Eric Richardson's Real Estate Tech Blogs

If listings are the lifeblood of agents... why are most of them anemic?

2008-06-17T17:05:31Z

If listings are the lifeblood of an agent, why do some agents treat them with such distain? You've seen them while cruising through the MLS, looking for that perfect house for your new buyers. You add all of the criteria that they're looking for, the price range and click "OK". After a little spin through the MLS, it returns 20 properties that match your criteria. When you start to dig through them, it's amazing to see the complete disregard that some agents have for their listings. Here are some examples to name just a few:

No photos - the death knell for a listing, ESPECIALLY in the first 10 days of the listing hitting the market
Descriptions that look like newspaper ads - "2br,3bth,grt loc8shn,clos 2 evrthng... $800,000 wont last!" Wow, if that doesn't scream "buy me!" I don't know what does.
Typos - Here's an actual listing I saw: "Enjoy you're own Concert pool this Sumer" ("You're" instead of "your". "Concert" instead of "concrete". "Sumer" instead of "Summer)

There are so many examples I could give about this scenario, but the simple truth is, should we really be shocked when a FSBO is hesitant to work with an agent or the fact that real estate agent jokes rank right up there with lawyer jokes?

Quick Comparison:
Which listing might your buyers pay attention to more? (Given a 200 character limit)

"This home has it all! 4 bedroom, 3 bath with a large backyard, custom carpet and tile work in the kitchen. You'll love this house!" -or- "Located in central Edmond, this beautiful home boasts 4 large bedrooms and three baths, custom tile work in the chefs kitchen. Built in 2007 this home has all of the luxury you seek in your next home."

Your listing is your brand. It's your first impression. It's your calling card. Simply put, it's how buyers, sellers and even other agents view your approach to your business and what you'll be like to work with if their buyers decide to buy your listing.

I hear agents tell me that it's just so "time consuming" to enter a listing (especially if they have to enter it twice, whew!) Well, it should be time consuming. In this day and age, we should be thrilled to flesh out as many details about a listing that we can. If we have to enter it twice, that's just another chance to get it right. It used to be (when a listing went on the market and sold in the same day) a little easier to get away with sloppy listings because they didn't stick around. No more is this the case, and now we need our listings to stand out from the other 50 listings for sale in the same neighborhood - and in some cases on the same block.

As I drove through a neighborhood last weekend to drop off my son at a friend's house, I saw approximately 20 houses for sale in their subdivision. Most of these were clusters of homes that were on the same block or street. However, on every one of these listings I was shocked to see simply the proverbial yard sign and flyer box (most empty) with no other distinction between any of the houses. Oddly, every home was listed by a different agent so it tells me that for every seller that saw their neighbors house up for sale, there was nothing that differentiated the agent that caught the neighbors attention and made them at least inquire about listing with that agent.

As a seller, would I maybe look at an agent that had a "See the virtual tour of this home at www..." or "Need more info? Visit www.2701DuPont.com"? If I saw an agent that deployed these sales tools, would I be more inclined to ask my neighbor that's listing the home, "Hey, does your agent do this on all of the houses they sell?" Heck, I probably would even call to tell that agent, "I want you to use all those things to sell my home."

The point is that we should be doing everything we can to provide an extra level of service with our listings. Not just to combat the "What did you do for me" mentality that we sometimes get post-sale, but to become "the" agent in your sellers mind and to help garner numerous referrals in the future.

That means that we need to take advantage of all opportunities to do the following:

Write full descriptions about our listings.
Provide virtual tours.
Create a Podcast.
Create branded brochures.
Use marketing programs to announce Open Houses.
Shoot a homemade video and post it to your site.
Record an audio tour and post it.
Add maps to your listing.
Share your listing with other agents on their sites (Listing XChange).
Automatically syndicate your listing to the hottest real estate sites out there.
Write a Blog.
ActiveRain Bloggers, "UNITE"!
Send "Just Listed" postcards and announcements.
Create a dedicated website for each listing. Example: http://www.2701dupont.com

Now, before you throw out the "Uh, yeah Eric, BUT that would cost a TON of money," let me finish. In my XSite from a la mode, most of these features don't cost a thing except for my time. And I'm sorry, but to make 3-4% per listing, spending an average of two hours per listing doing all of the items I mentioned is nothing; but my return on investment (my time and very little money) is huge. Mix that with the fact that if I garner just ONE referral or have one seller in that same neighborhood that noticed my marketing methods of information available about the home and that received my "Just Listed" postcard, I've doubled or in some cases tripled my investment.

We've always had to justify our commission rates in some fashion or at some point in getting the listing. "I've got a great personality" doesn't always cut it anymore. However, when sellers have seen my marketing campaigns that I've deployed, it's actually funny that I rarely get that objection any more!

There's an SEO expert in all of us

2008-05-23T10:03:01Z

One of the things that is largely overlooked in an agent's website is their tracking ability. Not just their number of visitors but where those visitors come from and what terms they used to find you. I want to show you how to do a little work on your site and get results organically. For me, this achieves two important things for my website. First, it ensures that I am continually updating my site with new and fresh content which will help with search results. Second, it helps me identify what actual buyers and sellers are typing into the major search engines and what I might need to change, delete or update on my site.

Inside your XSite is a Stats tool that will show you the number of web visitors you've had from today through the last 90 days. It also shows how many of them are returning visitors. This is great information to share with your sellers. But there are two areas that I continually watch and want to focus on here: "Referring URL's" and "Common Search Phrases". These two areas tell me exactly how and where people are finding me on the web.

Referring URL's

It might look like gibberish but there's gold hidden in those links. As I scroll through the list of addresses, I take special note of areas that appear numerous times. If it's a site that I have a profile with (like ActiveRain), I will make sure that I update my profile on that site and also write down that site for later use. I look at the search engines that are ranking me and write them down as well. But here's the big secret: if I see a site like Yahoo in my list, I will move my mouse just over that link. When you hover over it, a yellow banner will appear and show the address. At the end of it you'll see exactly what the visitor typed to find your site!

Here's an example:

Notice at the end of the link it shows, "Richardson+Homes+Oklahoma+City", what that tells me is that a buyer or seller went to a search engine and typed in "Richardson Homes Oklahoma City" and my site came up. Knowing this, I would then go back to my home page in the "My Content" area and edit that page to update my Keywords at the bottom of the page and add these terms to help boost my rankings. See example below.

Common Search Phrases

This area tells me the most common words or phrases that were typed into a search engine that resulted in my site coming back in their search. I look for the most frequently used terms that returned my site as a result to see if the general public is looking for a common item or term about real estate. I can use that to boost the information on my site or even create an entire page to it. By eliminating those pages that get no views and replacing them with what people are actually looking for, I keep my site relevant and fresh for visitors, while optimizing it for search engines.

Yes, I'm guilty... I DWT. (but not anymore)

2008-05-09T13:39:20Z

Oh it drives my wife absolutely crazy. There we are driving along the open roads of the beautiful metro of Oklahoma City and then she'll hear it... "DING DING" At that point she knows this ride has gone from an enjoyable ride with a safe and cautious driver into, "Crazy Drive while texting driver". I'm guilty, I admit it. Sorry.

For the life of her, my wife can not figure out why my friends and I don't simply pick up our phones and call each other. Instead we choose to go back and forth for hours texting our thoughts and observations over our phones -- sounds ironic doesn't it? Texting on our phones instead of calling on our phones. Anyway, as soon as I see the message I begin to shift into my DWT (driving while texting) position:

Knees raised to the 5 and 7 position, rolling eye checks of the traffic ahead to ensure that I've properly backed off another 10 feet from the bumper of the other car (just in case of a lock up) and I begin...

It's like a science but lately I've seen the error of my ways (and lost partial hearing in my right ear from my wife yelling, "WATCH THE ROAD")

But now, that's all gone...

Enter JOTTER www.jott.com

This little free beauty has freed me forever. It's quite simple, log on, create a profile, enter your cell number and e-mail address. At this point, you'll be prompted to call a toll-free number to confirm your phone number and there you have it.

From here, I saved the toll-free number in my favorites on my phone, I call the number and an automated voice asks, "Who do you want to Jott?" I'll say the name, it confirms and then I start recording. Once I am done the voice will tell me, "Got it". I hang up and magically my voicemail is transcribed into text and sent as a text and an e-mail to my recipient. The cool thing is that you can also set reminders for yourself, set tasks and confirmations as well.

My car is set up with bluetooth so I recorded the Jott number into my car and all I have to do is tell it to call Jott, record my message and it's delivered immediately. The best thing about it, my hands never leave the steering wheel.

Since I've signed up, the drives with my wife have gotten much more enjoyable, for both of us.

Try Jott, you'll love it.

Open House - Open Website

2008-05-09T12:41:31Z

How many countless Sundays have you spent sitting in your open house and either reading or using that time to "catch up" while individuals stroll through your listing? I know that we always jump up when we hear the crack of the door to make sure that we provide a friendly face to greet visitors - but what do we do after that initial greeting? Typically if it's like most of the open houses I've walked through without my "agent hat" on, most agents will greet me upon entry, hand me a flyer and let me know to look around and feel free to let them know if I have any questions. Once they've made that introduction, they'll scamper back off to the living room or kitchen where they have established their "open house camp" (that area strategically set up as a work area/greeting/pivot spot) and wait for the visitor to make their way back in order to take a temperature of the buyers' like or dislike of their listing. At this point, following typical protocol, they'll give a smile, ask how everything is going and then wait for the buyer to see the other half of the house before hurriedly making small talk as the buyer is leaving.

How many opportunities do we squander by doing this repetitive routine? One of the most successful things I do to help increase the awareness of my visitors is to have my XSite on my laptop open and running. I also open my contacts folder in my XSellerate to capture information about the buyer when I've engaged them during their visit. After their walkthrough and before they head out, I will engage those buyers not working with an agent already by letting them know that I have a full virtual tour of this listing I can send to them so that they don't have to drag around 100 flyers from all of the open houses they'll be visiting today. At this point, I'll ask them if they've planned out their route to look at open houses or if they're just driving through neighborhoods. No matter what their answer is, I will let them know that I have my website up and can quickly show them a list of open houses today and even e-mail a driving map to them so that they're not driving around aimlessly. Our MLS will let me narrow searches for open houses and even provide printable or e-mail centric directions. I find that over 80% of my visitors carry a SmartPhone that they can use to check e-mail or receive messages. I think I've been turned down a handful of times in the whole time I've offered this.

When we go over to enter a visitor's information, I will have my website up with the contacts information available. I'll then type in their information, save it to my contacts and tell them to expect the open house driving directions e-mailed to their phone shortly.

For those visitors that take me up on my offer, what I've done is capture their information so I can follow up with them later. I've also completed two things: 1) I've provided another level of service that they're not used to seeing; 2) I've again established my website by telling them that they can find a lot of information about the various subdivisions in our area.

Face it - how many people like filling out a blank sign-in sheet when they walk into an open house? I'll bet I've met more "Mark Jones" and "Michelle Smith's" than I care to imagine -- because they don't like feeling that they'll be spammed to death. But with a simple suggestion to help them plan a route to help them ease gas consumption, I have people that appreciate the effort to help them instead of them thinking I view them as another faceless visitor of my open house. All of the information that I send to them is branded with my website address and the follow up e-mails that they'll receive in the coming days announce other properties that match their search criteria.

I've picked up more than 10 new buyers and sellers - directly or indirectly from their referral -- using this method that normally would have just resulted in another person walking through my open house. With air cards being offered by almost every major cellular carrier, the return on investment that could be had by simply having your laptop "always on" is immeasurable.

Are you a doorway or a doormat?

2008-02-13T14:10:35Z

"New home sales plummet."

"Housing industry lowest in 20 years."

"Foreclosure rates skyrocket."

A homeowner reading the newspaper or watching the national news these days wouldn't think they had a chance if they wanted to sell. On the flip-side, seeing these headlines would make buyers think that it's close to impossible to get a loan given the foreclosure rates and lack of money in the real estate market. Both buyers and sellers may assume that they should hold off until they start seeing different headlines touting that the real estate market is back and flourishing.

The biggest problem that I've seen in this market shift is that agents are subscribing to this thought process as well, which really surprises me. Is the market down right now? Yes. Does that mean that the entire industry is dried up and there's no more houses being bought and sold? Hardly.

There are specific things about the market that can not be refuted:

Foreclosures have tightened the regulations involved with getting a
home loan.
Homes are sitting on the market longer than what we're used to.
Home values in SOME -not all- areas, has taken a drop.

But there are other things that are still true too:

There are buyers out there.
There are sellers out there.

Our job has gotten harder but not impossible. Now it's critical to start really digging in and working with clients in your area to educate them about what your market is doing and become the voice of reason in your area.

Did your area experience a modest growth over the last 10 years? If so, do your buyers and sellers even know this or are they left to what they see and read in national publications and networks? Is your market in a value tailspin? The reality is that there are still people that are fine with a modest 3 or 5 % return because they bought in 2002 and they need to sell. We tend to assume that if the 50 - 60% returns are gone, then people don't sell. Not true.

So how do we spread this message? There's some effective and practical ways you can change your advertising to start becoming the voice of reason in your area.

1. If you're in an area that has sustained modest growth, let people know. For example, consider a postcard that said, "Knoxville homes survive the real estate plunge"? That kind of headline is specific to the recipient and gets a further read. I would use the limited space to give the facts:

Knoxville experienced a modest 3% growth
Homes are still maintaining their value
Homes are seeing an additional 30-45 DOM
Visit my website to read all of the statistics of why now is still a good time to buy and sell in Knoxville

2. If you're in an area that's been hit with lower values, you can still take an approach that gets them to read your message. For example, your headline could read something like, "Why would anyone buy or sell a home in Naples?" And again, I would just to stick to the facts:

Naples has seen a decrease in values but that doesn't mean that homes are not selling
Days on the market have increased but they're not unrealistic
Visit my website to see what steps I can take to ensure that your home stands out among the crowd

3. Make sure to add monthly neighborhood statistics to your website, newsletters and blogs. Organically, this is one of the best ways to return in the search results for individuals scouring the Internet about their area. Because the information is fresh and specific, this not only helps to educate your potential clients but also help set expectations and realities in your area as well.

4. Finally, don't forget to promote why you are uniquely equipped to sell houses in today's market. Do you have years of experience? Make sure people know that you've been around for the booms and busts over the years, which has prepared you to help them navigate this challenging market. If you have other competitive advantages such as great listing tools, shorter-than-average listing times, etc., share them in your marketing message.

At the end of the day, people are looking for solid information and good advice about how the real estate market effects them. Now is the time to share information with buyers and sellers about their specific market that could help them tremendously and gain you clients for life.

When did homeowners start setting the price?!

2008-01-28T10:59:27Z

(Stepping up on soap box)

So, I am watching HGTV over the weekend (my wife is absolutely addicted to this channel) and I walk in to catch this agent sitting down with a potential seller at lunch. It's all cute and quaint as they sit in this open cafe with the sun shining down only shaded briefly by the overhanging trees that dot the landscape. As this "team" of agents sits down with the seller they begin to tell her that given all the information and comparisons in her neighborhood this team had arrived at a listing price of $495,000.

The seller then tells these ladies that she had budgeted a sales price of NETTING $525,000 (by my estimations, this would be a listing price of approx. $560,000+) to give her money to put toward the home she wished to purchase. Her reasoning for listing higher? "I hope that someone comes in and just falls in love with it" (Mind you, this home is a 2 story colonial, on a busy street, complete with PINK, PURPLE and GREEN rooms...)

My wife's response was, "Well, lets see what her house looks like." My response was to scream at the television, "WALK AWAY AGENTS. THIS SELLER ISN'T GROUNDED IN REALITY!!!" To my absolute shock, these agents look at each other and...AGREE TO LIST THE HOUSE AT HER PRICE! Are you kidding me? Now, I am completely glued to the television so that I can watch as this trainwreck unfolds. After the commercial break, the film crew is riding along with this agent and her comment was, "I really hope we can get a good Broker's Open today. Maybe some agent will walk in for the free food and then remember, "I have a buyer that might like this house." She went on to say that she hopes it sells in a couple of weeks, otherwise the seller will pull the listing and just stay in the house. Really?

Fast forward, the agent team pays for catering and holds what appears to be a smaller turnout than they expected and the show ended with the seller staying in the house.

WHY oh WHY would an agent do this to themselves. First, let a seller tell them that they HAVE to sell the house for more than what it's worth KNOWING that it wouldn't sell they still take the listing and on top of that, they're given a window of a couple of weeks to sell.

I just don't get it. Would anyone here take a listing KNOWING they have a tiny or no chance of selling a property just to have a listing? Am I missing something? I feel like I'm taking crazy pills. I just can't see footing that much up front money for a listing that has a sales price, listing window and terms set soley by the seller. Don't we owe more to our profession to bring people to reality?

(steps off of soap box)

Thank you.

Working smarter and with less paper

2008-01-16T13:50:10Z

Here's a question to the AR community...

I have a couple of buyers that I am working with. I set them up for auto-notifications of properties that meet their criteria that come on the market, have a price change, etc. My buyers will e-mail me for more information about a particular property that they want more information on and when they want to schedule a showing.

Here's where I would like to hear some suggestions on working smarter. When I pull the MLS sheet for the property they want to see, I will print it off and use this as my "everything" reference about that house. I go through and circle whether the home is vacant or not, if the home is on MLS lockbox or combination, the asking price vs. the original list price and finally the days on the market.

When we visit the house I will use the back of the sheet to write down notes that they mention (bad and good) about the house and then at the end of the evening, I will sit down and type out an e-mail to them with all of their notes and a PDF of the MLS of the individual property.

WHEW!!!

So here's my question: Am I working too hard?

My utopia would involve a software that integrates with my website where I could create a special page for my clients on my website where they have their own login page. From there, I would like to be able to load all of the listings we've seen and the notes from their visits so that they could view them easily. Oh, also I would like for them to be able to give the listings a ranking and give them the ability to add notes they might have thought about after we saw it.

Take that a step further, whenever I upload information about our showings, it automatically alerts my buyers with an e-mail that their page on my site has new information. Stay with me here, it would also fire off an e-mail to the listing agent where they could hit my site and view the feedback and give them the ability to forward that feedback to their own client. MAN, talk about service.

I know TopProducer gives me the ability to manage my clients with trackable contacts and things like that but a program that integrated with my website and streamlined my business model would rock.

What do you think? Am I dreaming? Am I overlooking something that would make it even better? Let me know!

"Bring me a contract"... Well, since you asked.

2007-12-20T14:46:52Z

I have to share this with the group. So I pick up a new buyer last week and we're in the process of sizing up homes and we're going through to arrange the homes that he wants to see. We narrow it down to probably four or five and I start making calls to schedule the showings and out of the four, three of them went just like this.

Me: "Hi _______? This is Eric Richardson with Keller Williams I wanted to schedule a time to show your listing on Stray Fox Road"

Agent: "Absolutely what time were you thinking?"

Me: "How's 4:00?"

Agent: "Perfect"

Me: "Great, I will call you with any feedback I get from my buyer"

(and here is where it derails)

Agent: "Okay...(almost in a singing tone) Bring me a contract..."

Is this some new way that REALTORS are saying goodbye to each other? I completely missed that policy change in my last CE class. I just don't get it -- is it nervous excitement that someone is going to look at the house? Is it the fact that you can hear the seconds ticking away on your listing agreement?

I always have to kind of giggle when I am hanging up because I just don't know what to say at that point. If I say, "Okay" then I'm lying. If I say, "I'll try" then I could be found guilty of steering. If I say, "We'll see what happens" then I feel like I've got a lot of pressure on me while showing that house. That's just not right.

Nothing earth shattering in this post. Just a little glimpse of humor in our everyday lives.

Why having a website is no longer enough

2007-12-04T14:33:44Z

Having a website is no longer enough

No matter how long you've been in the business, you've probably already started to find more and more of what I call "super-buyers" and "super-sellers". These were yesterday's buyers and sellers who are now armed with a vast array of information and education we've seldom before seen. From the constantly increasing availability of information on the Internet, to the many real-estate related shows now on television, this new generation of buyers and sellers has raised the bar. In doing so, they're forcing us, as agents, to step up our game if we're to be recognized as residential real estate experts.

With this new era of buyers and sellers, it's no longer sufficient to just have a website. Even more crucial, at least to my business, is having a fully integrated and automated system for keeping in touch with my clients before, during, and after the sale. That's why I use XSellerate.

It puts makes those personal touches right at your fingertips, and it's so simple. When I get a new client referred to me I immediately enter their contact information into my XSite contact database, along with any other information I can get (kids names, birthdates, anniversaries, etc.). I then assign that contact to a "group" (buyer, seller, investor, renter, etc.) Total time? About 15 minutes.

The very next step for me is to build an ongoing, automatic campaign that matches their status. If they're a buyer, I will set them up to receive "Steps to Homeownership" which talks about getting pre-approved, lists which documents they'll need, discusses why they have to get pre-approved before I'll start driving them around, and includes a few suggestions of lenders or Mortgage Brokers that I recommend.

Next they'll receive campaigns that talk about "What to expect when a contract has been written", "What goes on in the 30 days of purchasing your home", "Why home inspections are necessary", and others.

The great thing is, XSellerate has dozens of pre-written, spot on campaigns to choose from but there's an added bonus... you can edit any of them or completely write your own and add it to your campaign library for future use.

The benefits are clear. I am providing a service that most agents don't. I am educating them to remove some of their anxiety. Remember, we have sold countless homes and we know what to expect in the home buying or selling process. However this might be our clients' very first home and they may be pretty nervous, even if they don't say so. If you fail to communicate with them pro-actively, you could be hurting your chances of earning a true referral later.

Next, I increase their e-mail campaigns about 12 days from our closing with educational pieces like, "Transfer and set up of utilities", "Don't forget to forward your mail" and others, to help them remember the simple things that easily get overlooked in the hustle bustle of the final days before closing.

I have had many of my e-mails forwarded to my clients friends and family members only to have them come back and hire me BECAUSE of my correspondence. Think about that. I send them somewhere around 10 e-mails (which are all automatic) and potentially pick up 3 new clients over the course of a year. That's a great return on investment.

After the sale, I do the typical follow up with birthdates and home ownership anniversary emails. Then in a couple of years, I'll send "Your amortization has peaked; is it time to remove your PMI?" In short, I can talk to my clients for years because I spent 15 minutes the very first day I met them to input them into my automated follow-up system (XSellerate).

Being committed to spending those precious few minutes up front to enter those contacts into XSellerate has netted me many, many clients years later. For me, XSellerate is perhaps the most crucial component to growing my business - even more so than my website, especially in a difficult market.

For more of my articles, and other agent marketing insider articles, click here: http://www.alamode.com/support/Marketing/Agent

Why the iPhone will change the way we do business as REALTORS

2007-07-25T16:08:46Z

Okay, so it was a little far fetched and hard for me to get behind the national excitement about the iPhone. I looked at it this way, I had the Samsung Blackjack that I had just bought at the time of the iPhone announcement ($500 thank you Cingular) I mean, I didn't need all of this Steve Jobs hype -- my Blackjack checked e-mail, gave me web access, let me view listings and even edit my messages -- so really, what did I need an iPhone for? Let me tell you how wrong I was.

The iPhone will eventually (if not already) change the way we do business. I stopped in yesterday to my local AT&T store and coolly said to the sales representative, "I would like an iPhone...8 Gig please". She turned and walked into some back room as I craned my head like a kid in Willy Wonka's factory to see if there was some super secret room where they actually built the phones. She returned, small black box in hand and slid it on the table across from me. I think it took me about 15 seconds to answer her next question before I mumbled something incoherent and had her ring it up.

Right off the top, even the boxing is sexy on these things. I got back to the office, gingerly started tearing the plastic covering off as if I would spoil the surprise if I went too fast. I opened it and there it lay in all of it's black, compact, shimmering glory...the iPhone.

First thing I noticed was how drop dead simple this phone was to activate and sync with my Gateway laptop. It fires up iTunes, recognizes the phone and asks me to input my cell number. Once I completed that, I picked my plan (which oddly was $20 cheaper a month than my Blackjack for the same plan -- so there's $240 back in the ol' pocket) All told, I might have spent 8 minutes bringing my iPhone to life.

Now for the good part, this little invention of modern science -- this will become my listing presentation in a box. With the way the iPhone handles video, photos and the Internet, using the iPhone in a listing presentation is an absolute no brainer. More and more, sellers are looking beyond the typical brochure. They want to be entertained and engaged with multi-media presentations about how their home will be showcased and the iPhone doesn't disappoint. I look at my business model as this: my future clients already consider things like iPods, iPhones, Internet research and blogs as standard items. This is all they know and if you're not speaking their ‘language' how can we expect to land them as clients?

I know what most of you are thinking, "You can't have your iPhone do all the work" and you're exactly right. You don't want it to. I still have my supplemental docs that present items like their particular subdivision's market analysis. But when it comes to how I will advertise their home, the websites I post to, the single property website that I will build for their home and finally the sample video tour that gets shot for their listing.

Take this one step further, because there's a "YouTube" link right on the home keys of your iPhone, why not video your previous clients with their testimonials?! How cool would that be? Play it back, let the sellers view actual wording of your expertise in front of the home you just represented them on?

Also, with the mapping capabilities built right in, how nice is it to lock in your destinations to show houses right in your phone? Tom Tom? No... iPhone. ;)

Going deeper than that, the mapping software even has satellite view to point out a detailed aerial view of the prospective house. Cool factor points? +15

I've owned the iPhone less than 24 hours now and already I have had people asking me about it at the grocery store and the gas station. Think about it, what a perfect segue into "why" you bought the iPhone and let these people see what you do in action. Follow that up with a business card and you have the perfect entry into conversations. Although it doesn't interact with my Supra lockbox key like the Treo but I look at it this way, it's a minor trade off with major points on the positive side of my iPhone.

Mark my words, this will become the standard.

Listing your friends home - good idea or friendship killer?

2007-07-17T19:54:39Z

In January of this year my best friend and his wife decided that it was time for them to sell their home and downsize because his wife wanted to quit work and stay home with the kids. Okay...no biggie. Naturally, he approaches me and asks if I will list and sell it for them and I let them know that I need to do some homework on their house first and I will get back to him.

The following week we all sit down and go over the findings and my listing suggestion, haggle back and forth on the commission and all come to an agreement. The house hits the MLS at the end of February; I print the flyers, add it to my personal site, and create a custom site for the home. All good right? Not so fast. I typically don't do an open house for the first couple of weeks because all it typically results in is a merry-go-round of all the neighbors traipsing through. I also write off the first 30 flyers to the neighbors as well because my "Just Listed" postcards won't get to them for at least two days.

My friend calls me the day after the listing and asks what time do they need to be out of the house for my Open House that I'll be doing that Sunday...err...well...1:45? I mentioned my neighbor story to him but he still wants one done. Oh, and he also wants one done until the house sells. Eeek. Not wanting to upset the friendship cart, I let him know that I will do them. (I know what you're thinking -- "It's your fault for not putting your foot down in the first place -- and you're exactly right)

Moving on...fast forward to June. I've done an open house every single weekend since the home was listed (except for Mother's Day -- my wife would have come unglued) and I am still fielding calls from my friend but our casual conversations about everyday things has disappeared and has been replaced with, "What's the deal on my house? When are we going to get an offer? We need to move." It almost got to the point where I didn't even want to answer my phone, but alas I am a professional.

Finally we get an offer, find them a new home (which the seller said that he won't do the deal unless I agree to 2%) negotiate the deal, the inspection findings, the repairs, dealing with the title company, ad naseum...

To make a long story a little shorter, we closed last Friday and I haven't heard from him at all. I feel like overall I made a good commission but it cost me my friendship or at least seriously damaged it.

Although I will never do business with a friend, has this happened to anyone out there and what was the outcome?

Maximize your website content to ensure maximum leads potential

2007-07-16T09:57:03Z

I am a big fan of using the Internet and websites as the starting point for my clients. Although I have five different websites from four different providers, I find that the easiest and the one that gets the most results is my Agent XSite by a la mode. Part of my success in getting leads and clients from my website is to constantly tweak and update my site regularly. This blog entry gives just a few small items that I have utilized with my XSite over the last couple of years.

Of all the criteria used to rank websites, search engines value unique, relevant, and well written content above all else. While your XSite comes with a library of professionally written content, it's lacking one thing: you. It's not personalized. Professionally pre-written content will suffice for a new user just getting started setting up his or her site, but for those actively pursuing Search Engine Optimization (SEO), regular, relevant revision is an absolute necessity.

Here are some tips for personalizing your website:

Be specific. The more specific you are, the higher your chances of being ranked at the top of a consumer's specific search. For example, there are millions of sites out there that talk about "real estate." If your content is that generic, you'll be competing with millions of other sites and you probably won't ever get in the top rankings like you need to be. The more specific and local your content is, the better your chances for getting a first-page ranking.
Publish your specialties. Do you specialize in first-time homebuyers, second homes, or investment properties? Devote pages on your site to talk about why you're an expert they can count on. We have pre-made pages covering many types of buyers, sellers and agents, but you can make them even better when they're specific to your brand and your strengths. And don't be afraid to brag a little. After all, you're trying to convince visitors you deserve their business.
Use keywords and phrases often. Use them throughout the site. Don't try to overuse specific keywords. Search engines may think you are attempting to trick their "spiders" (automated programs that "crawl" the Web indexing sites) into giving your site undue rank. As long as you use those keywords naturally throughout the web page, search engine spiders will see those important terms and rank your site based upon them.
Showcase local news and events. Adding a couple of local pages is a great way to keep visitors coming back. Add the high school football schedule, arts festival dates, the best restaurants, or anything that makes your community unique. And, don't forget to add RSS feeds to your site. It's a fast and easy way to get local content on your website and your XSite comes with built-in tools for easily adding RSS feeds.
Finally, don't forget to update your content often. Search engines record how often your site is updated so they know how "fresh" your content is. If you're just getting started, start small. Try setting aside just 30 minutes each week to update your site. If it's not perfect the first time that's fine, you can come back later and change it. It's really easy to do and you'll be glad you did when you see your site climbing the search engine ladder.

When did REALTORS become enemies?!

2007-07-06T14:24:42Z

So I am currently working two deals that are closing next week and I have somehow fallen into a bad scene from Boston Legal. I know that our code is for all the agents to work for the best interest of all parties but lately it's become this thing where each Realtor digs in their heels and "fights" for their client?

I look at it this way. There are always going to be things that the seller doesn't want to concede to and there is going to be the same on the buyers side, however...this doesn't mean that the REALTORS have to take things personally. I literally had a REALTOR tell me that, "her client" just isn't going to go for that BEFORE SHE MADE A PHONE CALL!

When I asked her why she assumed that, she then told me that she knows what's best for her client and that she was going to advise them not to do it. Are you serious? I approach real estate as an open line of dialogue between all parties. It is in our best interest (financially and career wise) to not take offers, counter offers, negotiations personally. I just don't know where that comes into play but more and more, I am finding that it has become worse than a divorce proceeding.

Has anyone else dealt with this and if so, how do you bring the other agent to reality that it's business and not personal?

Signed,

Open to suggestions

Study your stats to make your website more effective

2007-06-22T14:32:53Z

The most successful online agents know that a great website is the result of a lot of work, mixed with a lot of trial and error. But when you use your XSites stats to learn what works (and doesn't) it's easy to build a lead generating super-site.

Giving your site visitors what they want means knowing what they like

Are you caught in the new website owner trap? You may be, whether you've had a site for five years or five minutes.
You've probably spent a lot of time customizing your Agent XSite. And the result is probably something you're happy and comfortable with.

But of every person on the planet, the one that least needs to like your XSite is you. You're going to visit it all the time no matter what! Right?

Sure, you know your potential clients, you know who you're marketing to, and when you build your XSite you're trying to meet their needs. But how do you know if you're successful?

Are you constantly making changes to your XSite, even dropping or modifying features you think are cool, based on what is most effective?

If not, you need to be introduced to your XSite's statistics area. This is where you see which pages on your site have been getting the most traffic and from where.

After logging into your XSite admin area, click XSite Statistics from the My Office screen. We've arranged this screen and the information so that you don't have to be an Geeky McWebberson to make heads or tails of the information. And once you understand it, you can easily use it to make your site as effective as possible.
Note:

Most of the sections show you a page name and then stats going back a varying number of days. You can sort columns in these lists by clicking the column header.
You can pick your own date range for a category by picking your own start and end date and then clicking Submit.

Ok, here's what you'll see and how to use it.

Listings - This shows which of your listings is getting the most traffic.
What to do with this info: Spend some time thinking about what the top-traffic listings have in common. Incorporate your findings into all your listings.

First time and returning visitors - Whenever someone visits your website, their IP address and other information is logged on our servers. So, we know if they've been to your site before and give you statistics here.

What to do: Rarely if ever will someone make a decision to work with a real estate agent after seeing their website once. A cardinal rule of marketing is that prospects have to see your message multiple times before they make a decision. The more repeat visitors you're getting, the more business you're likely to get from your site.

Page Views - This shows a list of your top pages and how many views they're getting. Your home page is usually your top page.

What to do: The good, useful information here is what other pages are getting the most traffic. These are your subpages that visitors are finding and reading. This gives you a glimpse of what your visitors are looking for -- and finding -- on your site. If you find for example that local content pages are getting the most page views, you know it would be a good idea to deliver more local content.

Entry pages - An Entry Page is the first page somebody hit when they entered your site. For most, your home page will probably be the top entry page.

What to do: Other entry pages show which parts of your site are getting linked elsewhere, on other sites or in search engines. The content of these pages are the most effective, and you should figure out what it is about them that gets so much traffic. Use your conclusions to make content on other pages better.

Referring URLs - Another piece of information sent to a web server when a computer browses to a site is the last website you were viewing before reaching the server. If you see a lot of "hits" that have Google or Yahoo! in them or maybe a news site where you posted an article, you'll know from where it is people are hearing about your site.

What to do: Knowing where visitors are coming from tells you where you want to be linked. Getting a lot of hits from google.com? Search engines are your friend, and you may even consider a pay-per-click campaign. Trulia.com, Homes.com or another listings aggregator is sending a lot of traffic your way? Focus your marketing efforts on those sites.

Common Search Phrases - We analyze your referring URLs and pick out which ones are from search engines and also the text that led someone to find you there.

What to do: Learn what search phrases are bringing the most visitors to your site, and deploy those keywords liberally throughout your content. You may find that "Atlanta lofts" is a search phrase bringing a lot of visitors to your site, and not so much "Atlanta real estate" or "Atlanta agent." If so, get "Atlanta lofts" into your site -- on content pages, in your site title and keywords, as a footer -- more than it is.

If you're serious about web "hits," consider tracking the information from your XSite stats in a spreadsheet so you can get additional running totals and truly measure the success of your marketing efforts. And don't be afraid to change things when you learn what visitors are after.

Home Inspection

2007-06-21T12:03:11Z

I am amazed at how many of my clients ask why they need a home inspection when it comes to them buying a home. Most of them ask not because of ignorance but because they look at it as a cost saving measure (inspections in Oklahoma typically run between $225 - $300) I can not stress enough that this is not the place that you want to shave your budget.

Although a home may look in perfect working order when we walk through it there are many, many items that we might not see that could become a potential hazard after you already own the home. A licensed home inspector is trained to test and examine everything in your home from the plumbing all the way to the roof. At the end of their inspection (typically 2 hours) they will hand you and your REALTOR a copy of their findings. Now, if your REALTOR has set a limit on the inspection repair findings, your REALTORS next move is to have qualified workman come in and complete this work before you move into the home.

An inspection is not something to take lightly. It can be the difference between home ownership bliss and dread.

Create the best direct mail piece your prospects will see all week

2007-06-20T11:15:52Z

What goes into an effective direct mailing? Stick to these seven suggestions and your piece will stand out among the junk.

Personalize. "Dear Neighbor" simply does not get the response "Dear Kathy" does. Use the word "you" liberally. Those are "musts"; if practical and you've drilled down this far on your contact information for the mailing, sprinkle in other personalized details, too. "Like most parents with a child in Elm Street Middle School, you probably..." "I've helped more of your Hefner Pointe neighbors find their dream home than...". The more personal touches, the more attention your message will get.
Tell them what to do. A sales piece without a "call to action" is doomed. Tell them to call your number or visit your website or send for your free report... or otherwise be explicit about what you want them to do.
Use testimonials. Trust is an oh so important part of realty services. Include testimonials whenever possible. Just be sure they're real people who really said (or agreed to have their name associated with) what you say they said. Get a signed release from testimonials first -- it's important.
Use a P.S. Depending on who you listen to, the P.S. in a direct mail piece is either the first or second thing most recipients read. And virtually all of them read it, which isn't necessarily true of the meaty, middle part of your pitch. Use a P.S. to restate your offer succinctly and repeat your call to action.
Your opening is crucial. Besides the P.S., it's the one thing you can be most sure everyone will read. It can make them read on or it can turn them off right away. You need to keep the opening focused on the prospect, and you need to preview your offer.

Good opening: Homes in your area are selling for 20 percent more than your neighbors paid for them just five years ago. Now may be the best time to sell, and I can help in three important ways. Read on to find out how.

Bad opening: I wanted to write and touch base because I've helped your neighbors sell their homes, and you can trust me to get you the dream home that's right for you. I work hard to make sure you get the return you expect on your biggest investment and your fees and costs are kept to a minimum.

One focuses on the prospect, and shows a touch of personal service. You're keeping track of property values in their area, and it's probably because you've helped sell a bunch of them. And it previews the offer. The other, though it does use the word "you" quite a bit, is all about you. You want, you're trustworthy, you're a hard worker. Gee, that's swell. I stopped reading, though, so I don't know what's in it for me. The second opening has another problem. You promise low fees and costs, but you shouldn't be talking in your opening about how they'll have to take their medicine, but you'll help make sure it's not quite as icky. If there are obvious objections to your offer, address them later on, don't bring them up in your opening or P.S.
Write for "skimmers" as well as others. Bulleted lists, subheads, and call-outs are effective for reeling in people who don't sit down and read a sales letter top to bottom, in order. Which describes a lot of people. Make sure though that these devices don't distract the top to bottom readers. Make the lists "fit," make the subheads make sense. Don't just decide to put a random bold phrase before every other paragraph, or your piece will start to seem incoherent to careful readers.
Don't ignore the envelope. It's the part everyone on your mailing list will see, and if you can't convince them to open it, it doesn't matter what's inside. Studies, and maybe your own experience, have shown that for consumer mailings, hand addressed with a first class stamp is the kind of envelope most likely to get opened.

Eric Richardson is a licensed REALTOR in Oklahoma and is currently associated with Keller Williams Northwest. With over 5 years in full time real estate and 11 years in the real estate technology sector, Eric has positioned himself as one of the most renowned agents in the country today. His unique approach to how REALTORS can harness technology to increase their clientele has been published in some of the top industry newsletters and publications many times over. If you would like to have Eric speak at your next training session or conference, contact him directly at mailto:engagements@myoklahome.com

Why do I get real estate leads from the web?

2007-06-19T14:56:12Z

Why do I get real estate leads from the web?

I talk to no less than 20 agents a day. "That's about normal with showings and cross-selling", you say? Nope, not for me. You see, I'm that "techie guy" in the office. So I've made a lot of friends in the industry really quickly. And more than half the time the first question I get is "How do I get leads from my website?"

The first thing that I ask is, "What does your site say to your visitors?" That's when I usually get a quirky tilt of the head with that far away quizzical look - that's answer enough. But when I dig deeper, the root of the problem is always the same. Their content is generic and as stale as three day old bread.

On the Web, content is King. And if yours isn't solid, online leads will be hard to come by. Here's a list of rules I stick to when it comes to writing my web content. I don't mean for you to rush out and try all of them tomorrow. But they've worked for me, and I bet my next listing they'll work for you.

Start offline. When I first launched my site, almost none of my traffic was a direct result of search engines. So I changed my focus. I started with the small things.

At the time, I was communicating with all of my past clients via e-mail, and I made 100% sure that my URL was in my e-mail signature. I also changed my voicemail message to direct people to my website. And when I started getting into printed postcards, I made sure that at least 25% of the printed area was devoted to my website. Even now, most of my traffic comes from the offline marketing I do. And I get hundreds of hits each week.

Engage prospects with information that buyers or sellers can identify with. Talk about your area. Why would they (or you) want to live there? Is your school district rated highest in your community? Is your area considered a historic area? What features does your area offer that your visitors would want to read about and how do you fit into this? All of these things are more important than the awards you won at last year's annual banquet.

Be proactive. Point them to links that are useful. If you like working with sellers, point traffic to your XSites home value estimator. If you'd rather work with buyers, point them out to the Steps to buying video. The point is, don't leave anything vague on your homepage. This is the first impression that your visitors will have about you.

Don't compartmentalize. I see a lot of my agent friends that segment everything on their site. So the only place that you can talk about schools is on the "Schools" page. That doesn't have to be the case. If it's relevant information and it flows with the context of your farming area, mention it on the homepage of your website. Buyers with new families are looking for this very information. Making them dig for it defeats the purpose.

Blog till it hurts. Blogging is the new communication for web surfers everywhere. It's a content rich feature that search engines love and it shows your visitors that you get what marketing is all about. So what exactly do you blog about? Everything. Did you have a recent scenario where you saved a closing that was almost off the table? Write about it. Do you have an insight to that new subdivision that's going in right down the street? Write about it.

There aren't any boundaries when it comes to blog posts. So just write about everything, keep it concise and people will read and respond.

Go on a diet. You've seen them - the websites where you feel like you've stepped off into a never ending stream of button links, cheesy animation, and cutesy pictures. Here's a rule of thumb - if you have to scroll more than twice to see all of your buttons on your site, put your website on a diet.

You don't have to have a button for everything you want to say. Keep it thin and keep it on target. People visit REALTORS websites to see homes. I make my website very easy to navigate. I have two buttons right on the front page that are very easy to see. I have a "Buyers" button and a "Sellers" button. No matter which one you are, there's an easy button for you to get right into the action.

Don't hold people hostage. The deadliest sin, and the one I see most often is the "I'm not getting any leads on my website so I am going to put a required sign-in sheet before people can see anything on my site" mindset.

I call this the "please wave goodbye as you leave my site approach". There are simply too many other real estate websites out there that offer information for free - and home buyers and sellers know it. Starting a friendship out of obligation is no easy ticket to success.

As a REALTOR, the best way to make your site a success is to stop looking at websites as those "techie things", and embrace them as the hub of our marketing. The content on our sites has to be as compelling as a face-to-face meeting, and provide at least that much local expertise. Without that type of commitment, we'll always wonder, "Why am I not getting any leads"?

Using your Agent XSite for all its worth

2007-06-19T10:55:55Z

Most of the sections show you a page name and then stats going back a varying number of days. You can sort columns in these lists by clicking the column header.
You can pick your own date range for a category by picking your own start and end date and then clicking Submit.