Halloween Open House Sunday!

     This Sunday, come out to see a couple of the best properties historic Church Hill has to offer!  From 2 pm - 4 pm visit:

604 N 22nd St
Richmond, VA 23223

106 N 27th St
Richmond, VA 23223

Also this Sunday from 2 pm - 4 pm, check out a gorgeous, move-in ready property in Petersburg!

820 S Gillfield Dr.
Petersburg, VA 23803

Virginia Leadership Academy Class of 2015

What an amazing week at the Virginia Association of Realtors convention! I graduated from the 2015 Leadership Academy with 18 of some of the most amazing agents I have ever met. We had an outstanding leader, Denise Hurst Ramey, who lead us through this journey. I have learned so much, and know that I will be a better agent, a better mentor, and a better leader for the realtors across the state that we represent. I am so thankful for this experience, and know that it has changed my career. Big thanks to Tonya Morrow for coming to watch me graduate! So excited about what the future holds!

As a Realtor it Helps to Organize Your Leads

     As a Realtor, it is part of my daily, weekly and monthly routine to stay organized and set goals. 

Staying organized can not only help you get more leads, but differentiate the serious ones from the casual ones.  If you've attended one of my Buyer Capture Presentations in the past you'll know that I, personally, keep a record of all of my leads in different categories.  This helps to prioritize those in most need of my services.  While they aren’t exactly categorized in this manner, a recent article by Randall Kaplan sums up why staying organized is so important for a realtor!

What Kind of Traffic Do You Want: Lookers, Loafers or Loyalists?

The Top 5 real estate websites combined now attract over 100 million visitors each month. That’s an astounding number, considering that in any given year, there are only about 5 million home sales in the U.S.

This means that 95 percent of the visitors to portal websites each month won’t be buying a home any time soon. Agents should focus their efforts on the 5 percent that are ready to buy.

How? Real estate agents can benefit from an online marketing strategy that recognizes that real estate web traffic can be broken down into three classes. Let’s call them Lookers, Loafers and Loyalists.

Lookers

These are the “lookie-loos” of the Internet that make up the majority of monthly traffic on real estate websites. Lookers like to look at, with no intention of buying, houses. Some are window shoppers, who someday, when they have enough money for a down payment, will buy a home. Others are doing research: Looking to see what the neighbor’s house sold for down the street, what the price is of the one that just went on the market, or what a ‘guesstimator’ says their house is currently worth.

Loafers

These are the great time wasters of real estate agents. As buyers, they love surfing the Internet to look at houses. They also show up at a real estate office, bringing a list of homes with them so an agent can take them around to see. They are also sellers, keeping tabs on real estate prices and always “thinking about” selling. However, both groups are fence sitters that seem to take forever to move off the fence.

Loyalists

Among the hundreds of millions of eyeballs that are looking at homes on the big portals every month, there are 5 million people that will buy a home this year and these are the ones agents need to reach. They are the Loyalists of real estate web traffic: ready and eager to buy a home this year, not next. Loyalists are the best kind of leads because they can quickly turn into a client, and if an agent has the right marketing program to attract Loyalists, these potential clients can be moved from one of the big portals directly to that agent.

How do agents secure the Loyalists while avoiding the Lookers and then put the Loafers on autopilot?

The key is to offer a service that only serious homebuyers want and one that can automate time-consuming tasks.

Don’t try to compete with the portals, instead give their best traffic, the Loyalists and the Loafers, the ones that have the greatest potential to transaction, something that the portals can’t offer.

At Listingbook, we have discovered that Loyalists want to “search like an agent.” They want to see all of the new properties listed for sale as soon as they come on the market. They want to see listing changes such as a price reduction or a home that is now pending sale immediately. Loyalists want to see sold property data and local sales trends.

Loafers want attention, so agents put them on a Listingbook account to let its automated lead nurturing systems do the heavy lifting. When the Loafers are eventually ready to buy, agents are able to see that shift in behavior inside their Listingbook accounts, as the Loafer becomes a Loyalist.

Offering Loyalists and Loafers benefits that move them off the public websites and keep them with local agents is the key. The agents that offer these potential clients features that they can’t get from public websites are the ones who will be successful in tapping into the 5 million website visitors that are ready to buy.

RVA Fall Festivals

It seems like wrapping up the bike races has left Richmond in a daze and wanting more!  Fall is already a beautiful time of year in the city, what’s a better way to enjoy it than to have an amazing month of fall festivals!  

State Fair of Virginia

It started in late September and runs through Sunday October 4th at Meadow Event Park adjacent to King’s Dominion.  Get your funnel cake a farm animal petting on at this much loved State Fair! statefairva.org

RVA Field of Dreams Fest

Friday, October 2nd

Gates at 4:30

Held at the Diamond, come enjoy live music, local craft beer and wine as well as local food!  Proceeds go to bettering Richmond’s inner-city youth baseball facilities.  Advanced tickets are $30 and $45 at the gate. http://www.rvafieldofdreamsfest.com/

Gallmeyer Farms Fall Festival

Saturday, October 3rd

10 am— 5 pm

Looking for fresh, outdoor family fun?  This is the place to be.  Bring a picnic, take a pony ride and browse the locally grown produce along with other craft vendors and local businesses.  Enjoy live music, free parking, free admission and free hayrides!  Get the family together and head out to Gallmeyer Farms.

http://gallmeyerfarms.com

Hogtober

Saturday, October 3rd

12 pm— Dusk

The Church Hill Association and Style Weekly are throwing this annual Libbie Hill bash complete with all the great BBQ Richmond has to offer.  Live music, beer and face-painting for the kids, there’s something for everyone, including vegetarians at this much anticipated Church Hill Festival.

http://www.styleweekly.com/richmond/HogtoberContentPage/Page

2nd Street Festival

Saturday, October 3— Sunday, October 4

This fun festival stretches from Broad St all the way to Jackson Street celebrating African-American heritage with food and music.

Party on the Avenues

Sunday, October 4th

12 pm— 6pm

From Libbie Avenue at Patterson to Guthrie, Party on the Avenues celebrates the charm of the Libbie/Grove/Patterson area of Richmond.  The event is free to attend, bring the family for kid’s activities and enjoy live music, food and beer. partyontheavenues.com

Richmond Folk Festival

Friday, October 9— Sunday, October 11

The next big international event to hit RVA!  Don’t miss the chance to see dance, vocal and instrumental acts from around the globe at this favorite Richmond festival.  Admission is free!  Check out the musical schedule and plan your trip around the world. richmondfolkfestival.com

 

Richmond Oktoberfest

Friday, October 16— Saturday, October 17

In the Old Dominion Building at the Richmond International Raceway, come enjoy German food, music, beer and dancing in a traditional style Oktoberfest celebration!  richmondoktoberfestinc.com

VCU Broad St Mile

Saturday, October 17

10 am— 2 pm

Join the 5K walk/run and festival on Broad Street between Belvedere and Hermitage Road!  Support different charities or causes of your choice with different race options.  Entertainment, food, fitness demonstrations and kid’s activities included!  http://www.vcubroadstreetmile.com/info/

Virginia Hops & Harvest Festival 

Saturday, October 17

Gates 12 pm

At the Heritage Amphitheater at Pocahontas State Park enjoy live music until 9 pm while sampling beers from 20 Virginia Craft Breweries!  Tickets are $12.50 in advance and $15 at the gate.  http://vahopsfest.com/

Kickin’ Chicken Wingfest

Sunday, October 18

17th Street Farmers Market hosts yet another fun festival.  Eat wings, see who wins tasting contests while enjoying a cold one.

Festival of India

Saturday, October 24 — Sunday, October 25

Experience the culture of India through food and music at the Greater Richmond Convention Center.  thefestivalofindia.org

Scott’s Addition Pumpkin Festival

Saturday, October 24

12 pm— 6pm

All pumpkin themed food, live music and craft beer at this harvest festival.  Held on Boulevard from Leigh to Broad Streets. scottsadditionpumpkinfestival.com 

Fire, Flour & Fork

Wednesday, October 28— November 1

A curated variety of food related events including educational tours, tastings, chef dinners and beer and wine pairings.  Many of the events are sold out, so grab your ticket to get on board Richmond’s foodie train!  fireflourandfork.com

First Annual Richmond Voodoo Festival

Thursday, October 29

Doors 8 pm

For those of you who are Halloween enthusiasts, check out the Voodoo festival at The Broadberry!  Enter the costume contest for a $250 cash prize, enjoy live music and Cajun catering! https://www.facebook.com/events/1491085151190141/

Open House Friday and Sunday in Church Hill

This weekend as the bike race comes to an end we are happy to announce that we have TWO great homes that are new listings!  We will be holding an Open House for both properties on two dates this weekend.  Stop by for food, wine and beer while you view the race or grab a bite to eat at one of the many great restaurants in the area!

Both houses will be open:

Friday 4pm-6pm

Sunday 2pm-4pm

604 N 22nd Street 

Richmond, VA 23223

Right across the street from Alamo BBQ in Church Hill

AND!

106 N 27th Street 

Richmond, VA 23223

One block from historic Libbie Hill Park!  (if you're watching Richmond2015 UCI Bike Race, stop on by!)

We hope to see you there!

Women's Council of REALTORS supporting VCU Massey Cancer Center

     Yesterday, the Women's Council of REALTORS threw a wonderful event on the Street of Hope to benefit the VCU Massey Cancer Center.  All money raised will be going towards a new wing at the Cancer Center that will be dedicated to research for hematology and oncology, clinical trials and cancer prevention and control.

     The WCR hosted a fashion show and luncheon in honor of Karen Hoerath, a Realtor and past president of the organization whom we lost earlier this year to cancer.  It was a beautiful event, themed around "What Women Want," that showcased not only fashion but 8 gorgeous model homes designed to perfection.  There were refreshments, raffles, prizes to be won and all for a great cause!

My S.W.A.T. Team!

Look at those gorgeous chandeliers, fashion show in progress!

My raffle ticket didn't win...

Amanda and Ned in front of that great big house!

Look at that funky chandelier

A kitchen to dream about

Unique sink

The textures are great in this room

   There are two more events being held to show your support for the Massey Street of Hope: 

      The Concert of Hope, September 24th

      Massey Family Fall Festival, September 26th & 27th

   Visit Massey Street of Hope for more info.

WCR and FeedMore Food Bank Pig Pickin' Event

We had a very cute table set up at the Pig Pickin' last night in support of the FeedMore Food Bank. Thrown by the Women's Council of Realtors, this event was a huge success, and since we had the wine table...I think we were pretty popular as well.  My team and I enjoyed the live music and good food, and we got to break out our newest team apparel!  Rhonda Howlett's S.W.A.T. team! Service With A Thrill!