Listing Agents: Linda & Kelly Boehmer Team, St. Charles
• Top Sunshine Kids Pledge Agent: Cindy Baker, Town & Country

After the awards presentation we mixed and mingled in the 'Lounge' with hors d'oeurves and cocktails aptly named the 'Citrix Meltdown' and 'Tuesday Morning Meeting.'   This year's addition of a photo booth provided a lot of entertainment and some great shots.  Take a look at a few select moments here:

See the full gallery on Posterous

For more pictures from the Awards Gala visit our Facebook page here.

To view and download your shots from the Photobooth, visit www.ciphotobooth.com. Click 'View Your Event" and select 'Prudential Select Properties.'  Enter passcode 040711 to enter the gallery. 

A big thanks to Jana Rice, Nancy Logan, Susan Cardwell, Susan Dempsey, Stacey Folk and Maureen Adler for helping to make the event a success.  George and Maryann, wonderful job, as always. 

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We returned from the Prudential Convention 2011 in San Diego the week before last.  God, never take a 6:35 a.m.. flight back from a trip. Especially if it's the morning after Fat Tuesday.  After three days of non-stop classes, presentations, sight-seeing and team-building activities (read that as bar hopping ) I was ready to collapse. George, of course, managed to spend the afternoon in the office.

Have you been to a Prudential Convention?  This was my second.  Last year, my first, was in Austin.  (Music, Mexican food, craft beer, and hole-in-the-wall bars; I was in heaven). But if you haven’t been, the Convention is simply something you need to experience.

As you would expect it offers you classes, introduces you to new tools, updates you on trends and presents networking opportunities.  The presentations are usually over the top.  Fireworks, smoke machines, light shows and big name speakers.  This year found us partying at PetCo Park one evening (by the way stilettos and in-fields do not work) and entertained by Jay Leno another.  Although my favorite presentation had to be Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy, subjects of the motion picture The Blind Side.  They combined the perfect mix of comedy and purpose. 

However, it’s the intangibles that really make the experience.

For example, I think the convention is one of the best ways to renew your energy for the business. You get to look at what you are doing (and what you are not) with fresh eyes; it’s motivating.   I don’t think you can walk away without at least one new idea. Here's a handful: 

·   Use your email signature to connect, especially in regards to social media. Seek out companies like WiseStamp, or connect to online profiles such as About.me, Dooid, Google Profiles or Follr. 

·   Dive into social networking.  Prudential is even on board with a new online social networking site (https://www.nextwork.prudential.com). It rolled out on the 18th of March.  I’ll let you know more as I experiment with it. 
 

·   The person you just walked past is the one who can change your life.  So every once in a while stop and turn around.  

·   Ever just wished you could avoid talking to someone by leaving a message?  Try Slydial, a free online service  for going straight to voicemail.  Or if you’re like me and hate listening to voice mails, use a free voicemail to email converter from Google Voice, Phone Tag, YouMail or Jott.

·   Review your website and make a game plan.  Try Amy Chorow’s “5 Critical Elements of Your Website” for the best practices for 2011 below.

 

5_Critical_Elements_of_your_Website(2).pdf Download this file

 

 

I have to admit though, my favorite part of the convention is the opportunity to connect with your collegues. Oh the stories I could tell!  But don’t worry my convention buddies, my lips are sealed on most accounts and I’m only sharing these few pictures.  And Seeger, I’ve even resisted the urge to include the one of you on stage at the dueling piano bar. 

  

See the full gallery on Posterous

I want to thank George Bruns, Maryann Vitale, Deb Colburn, Angie Ignatowski, Jana Rice, Jim Von der Haar, Sarah Seeger, Ann Cordeal, Jim Dillas, Betty Urban, Pat Sobelman, and Laura Wilburn for such a wonderful time.  Hope to see you next year in Orlando. 

 

Sarah Grobe, Director of Marketing
Prudential Select Properties, Your local choice for real estate

DiscoverStL.com | Facebook.com/DiscoverStL

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Last week I promised you an eCard campaign.  Today we're taking our first steps at rolling that out.  The first four cards in the series include a St. Louis Cardinals baseball schedule,  a River City Rascals baseball schedule, a St. Patrick's Day eCard and a Photos with the Easter Bunny eCard (for offices with client events)  These are now both now in your website system for you to use. 

See the full gallery on Posterous

How are these different from what we've been doing in the past?  For the last few years we've been making eCards as they are needed.  Every eCard has looked different than the one before; never providing that all important brand-identity we need in order to make an impact on consumers.

The new cards will be part of a branded series, focusing on our 'St. Louis' campaign and offering calls-to-action on the right hand side.  

Please note that the 'login' button and "apply for a loan' button can be customized for your website.  It's a quick edit and directions are below.  

eCard_Diretions.docx Download this file

Business Cards

A few of you had requested business cards that reflect our 'you know you're from St. Louis when' campaign. These two business cards are now available through Xpressdocs and you can choose one of two backs that have different 'you know you're from' phrases.

See the full gallery on Posterous

See the full gallery on Posterous

However, if you want to order one of the standard business cards we've also created optional backs for you to use. Three of these backs include room for a 'contact' QR code. This is one of my favorite uses of QR codes. When scanned it adds your contact information into the user's phone contact list.  Very practical. 

See the full gallery on Posterous

I've also spoken to Xpressdocs on having a QR code options on the Property Business Cards. Coming Soon. 

Listing Presentation: Your Voice Needed

Monday I sent out a poll asking you which CMA / Listing Presentation tool you use. . . Toolkit, eNeighborhoods, MARIS, Resource Center materials, etc.  I simply need to find out what is being used so I have the right materials in the right place.  A HUGE thanks to Art Vibulakaopun for being the ONLY agent to respond to the poll. If we end up with a listing presentation with every page customized to him, you'll now know why! :-)

A special thanks to Doug Hippler, Greg Bowen and Glenn Miller for the email follow-up on listing presentation ideas. 

If you want to take the poll on your preferred CMA options and voice your wish-list for the company listing presentation please do so here: http://www.facebook.com/discoverstlcareers

Sarah Grobe, Director of Marketing
Prudential Select Properties, Your local choice for real estate
DiscoverStL.com | Facebook.com/DiscoverStL

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When we recently offered a 'Select Circle' class on QR Codes, the level of interest forced us to create two sessions.  I think the newest marketing craze has fully hit St. Louis real estate.

QR codes - that small black and white box -  allows a user with a smart phone equipped with a QR application to view a webpage when the user holds the phone over the QR code.

I know a few of you have been experimenting with code providers, namely Scanlife.  The PSP Help Desk (webfix@psphomes.com) been attempting to help you navigate through the difficulties you've encountered, but it's been hard to trouble-shoot on platforms that we don't control.  

However, this week our website system will launch an application that automatically generates a QR code for every listing. The application allows you to print the listing’s QR code (small, medium, or large versions) for wherever you want to use it.

Additionally the Print or Email Flyers section of the listing manager provides a flyer with the QR code built onto it.

Below provides an example of how the listing appears after scanning the QR code with a smart phone.

I'm hoping this enhancement not only helps you in your marketing efforts but allows us to support you better since it it though our website provider, Reliance Network.  This is one of several enhancements that make their debut this week.  If you're into that type of thing there is a full technical brief here:

SiteUpdate.pdf Download this file

But if you want the 5 second version:

• QR Code Generator (discussed above)
• Mailing Labels, now generate mailing labels from your website contact list
• eCard Stationary

• Listing Management Enhancements.  For example you can now use a niffty report to find out which of your listings do not have a seller's report set-up. 
• Frame for Custom Websites. If you don't have a custom website, hosted outside of us, then this doesn't apply to you.  If you do, now you can frame the full Reliance search to integrate their mapping capabilities and contact management tools. 

This release should be out today.  If you experience bugs or issues please email the Help Desk (webfix@psphomes.com).   

Sarah Grobe, Director of Marketing
Prudential Select Properties, Your local choice for real estate
DiscoverStL.com | Facebook.com/DiscoverStL

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I’m pretty much expecting a call from Rick Colburn the second I publish this blog. He’s been teasing me that he’s tried pushing ‘refresh’ on my blog page in anticipation of my second entry. . . for a year now.

 

Last year, about this time, I spoke to you about a new marketing plan based off the familiar “You know you’re from St. Louis when. . . “ phrase.  In 2010, we rebranded our website DiscoverStL.com and placed ads in the St. Louis Post Dispatch, Your Next Home Magazine, and Feast Magazine discussing what makes St. Louis unique.  If you missed this one in Feast, it was one of my favorites. 

 

(For a full view, click here) 

 

Our campaign focus has been how well we know and love our city.  To truly capture this we created a ‘You Know You’re From” Facebook Fan Page and gave away Cardinals tickets and Ted Drewes concretes to consumers who shared their favorite ‘you know you’re from StL ‘moments with us.   And today, we have over 2,280 Facebook fans.  Visit us here and if you haven't already, please share it with your friends.

 

In 2011, we’d like to continue branding ourselves as the local choice for St. Louis real estate. In the next few months we’re going to be delivering to you an eCard campaign, updated PowerPoint Listing Presentation, a PSP Marketing Plan brochure and new website enhancements, including QR Code marketing integration.  So stay tuned.

 

Just for fun here’s a brief look at the fans of other real estate companies and St. Louis institutions.

 

134 RE/MAX Properties West

287 Prudential Alliance

516 Crown Candy Kitchen

637 Coldwell Banker Gundaker

1,152 Boat House Forest Park

1,608 St. Louis Homes & Lifestyle Magazine

2,280 Prudential Select Properties ‘You Know You’re From St. Louis When. . . “

3,240 Blueberry Hill

4,554 St. Louis Magazine

5,074 Soulard Farmers Market

8,464 Riverfront Times

9, 083 St. Louis Post / StLtoday.com

Sarah Grobe, Director of Marketing
Prudential Select Properties, Your local choice for real estate
DiscoverStL.com | Facebook.com/DiscoverStL

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Over the past few years I’ve watched St. Louis rank in a number of national lists as one of the ‘best’ or ‘top’ cities in some category or another.  Our hometown has achieved a lengthy number of accomplishments including being noted in 2010 as having two of the best places to live (O’Fallon and St. Peters) and having one of the nation’s best housing markets.  

However, a new survey by Mars Snackfood rates St. Louis as perhaps one of my favorite things to date.  This year, St. Louis has been named the 6th manliest city in the United States.

I know what you’re wondering. What is it exactly that makes us so manly?

The study looked at the “. . . number of professional sports teams, popularity of power tools and frequency of monster truck rallies. Cities also lose ranking points for emasculating characteristics like the abundance of home furnishing stores, high minivan sales and subscription rates to beauty magazines.”    

So, take pride, men of St. Louis! Today, not only are we considered as having one of the ‘great streets in America’ with the Delmar Loop, the 4th top music venue with the Pageant, and the 3^rd best zoo in the country. . . we can now proudly add to our list that we are #1 in the most sports bars per capita.    

By all means let’s grab a brew and some chicken wings to celebrate while watching the Carindals wipe the floor with the Cubs. . . .. . . who ranked significantly below us in the survey I might add. 

Sarah Grobe, Director of Marketing
Prudential Select Properties, Your local choice for real estate
DiscoverStL.com | Facebook.com/DiscoverStL

Just take a look at St. Louis' accomplishments. . . . 

2010

Forbes Magazine ranked St. Louis #8 on the list of the nation’s Best Housing Markets.

Forbes Magazine ranked St. Louis #22 on the list of  Best Places for Business and Careers.

Money Magazine ranked O’Fallon and St. Peters as two of the Best Places to Live. 

Bicycling Magazine ranked St. Louis #38 of Top Places to Ride in the United States.

The National Trust for Historic Preservation ranked St. Louis as one in a Dozen Distinctive Destinations.

Convio ranked St. Louis #8 in the nation’s Most Generous Large Cities.

2009

The League of American Bicyclists ranked St. Louis the 15th Bicycle Friendly Community in the United States.

Relocate America named O’Fallon one of the Top 100 Places to Live.

Forbes Magazine ranked St. Louis the 16th Best City for Singles

Art Fair Source Book named the St. Louis Art Fair in Clayton the #4 Top 25 Fine Art Events.

The Los Angeles Times named St. Louis as one of the Most Underrated Destination of the World.

Central Connecticut State University named St. Louis as #2 in America’s Most Literate Cities.

The Corporation for National & Community Service ranked St. Louis as #13 in Highest Volunteer Rate in the nation. 

Parenting Magazine named St. Louis one of the 100 Best Places to Raise Kids.

2008

Forbes Magazine named St. Louis the 15th  Best Cities for Young Professionals

The National Association of Home Builders named St. Louis the 2nd Most Affordable City.

Best Life Magazine named St. Louis one of 100 Best Places to Raise a Family.

Money Magazine named St. Charles, St. Peters and O’Fallon as some of the 100 Best Places to live.

HomeVestors of America Inc. named St. Louis No. 8 in the nation for Real Estate Investing.  

Pollstar ranked the Pageant #4 on the Top Club Venues in the World.

Pollstar ranked  The Fox Theatre ranks # 11 in the Top 100 Theater Venues in the World.

Pollstar ranks Verizon Wireless Amphitheater # 9 on the list of Top Worldwide Amphitheaters.

Money Magazine ranks Arnold #13 in Most Affordable Communities. 

Parents Magazine names the St. Louis Science Center #5 on the 10 Best Science Centers for Families list.

2007

Forbes Magazine named St. Louis the 7th  Most Affordable U.S. Real Estate Market.

Forbes Traveler Magazine named the St. Louis Science Center one of the nations’ Top 25 Most Visited Museums. 

The American Planning Association named the Delmar Loop one of the 10 Great Places in America. 

Parents Magazine named the St. Louis Zoo the #3 Best Zoos for Kids.

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