Many real estate professionals use telemarketing as their main promotional channel or even just to advise the property owner of a prospective buyer. These new Do-Not-Call laws will undoubtedly affect the way you conduct your phone calls in the work place, whether the affect is positive or negative is totally up to you.

The Direct Marketing Association has issued an updated version of their guidelines for Ethical Business Practice to reflect recent changes in the law, the guidelines can be found by visiting http://www.the-dma.org/guidelines/ethicalguidelines.shtml.  These guidelines can provide you with many ideas to adjusting to the new laws as well as explore other promotional channels you probably never used before. In regards to the new laws themselves, we have some ways for you to work them to your advantage.

For starters, people you have worked with in the past 18 months can be contacted so gather up your old contacts and call them up. Make sure to let them know you need their help and if they can pass along your number to their friends and family. Do not collect the numbers yourself as referrals are also prohibited if the number is listed in the Do-Not-Call directory, unless it's a business number. Feel free to call businesses, currently there are no laws that prohibited calls to businesses. You can also conduct surveys, so long as they do not end in a solicitation.

Although there are a few ways to get around the Do-Not-Call drama, many real estate professionals are dropping telemarketing altogether.  Most people do not like to receive unsolicited phone calls during dinner time, do you? For this same reason most real estate professionals turn to post cards, web sites and other forms of advertising and promotions.

"Here's what I do. Website - yes, great business from it. Direct mail - okay business from it, just started last year. Have made 1.6 dollars on each dollar spent - 1st year stats on mail are excellent considering, - it's direct mail. Personal Brochure - yes, and business from it. Advertising - always mix institutional with property. Just started - good leads and business. And lots more techie stuff.... (that I actually use) Just helps me to obtain more business, and place me a notch above the competition." says Judy Szablak of BestAgentOnline.com who generated more than $15 million in sales this year.