Reports, Charts and Graphs - Oh my

We can all chat about the best way to service a buyer or seller. Some agent's believe that they should drop and run the minute a person calls (day or night ) because that is what the agent believes is the measure of service and it is the agent's perception of how they will be evaluated.

Let's face it. We have all been taught to look for our report card to understand how we "measure up." But the true measurement in the value relationship is to find out exactly what is important to that customer whether it is the buyer or seller --- and deliver measureable, tangible results. You can run for every call but if you don't sell the customer a product  that is a real, measured value and deliver that new home or investment property --- then the bottom line is 0 x 0 = 0.

There are many, many ways in which we can provide value and service to our buyers and sellers. And, the best way is to show is by facts. I know, many of us cringe at the thought of going to the stats but the truth be told --- numbers do not lie. ( My HS math teacher is getting a good chuckle about now! ) We, as agents, go through the exercise of  buying newspaper, magazine and internet advertising. We spend a good deal of time and money. But do we really know if these ads are making the best of the dollar expendature? Do we really understand what we are getting for our money ( and for our sellers? ). The best way to understand this --- is not just believe the ad sales rep or ad person --- but to track the results.

Let me give you an example of how I track a web site designed specifically for one of my listings. Yes, the seller loves the fact that the site has it's very own web address. And, yes, the seller loves the fact that there is a sign rider on the property and that the property comes up in google searches --- but is it really delivering the numbers? Let's take a look at the data for my listing at http://www.merrittdrive.com/ :

Activity Days Visits Page Views Hits 3/28/2008 - 4/28/2008 32 2,884 778 15,786
Top 5 Page Visits Visits Page Views Home 346 498 Photo Tour 89 119 Full Details 58 78 Print Brochure 17 23 Mortgage Calculator 9 18
Search Phrase Hits www.merrittdrive.com 373 www.merritt drive.com 114 merrittdrive.com 83 oradell home sale merritt 67		Referring Site Hits merrittdrive.com 14,694 SITE RESOURCE 75 WEB Page generator 62 njmls.com 27 google.com 12

WOW! Not only can we see the number of days, visits, page views and hits --- we can see the top 5 page visits and what our visitors are looking at ( so we know what is working within the web site ) and we can see where these visits are coming from ( over 14/M from the web address vs 27 visits from the NJMLS or 12 from google). Now these are FACTS that I can use with my existing SELLER and FACTS I can use with my prospective sellers for future listings. This also helps me know --- WHERE my buyers are looking and potentially coming from.

Now, of course, this may not be the only TACTIC in the marketing mix that will sell this particular home BUT is does help me know WHERE my marketing dollars are going and the results for the expendature. Not to mention, that this report helps me KEEP MY SELLER informed with REAL Data. 

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Copyright - Pamela Stetson 2008,   http://www.pamelastetson.com/