The ambulance took him to the hospital and they ran some basic tests (we were on the interstate traveling on the way home) so they did not keep him overnight for observation. The doctor came in and shared the test results and sent us on our way and honestly we weren’t for sure what the steps should have been involved at the time to make sure his heart was healthy.

After some research and my husband scheduling a physical with our Doctor in three weeks he started researching these keywords on Google: “left arm numbness, “heavy breathing with left arm tingling,” etc. This is what he did to prepare for his physical and see if he needed to have specific tests run like a stress test and such.

Fast forward two weeks later and Kurt told me, “Tricia, I have to lie down.” I immediately felt the urge to ask him how he was feeling and he then told me “The same way I felt a couple of weeks ago.” I knew right away we had to take him to the hospital. While waiting in the emergency room they started to let us know what to expect in a step-by-step fashion so that we would feel comfortable in knowing that we would be taken care of. I can’t even describe how nervous we were but one thing that truly helped us communicate was the research we had done online. It allowed us to ASK EDUCATED QUESTIONS so we understood WHAT WE NEEDED TO BE DOING and WHAT TO EXPECT.

Because of our research we were able to talk more knowledgeably about what type of stress test was needed, what other test they could run like a CT Cardio Score (I didn’t even know what this was until I started asking questions about blockage in the veins) and such.

Why am I sharing this story so personally? I really feel in my heart that this is how distressed sellers who are behind on their mortgage payments feel. They are scared. They are overwhelmed. They are afraid to go down a path that might end in more distress. Just like me and Kurt, homeowners are feeling this way when it comes to their financial and emotional stress. I do feel that financial stress is like a physical illness. You are trying to turn for help but you also don’t want to feel like you are clueless when starting to talk to an expert. This is why I feel like having a short sale marketing strategy and a website that is built on education, built on resources, built on finding answers is truly the tipping point for a seller to understand what steps are necessary to take. This is what Kristan Cole does with her website www.WasillaShortSales.com.

When the homeowner does the research and starts realizing that there are options to avoid foreclosure they then look to the expert who is supplying this information. Just like Kurt and I would look for a heart surgeon if that was necessary, the same applies to the homeowner facing foreclosure. They want an expert who deals with this situation and understands what is involved so that they can help carry the responsibility with them.

1. What is the biggest mistake that Realtors make when it comes to web marketing strategy? Your website should reach out and connect with the mindset of today’s home buyers and home sellers. It’s important to understand that it’s not just about doing general marketing (running an ad, farming with a postcard or having a simple website). It’s about having a targeted niche in real estate and then having your market message support that niche. Buyers and sellers do not want to work with a “Jack of all trades”, they want to work with someone who is highly experienced for what they need. Just like if you have a heart condition. A family physician is great but if you need heart surgery you are going to go to the best surgeon.
2. How can I raise my lead generation and conversion rate? It’s not about having a website; it’s about having a strategy that connects with the type of consumer you want to work with. The 3 strongest elements in your overall web strategy are: 1. having a personally branded IDX solution (advanced to capture leads and target market), 2. having an email follow up campaign to incubate the buyer during their home search process, and 3. creating a marriage between all your offline marketing to your web marketing so there is consistency between the two. This system will provide amazing results.
3. How can I improve my site search engine ranking? Step 1 is making sure that you have a website that has the core components for natural search engine optimization. Your site needs to have the ability to hold unique title tags and descriptions for each individual page. It should also have a site map. Step 2 is making sure that you can add unlimited pages to support a niche and target market you are going after and have a built in blog so that when you blog you have new content being added to the structure of the site.
4. How often should my website be updated? I think you should focus on re-visiting every 6 months on what you want to continue to focus on in your website. The core (main content pages) content is the foundation and by adding additional content and weaving in unique offerings (like the recent home buyer tax credit) allow your site to stay cutting edge.
5. What is the one thing I should dedicate to doing every month on my strategy? Add at least 1 content page about a town, a featured community or property types that exist in your market. On the page include a search to see properties through your IDX so that the consumer sees exactly what they want.

1. Get a personally-written homepage that really connects to the needs of the consumer visiting the site. Gone are the days when we can just have generic words and a consumer is interested. You want your site visitors to know they have come to the right place and that you are an expert in the local real estate market and can help them with all of their needs. Whether you are focusing on first-time home buyers, the move-up buyer or the luxury home market, you want to make sure you are connecting the consumer with what they would want. Put yourself in their shoes and be sure to let them know you have the experience and expertise they need.
2. Targeted buttons and sections on the site that reflect the target market you are
   specializing in. For example, if you market specific towns within a metro area (Austin, Texas, for example), then your site should have main pages about towns that you service-such as Round Rock, Liberty Hill and Georgetown-to prove you are knowledgeable in this market. Give them a reason to stay on your site by offering unique calls to action on the site: the ability to get free market reports, home value information or elements like a custom search feature, located right on the front page. This will plant the strategy for lead capture.
3. On the targeted pages in the site, there must be property search links to get them to get back to searching for properties or-even better-have them see properties for sale in specific prices ranges. Get them engaged by having them look at properties while they are right there on that page. Have links that allow a visitor to easily search listings between $200,000 and $300,000, $300,000 and $500,000, and $500,000 and $750,000.
4. Have auto-drip cultivating tools to develop the relationship. Statistics show that home buyers will start searching for a home online months in advance of actually buying. If they come to your site and want to download free reports, get information on home values or register for the latest listings, make sure you have it set up so when they fill out the form, they, in turn, get the information they want. With the proper system, you won’t have to manually load them; instead, they go into a letter drip campaign for at least a year. Give them resources, cultivate the relationship and put their needs first, and you will convert a higher percentage of leads.
5. Have a site created so that when you are ready, a search engine optimization (SEO) strategy can be easily developed. Make sure that each page on the site has its own section capable of utilizing titles, metatags and descriptions for that specific page, making it structurally sound for amazing results. Also, having a blog within the site’s platform will allow new content to be added so that your site is flush with content that encourages search engines to keep coming back.
6. Have the site built in a “scalable” platform where it can grow with you for the long-term and you won’t have to worry about outgrowing the site and having to start over. Having the ability to change and add to your website will help your site stay on the cutting edge and allow your business to prosper. The ability to add your own content, buttons, traffic-tracking abilities and even social media tools, such as videos, podcasts, audio files and more, keeps your site interesting, informative and successful. A site with easy editing features will help you keep costs down and make changes without the stress of having to ask a Web developer for every change.

Now you might say, “Tricia, what does this have to do with working short sales?” This means that if you want to reach distressed homeowners you have to meet them where they are and focus on their emotional mindset. Sellers facing foreclosure are not going to necessarily go to a general real estate website to get information. To make sure that you are positioned, you have to have more than just a simple response form on your site. Use these 5 steps to create a web strategy to reach homeowners in need.

• Step 1: Buy a domain name that is focused on their needs. For example: www.VirginiasHomeRescue.com. This is a domain name that tells the sellers exactly what this will do for them. They say to themselves, “Yes, I live in Virginia and yes, I need help so I don’t go into foreclosure.”
• Step 2: Now that you have a targeted URL, create a stand-alone niche site that is purely focused on the needs of the seller. This allows them to feel anonymous while getting information. Think of a family member who has gone through a serious illness. You want to research and get the information so you can speak with the doctor on an educated level. This is how a homeowner feels.
• Step 3: Throughout the site integrate “Calls to Action” sections like free reports, qualifying forms, worksheets, and more. By having information and lead capture sections you to be positioned to get the lead and help them. Drew Hartanov with Prudential California shared with me, “Tricia, I realized that when I was talking with a homeowner or they got my mailing that I was not giving them the opportunity to interact with me. I knew I had to have a website that was more target focused so I could drive distressed sellers to my site.”
• Step 4: Once they fill out forms you want to make sure that you have a way to stay connected to them during their process. This is where an email follow up campaign is critical. Sellers seeking information and looking for answers may be in denial about what is happening. A drip campaign will allow you to stay in touch with them and also be positioned to help them when they ask for it.
• Step 5: If you are certified for handling short sales, have the certification information on your website so that sellers know that you experienced and trained to handle their situation.

So now, I have less than three weeks to plan my trip (and learn enough Spanish to get by!) The tour is providing accommodations, but each of us must find our own way to the villa. Here are some tips I’ve picked these last few days about planning a last minute trip.

Logistics

Of course, you can’t travel out of the country without a passport these days. I already have one, so thankfully, I don’t have to worry about applying for one and hoping it arrives in time.

As a safety precaution, I’ve checked the CDC website to make sure I don’t need any obscure shots or medicine to take with me. Spain seems to be fairly safe, but having traveled to Belize and Guatemala previously, I can say it’s best to get your appropriate shots well in advance – and stock up on any medications you might need (like Malaria drugs). I’ve also been assembling a basic medical kit.

Currency

You hear how bad the US economy is every day, but it doesn’t hit you until you go to exchange your Dollars for Euros. The going rate today is $1 = .648 Euros. (Last year at this time, it was about $1 = .74 Euros.) And if I’m reading this website correctly, a gallon of gasoline (3.78 liters) is around $7.00. On the bright side, AAA doesn’t charge you an exchange rate.

Getting Cheap Airfare

Trying to get a cheap flight without too long of a layover has been a fascinating experience. I’ve learned that there really isn’t much rhyme or reason to how airlines price tickets – other than they’re seeking to fill as many seats as possible at any given time. What that means is that in a matter of hours (or the next day), you can be quoted a drastically different price for (seemingly) comparable flights.

On Sunday/Monday, when I checked various airline sites (Sidestep.com, CheapTickets.com, CheapOAir.com, Priceline.com), I was looking around at least $1100 for a flight from Philly to Spain with unless I was willing to take a 12 hour layover (no thank you). Tuesday morning when I checked back, I found a brand new option – I could fly through Paris with a four hour layover for around $750 (but I only found this deal on one site – all the others are much more expensive.) Not wanting to press my luck too much, I jumped on that. (For comparison, that’s about one-third the price of a non-stop flight.)

Some other things I picked up on saving money besides shopping around:

• If you can, be flexible with the dates you’ll be traveling.
• Try flying to a cheaper airport.

Neither of those applies to my trip, but they’re good to know.

Rent a Car

I had no idea that virtually all cars in Spain were manual transmission (I guess it’s not surprising, given the gas prices) – which means renting one is considerably cheaper than renting an automatic transmission. Compact, manual transmission cars start at about half the price of the cheapest automatic car I found – and most were much more expensive than that. Most of the travel sites have car rental options, but the cheapest site I’ve found (so far) is AutoEurope.com. I’m also told that it’s far cheaper to book your car in advance than at the airport.

On another note, if you plan on renting a car, it helps to pick up an International Driver’s Permit from your local AAA. I talked with someone on the phone today, and she said the process is fast and painless – you just need to bring two passport photos and the $15 fee. They can create them on the spot in about 10 minutes.

I’m still looking into options to save on auto insurance. I believe AAA and (possibly) some credit cards will cover you so you don’t have to pay the outrageous rental insurance prices.

Learning the Language

If only there was more time… I admit, my choice for a crash course in Spanish isn’t cheap, but so far, the lessons have been pretty good. I bought the Pimsleur Spanish series, and have been practicing for one-to-two hours each day. My goal is to at least be able to give taxi-drivers directions to my villa (not that I’ll be taking a taxi, but I’ve had some crazy experiences in Mexico with Spanish-only speaking cab drivers and I’d prefer not to go through that again.)

More..

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So, have any of you been to Northern Spain? The place where I’m staying is about a two hour drive west from Barcelona, so I’m open to suggestions for day trips, restaurants, wineries, etc.

• Health & Fitness – If you’re looking to lose weight and get back in shape, Jonathan Fields released a free PDF copy of a book he wrote back in 2000 called The Long Hard Fix. It’s a 12-week plan with plenty of worksheets to keep you going.
• PR – Jonathan also wrote a great post on how to get featured in newspapers and magazines.
• Website Conversion Rates – Carlos del Rio talks about designing your webpages so visitors know what to pay attention to, and consequently, what you’d like them to do.
• Productivity – Ritu reveals his secret to maximum productivity.
• Happiness and Success – PsyBlog offers 9 ways happiness leads to success and for those of you thinking you might be in the career, Jon Morrow explains how to find work that you love.
• Agent to Agent – Trulia announced an area just for real estate professionals within Trulia Voices. Inman has a roundup of real estate blogs that posted about last week’s Real Estate Connect.

• On Blogging – I’ve been slowly making my way through the Real Estate Weblogging 101 materials and would highly recommend it to anyone who thinks blogging doesn’t get you clients (it does) or that only other real estate agents read real estate blogs (not true!). Brian Clark of Copyblogger provides A Three-Step Approach to Strategic Content Development which discusses how to create innovative content that your readers will want to read and talk about. (Hint: it’s not about stuffing your posts with keywords.) And Darren Rowse offers some advice on Learning to Think Like a Blogger.
  
  
• On Conversions – Real Estate Weblogging 101 also has a nice complement to a post I just wrote about Internet Marketing – The Big Picture which discusses why traffic is about conversions. Other good articles: Carlos del Rio at SEOmoz asks Which Do YOU Need: Traffic or Customers? and Jim Cronin of The Real Estate Tomato explains How A Strong Finish Has A Real Estate Blog Article Generating Lead.
  
  
• On Organization and Cashflow – Leo Babauta of ZenHabits has a great post on decluttering your life. Though it’s not specific to business, all tips can be applied to your office as well as your home. Some great tips include: designating a home for everything and make sure to put things away (we waste so much time looking for things that aren’t in place!) and creating a 30-day list for everything you’d like to buy. It’s so easy to spend money frivolously in business, yet too often we buy stuff we don’t need or will never use. His advice is to add your item to your 30-day list along with the date, then evaluate whether you still need that item after 30 days. Speaking of finances, here are 50 Ways to Improve Your Finances Today
  
  
• On Outsourcing: – Elance is running a contest where you can win a virtual assistant for 2008. To enter, just answer the question: “How would you use a virtual assistant to grow your business or improve your personal life?” Running a business doesn’t mean you have to do it all yourself – you’d be amazed at how having an assistant (virtual or at your location) will make you a lot more productive.

Columnist Blanche Evans went a bit overboard in her response by ranting that no one has the best interests of sellers or real estate agents in mind when they let these types of valuation sites get away with murder.

Yes, Zillow.com often misses the mark when it comes to estimates – and she correctly points out that

Zillow.com admitted to BusinessWeek in February 2006 during its much-publicized launch that its “estimates are typically on target, falling within 10 percent of the actual home-sale prices 62 percent of the time.”

BloodhoundBlog’s Greg Swann has criticized Zillow repeatedly about their estimates, but even he finds the article a bit hysterical. If the seller put up $300 for a home appraisal, he’d have solid evidence to refute that potential buyer and the two sides could get on with negotiations.

Here’s the deal. Zillow.com may not be 100% accurate – yet. But they aren’t going away. In fact, they’ve just struck up a deal with Yahoo! Real Estate and Prudential California Realty to put estimates on their sites.

Why? Because Zillow offers a service that real estate agents weren’t providing – that is, offering buyers a wealth of information about the homes in their neighborhood. Zillow saw a niche they could go after, and they did. That’s just smart business practice – find a want or need that’s not being met and fill the gap with your product or service.

If real estate agents want to survive in the internet age, they have to stop complaining that things aren’t how they used to be and embrace change. That means learning new skills and becoming more technology and marketing savvy. And realizing that there are a lot of companies vying for the eyeballs and wallets of lucrative home buyers and sellers. If you want to compete, you need to find a way to meaningfully differentiate yourself from everyone else.

The new site adds to the growing number of new real estate sites that have been competiting with Realtor.com for the attention of home buyers. Here are a few quick links of how Yahoo! Real Estate compares with Trulia.com and PropSmart.com for the Philadelphia market.

In general, I like the interface. It’s clean, fast loading and you can search on a number of options including MLS, classifieds, new homes and foreclosures. They’ve partnered with Prudential to provide MLS info but say that any real estate agents can add listings if they participate in their local IDX or if they want to post a Real Estate Classified ad.

Home and/or condo owners can use the service to guage market demand by snapping some pictures, writing a “MySpace” blurb and posting the listing on Redfin’s blog.

While the concept isn’t groundbreaking, why don’t more real estate agents do something similar? The pictures and descriptions give the condo more personality than virtually every MLS listing I’ve seen recently. And the owner, himself, has pointed out some of the perks of living in the place with favorite nearby attractions, features of the house and “What We’ll Miss the Most.”