Are you a real estate agent who is looking to improve your work-life balance?

2020 and beyond

The year 2020 has been a real roller coaster ride for the real estate industry. With the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic in the first quarter of 2020, the outlook for the rest of the year was blithe. Thanks to the sudden surge of remote work and record low mortgage rates. According to Forbes, the housing market was on fire.

Real estate expert and economist, Danielle Hale, expects this increasing momentum to continue in 2021. According to Hale, robust demand, a recuperating economy and attractive mortgage rates will propel real estate sales.

Adapt and Adept

The pandemic has altered the pace and phase of the economy. The world as we know it is no longer the same. Working from home, in front of a laptop, is the “new normal”.

Consumers have changed their buying behaviors. The governments discourage trips to a brick-and-mortar store for health reasons. Consumers go online. The term “add to cart” has become a household name. The digital channel has become a primary media touch point instead of the traditional tri-media.

For a real estate agent, staying abreast of the latest trend and technology in the digital world is as pivotal as keeping your house listing updated. Social media has become the main medium where you need to be present. Social Media Marketing is now the primary ingredient in the marketing mix.

You have kept open houses to a minimum. Virtual house tours is now the way to go. You need to be technically adept with video production and optimization, too.

It goes without saying that to be successful in a closing a deal nowadays, you need to adapt to this shift of the business landscape.

Improve Your Work-Life Balance – Hire a Virtual Assistant

As a real estate agent, how do you improve your work-life balance in this set-up? One way is to hire a real estate trained virtual assistant. You would need all the help you can get with Social Media Marketing, too.

Summit VA Solutions provides Virtual Assistants who are:

• Real Estate Trained
• College Graduate
• Background Checked

Summit VA Solutions Virtual Assistants can help you elevate your business and improve your work-life balance by providing:

• Social media marketing
• Email management
• Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
• Transaction coordination
• Calendar management
• Lead generation
• Lead management
• Broker compliance
• Prospecting
• Transaction management
• Appointment setting

Delegate tasks to a Virtual Assistant and focus on what really matters. Hire a Summit Virtual Assistant. Call Summit VA Solutions at 877-561-2778 today for free consultation or online at https://www.summitvasolutions.com​.​ Learn about feedback from clients.

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Why do we strive for work-life balance? What is it anyway? Is it just a marketing ploy conjured by a group of brilliant minds outside the so called ‘rat race’? Is there really such a thing as work-life balance?

Work-Life Balance (WLB)

The term Work-Life Balance was coined in the 1980’s. As defined by Forbes magazine, Gen Xers (children of the Baby Boomers) witnessed how stressed out their parents were with long hours at work. This has significantly made an impact on their relationships and the overall atmosphere at home.

Hence, when it was time for the Gen Xers to join the ‘rat race’ they longed for better employment benefits such as paid vacation, maternity and paternity leaves. On the other hand, employers, aside from paid leaves, also began offering perks to cultivate a happy work environment. They added recreational activities into the work place like game rooms and ping-pong tables.

Significant scientific studies have also been published on work-life balance. Type ‘WLB’ on Google search. You will discover a good number of scientific journals on work-life balance.

What Does Work-Life Balance Mean To Me?

Work-life balance has been defined by many authors since its conception. Here is how I understand Work-Life Balance:

1. State of equilibrium

Work-life balance is a state of equilibrium. WLB is about finding harmony between work and personal life. It is not about giving equal allocation of one’s time for work and personal life, i.e. one is to one.

2. Subjective

WLB is subjective. What could be too much to one may be too little to another. There is also satisfaction in achieving a great many things. To accomplish great things, one has to toil and put great effort. As the old adage says, Rome was not built in a day. The key is finding the optimal point between stress and rest. One can only be productive if one is well-rested.

“Perhaps too much of everything is as bad as too little.” – Edna Ferber

3. Is in constant motion and evolving

The balance between work and life is in constant motion over time. What one finds as work-life balance in his 40’s may not be the same as when he was in his 20’s. Perhaps after college, one’s motivation is to climb the corporate ladder as high as possible. This would then require a lot of days of staying late in the office– especially when one shares an apartment with his peers making the house not conducive to productivity. Aside from having to come up with and roll out quality marketing plans, one would also have to endure the gridlock to and from the central business district. One might find this totally okay while another may find it too stressful.

When one reaches his prime, his priorities may also change. By now, he can already come up with a quality presentation-ready marketing plan in a day or two. Hence, he may find staying late in the office totally unattractive, unsmart and unproductive.

Strive to thrive

There is no silver bullet to achieving work-life balance. Finding harmony between two seemingly opposing poles is no easy-peasy. Further, work-life balance is personal and evolving. WLB is a life-long endeavor. It is not a myth but a life goal. Find time and go to your core. Assess your priorities. Commit to it and effectively manage your time.

With the ongoing pandemic, improving our work-life balance becomes all the more challenging. Let us not be weary and be content with just surviving COVID-19. Let us strive for work-life balance to thrive.

Strive for Work-Life Balance and Hire a Summit Virtual Assistant

Are you a real estate agent looking to improve your work-life balance? Give Summit VA Solutions a call at 877-561-2778 or email info@summitvasolutions.com. Let us discuss how we can provide you assistance. We have real estate trained, college graduate, background checked and DISC trained virtual assistants who can help you elevate your business and improve your work life-balance.

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Who Am I?

I have been a marketer for as long as I can remember, handling both pharmaceutical and consumer brands locally and across Asia Pacific as a Regional Brand Manager.

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TGIF.

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I used to handle anti-hypertensive, anti-cholesterol and specialty products. I crossed over to Consumer Marketing to handle Cherifer, the Philippines’ number one multivitamin brand. I also had the opportunity to handle Cetaphil, the Philippines’ most recommended brand of cleansers and moisturizers by Dermatologists and Pediatricians. It was during my time when Cetaphil launched its many firsts in the local market: first TV Ad, first billboard and first online presence.

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Thanks @divinemlee and @reginetolentino #Repost from @reginetolentino with @repostapp

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Brought my skin care goodies with me… #cetaphil

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I am also a film maker. I studied film under the direction of the late Direk Marilou Diaz Abaya. I have done acting, production design, art direction and (assistant) directing for TV, film and TV Ad productions.

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Remembering Sensei… I can never thank you enough…

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Aside from blogging and video productions, I still do marketing and business development consultancy for a number of multinational companies locally and regionally.

My Key Learnings As A Marketer

Based on first-hand experience and what I learned from my mentors over the years, the key success of any brand relies on three factors:

• Getting the right consumer insights
• Coming up with insight-based strategies
• Implementing and monitoring strategy-driven tactics

My Key Learnings As A Film Maker

As a film maker, my mentor, Direk Marilou Diaz- Abaya, always stressed the importance of the “WHO” in effective storytelling. She said that the story should remain consistent to the subject’s core and his or her significant human experience.

Sounds very similar but different, huh? Well, it all boils down to knowing who the customer (marketing) or who the subject is (film making) and tailor-fitting the communication strategy or the storytelling without compromising the brand premise and promise or the truth and the signification human experience.

It is because of these key personal learnings that I got all pumped up when I heard about the First Consumer Insighting Conference happening on April 26-27, 2018 at The Events Center at the Century Mall, Makati City, Philippines.

I am attending the event and so looking forward to learn more.

Registration is still ongoing. Get your tickets here. The regular rate is Php 15,500. Group rates are also available at Php 12,000 per person, if you are registering for a group of three or more.

FIRST CONSUMER INSIGHTING CONFERENCE 2018

MANILA – On April 26-27, marketers, creative professionals, researchers, and decision-makers, will come together for the first Consumer Insighting and Storytelling Conference, happening in Makati City.

The event, presented by Synergy Market Research + Consultancy, is the only conference that focuses on the intersection of insighting and creativity – two disciplines that are imperative for businesses today. It is a rebranded and expanded version of the company’s successful “HuGOT It Right” seminar-workshop series, which was launched in 2016.

“Consumer Insighting is a powerful currency for brands today. It allows them to get into the heart of what consumers truly want and need, which are most of the times unspoken,” said Germaine Reyes, President and CEO of Synergy Market Research + Consultancy. “However, some run the risk of labeling data findings and observations as ‘insight,’ and we want brands to rediscover the power of insighting, approaching it as both science and art.”

The unique two-day program will feature talks from experts in the fields of marketing, advertising, anthropology, behavioural economics, digital, and design thinking, highlighting how consumer insights are drawn from these diverse sources. After a deep dive into insighting, attendees will learn about the psychology of storytelling and creative techniques they can employ to help them connect to their consumers more effectively. Sessions include:

• An Insight About Insights
• From the Outside In: How anthropology aids in deeper consumer insight mining
• Why Emotions Trump Logic: Storytelling’s Impact on Consumer Purchase Behavior
• The Psychology of Storytelling: Why and How Hugot Happens
• Storytelling ROI

On the second day, attendees will undergo an intensive design thinking workshop, where they will get the chance to solve on a consumer insighting case study from a featured local brand. This will be facilitated by Miguel Aranaz, an innovation and design strategist and a serial entrepreneur, with an MA in Image and Communications at Goldsmiths University in London, and an alumnus of Stanford School.

“We have crafted this unique program not just for marketing and research professionals, but to everyone who wants to understand their consumers better – not just from a single point-of-view, but through different facets of their psyche.” Reyes said. “Uncovering a true consumer insight is like having an ‘aha’ moment, which can guide your business in how you speak to your customers, how you create new products, and how to innovate in a competitive market.”

To register, visit www.consumerinsightingconference.com

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A blissful relationship and a strong business are two of life’s greatest achivements and if you find yourself able to merge these two, you are definitely doing something right.

Starting a business is not an easy decision to make but 26-year-old entrepreneur Gian Drilon took his two cents’ worth and explored ways on how he can start a business of his own. He researched and read articles on online selling until he stumbled upon the Lazada selling platform.

In May 2016, he opened his first shop, Asenso Shop, where he sells products such as toys, games, and items for mothers and babies. The first few days were smoothsailing, but as months went by, it came to a point wherein he would get hundreds of orders a day.

His girlfriend of nine years, Reg Onglao, started helping out when she has free time off of work. She does special projects for Gian, among which is to help automate processes in the business. With her help, handling the business has been easier for Gian.

“Back when we started, I used to be the only full-time employee of the business handling everything—from product selection to packing. Within a few months, the orders quickly grew and became too much for me to handle alone, but like what others would say two is really better than one,” says Gian.

To date, Gian and Reg, with the help of their five employees, handle four shops aside from Asenso Shop. These are Watch Me!, their main shop where they sell fashion accessories; Asenso Healthcare, which contains health and beauty products; Gold Panda, a shop under a special partneship with Lazada where they sell gold bars; and ZG Designs, where they offer graphic t-shirt printing.

“I have very big dreams for our Lazada stores, and I always want to keep on improving. Every month, I keep on adding more and more assortment and I also venture on new product categories. Just like my life together with Reg, our love steadily grows each day with more and more varying experiences. I dream of starting a family with her, having kids, and buying a house,” shares Gian.

By working together, their relationship and business grew together determining their mutual career plans.  During Lazada’s Online Revolution Sale in 2017, the couple once received 7,000 orders in one day and this made Gian decide to take their relationship to the next level.

Gian proposed to Reg last December when he asked her to help him reboot his broken computer. When she opened it, she was surprised to see photos popping out with the question, “Will you marry me?” to which Reg replied with a sweet YES!

Through Lazada, Gian made his dream a reality. Not only does he get to spend his future with Reg, but he also is able to reach a nationwide pool of customers.

Juggling personal and business relationships altogether is no joke. “I remind myself that Reg and I are in a committed relationship—where two different people choose to become one, working together towards a common goal, and where each person complements and helps the other one grow,” shares Gian.

Gian and Reg plan to expand their business in the coming months and like them, you can do the same with Lazada Philippines’ selling platform. It offers a straightforward start-up process for merchants who want to start their own online selling business.

Selling on Lazada just takes three easy steps. Visit www.lazada.com.ph/sell-on-lazada/ to find out more.

About Lazada Group

Launched in 2012, Lazada is the number one online shopping and selling destination in Southeast Asia – present in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. As the pioneer of the eCommerce ecosystem in Southeast Asia, Lazada helps more than 135,000 local and international sellers as well as 3,000 brands serving the 560 million consumers in the region through its marketplace platform, supported by a wide range of tailored marketing, data, and service solutions.

With over 210 million SKUs available, Lazada offers the widest range of products in categories ranging from consumer electronics to household goods, toys, fashion, sports equipment and groceries. Focused on delivering an excellent customer experience, it offers multiple payment methods including cash-on-delivery, comprehensive customer care and hassle-free returns through its own first and last mile delivery arm supported by more than 100 logistics partners. Lazada Group is majority owned by Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE: BABA).

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To run a business, one has to have an effective and executable business plan.  A business plan is made up of all the elements of the marketing mix collectively known as The 4 Ps, namely, Product, Price, Place and Promotion, a concept created in the 1960s by E. Jerome McCarthy.

According to Philip Kotler, often referred to as “the Father of Modern Marketing”, Marketing Mix is the set of controllable variables that the firm can use to influence the buyer’s response.

Over the years, the marketing mix has had numerous versions, evolving to 5 Ps, 6Ps and 7Ps.

Consistently at the core of all these versions of the marketing mix is the target market.

To me, understanding the target market is what separates marketing from mere selling. Marketing is selling with a purpose, keeping one’s eyes on the target, being ahead of the game and bearing in mind the who’s and what’s, the where’s and when’s and the why’s and how’s of the target market. Marketing is not random. Marketing is purposive. It is deliberate.

Why Digital Marketing?

On March 29, 1994, the World Wide Web welcomed the Filipinos to the wonderful world of internet.  More and more Filipinos have been online ever since. The internet penetration in the Philippines is at 58% as of January 2017 versus the 50% global average despite having an average speed of 4.2 Mbps, which is way below the 6.3 Mbps global average. The growth of the internet penetration in the country is 27%, second worldwide to Indonesia’s 51%.

What does 58% penetration mean? This means that about 3 out 5 Filipinos have access to the internet. Based on the same report from We Are Social and Hootsuite, Filipinos spend an average of 5 hours and 23 minutes, the highest in the world, in accessing the internet through a laptop/desktop and about 3 hours and 35 minutes, still among the highest in world, using a mobile device.

Further, Filipinos spend 4 hours and 17 minutes on Social Media, again the highest in the world. 42% of Filipinos are active daily on Facebook, making the country the world’s No. 6 in terms of active Facebook user bases.

According to the International Institute of Digital Marketing, these are the pillars of Digital Marketing: Website, Social Media, Digital Media Strategies, Email Marketing, E-CRM (Customer Relationship Management), Analytics, E-commerce and Mobile Marketing. These are what one who runs a business can access and apply in reaching and understanding the target market and in maximizing the consumer journey.

New Consumer Journey

Prior to the dawn of the internet, the touch points in reaching the target market were limited to traditional mass media e.g. TV, Radio, and Print. Point of purchase was also just mostly limited to the usual brick and mortar store. Then, the consumer journey was linear whereby it was assumed that a consumer needed to be aware first about a product or service via mass media. Promotions would have to be frequent and sustained (and expensive) to make the consumer familiar about the product or service to make him or her consider buying. The consumer would then go to a physical store to make the actual purchase. Once satisfied, only then would he or she be a brand advocate. Period.

Now, the consumer journey is interactive, circular and 24/7 whereby a consumer may become aware of, be familiar with, want to consider, want to buy and be loyal to a product or service at any and every touch point in the consumer journey. Thus, a marketer may need to be available, active and interactive in every touch point as well.

Interactive
A consumer needs to be able to identify with the brand to reach a successful purchase. Hence, a marketer needs to engage the target market by being present, active and interactive where the target market is before and after purchase. By interacting with the consumer, the marketer may also gain valuable insights which he or she may use to come up with insight-driven strategies to drive better sales performance.

Circular
A consumer may be an advocate now and then switch later to a competing brand once exposed to triggers post- purchase or after careful assessment of the product or service availed of.

A consumer may do online research in assessing or ask friends and family about their own experiences before making a conclusion about what he or she thinks and feels about the product.

Moreover, after being exposed to triggers, a consumer may also do online research and personal interviews of family and friends before considering an actual purchase. Nielsen’s fourth-quarter 2015 Mobile Wallet Report revealed that 72% of shoppers research items on their smartphones before buying. That is why it is vital for a brand to be present in most, if not all, of the touch points to guide the consumer.

24/7
With the growing number of people gaining access to online information coupled by the deluge of products and services cluttering the digital space, all the more a product needs virtual presence 24/7. Nowadays, consumers may become aware of, become interested in, be familiar with, purchase or become loyal to a product or service just by surfing the net. Hence, a business owner needs to bring digital into the marketing mix.

They say, to be successful is to be in the right place at the right time. I say, nowadays, to be successful is to market the right product using the right message to the right target market at the right price in every right place always at the right time more often. Go digital. Consider going digital. Be digital.

In running your business, have you included digital in your marketing mix? If not yet, let me know. Do you need a website? Do you need help in setting up and managing your Fan Page? Let me help you maximize your online presence. Leave your comments below or send me a message here.

Signing out for now. Peace!

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I have two questions for you:

1. Are you managing a sales team?

2. Do you want your sales team to move up in attitude, skills and knowledge?

If you answered ‘Yes’ to any of these two questions, then pay attention.

My friend, Ging Roslin of Move Up Consulting and Training Company, is an experienced management consultant and training facilitator in the pharmaceutical industry in both the Rx (Prescription Medicine) and OTC (Over-the-counter) with Asia Pacific scope.

He offers highly customized and measurable trainings to help your sales teams move up in selling, coaching, negotiations, territory management, key account management and strategic management.

Further, he offers free consultations pre and three months post training.

For inquiries, give Ging a call at 0922-8487429 or email at moveupconsult@gmail.com.

Signing out for now. Peace!

Note: This ad is shared online via Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter and Instagram.

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