Month: April 2019

No one gets involved in the business of real estate thinking that they would like to lose money. Of course not. But if you dont have an effective marketing plan in place that is exactly what you may be doing. At the very least, if you dont have any effective strategies to employ you are minimizing the profit that you could be making. And the goal is to maximize your profit right? No matter what your exit strategy is, you need a plan that includes some top notch selling strategies.

When it comes to getting top dollar for your property you need an arsenal of tricks and techniques at your disposal. Before you even begin to advertise your property, you must begin the marketing. This starts with home staging, or scene designing. Know your market. I cannot stress this enough. If you are aiming your staging and marketing efforts at the wrong target market, you are wasting your time and money. Research the neighborhood, determine who lives there, and who would want to live there. Market to that group and forget the rest.

Once you have your property effectively staged to the appropriate target market, you are ready to begin the rest of your marketing campaign. Of course you should utilize the traditional advertising methods such as the MLS, lawn signs and internet listings, but dont make the mistake of limiting yourself. You need to take the initiative to attract the right people to your property. host events at the property that will appeal to buyers or renters or offer move in incentives such as gift certificates to local businesses.

Dont forget your overall marketing plan. When you have potential buyers or renters visit your property, collect their information for follow up. If you let people leave the property without collecting their contact information, you are letting one of your most powerful marketing tools walk away. Ask what they are looking for, in what neighborhood, you may have another property that will appeal to them. And dont forget about who they know. Offer a cash bonus if they can refer any potential buyers to your property. Word of mouth advertising is very effective.

An effective marketing plan complete with selling strategies are key to success in real estate no matter what your exit strategy is. It is no longer enough to put a sign on the front lawn and wait for buyers to walk through the door. Creating an arsenal of strategies, tips, tricks and techniques guarantees you real estate success.

Everyone always asks me how I am able to do so much. Well, there are 2 secrets:

1) Leverage other people’s time by being a good delegator

2) Get very organized.

I know what you are thinking- -Well, Karen you are probably already hyper organized right?- Wrong. By nature I am an insane

perfectionist. I like everything a certain way, I am very picky on details, and I don’t want to have to say or see it twice!

But, I am only good and having other people do this for me. I am good at giving them specifics, creating timelines and

setting standards-and of course, holding myself to the same standard which I expect to receive.

Only you can know what system of organization works for you but I can tell you for a fact that if you are serious about

creating enormous income (even just decent income) you need to get organized.

1) Evaluate your level of current organization: Is your office clean and uncluttered? Do you or your asst. know where

everything is? Or, do you need to come up with a specific system so that things are easy to file (half the battle) and then

easy to find.

I like overall categories like; -Marketing- and then subcategories such as -Flyers.- If I am working on properties, I keep a

main template of marketing pieces in the Marketing file so I don’t have to reinvent the wheel with each new property, but I

also do the same thing per property. So, in this instance, I would have -Properties- as my main category. Then I might have

a sub-category for -Home Staging’s- followed by -Active- and -Completed.- Then of course the property address file within

each of those. It makes my life very simple and I can get anything in a moment’s notice.

This simple system works with any type of business. I use it for my Home Staging Training Company, my Speakers Training

Company, Our On Line Systems program as well as My Coaching and Mentoring Business for Entrepreneurs and Small Business

Owners.

2) How do you manage your email? This is a big one for many Entrepreneurs because we live by our email and cell phones.

I will address phone calls next, but first, let’s look at managing your email. When you are going to work, you need to turn

your email off. Don’t minimize it, turn it off.

You must schedule time to answer emails just like you schedule time to get your work completed. If you allow your email to

interrupt you all day long, you will never complete your big income tasks and you will continue to wonder why you can’t be as

prosperous as you would like.

If you choose to keep your email and phone active all day long, you must understand that you are conditioning your client to

view you as having a lower value because you are always available instead of being busy enough not to be available.

However, if you manage their expectations, by telling them exactly when they can expect a return email from you, they view

you as professional, organized and valuable.

Now, you can get your Mo*ney tasks completed and still service your customers in an extraordinary way.

3) Unless you are waiting for Brain Surgery, turn off your cell phone! I mean it. Why do you allow people to interrupt

you all day long. It takes 20 minutes to -re-group- after you have been interrupted. 20 minutes! You are here to achieve

great things-right? So, 20 minutes is valuable time.

For friends and family, accept and return their calls after business hours (you are holding regular Home Staging business

hours right?).

For clients, do the same thing you do with emails. If you have an assistant, then great, he or she can answer the phone for

you. You can also hire an answering service. If neither is an option for you, manage your clients expectations by telling

them on your voice mail exactly when they can reach you and when they can expect to receive a return call. I would get very

specific and tell them you are always available M-F by phone form 8-10am and you return calls daily between 4-6pm. And if

they have a specific time they need you to reach them, ask them to leave the time on your voice mail and you will do your

best to accommodate them.

Now, they completely understand how to reach you and when you will contact them. You can go further and let them know that

you are taking care of them 100% by offering these specific hours they know they can reach you.

4) What are you doing with all that email? There are so many times when we know we should look at something or want to

save it and read it later, but we just don’t have the time or system in place to do so.

I like the -One Touch System.- In other words, if you receive an email that you may want to read but don’t have time, create

a -Drop Folder- for those emails on your desk top. As soon as you open it, drop it into the folder for later.

Then, schedule an hour once a week that you review this folder. You can now review, delete, save and/or take action. One

hour a week to create a One Touch System.

The more organized you can become the more profitable you become and it allows you to also have the right staff. So,

logically, if you have enough customers, you can create the income and lifestyle you so desire.

To Your Greatest Joy and Success,

Karen Schaefer

www.APSDmembers.com

In the 2005 best seller Brand Sense, author Martin Lindstrom says that as much as 83% of all marketing communication is limited to sight and sound. In the real estate business most of the marketing communication is done by sight. Ads placed in local newspapers, the MLS, and post cards announcing open houses etc

However, the most important marketing communication happens when prospective buyer crosses the threshold of a house.

This is very similar to the experience a shopper has when entering a store for the first time. It is at that point, that first impression, where you must use emotions as the media for your message.

The more senses you appeal to, the more dramatic the emotional response will be. I am not talking here of the old trick of baking cookies to get that smell throughout the house. Everyone likes it, but they know the trick so now, it appeals to their logic versus their emotion. But what if you had a fresh basket of lavender at the front door just as they came in? For some reason, which they can’t even articulate, they feel welcome. It might give them a cozy feeling of when they were a child going to their grandmothers home (because we all remember the lavender sachets grandma had in her drawer). It feels right and it completely appeals to their senses, not their logic.

When staging a home for a retail sale, it is vital to appeal to as many senses as possible. For that reason I use a variety of what I refer to as “Pockets of Emotion” throughout the house. These are those moments in a home that surprise you and make you laugh, give you pause while enjoying a fond memory, or appeal to your senses on such a high level that often times, you can’t even describe why it feels so good-it just does. I strategically place these “Pockets of Emotion” to suggest that “yes this is a perfect child’s room, because my child is playing right now” or “this is a great kitchen for our family holiday baking projects”. These Pockets of Emotion are designed to truly engage all the senses, not just the sense of sight.

In addition I use the sense of hearing when ever possible. If the home is in a high traffic zone, I may have light music playing in the background to take the focus away from the outside noise. Another great sense of sound is a fountain bubbling and birds chirping (and yes, I know how to make that happen at just the right moment!).

When I stage a house, you will find that I use not merely the senses of sight, smell, and hearing but of touch as well. I love having people touch something as the feeling stays in their fingers then entire time they enjoy the home. It is also a great reason to have them remove their shoes, if you have really wonderful carpet, so they can feel it on their toes. I also use interesting and textured fabrics to draw people into a room. It is so interesting to watch people as they are drawn into a room and encouraged to reach out and touch a window treatment or pick up a pillow. It helps them to fall in love with the property and feel as though they are home.

As for the sense of taste, I have found it is always a good idea to put a tasty surprise where prospective buyers are sure to find it. I often will put a bowl of big beautiful apples in the refrigerator, so it’s a surprise when they open it-with a sign that says “An apple a day keeps the Doctor away-enjoy!” or even seasonal cookies or candy inside an intriguing container that it is so attractive you can’t help but take the lid off.

Remember the more senses you engage, the more emotional the response will be and because of that response the more memorable the experience. Your ability to reach a buyer with a truly memorable experience can be summed up in one word: “Unforgettable”

Often in the blink of an eye, a prospective buyer will a sense whether the environment they have just entered is authentic or not. They will be able to get “feel” if the property is right or wrong. It is my job to make sure that it always feels right and to give them the opportunity to fall in love with their new home, on the spot. When they fall in love-we know the house is sold.

Home staging addresses and refines the numerous sensory impacts a home will have on potential buyers. One important sense, that is sometimes overlooked, is that of smell. Smell, triggers memory which triggers emotion. Essentially, you want the smell to sell your home. Aim to trigger positive emotions through smell and eliminate the potential to trigger any negative emotions.

Have you ever walked into a home and felt turned off by a smell you can’t put your finger on? The smell may not even be so bad, but it is definitely distinct. A good place to start before adding any new smells in your home staging adventure, is to neutralize already existing smells. A distinct smell may be good for you, but a more neutral smell is good for the masses. It is a good precaution to neutralize the smells in your home, even if you think your home smells fine. Chances are there is a distinct smell to your home, which could be a turn-off to others.

To start neutralizing the odors in your home:

– Have your carpets professionally cleaned, or at the very least clean them with a product that contains a neutralizer.

– If you are not going for a professional clean make sure to focus on any stains yourself. Old pet stains could still be emmitting odor. Eliminate what you can.

– Have all drapes in your home cleaned.

– Wash all bed linens and blankets. With all your cleaning, use non-allergenic products if at all possible.

– If you have pets, try to have them out of the house prior to a viewing. Likewise if you have cats, remove the cat litter from the premises and if there is any other pet paraphernalia such as toys or blankets, remove them as well.

– This may seem obvious, but remove all garbage from the house before showing your home.

– Stinky shoes belonging to you or your children should be stored away in an air tight container.

– Vinegar is a great cleaning agent and combats smell without being toxic or commonly allergenic. Use vinegar (1/2 cup to one gallon on hot water) to clean floors, countertops and bathrooms.

– Make sure there is no dirty laundry. Keep up with the wash and again try to use neutral smelling and natural products.

– If there are any smokers in the house keep them (or at least their smoking!) outside in the weeks, or even months prior to your viewings. The smell of cigarettes definitely does not fall into the “neutral smells” category.

Once you have done all the grunt work and your home smells neutral as a puff of scentlessness, you can then consider adding some natural, inoffensive aromas. Citrus scents are nice and refreshing. Try running a grapefruit or orange skin through your garbage disposal just before showing your home. Essential oils are a wise choice. Look for products with lavender, tea-tree, eucalyptus, pine and sage. These are cleansing, calming and rejuvenating scents that will evoke pleasing emotions for most viewers. There are great room sprays you can find with all-natural ingredients. Test them before your showings. You don’t want anything too pungent. Once you have eliminated the bad and the distinct odors, a hint of something clean and refreshing is all you’ll need.

For your next home staging, rid your home of smelly deterrents and fill it with the sweet smell of success.

Eric Badgley is a motivated and professional realtor located in beautiful Whatcom County. For information contact Eric at http://www.bellingham-realestate.net/chuckanut.php

Plan of Attack
Definitions
Epidemiology
Goals of Management
Diagnosis
Managing Stable COPD
Managing Acute Exacerbations of COPD

A disease state characterized by airflow limitation that is not fully reversible. Airflow limitation is usually both progressive and associated with an abnormal inflammatory response of the lungs to noxious particles or gases. Symptoms, functional abnormalities, and complications of COPD can all be explained on the basis of this underlying inflammation and the resulting pathology.
Definitions
Chronic Bronchitis (clinical)
Sputum production more days than not for at least 3 months a year for at least 2 years
Emphysema (pathologic)
Parenchymal destruction airspace walls distal to terminal bronchioles, without fibrosis
Important: You can have either, but to have COPD you MUST demonstrate obstruction (thus the O in COPD)

Epidemiology
Fourth leading cause of death in U.S.
100,000 American deaths each year
15-20% of chronic smokers develop COPD
2.5% mortality for COPD hospital admissions
COPD with acute respiratory failure:
24% in hospital mortality
59% one year mortality
If you have COPD and PaCO2 > 50mmHg:
67% chance of being alive in 6 months
57% chance of being alive in 12 months

Diagnosis
Symptoms
Dyspnea
Sputum production (especially in the morning)
Recurrent acute chest illnesses
Headache in the morning possible hypercapnia
Cor pulmonale (Right heart failure)

Goals Of Management
Identifying and ameliorating (if possible) the cause of the acute exacerbation
Optimizing lung function by administering bronchodilators and other pharmacotherapy
Assuring adequate oxygenation and secretion clearance
Averting the need for intubation, if possible
Preventing complications of immobility, such as thromboemboli and deconditioning
Addressing nutritional needs at the time of the acute illness, most patients are in negative nitrogen balance, which is exacerbated by steroid therapy

Diagnosis:
Signs
Prolonged expiratory time
Expiratory wheezes
Increased AP diameter of chest
Decreased breath sounds (especially upper lung fields)
Distant heart sounds
End stage: accessory muscles, pursed lip breathing, cyanosis, enlarged liver and pedal edema (in case of cor pulmonale).

Diagnosis
Radiology
Chest X-ray
Hyperinflated lung fields more radiolucent
Bullae, often bilateral upper lobes in smokers
Flat diaphragms (best seen on lateral) and retrosternal airspace can indicate air trapping
High Resolution CT of Chest
Most sensitive to detect above changes
No role in routine care of COPD patients
Can be useful for giant bullous disease surgeries or lung volume reduction surgery planning

Diagnosis
Pulmonary Function Testing
Spirometry: Decreased FEV1/FVC
FEV1 percent predicted defines severity
Lung volumes: Increased TLC, RV, RV/TLC
DLCO: Decreased

Gold Staging Criteria
Stage O: Normal spirometry; chronic sx
Stage 1 (Mild):
FEV1/FVC 80% predicted
Stage 2 (Moderate):
FEV1/FVC
2A: FEV1 50-80% predicted
2B: FEV1 30-50% predicted

Diagnosis
Stage 3 (severe):
FEV1/FVC
FEV1
FEV1

Diagnosis
American Thoracic Society Spirometry
Low FEV1/FVC defines obstruction
FEV1%predicted Category

35-50% Severe
50-60% Moderately Severe
60-70% Moderate
70-80% Mild
80-100% Mild vs. Normal variant
> 100% Normal

Managing Stable COPD
Smoking Cessation Is KEY!
YOUR intervention will make a difference must address at each visit
Medication
Two therapies ONLY have been shown to improve mortality in stable COPD:
1) Smoking Cessation
2) Oxygen Therapy

Bronchodilator Technique
MDIs get better drug deposition than nebs
Use a spacer device with MDIs
Technique is key important for patient and doctor
Inadequate dosing can hamper treatment

Sympathomimetics
Beta-2 selectivity is good
Some additive vs. slightly synergistic effects of combining beta-2 agonist and ipratropium (Combivent)
Some data to support decreased H.influenzae pneumonia incidence with Serevent
Anticholinergic Agents (Atrovent, glycopyrrolate)
Similar ability to bronchodilate (in appropriate doses) as beta-agonists
Also reduces sputum volume; no change in viscosity
Usually under dosed
Recommend 2 (36 mcg) puffs qid
glycopyrrolate which is manufactured for IV/IM use for other indications, is available only “off label” for nebulized use in COPD (1 to 2 mg every two to four hours).
Aminophylline and theophylline are not recommended for the management of acute exacerbations of COPD. Randomized controlled trials of intravenous aminophylline in this setting have failed to show efficacy in excess of that afforded by therapy with inhaled bronchodilators and corticosteroids

Mucokinetic agents
There is little evidence supporting the use of mucokinetic (mucolytic) agents, such as N-acetylcysteine or iodide preparations, in acute exacerbations of COPD. In fact, some drugs of this class may worsen bronchospasm.

Oxygen. Yes.
Demonstrated to improve exercise performance, symptom indices and mortality
Goal in hypercapnic patients for SpO2 need not be greater than 88-90%
Always test COPD patients for oxygenation with ambulation if baseline at rest room air SpO2 ok

Systemic Corticosteroids
Never demonstrated to significantly impact mortality or exercise capacity
Slight improvements in symptom indices
Significant side effects
Rarely of benefit, generally of harm to your patient
Occasionally useful in a small subset failing other therapies AND with demonstrated bronchodilator response on PFTs

Inhaled Corticosteroids
Jury still out
Lots of recent research with some favorable data supporting its use
May be part of standard regimens in the future

Vaccines
Pneumovax, annual flu shots
Chronic antibiotic therapy BAD IDEA
Nutritional status Important
Pulmonary Rehabilitation
Improved exercise capacity, symptom scores
Lung Volume Reduction Surgery
Transplant

Managing Acute Exacerbations of COPD
Common precipitants:
Infection esp viral or bacterial
Acute bronchospasm
Sedation

Who To Admit
Countless studies, few definite answers
Worsening hypoxemia and/or hypercapnia
Otherwise, mostly a clinical decision
Key points to consider:
Oxygen
Bronchodilators
Steroids
Antibiotics

Albuterol:
Neb or MDI neb MAY be better in acute setting, but MDIs have better drug deposition overall
Continuous nebulizer treatments confer no benefit over treatments every 1-2 hours
Generally should avoid subcutaneous beta-agonists
BEWARE: Hypokalemia, tachycardia (occasional)
Levalbuterol still with weak clinical data few situations where it is clinically indicated

ATROVENT (anticholinergic bronchodilator)
Bronchodilation
May decrease secretions
Few significant side effects
Usually significantly under dosed emerging data supports much higher doses than usually used currently

Corticosteroids Parenteral corticosteroids are frequently used in treating acute exacerbations of COPD. Methylprednisolone (60 to 125 mg intravenously, two to four times daily) or the equivalent glucocorticoid dose of other steroid preparations commonly is given.
Corticosteroids Utilization in this setting was initially based upon small randomized trials in which only a minority of patients benefit and the degree of improvement is modest
A randomized, placebo-controlled trial of 271 patients has confirmed the benefits of systemic corticosteroids given for up to 2 weeks to hospitalized patients with COPD exacerbation

Antibiotics
Winnipeg Criteria (give for 2-3 of the following):
Increased cough
Increased purulence
Increased sputum production
Antibiotics accelerate improvement in peak expiratory flow rates and lessen the rate of recrudescence in this setting
Amoxicillin, Doxycycline, TMP/SMX, Azithromycin, Clarithromycin, Levaquin for 10 days

Mucokinetic Agents JUST SAY NO.
N-acetylcysteine is actually contraindicated in patients with airway obstruction
No significant clinical benefit ever demonstrated
Chest PT, intermittent positive pressure breathing and postural drainage may actually be harmful in the setting of acute obstruction

Methylxanthines (Theophylline, Aminophylline)
Not recommended for acute exacerbations
No significant benefit ever demonstrated in large, prospective trials

Oxygen: YES!
Generally a good thing cells like that stuff
If requiring a significant increase in FiO2 over baseline requirement, start hunting for something other than just COPD exacerbation
BEWARE of CO2 RETAINERS! (goal SpO2 90%, PaO2 of 60 to 65 mmHg )
1) Altered V/Q relationships
2) Haldane effect (Hgb*O2 holds less CO2 goes out into plasma)
3) Decreased ventilatory drive (least impt mechanism)

Non-Invasive Positive Pressure Ventilation
BiPAP
Set FiO2, inspiratory (IPAP) and expiratory (EPAP)
Difference between IPAP and EPAP augments tidal volume, therefore improving minute ventilation. CO2 then gets blown off
MORTALITY BENEFIT in patients who will tolerate

Mechanical Ventilation
Respiratory distress
Acidemia that does not correct quickly with therapy
Inability to oxygenate adequately
Often a clinical decision relative to patients work of breathing