http://www.ballengrouphomes.com Call 702-604-7739 to BUY a home, Call 702-482-7739 to SELL a home. YES - We are Las Vegas Short Sale Specialists at Keller Williams Realty Las Vegas 


THE CRAIGSLIST TRAP

 

If I had a dollar for everytime a real estate agent gets braggy about their lead generation mastery using Craigslist. "Back in the day" (which means about 4 years ago) - Craigslist was "Special". It was not widely used by Real Estate Agents, but buyers absolutely flocked to it. Real Estate Agents were not paying much attention.

As time went on, the successful agents who were using Craigslist started talking about it. Proud statements like "I generated 30 leads today and never left my house", were boasted by agents in the office around the water cooler. Before long, the Real Estate Industry took notice.

 

Suddenly there were "How to post ads on Craigslist" e-books, reports, videos, classes, webinars etc. - You could now MASTER the art of craigslist posting in a few easy steps.

 

Suddenly - Craigslist was no longer special, no longer unique, no longer a "Purple Cow" (Seth Godin Reference)

 

Now to stand out on Craigslist, you had to use fancy titles, trickery, and post like a maniac. I personally had no problem with that but some gave up (but not nearly enough). The agents that are sticking with it are getting results, GREAT results still in lead volume. But what's a lead? An internet MLS search registration? That's debatable. And what now do you do with this guy named FRED FLINSTONE that just registered on your site?

 

There inlies one of the problems. The general real estate agent population does not understand the systems it takes to CULTIVATE these Craigslsit leads so they turn into appointments. They don't have the discipline it talkes to stalk the leads and find OTHER ways to find out who Fred Flinstone REALLY is so they can try to contact him and go for the appointment. So MOST of these generated "leads" don't get converted.

 

If you ask MOST agents who post on craigslist 1 out of 100 may turn into a closing. Those are some pretty rough odds if you ask me. Unless you have a proper SYSTEM for converting leads, you are spinning your wheels generating them.

 

The thing that bothers me the MOST though, and it really breaks my heart to watch, is that MOST agents posting on Craigslist are not using the rest of the web to effectively market themselves and their properties to generate leads. They put ALL Their eggs in the craigslist basket and nothing else. part of it has to do with that INSTANT GRATIFICATION they get when they post and 10 minutes later there is a lead. The rest of the web is not that generous. It takes time on task and seriously disciplined, purposeful lead generation to work the entire web.

 

So I wonder - What happens to them when Craigslist shuts them down due to overposting, or their ads are continuasly "flagged" (which means deleted basically) by their competitors, or suddenly they wake up to post ads and realize Craigslist is now charging per ad? It happens - All of it! Now, the agent is out of business.

~ I should clarify that I LOVE Craigslist and the power it brings to agents who want to generate leads RIGHT NOW. I post like a maniac on Craigslist. But as I'm doing this, I market the entire web with:

  • Blog Posts
  • Video
  • Classified ads on OTHER sites besides Craigslist
  • High Volume of web sites with intense seo
  • Pay per click campaigns (few - but I do it)
  • Social Networking
  • and so on.

If Craigslist suddenly closed their doors, I'd be sad for sure. But I would STILL be rocking internet leads!!!

 

 

 

 

The Ballen Group

Lori Ballen and her husband Richard Ballen manage a top producing Las Vegas Real Estate Team at Keller Williams Realty Las Vegas on DI and Durango with Debbie Zois and Dave Jenks. As Las Vegas Short Sale Specialists, Lori and her team focus on distressed properties and residential real estate in Nevada. 

HOW CAN WE HELP YOU TODAY?

 

 

 

  About The Author  

 Lori Ballen, Author and Presenter on Marketing and Internet Marketing Lori Ballen is a Mega Agent with an award winning real estate team in Las Vegas called The Ballen Group at Keller Williams Realty Las Vegas.  Lori and her husband Richard Ballen have owned multiple successful businesses based on her marketing strategy which is now called “The Ballen Method"  Lori and Richard now travel and train other business professionals on her methods which include  Identifying a Niche, Finding a Target Audience, Creating a Message and a Product and then using Blogging, Press Releases, Social Media, Classified Ads, Video and Fresh, Relevant web site content with Disciplined Consistency in order to dominate the search engines for desired searched keyword strings.
Lori Ballen has become known for her “Keeping it Real” style and approach to Social Media. What you see is what you get with Lori. Passion, Enthusiasm and Energy are what she’s about.

Use promo10 to save 10% on the purchase of The Ballen Method Internet Lead Generation and Online Marketing System now.  
Lori Ballen Author of The Ballen Method to Internet Lead Generation
 
This post has been included in Nevada Real Estate News
Post is included in group: Posts to Localism

12 Comments on ~ The CRAIGSLIST Trap, Watch out Real Estate Agents ~

SEP
09
2011
957,004 Points 53 Featured Posts Outside Blog Attended Rain Camp Called Shot Master

I have had nothing but scammers call when entering listings today into Craigslist, and have stopped.   The last call I had was a stalker!   Too scary!
8:47am • #1
157,168 Points 2 Featured Posts Outside Blog

The KW systems and eEdge are great for cultivating and converting leads.  I have been doing the Craigslist Challenge and have a few leads, but it's a numbers game.  You need a whole lot before you get a conversion!
8:51am • #2
761,437 Points 61 Featured Posts Outside Blog Attended Rain Camp Called Shot Master
I don't use it at all. Too many nut cases out there for sure.
8:56am • #3
628,120 Points 1 Featured Post Outside Blog

Agreed. Don't put all your eggs in one basket, a system for generating and converting leads is mandatory if one is going to be successful on the Internet. Very good.
9:01am • #4
427,037 Points 2 Featured Posts Outside Blog Attended Rain Camp Called Shot Master
Great post..you are so right, we all need to do several thing, and CRAIGSLIST isHUGE for me.. Because of you and craigslist challenge at KW I have increased my traffic of 2500 people to my website to over 12,000 people in the last 30 days. And from about 54 leads per 30 days to now over 275 per 30 days I track it daily now!! Thank you and keep it up....
9:01am • #5
134,694 Points

Good post. Thanks for sharing. I used to use Craigslist until my listings started getting hijacked and Scammers were taking them and re-posting as rentals and asking for security deposits. Be Careful with Craigslist.
9:01am • #6
312,880 Points 3 Featured Posts Outside Blog Called Shot Master

I agree you can't put all your eggs in one basket.  Craigslist is just one of the many options out there.
9:18am • #7
Called Shot Master

CraigsList is just another system that works if you're willing to put in the effort and, as you say, set up a system to cultivate your leads.  Everyone wants a magic solution that takes no work.  Most of the "magic" solutions work, but only if you work too!  The Magic doesn't work without the skill and effort.  Good points.
9:25am • #8
293,308 Points 7 Featured Posts Attended Rain Camp

From what I have found down here in Florida is that agents are posting other agents listings all over Craigs!
9:52am • #9
440,755 Points 4 Featured Posts Outside Blog

I'm doing a special Webinar for Keller Williams Realty International on TUESDAY - REGISTER HERE - IT'S FREE - I'm sharing with my communicating realtors!
1:19pm • #10
191,060 Points 2 Featured Posts Outside Blog

It takes consistency on Craigs list. I started out by making people register to look at the listings and yes got bogus names and email addresses. I've also been successful in having some pick up the phone and call me. Those are what I consider good leads. Craigs List is just another tool for generating leads. Many agents give up if they don't see results in a short period of time. It takes tweaking and measuring what is or is not working.

 
4:26pm • #11
JUN
22
191,669 Points 2 Featured Posts Called Shot Master

Found this post on Google when searching for your disclaimer. I'll find it, but this post was very interesting. 
7:56am • #12


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Lori Ballen

Lori Ballen - The Ballen Group

Las Vegas, NV

More about me…

The Ballen Group and Vision Masters

Address: 3090 S. Durango #100, Las Vegas, NV, 89117

Office Phone: (702) 463-6400

Cell Phone: (702) 604-7739

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