The fear of registration is real. I have it. I know a lot of people that have it. Its not just registering to search for properties on a website, but just about any kind of registering.
The fear of registraton has to do with what wil be coming your way after you register.
I'm facing this decision right now with my new website. I have always been one to try and have my new website reflect the things that are important to me when I visit websites; quick loading, easy to navigate, and good content. I also don't like to register for any information. But, our business is about converting leads, selling property, and earning a living. So maybe I have to change my way of thinking.
In order to change the public perception about the fear of registraton, maybe we as real estate professionals need to change the way we handle new leads though our lead conversion tools. Many of us simply pepper the potential customer with all kinds of information, many times irreleant, and then requests for more information. And worse, most of this is done throught automatic triggers that we set up throught our contact management software. All to often, we check all the boxes thinking the more we hit them with the better, and they will in turn be so impressed with our efforts that they will have to work with us.
I'm begining to think the opposite is true. The more targeted we are with the information we send and the more value and relavence it has to the potential customer, the higher the rate of conversion. And that information needs to have real value to the potential customer. Give them information they can really use, not stock articles about moving and how to pack. I do think it's important to get back quickly and show our interest, but then utlize what you learn in that conversation and the analytics you may have available to tailor your information to that person. I have a special interest in Green building and sustainability, so if i sense that energy efficiency is important to a potential customer I might sent them a link to my Carbon Footprint Diet Blog about Green topics and a list of properties touting legitimate Green features. But there are some who would have no interest in this, and its up to us to figure out what information will be helpful without rekindling the fear of registation.
So for my new website, I've decided to use the teaser that comes along with my IDX. But not at first. I just sent out a newsletter introducing my new wesite and I set my IDX not to ask for registration. But I'm only going to leave it this way for the first two weeks. Then I'm going to switch to providing three detailed listings before requiring registration. I may loose some people here, but that's the risk I think I have to take. Instead, I will try to explain as best I can the benefits of registering; saving searches, setting up your own triggers for information, and being more in control of your own real estate hunt. In return, I will promise not to over pepper them with information and try to provide only items they ask me for or ones that I really think might make a difference to them.
Then and only then may we begin to whittle away at the fear of registraton.
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