Everyone who presents should read this wonderful book, PresentationZen, by Garr Reynolds. Simplify. Use more graphics. Very few bullets. Don't print what you are doing to say. Be creative. Have fun. Use your Right brain more. Emote, persuade... and much much more.
I highly recommend the book to anyone.
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Friday, May 29, 2009
Trust and How to Convey
Seth Godin's blog commented on Sonia Simone's posting called The #1 Conversion Killer in Your Copy (And How to Beat It)
"Everything on your site needs to show that you can be trusted. Real contact information. Showing your photograph. Displaying seals for anti-hacker technology and the Better Business Bureau on your shopping cart. FAQs that actually answer questions. Clear, reassuring calls to action.
Every detail matters. Even things like hosting your site on your own domain, or how frequently you post. Everything you do needs to build trust and kill the troll." Go girl!
BestHomePro is attempting to build "the most trusted site in real estate." We are building transparency between the consumer and the real estate professional. Our home search software is preference-based and is able to display homes in priority order for the user. But the "trolls" that consumers have seen on real estate lead generation sites are the trolls that sell a user's contact information to mortgage brokers and Realtors, who badger the poor consumer. Consumers are now savvy about this, so they register as SandyClaus at 555-555-5555. We are hoping to do all the little things necessary to prove to consumers and the real estate community that we will honor the codes of trust. We are hoping that by offering superior services and being true to the code of honor, that we can keep the trolls under the bridge and build a highly successful business based on service and trust. We just can't say, "trust us." No one will believe it.
Thanks Sonia and Seth. You have articulated this vision very, very nicely.
PS: I just set-up with blog today, to replace an older one, and was immediately informed that I have been identified as a possible SPAM BLOGGER. Oh my! I am not, but I guess I need to prove it.
Building communities through social networks ?
Everywhere you turn blog posts, tweets, diggs, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, etcl are telling us we need to establish communities. I have @jeffpref on Twitter; this blog, a Facebook account; FAN Page, http://tinyurl.com/oa6tsf; and @BestHomeAgent on Twitter. I have a LinkedIn account and a Plaxo account. What I am now reading is that you need to link multiple social networks together, refer to others in whatever platform you are posting.
How do you build a following talking about Durham Homes, Raleigh Homes, Cary Homes, Chapel Hill Homes, real estate in general, affiliate programs, lead generation, training, etc., etc.?
Post insightful comments in communities that others have established. And do this while you are milking the cow, feeding the children, making the sales calls, watching 24 and Fringe, and taking-out the garbage. Who has time? Who can afford NOT to post on multiple sites? Email certainly does not work anymore, without double opt-in. Tell me your success stories and we will share ours with you. Follow us. We are pretty creative and some thing even brilliant. You decide.
Jeff Johnston,
CEO http://www.besthomepro.com
Twitter @JeffPref
http://www.jeffpref.com
How do you build a following talking about Durham Homes, Raleigh Homes, Cary Homes, Chapel Hill Homes, real estate in general, affiliate programs, lead generation, training, etc., etc.?
Post insightful comments in communities that others have established. And do this while you are milking the cow, feeding the children, making the sales calls, watching 24 and Fringe, and taking-out the garbage. Who has time? Who can afford NOT to post on multiple sites? Email certainly does not work anymore, without double opt-in. Tell me your success stories and we will share ours with you. Follow us. We are pretty creative and some thing even brilliant. You decide.
Jeff Johnston,
CEO http://www.besthomepro.com
Twitter @JeffPref
http://www.jeffpref.com
World Needing Trade-Offs, Not absolutes
Who wouldn't love President Obama and his family? Absolutely lovely people. So refreshing in their personalities, obvious intelligence and photogenicity. I mean it. I would have loved Barack as a professor, a neighbor or a major news media personality. Absolutely! But while we all are struggling with this recession; and we all want help; just keep in mind that there are no free lunches -- well, for some there are free lunches and deservedly so. It is the primary role of government to be a safety net for those who cannot fend for themselves (along with national security). The federal government cannot bail-out every failing enterprise -- nor should it.
The federal goverment should not own all major businesses -- and would screw them up if they did. The federal goverment cannot offer free education, free healthcare, free job security, no bankruptcies, social security, medicare, medicaid, win the war in Afganistan (and give away our progress in Iraq), control private sector compensation, tax estate heavily and destroy entrepreneurial incentives without destroying our society and our country. We all make trade-offs. Do we bail-out Chrysler, but not GM? Do we support maintaining union pay-rates or allow the market to determine what compensation the industry can afford? Do we save social security, but let medicare go down the tubes? Do we create a national healthcare system (without forcing competition among suppliers) without a way to pay for it? It appears that millions of people are thrilled with Obama and the pack of Democrats fixing everything for us. If they could do it, I would be all for it, but they absolutely can't. The market will fix its ills.
Bad business models will fail. Inferior products won't sell. Great products that are priced too high will not sell. Banks that continue to make bad loans will go out of business. That means that well-run organizations will succeed, make huge profits, employ millions of people and help them realize the American Dream. Don't be fooled by government promises to fix everything. If you are a highly successful mega-agent and you sell $20, then $40, then $50 million in properties over the next three years, do you want to be taxed so that other, less productive agents can get more of what you earn? I don't think so. Care for the poor and unfortunate. Absolutely! Volunteer. Donate. But don't allow a government to create a culture where success and profit are scourned. Without highly productive people incented to produce more and more, there will be no tax dollars to pay for all the freebies. Believe in capitalism and the fact that the market kills those organizations which do not produce value and reward organizations and individuals who do. Let's keep it that way.
Our product, called BestHomePro, helps consumers make trade-offs between home search features. Everything cannot be equally important. Think about it. Buying a home, a car, choosing a college, etc. requires trade-offs. Don't you think our government should be thinking in this way to protect our future?
For every new program offered by any government - think about what trade-offs will need to be made to pay for it and whether this is a choice YOU would make if left up to you.
Jeff Johnston, CEO
http://www.besthomepro.com
Twitter @JeffPref
http://www.jeffpref.com
The federal goverment should not own all major businesses -- and would screw them up if they did. The federal goverment cannot offer free education, free healthcare, free job security, no bankruptcies, social security, medicare, medicaid, win the war in Afganistan (and give away our progress in Iraq), control private sector compensation, tax estate heavily and destroy entrepreneurial incentives without destroying our society and our country. We all make trade-offs. Do we bail-out Chrysler, but not GM? Do we support maintaining union pay-rates or allow the market to determine what compensation the industry can afford? Do we save social security, but let medicare go down the tubes? Do we create a national healthcare system (without forcing competition among suppliers) without a way to pay for it? It appears that millions of people are thrilled with Obama and the pack of Democrats fixing everything for us. If they could do it, I would be all for it, but they absolutely can't. The market will fix its ills.
Bad business models will fail. Inferior products won't sell. Great products that are priced too high will not sell. Banks that continue to make bad loans will go out of business. That means that well-run organizations will succeed, make huge profits, employ millions of people and help them realize the American Dream. Don't be fooled by government promises to fix everything. If you are a highly successful mega-agent and you sell $20, then $40, then $50 million in properties over the next three years, do you want to be taxed so that other, less productive agents can get more of what you earn? I don't think so. Care for the poor and unfortunate. Absolutely! Volunteer. Donate. But don't allow a government to create a culture where success and profit are scourned. Without highly productive people incented to produce more and more, there will be no tax dollars to pay for all the freebies. Believe in capitalism and the fact that the market kills those organizations which do not produce value and reward organizations and individuals who do. Let's keep it that way.
Our product, called BestHomePro, helps consumers make trade-offs between home search features. Everything cannot be equally important. Think about it. Buying a home, a car, choosing a college, etc. requires trade-offs. Don't you think our government should be thinking in this way to protect our future?
For every new program offered by any government - think about what trade-offs will need to be made to pay for it and whether this is a choice YOU would make if left up to you.
Jeff Johnston, CEO
http://www.besthomepro.com
Twitter @JeffPref
http://www.jeffpref.com
New Affiliate Program Announced by BestHomePro
BestHomePro is noted as a very engaging home search tool designed to help people find their perfect home faster. The home search software create a personal profile and uses that profile to display homes in priority order for the user.
After having raised new investment capital in February, MyBode began development of an affiliate program to complement its subscription business. The affiliate program will allow newspapers, television stations, bloggers and other websites to link to BestHomePro on their websites and make money when consumers register and request service.
BestHomePro helps consumers find their dream home more easily. It helps Realtors serve their clients more effectively and it helps media companies generate revenue through creating a bridge between consumers and the real estate professional community.
MyBode plans to build The BestHomePro home search as “the most trusted source in real estate.” Based on the principles of Permission Marketing, Seth Godin; and other thought leaders in the world of Internet commerce, the BestHomePro affiliate site promises consumers that their contact information will never be shared until they grant permission by asking to talk to or meet with an agent or broker. When they request service they will be able to choose the agent with whom they wish to work. This approach is unique in the real estate industry.
For information about how to put links to BestHomePro on your websites and make money from the traffic, please contact us at:
919-794-3355 or
Jeff.Johnston@BestHomePro.com
Twitter @JeffPref
After having raised new investment capital in February, MyBode began development of an affiliate program to complement its subscription business. The affiliate program will allow newspapers, television stations, bloggers and other websites to link to BestHomePro on their websites and make money when consumers register and request service.
BestHomePro helps consumers find their dream home more easily. It helps Realtors serve their clients more effectively and it helps media companies generate revenue through creating a bridge between consumers and the real estate professional community.
MyBode plans to build The BestHomePro home search as “the most trusted source in real estate.” Based on the principles of Permission Marketing, Seth Godin; and other thought leaders in the world of Internet commerce, the BestHomePro affiliate site promises consumers that their contact information will never be shared until they grant permission by asking to talk to or meet with an agent or broker. When they request service they will be able to choose the agent with whom they wish to work. This approach is unique in the real estate industry.
For information about how to put links to BestHomePro on your websites and make money from the traffic, please contact us at:
919-794-3355 or
Jeff.Johnston@BestHomePro.com
Twitter @JeffPref
Gotta Love Research Triangle area of North Carolina
I moved to Durham, NC in 1977 to work at Duke and get my Duke MBA. I thought I would move on to greater pastures, but have raised my family here, built 4 companies and continue to be amazed at how wonderful a place this part of North Carolina is for families, business, fun, sports and all that life has to give. Durham, Raleigh, Cary, Chapel Hill and other Research Triangle locations are all rated highly as places to raise a family, do business, eat great food, etc. each and every year. Hurrah for us!
We are launching a new type of real estate enterprise with www.BestHomePro.com. Right now Realtors in Florida, North Carolina, Nevada and Colorado can subscribe to BestHomePro and put links on their websites to serve their clients with the coolest search tool in the world. BestHomePro asks consumers to choose and rate home features. It then matches your profile to all listings in the multiple listing service directory and displays results in priority order. Cool! It saves hours and hours of time searching for homes that truly fit your needs.
We have just completed programming on our BestHomePro Affiliate Program, which allows any business or individual with a website to make money by placing our home search link on their site. What makes it particularly cool is that BestHomePro is truly a first-class home search service. We are building it as "the most trusted search site in real estate," meaning that consumers who register on BestHomePro are promised that their contact information will NEVER be shared or sold without their express permission.
So a BestHomePro link on your website can be trusted. There are no gimicks, no tricks, no one is "captured" like on most other real estate sites.
For more information about BestHomePro and our Affiliate Program, contact me at any of these places:
Jeff Johnston, CEO
http://www.besthomepro.com
Jeff.Johnston@BestHomePro.com
Twitter @JeffPref
919-794-3355 Office
We are launching a new type of real estate enterprise with www.BestHomePro.com. Right now Realtors in Florida, North Carolina, Nevada and Colorado can subscribe to BestHomePro and put links on their websites to serve their clients with the coolest search tool in the world. BestHomePro asks consumers to choose and rate home features. It then matches your profile to all listings in the multiple listing service directory and displays results in priority order. Cool! It saves hours and hours of time searching for homes that truly fit your needs.
We have just completed programming on our BestHomePro Affiliate Program, which allows any business or individual with a website to make money by placing our home search link on their site. What makes it particularly cool is that BestHomePro is truly a first-class home search service. We are building it as "the most trusted search site in real estate," meaning that consumers who register on BestHomePro are promised that their contact information will NEVER be shared or sold without their express permission.
So a BestHomePro link on your website can be trusted. There are no gimicks, no tricks, no one is "captured" like on most other real estate sites.
For more information about BestHomePro and our Affiliate Program, contact me at any of these places:
Jeff Johnston, CEO
http://www.besthomepro.com
Jeff.Johnston@BestHomePro.com
Twitter @JeffPref
919-794-3355 Office
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