I just had my fanpage updated with customization to make it more cohesive with my this webpage, friendlier, more informative, easier to navigate and just more ME! If you are considering a custom fanpage, be sure to reach out to my friend Mike Mueller, who built mine.

I hope we can connect there and share some interaction and discussion!

I work at Park Square Realty, 44 Elm Street, Westfield MA and the construction is literally right out of our front door.

This is what it looks like at the Town Green today:

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This is the sketch of what Westfield Town Green is supposed to look like after completion:

I hope they can get us from the mess it is today to that lovely state as soon as possible, but in the meantime: hang in there folks, Westfield will be better than ever when this is done!

Such is the case with Tom and Kelly Galanis of Westfield, MA.

I met Tom and Kelly for the first time at PodCamp Western MA in 2009. We connected over Westfield State College which is their employer and my alma mater. After knowing each other for a little bit, they asked me to meet them over coffee at which time they told me that they would like to hire me as their real estate agent to sell their home.

We were successful and this is what Kelly wrote about our transaction:

“In this extremely difficult economy, the thought of selling a home is daunting for many. My husband and I entrusted the help of Lesley Lambert with the sale of our home, and she made the experience simply amazing! Lesley is a seasoned professional in the real estate industry with over 20 years of experience and it shows. She took the time with our family to educate us on the current trends in the market and offered helpful suggestions on maximizing the visibility of our home. What sets Lesley over the top is her unique and innovative use of Social Media in the real estate market. She uses tools such as Twitter and her popular blog to get the word out about new listings. She also does routine blogs featuring tips and tools for buyers and sellers to improve their home sale experience. Her knack for technology is an exceptional added value to sellers and is something you won’t find in most other Realtors in the area! Lesley not only brings these great qualities to the table as a Realtor, but she also brings RESULTS. We accepted a reasonable offer on our home within 30 days of listing with Lesley, and our property closed within six weeks of accepting that offer. Lesley has excellent ambition, dedication and is motivated to get properties SOLD! She also has excellent knowledge when working with buyers, particularly first-time home buyers. My husband and I highly recommend Lesley for all your real-estate needs – you won’t be disappointed!” December 4, 2009

Tom and Kelly and I remain close friends, which is really a treasure, and are working together in the Western MA social media community and at what is now Westfield University on their alumni relations. I am blessed to have such amazing clients and friends!

Back to School

Although I love the time with my children over the summer, it is really difficult to juggle a career with a kid’s idea of summer vacation, let me tell you. We bounced from “Camp Real Estate” (which is just me dragging them on appointments and shushing them when a phone call comes in) to actual day camp (which they loved) and time off (which in a REALTOR’S life means working triple hard to catch up after).

So we fit in our fun, but we are all ready on some level to get back to our friends, theirs at school and mine at Park Square Realty, and to a bit more structure. I just met them at the bus after the first day and they had a wonderful day…full of stories and bubbling up excitement. I had a great day, too. New beginnings are exciting and full of possibility.

By the time of this posting, most of the area schools are in session. I hope that all my readers enjoyed their summer to the fullest and are feeling the same sense of bittersweet joy captured in this old Staples commercial.

Are you a homebuyer looking for a condominium in Westfield, MA? This map shows the condominium homes for sale all price ranges in Westfield, MA, 01085.

Finding the right home is an important process and I love to help. I host a series of videos on real estate. To see the videos visit my YouTube Channel.

If the search shown above doesn’t fit your needs, I can help you to get the information you need. Please don’t hesitate to ask, I am here to help! You can call me at 413-575-3611 or use the interactive card below to reach me via social networks, email and more!

If you have never attended an unconference camp (BarCamp, PodCamp) then you really need to find one in your area as soon as possible. There is a unique synergy to these events that I have never experienced anywhere else; a heightened level of excitement as peers come together to share their knowledge and learn from each other.

As Morriss and I left Massachusetts the other day, I was especially excited because I knew that I would be meeting some people who are very dear to me for the first time face to face. The first on this list was Debbie Kirkland, a woman who is like a sister to me and was one of the first #twitterqueens. She is the reason I flew down to Florida and our first meeting was a moment of sheer loving joy. This woman is a powerhouse of energy, knowledge and execution. Her heart is open almost as wide as her mind and she loves to share and be surrounded by “her people”. Hugging Debbie was like coming home, even though it was the first official meeting.

This special greeting was followed in quick succession by a tweet up where I got to meet Mike Mueller, Susie Blackmon, Chris Griffith, Kathleen Herron, Cyndee Haydon and re-uniting with people I hadn’t seen in awhile like Kathy and Bill Bell, Deb Madey, Bobby Carroll, Jeremy Blanton, and Matt Fagioli.

The next day was RE BarCamp Orlando, and the event was PACKED. I put myself down for “20 Social Media Action Tips you can Implement TODAY” while Morriss decided to share his knowledge with the re.net crowd with “Geolocation, Geolocation, Geolocation”. Now it was time to go listen to the other volunteers and see what everyone had to share.

I started with a session led by Shannon King that focused on branding and using that brand to drive an online PR campaign. I gleaned some fabulous ideas from Shannon and was super-impressed by her youthful energy, enthusiasm and downright brilliant execution. As I listened to her business model I thought, “YES. That is how I want to operate, too.”

After Shannon’s session I sat in to listen to my love, Morriss, who is a BarCamp veteran (he has attended 11 over the last 3 years all around the country) present his thoughts on things like Gowalla, 4Square and Facebook Places and how a real estate agent can integrate these geolocation tools into their social media marketing plan. He also discussed QR Codes and their integration into marketing real estate. He posted his slides on slideshare.net where they were chosen to be featured on their front page, and of this writing, has 589 views.

Next up after lunch was my session. I got very nervous to lead this session for some reason, but once we began I had a lot of fun. The room was full and my 20 Action Tips served as great talking points. The participants had fabulous questions and suggestions and the session was a true barcamp brain bash…my favorite kind! I was flattered to have many people approach me later to let me know that they found the concise and simple format of my suggestions to be easy to understand and implement. That was my entire goal, so I was thrilled. As I told the room before we began, I am not Little Miss Know-it-All. I am Little Miss Know-a-Little, but I like to share! I was flattered to see one of my quotes blasted out to Twitter and re-tweeted a few times: RT @respres: RT @mmpartee: “You don’t have to be a writer to blog, just try not to be a mess” -@LesleyLambert #REBCORL [Nice. ]

The rest of the afternoon I wandered through the other sessions picking up inspiration and ideas. Chris Brown‘s session gave me the final kick in the pants to hire a virtual assistant as he passionately spoke about regaining control of your time and only working on things that you love to do.

As the afternoon progressed, I got to meet Paul Chaney, which was very exciting as I truly enjoyed reading his book The Digital Handshake.

Social time at these events is always fun and it is hard to express how special it was for me to have the opportunity to chat with my amazing friends, old and new.

blurry but meaningful!Left to right: Lesley Lambert, Paul Chaney, Deb Madey, Todd Carpenter

The following day, we attended the Florida Realtors’ annual conference, where I was blessed to participate on a social media panel with Susie Blackmon, Matt Fagioli, Mike Mueller and Chris Griffith. After introductions and a few panel questions, we broke out into training groups where I was helping to explain Twitter. It was exciting to be able to sit with these curious agents and help explain how I use twitter and to answer their questions. I love that moment when my explanation clicks for someone and I know I have helped them in some small way.

Following this session, we all went to listen to Paul Chaney present and he was wonderful. As a speaker Paul is incredibly energized and authentic. He is sharing something he believes in, and his demeanor expresses that implicitly. As I listened to Paul speak, a few things started resonating with me and then I experienced a moment of joy….we were all on the same page! All the things that I had heard at BarCamp and the Social Media panel, all the things that I had shared were in total sync with Paul’s message. It is so exciting to be on the same wave length with such rock stars!

After I had the pleasure of a long chat with Paul where music became integrated in the conversation. Along the way I announced, “That is what we are: a Social Media Symphony!”

I love playing alongside these amazing people. We make some kick-ass music together and I hope that the others feel the same way. Paul ended his presentation with a dance analogy and this video which I loved. I am over here dancing, hope you are dancing with me!

This is a good question to which I am going to post a series of answers…supplied by my own past customers. Let them tell you why they worked with me and why it worked FOR them.

Let’s start with Christopher Stolar. Chris is an entrepreneur at J.Stolar Insurance in Palmer, MA. Last year he was researching buying his first home on Google and he found my blog. We met over coffee for an interview and began our search. We found his home in Palmer, MA and he was a home owner a few months later. This is Chistopher’s comment card:

“Lesley did an excellent job explaining this process and making sure I felt comfortable.”

I am so glad you feel that way!

Thank you to Christopher for his trust, business and kind words. I hope he has many happy years in his new home!

If you or someone you know is looking to buy your first home in Western MA, please reach out. My cell is 413-575-3611 and my email: therealestatenatural@yahoo.com.

Are you a homebuyer looking for a home in Southwick, MA with four or more bedrooms? This map shows the homes for sale that have at least four bedrooms in all price ranges in Southwick, MA 01077.

Finding the right home is an important process and I love to help. I host a series of videos on real estate. To see the videos visit my YouTube Channel.

If the search shown above doesn’t fit your needs, I can help you to get the information you need. Please don’t hesitate to ask, I am here to help! You can call me at 413-575-3611 or use the interactive card below to reach me via social networks, email and more!

This pocket garden is a lovely space in the heart of my city and I wanted to share it with you. If you live in Western Massachusetts, I invite you to make a visit. This garden makes a lovely space for outdoor weddings, as well.

As a REALTOR for Park Square Realty in Westfield, MA, I try to highlight the lovely spaces in our city. I hope you will enjoy this video that I created this week, the flowers are in peak bloom!

Earlier this summer I received a phone call asking me to come over to present a market analysis and marketing plan for a house in Westfield, MA. The home owners were ready to move and would be interviewing several real estate agents in the area.

While on my initial visit with them I inquired how they chose me to interview for the job and they pulled out a letter that I had sent them FIVE YEARS prior!

Opening the door…

At that time I was returning to my real estate career in the Pioneer Valley of Massachusetts after a maternity leave. As part of my campaign to generate leads I sent hand written letters to homes that had recently become expired listings. This couple decided to stay in their home for a few more years, but kept my letter and when they were ready to put their Westfield home back on the market, they remembered that Lesley Lambert of Park Square Realty had sent them that personal letter.

Closing the deal…

When I returned to meet with them for my presentation, they had already met with the other REALTORS that they were interviewing. I gave my full presentation highlighting my new media and internet marketing plan for homes for sale in Western Ma.

After discussing how I use video, blogging, Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, single property web pages, Google maps and a ton of websites like Trulia, Zillow and Craigslist to market my homes for sale, they were impressed and decided to use me as the real estate agent.

Moral of the story?

I will be hand writing all of my expired letters from now on.

Second moral?

I will continue to focus my attentions on internet based marketing and will be exploring for fresh new ideas to bring to the home sellers of Western Massachusetts to get their homes sold!