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5 Things to Focus On For 20% More Leads in 2013

By
Services for Real Estate Pros with Tourzilla

Social Media PrismAs a real estate agent, I am sure at some point you got asked - what is your social marketing strategy? Are you using Twitter to connect with others and grow your network? Are you buying LinkedIn ads and using the Facebook app on your smartphone? Oh, and everyone is on Pinterest, so don't you fall get in on that? There is a new shiny toy on the internet every few months that just seems to increase the madness!

Do we really need more tools? Perhaps, but the point is that, in order to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of your total online marketing efforts, there are some technical efforts that are more basic and essential to be done first.

It is a little bit of a cliché but like a kid learning letters before reading, you cannot take complete benefit of advanced marketing techniques unless your basics are covered. You can start with our FREE ebook or continue reading!

It is not only important to learn what to do but also what not to do, simply because if you do what yields sub-optimal results, then you are just wasting the most important, limited-quantity, non-refundable resource you have - your time! And yeah, money too…but there is a possibility that you can earn money back.

1) Your Website - Needless to say, your website is your 24x7 online sales office where a random web surfer can end up from a variety of sources so the quality of your website has direct impact on how many leads you generate from your website alone. By quality here, I mean

  • How easy it is to find three things on your website - Finding homes for sale, Finding the value of a house, Finding information about area or link to resources for an area.

  • How beautiful your website looks - Yes, it matters.

  • How easy it is to contact you

This is one investment that you will absolutely not regret. It needs some effort and I know some of you have been putting it off for sometime but this can easily increase your website leads.

2) Listing Justification - I am sure most of the agents do "Listing syndication" but not as many do a justification to the listing because there are listings out there with 2 (just two) pictures of the property (I saw this listing 2 weeks back). In this day and age, taking a picture and emailing or uploading them is so easy that you should not shy away from taking any less pictures than what is allowed by your mls. (or more, so you can pick and choose the best ones).

3) Analytics - You may think that when people call me and say they have seen my website that means my website must be doing fine. Let me ask you this, would you be willing to find out if your website has potential to produce one more sale each quarter? Did you say - YES! :) Analytics doesn't change what you already know, it helps uncover what you dont knowAnalytics can help you optimize both lead conversion and generation and, trust me; using an analytics system is not rocket science.

4) Lead Management and follow up System - A California Association of Realtors study, found that 54% of clients chose their agents not based upon professionalism but instead speed of response to a primary inquiry.  The National Association of Realtors says you are 236% more likely to gain someone as a client if you are the first brokerage to speak with them. I know following up is probably the hardest part of this job but as long as you have quality leads, (not the purchased leads from the mortgage brokers or 'internet leads') you can expect to have high response rate as long as you follow up diligently. 

5) Website Automation  - Did you know that your chances of closing a deal with a lead who gets a reply from you  in first 5 minutes of their online submitted inquiry is like 100 times higher than those who gets a response in first hour and then it significantly drops for those getting reply after 10 hours. I am obviously not suggesting you  be workaholic, but there are technology solutions like - Auto Reply Contact Us form, Website Chat plugns, Call Me feature, SMS notifications and more that can put you on top of your lead actions and be ahead of the game. 

This is the end of the list. I ended up adding so many details to this post originally but then I had to create the ebook leavng just the bare minimum here as the post got too long.

Social Media and SEO - SM and SEO did not make the top 5 list but if you are one of those top agents who already have the above technology solutions in place then you should get the ebook (see link below) to see where SEO and SM stands along with others that did not make the list.  

If you have a specific question - go ahead and ask below and I will reply to each and every question. 

In the meantime, you can learn more by clicking here to download FREE ebook/guide

Tracy Oliva
West USA Realty - Arizona - Fountain Hills, AZ
The Oliva Team Arizona Agents

Good morning:  This is some good Info for all in the business,  keep up the good work and good luck with your business in 2013,  E

Dec 17, 2012 06:27 PM
Ginger Harper
Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Advantage~ Ginger Harper Real Estate Team - Southport, NC
Your Southport~Oak Island Agent~Brunswick County!

VEry Good Blog this morning.  I will bookmark this for future reference.  Have a great day..

Dec 17, 2012 08:49 PM
Biren Saini
Tourzilla - Concord, NC

Ed and Ginger - Thanks for your comments. 

Dec 17, 2012 09:05 PM
Diane Lombardino
Keller Williams Realty of Jupiter - Palm Beach Gardens, FL

WOW!!  Thanks for sharing!  Very informative.  Good luck in 2013.  Happy Holidays.

Dec 17, 2012 10:10 PM
Biren Saini
Tourzilla - Concord, NC

Thanks Diane. 

Dec 18, 2012 12:23 AM
Jay & Michelle Lieberman
Keller Williams World Class - Agoura Hills, CA
Creating Calm in the Buying and Selling Chaos

Useful

Dec 18, 2012 12:23 AM
Paulina Finorio
Mission Viejo, CA

The Conversation Prism, thank you for sharing it. I will look closely at it. Happy Holidays-

Dec 18, 2012 12:55 AM
Jennifer Spanbauer Brodoway
Lethbridge Real Estate.com - Lethbridge, AB
just call jen

Thanks for this list.  I know that my website is useful, but no longer pretty!  I'll have to work on that.  I agree about the instant follow up to leads as well.  Since I have a screaming 2 year old in the background, it's not always easy to respond immediately, but the autorespond is a good idea. 

Dec 18, 2012 02:12 AM
Biren Saini
Tourzilla - Concord, NC

@Paulina - The Conversation Prism image is clickable. The link takes you to a much larger image of the prism.

@Jennifer - I am glad you liked the list. Yes, some changes are not 'quick' but considering the rewards, there priority should be higher. 

Dec 18, 2012 03:07 AM
Lanre-"THE REAL ESTATE FARMER" Folayan
Samson Properties - Bowie, MD
I don't make promises.I deliver results.SOLD HOMES

Yeah I admit I have to do a better job with viewing my analytics. Thanks for sharing this. Great post.

Dec 18, 2012 06:29 AM
Laurie Laramie
1st Class Real Estate Paradise Homes - Palm City, FL

Just printed my Conversation Prism.....Thank You so much for sharing.  There is so much technology out there sometimes I get lost in that, than working Real Estate!  I need to find a balance between the two to stay ahead of the curve.

Dec 18, 2012 06:39 AM
Joshua Desha
Georgetown, TX

Great stuff!

Dec 18, 2012 06:41 AM
Biren Saini
Tourzilla - Concord, NC

@Lanre @Joshua - Thanks! 

 

@Laurie - I would say just use the services that solve your immediate business needs first and then seek other nice-to-have services to enhance your marketing reach. 

Dec 18, 2012 10:59 AM