Homegain, Housevalues, RealtyTrac, Service Magic, Lending Tree, Homes.com, Realestate.com, Agent Connect, Realty Now, and hundreds more...
My question to you is simple: "How do they get us to buy?"
You may have seen commercials on TV or an ad in your newspaper/magazine.
Have you seen them at trade shows swapping business cards?
Do you recieve phone calls? email solicitations?
Mailings and postcards?
Possibly a friend in the business referred you? maybe even an active rain blog got you interested?
Google, Yahoo, and hundreds of affiliates: Obviously these companies pay to advertise on the internet for leads, both consumers and agents like us. It seems reasonable to assume they are good at it. If you click on a banner ad or sponsored link about the real estate business it's probably going to drop you on their system. If you use a search engine to find real estate in your area you will often see a lead company listed in the top 10. Are these search tems designed to attract buyers/sellers or simply showcased to us realtors?
In my case, I am responding to the hype that the realtor community creates. My MLS board actually trains new realtors on these websites, and the literature is distributed everywhere via press release by public relations.
THE PITCH
It seems that the forumla is simple. The initial pitch begins with a basic overview of the company as a reaferral or lead generating company. The sales person will have a chance to dazzle you with the large marketing budget which allows top search engine placement, or primetime TV spots. WOW!
It seems to me that a large portion if not the majority of this marketing budget must be used to generate new customers (agents) not consumer leads, but you wont hear about that.
You will hear words like exclusive, real time, ROI, validate, traffic, conversion, SEO, PPC, etc.
Sounds good doesn't it!!! Now close em...
Many of these companies have complaints against them for high pressure sales tactics. You'll get the take away close, the Benjamin Franklin close (pros and cons), the impulse buyer will fall into the silent close, the today only price, etc.
THE NUMBERS
There is over a million of us realtors
over a third of us will go out of business within the first three years
90% of the agents are fighting for 10% of the business, while 10% already does 90%
the offer is to outsource one of the most difficult and often least desirable aspects of real estate sales: prospecting
most importantly we are American's, and most of us either don't have a budget, or have one and don't follow it
We are businesses and we all get credit cards almost immediately upon getting licensed, or we have a commission check burning a hole in our pocket
Another Blog from the Training of David Brewer, Realtor.
Training as a new agent yesterday I was studying our listing contract.
The first thing I notice is that it is called an 'Exclusive Right to Sell,' and one of the things I asked about was a Protection Period described below.
Within _____ days of the termination of this agreement (hereinafter protection period), if Seller enters into an agreement to or does sell, exchange, convey, lease, or rent the Property to any party to whom Broker or any cooperating broker has marketed the Property, the commission shall be payable at the time such agreement is entered into. However, Seller is not obligated to pay a commission to Broker if, during the protection period, Seller has entered into a valid listing agreement covering the property with another licensed real estate broker that obligated Seller to pay that broker a commission upon the sale, exchange, lease, or rental of the Property.
Sure enough there are several agents in my office brooding over the interpretation of this part of the document we so commonly use.
For a situation such as an agent in my office that had her listing withdrawn, about a month before expiration, and a potential buyer who had been shown the property by another agent decided to lease the home. The agent in my office invoiced the Seller for the commission to be paid per the lease agreement, since it was signed during the protection period. Unfortunately the Seller is also a legal assistant in a local law office, who promptly had one of the attorney's read and dismiss the invoice based on the Protection Period. Even worse the agent and seller, are now estranged friends over the misunderstanding of how we (Realtors) get paid.
It seems to me that there must be many agents who simply do not persue any compensation for a situation like this, however I would imagine that this will happen more often in this market. It is more important than ever to make sure the clients understand how we get paid.
For more information regarding Montana Real Estate or lead generation services in your local area feel to free to contact me with no obligation.
If you are like me, rather than re-invent the wheel, just make one that works the same way...There are several websites that quantify websites and blogs.
According to my calculations these are the top 30 blogs on the internet right now. In marketing a blog or website it is first important to determine your target audience, for this example the target would be the whole world, but it might give you some ideas for a real esate blog.
The Magic of Jay Owenhouse - I posted this as a localism blog as it pertains to local Montana and Idaho areas where I live and work.
For my real estate community I wanted to elaborate about the ‘magic' behind the former employer of mine, Jay Owenhouse, and his touring magic show.
According to my agreement with Jay I am not allowed to disclose the secrets of any illusions, or perform them without payment to Jay and/or the inventors of the illusion (magic tricks are actually patented!). So don't ask how they do it, just watch the show, it's not magic dummy!
However, the best tricks I learned from Jay and his manager Curt Bradbury are sales tricks.
While attending college at M.S.U Bozeman I spent my evenings selling tickets over the phone for upcoming shows. I spent my weekends on a tour bus working on the crew as a stage hand.
Jay does hundreds of thousands of dollars in promotions per year with a small group of sales people on the phones, like me. Each show is sponsored by a local community group usually associated with the local Sheriff's Department. This is key.
I would never sell a single ticket without getting my foot in the door representing a local community group. That way this sale goes to benefit the local community and provides family entertainment that is usually unmatched in most of Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming. Plus if you can't go to the show, we have a list of kids that will be able to use your tickets if you choose to donate them.
Not only does the community get a significant amount of money by sponsoring the show and allowing us to use the association name in the sales pitch, but they only have to work for one night by coming to the show to meet and greet (and sometimes help with set up and takedown). Often the sales were collected at the local Sheriff's Department or a public library. Tickets were mailed with a prepaid envelope, and people received their tickets before even paying for them. They simply commit to purchasing a package over the phone with us, and pay because of the local sponsorship. There were never any collections efforts, and almost everyone paid and attended the show.
The tricks I learned from them in sales have carried me through a now 10 year career as a top producing salesperson. Many real estate agents and other salespeople do not understand the laws of sales numbers.
• PITCHES: At the magic show we defined what a pitch is through a sales presentation over the phone ending with ‘Can we count on your support and drop those tickets in the mail for ya?'. Do you know the definition of a sales pitch? If you don't, it is simply when you offer your product or service to a consumer and they make a buying decision, either yes or no. So clearly define your pitch and get people to say yes or no either way. Generally the salesperson who get's the most yes's, also get's the most no's.
• SALES TO REFUSALS: Identify your pitch and track your number of pitches per hour/day/week/month. Compare this to your number of sales. This will actually show you the number of pitches it takes YOU to receive one sale on average. It is important to know that when someone tells you no, you are still making money, and now one pitch closer to someone who will tell you yes. It is the only way that I have found to maintain positivity in the face of constant rejection, and I am happy when someone refuses my service. I am very confident in my numbers, on a long enough scale it will always average out, that's why we call it the LAW of averages. Confidence is huge in sales!
• DOLLARS PER PITCH: Identify your average commission (in real estate subtract any commission split to find YOUR average). Divide this by the number of pitches per sale and you will come up with a dollar figure that YOUR pitch is worth, regardless if a person tells you yes or no. $$$
• GOALS: Most importantly set a goal for yourself in terms of pitches versus time. This goal, however, needs to have something personal attached that you actually want, and it usually needs to be something for yourself. Not to pay my bills, to make as much money as I can, or even to buy something as a gift for someone with my commissions. It needs to be something that you will enjoy and fills a personal desire in your subconscious mind. Write it down every week and put it somewhere you will constantly look at it (a sticky note on your phone, computer screen, etc.)
In my college days I could only work part time, 4 - 6 hours of sales calls each night, so I needed to get as many pitches in per hour that I could. This was my first telemarketing job not using an automatic or predictive dialer. I learned to dial the phone without looking at the keys, and to manage my call list with a system of dispositions to track my statistics. Never stop dialing the phone! Always run your numbers when you are having trouble!
• To stay positive I learned to ‘pound the phone' and the easiest way I have found to get over a refusal is to dial the next number. As soon as you begin a new pitch you will forget about the last guy who hung up on you or told you things about your mother that you never knew, etc. The worst thing you can do is talk about someone who told you no, it simply reaffirms a negative outcome in your mind.
• I found that my pitch was worth $12 in the beginning. The best thing in sales is: as you develop your skills your pitch will be worth more, and gradually through weekly sales training I made more money per pitch. This is so much better to me that working on hourly or salary that increases as a function of time/experience. It doesn't matter where you start only that you constantly improve!
• My goal generally revolved around the number of six packs I needed to get with my commissions. Now that I am older I have settled down a bit, but I always make a goal that is just for me. It drives my Fiancée crazy that I always buy something fun for just me with my commissions, but it is very important for salespeople to do this. This way you will stay motivated!
I have been the best salesperson in every office I've worked in and I plan on making rookie of the year for 2009. I was not the best because I am so great, smart, and handsome....I am great, smart, and handsome but that's not why I was always the best. I make it easy on myself by selling with the odds in my favor. I make the numbers do the work and it always averages out. This way I don't have to count on being the smoothest, slick, most knowledgeable salesperson to make the most money.
Questions and comments welcome.
For more information regarding Montana Real Estate or lead generation services in your local area feel to free to contact me with no obligation.
The Magic Of Jay Owenhouse Tour Montage, I loved this clip.
As I was visiting the state capital in Helena, MT last Sunday, I picked up a copy of the Helena ir to read the reviews of the recent live show of ‘The Magic Of Jay Owenhouse.'
I have had the privilege of working my way through college as a crew member of the magic show. Jay, Susan, Curt, and the rest of the crew are great providing world-class family entertainment in and around Montana. The shows are sponsored by local associations including Police Associations, Search and Rescue Teams, D.A.R.E. programs, and other community groups.
Many of you may not be familiar with Jay, but it is the second largest touring magic show in the country. The show is based in Bozeman, MT and features tours all over the country. This year is Jay's ‘Magic On The Edge Tour,' which is Jay's best show yet. As always Jay and his crew are accompanied by his Bengal tiger named Shere-kahn, and as a new addition he brings an elephant to select cities which will magically vanish before an astounded audience.
For ticket and show information visit the official website www.jayowenhouse.com or call the office of Owenhouse and Associates in Bozeman 406-587-7402.
Here are some of my favorite illusions that Jay performs in the show, enjoy.
If you go to this web site, www.letssaythanks.com, you can pick out a thank you card and Xerox will print it and it will be sent to a soldier that is currently serving in Iraq . You can 't pick out who gets it, but it will go to some member of the armed services.
How AMAZING it would be if we could get everyone we know to send one!!! Please send a card!!
It is FREE and it only takes a second.
Thank you for reading my blog, please comment or ask me questions
There are a few things that can be done in times of grave emergencies. Your mobile phone can actually be a life saver or an emergency tool for survival. Check out the things that you can do with it:
FIRST Emergency
The Emergency Number worldwide for Mobile is 112. If you find Yourself out of the coverage area of your mobile network and there is an Emergency, dial 112 and the mobile will search any existing network to Establish the emergency number for you, and interestingly, this number 112 can be dialed even if the keypad is locked. Try it out.
SECOND Have you locked your keys in the car?
Does your car have remote keyless entry? This may come in handy someday. Good reason to own a cell phone:
If you lock your keys In the car and the spare keys are at home, call someone at home on their cell phone from your cell phone. Hold your cell phone about a foot from your car door and have the person at your home press the unlock button, holding it near the mobile phone on their end. Your car will unlock. Saves someone from having to drive your keys to you. Distance is no object. You could be hundreds of miles away, and if you can reach someone who has the other 'remote' for your car, you can unlock the doors (or the trunk).
Editor's Note: It works fine! We tried it out and it unlocked Our car over a cell phone!'
THIRD Hidden Battery Power
Imagine your cell battery is very low. To activate, press the keys *3370#. Your cell phone will restart with this reserve and the instrument will show a 50% increase in battery. This reserve will get charged when you charge your cell phone next time.
FOURTH How to disable a STOLEN mobile phone?
To check your Mobile phone's serial number, key in the following Digits on your phone: *#06#. A 15-digit code will appear on the screen. This number is unique to your handset. Write it down and keep it somewhere safe.
When your phone get stolen, you can phone your service provider and give them this code. They will then be able to block your handset so even if the thief changes the SIM card, your phone will be totally useless. You probably won't get your phone back, but at least you know that whoever stole it can't use/sell it either. If everybody does this, there would be no point in people stealing mobile phones.
And Finally....
FIFTH Free Directory Service for Cells
Cell phone companies are charging us $1.00 to $1.75 or more for 411 information calls when they don't have to. Most of us do not carry a telephone directory in our vehicle, which makes this situation even more of a problem. When you need to use the 411 information option, simply dial: (800)FREE411, or (800) 373-3411 without incurring any charge at all. Program this into your cell phone now. This is sponsered by MacDonalds.
Questions or comments? I love to hear your thoughts.
If you had purchased $1,000 of Nortel stock one year ago, it would now be worth $49.
With Enron, you would have had $16.50 left of the original $,1000.
With WorldCom, you would have had less than $5 left.
If you had purchased $1,000 of Delta Air Lines stock you would have $49 left.
But, if you had purchased $1,000 worth of beer one year ago, drank all the beer, then turned in the cans for the aluminum recycling REFUND, You would have had $214.
Based on the above, the best current investment advice is to drink heavily and recycle.
But seriously, real estate investing in Montana has been and most likely will continue to be a safe investment for 2008.
i.e.
Land Acquisition: America's largest single land owner Ted Turner
Ranching: Ranchers like Reynolds Family, Scott Family, Thomas Lane, Tom Siebel, Russell Gordy, Desiree Moore, making them in the top 100 land owners in the country
Industry: Montana's largest private land owner Plum Creek with 1.2 million acres and an annual impact of $650 Million
Industry: Some of Montana is literally a gold mine: Golden Sunlight Mine, Barrick Gold Corporation, producing 198,000 ounces of gold in 2007
Development: Tim Blixseth, owner of 13,400 acres now known as the exclusive Yellowstone club, Lots from $2.5 million, homes from $3.5 million
Greetings! My name is David Brewer and I wanted to introduce myself as a real estate agent with Prudential Montana. That's the big cheesy intro line I am now using.
More commonly you may have heard me call and say "Hi (agent's name) this is David Brewer with Real Estate Referrals. I have a client named (client's name) who called looking for an agent in (area). Do you work that area quite a bit?"
As you may have guessed it is the beginning of a pitch to sell a paid lead service to one lucky agent in each area. Some agents, myself included, like the idea of paying someone else to do your internet prospecting but many agents I've met are used to doing business differently. They remember the old days when the phone would ring in the office and an agent could field a call rather than deal with people through the internet. Many agents see our service as a way that we capture their business and sell it back to them.
I have personally sold over $500,000 of real estate leads and have just recently become a licensed agent. I feel that I can relate to both sides, and I have a knack for helping sales people succeed. This was interesting for me since I was selling a lead service to sales people, and I was training sales people to sell the service at the same time.
Since I am one of those weird people who loves to sell, especially over the phone, I don't mind pitching my service over and over, despite consistent negative attitudes regarding referral networks. Or any other service including commission based real estate.
RECR.com has a wonderful product that can save an agent valuable time, and produces a constant stream of legitimate contacts with people looking to buy or sell real estate in your local market. A skilled sales person can take advantage of those contacts and convert them into paying customers. Unfortunately it is not going to be the pot of gold that a slick telemarketer, like me, will often present it as, plus there is a significant amount of what I call ‘Luck Skill.' The definition of luck is when opportunity and preparedness meet. This does give you plenty of opportunities and a great return on your investment if you get lucky.
Now I do consider myself a specialist in referrals, having literally worked with thousands of buyers and sellers, plus made associations with over 500 real estate agents in the US and Canada to work with those prospects.
In addition to being one of the key players with Real Estate Referrals, I have actually visited many of the west coast lead operations including HomeGain, Reply, Househunt, Housevalues, and Just Listed. I assumed that selling real estate in my local market would be a logical next step, and would compliment my work over the past few years.
At the risk of sounding like a cheesy introduction letter that is so common in real estate, I wanted to start my blog by introducing myself to you and giving a little info about myself.
In addition to my experience as a referral agent, I have spent many years in telemarketing and internet marketing both in sales and management as well. Having owned my own business and been exposed to real estate, I know that business is all about relationships. Since who you know is very important I am looking forward to meeting you all. If you have any questions regarding my services don't hesitate to contact me.
Disclaimer: ActiveRain Corp. does not necessarily endorse the real estate agents, loan officers and brokers listed on this site. These real estate profiles, blogs and blog entries are provided here as a courtesy to our visitors to help them make an informed decision when buying or selling a house. ActiveRain Corp. takes no responsibility for the content in these profiles, that are written by the members of this community.
For a situation such as an agent in my office that had her listing withdrawn, about a month before expiration, and a potential buyer who had been shown the property by another agent decided to lease the home. The agent in my office invoiced the Seller for the commission to be paid per the lease agreement, since it was signed during the protection period. Unfortunately the Seller is also a legal assistant in a local law office, who promptly had one of the attorney's read and dismiss the invoice based on the Protection Period. Even worse the agent and seller, are now estranged friends over the misunderstanding of how we (Realtors) get paid.
Many of you may not be familiar with 
Greetings! My name is David Brewer and I wanted to introduce myself as a real estate agent with Prudential Montana. That's the big cheesy intro line I am now using.
estate in my local market would be a logical next step, and would compliment my work over the past few years.;)
;)
