Lead Stream – Lead Management at its Best!

As part of our continuing efforts to improve lead management, RE/Advantage has introduced its newest product called Lead Stream.

Lead Stream allows the office administrator to set up an agent roster and configure it to auto stream leads to the agents.  When a lead is generated through the site, the lead will be sent to the first agent in the queue.  The Agent will have a pre-set time to accept that lead. If the agent does not respond within a specified period of time the lead will be redirected to the next agent in the queue.  All office leads and IDX leads will be sent to the agents with the name and contact information of the Web visitor as well as clickable MLS ID that will direct the agent to all property information. The Agent will then click an accept link to acknowledged they have received the new lead. The office administrator will be notified that the lead was accepted.

All leads are HOT! Lead Stream will greatly improve customer response time and lead management. Have questions – let us know!

Read Full Post »

10 Things to Remember as the Housing Market Recovers

Re-posted from an article on realtor.org, immediate past NAR president Ron Phipps had a few things to say to real estate professionals who survived the housing market over the past several years:

1. The economy cannot recover without housing.
2. Everyone needs shelter, but not everyone needs to own their shelter.
3. High home ownership rates are important but they must be sustainable.
4. Home prices go up and go DOWN.
5. The process of purchasing /financing a home is more complicated.
6. Sound underwriting of mortgages is critical.
7. Home equity should not be used for ordinary living expenses.
8. Financial reserves for family, companies, and countries are necessary.
9. Homeowners confidence in the economy is directly related the value of their own homes.
10. The economy is global.

It is important that we learn from history – what item in the list above do YOU think is the most important?

Read Full Post »

The Future of Real Estate Websites

So what is the future of real estate websites with all the craze of social media and blogging? Hyper Local Websites!

These sites are used like single property websites, but for your niche. Creating a few hyper local websites allows you to brand a single area without worrying if you are discouraging prospects by limiting yourself by location since you ARE focusing on just one area.

These hyper local websites are great for new home buyers AND current residents. What should you include on your single community, hyper local website:

1. Custom IDX Searches – like ‘Springfield Homes 550 K – 750 K’ and ‘Springfield Golf Community Homes’ or ‘ Springfield Short Sales’
2. Information on local emergency services (talk about the volunteer fire dept) and DPW (garbage/leaf pickup)
3. SCHOOL INFORMATION – duh! Talk about school activities, concerts, important events and meetings
4. The lifestyle in that community – discuss restaurants, local shops, parks, nightlife anything this is going to attract buyers
5. Town recreational sports. Keep you current residents updated with schedules and sign ups
6. Keep the town and buyers updated on local news…pickup the town newspaper and ‘re-blog’
7. Be a resource! Have a QA or FAQ web page, similar to a blog, that allows others to post questions and answers
8. Always make sure you have a page for town pictures and videos – this should go without saying!
9. Be sure you have a page devoted to your listings, open houses and relocation services
10. Get some call to action/lead capture on your hyper local website – something similar to this:

Now even though you are focusing on a community within your niche, instead of having your cumbersome Real Estate Website that covers several counties – be sure you still SYNDICATE your content to Facebook, Twitter or a Blog if you have one. You can even break into Pinterest with your photo sharing. Share, Share, Share!

Have you thought about these hyper local websites? Are you looking to have one/some created? Let us know!

Read Full Post »

Branding & Lead Generation – Does Your Site Measure Up?

Branding and lead generation are the TOP TWO reasons real estate professionals create web presences – specifically websites. Social networking websites are great for business but typically the site is branded (take Facebook for instance) over your profile branding; this is why you must be sure your professional site has effective branding and lead generation/capture features. Otherwise what’s the point!

Branding

• Is your name and phone number in the header of your site?
• Is your name and phone number in the footer of your site?
• Is there a link to contact you in your navigation?
• Are there calls to action buttons on each web page?
• Are your social networking links readily visible?

Lead Generation / Lead Capture

Just as RE/Advantage Real Estate Websites have great lead generation features you too should be sure your website makes the cut. What should you website have:

• Schedule a Showing Form – on every listing (and of course this lead should only go to you; never the listing agent or your broker)
• Request More Information Form – branded to you on every listing in your MLS search results
• Listings Teaser Sign Up – allow clients to view a select amount of listings before you capture their contact information
• Prospect Buyer Portfolio Accounts – provides a secure back end system that allows your prospects to save listings, save searches and sign up for auto email alerts of new listings
• SEVERAL lead capture forms throughout your site – these should/could include a CMA form, Pre-Qual Mortgage form, Dream Home form, basic Contact form etc.

Having these features is great but you need to be sure you have – what is called – calls to action on your site as well. Instead of hyper-linking text that says “click here to view listings” — have a designer (or if you’re creative you can do this easily) create a click-able graphic to entice prospects to interact with your website.

To get a better picture:

Call to Action Button (top)  VS.  Hyper-Linked Text (bottom)

Read Full Post »

Value of a GRI Designation

The Graduate, REALTOR® Institute (GRI) symbol is the mark of a real estate professional who has made the commitment to provide a high level of professional services by securing a strong educational foundation.

Buying property is a complex and stressful task. In fact, it’s often the biggest single investment you will make in your lifetime. At the same time, real estate transactions have become increasingly complicated. New technology, laws, procedures and the increasing sophistication of buyers and sellers requires real estate practitioners to perform at an ever-increasing level of professionalism.

GRI designees:

• Have pursued a course of study that represents the minimum common body of knowledge for progressive real estate professionals.
• Have developed a solid foundation of knowledge and skills to navigate the current real estate climate—no matter what its condition.
• Are recognized nationally.
• Act with professionalism and are committed to serving their clients and customers with the highest ethical standards.

So how can you leverage this – make sure you tell your clients! Let them know how much you put into your career and what they can get out of it, great piece of information that sets you apart from your colleagues. 

*this article was re-posted from Realtor.org

Read Full Post »

Keeping Ontrack with Facebook

It looks like Facebook might hit the 1 billion user mark this year; so looking over your Facebook strategy could be useful. Here is our basic strategy here at RE/Advantage.

Content Strategy – Creating a steady flow of engaging, conversational content is the best approach to being successful on Facebook.

Content Grids – Keep an organized calendar of topics to post to Facebook each month. (can be day to day or weekly)

Engagement – I like to add a photo or video to each post, when applicable.  Photos might be simple but they both seem to work equally well when you look at the CTR (click through rates) of your business page. Also make sure you use open-ended questions to solicit comments from your fans. This is a common mistake but a CRITICAL element in your Facebook strategy. Best way to engage would be to post top ten lists and ask your followers to add their comments, start a “Fill in the blank Friday” posting routine or simply ask you followers to share or re-post your content.

Posting times – If you are going to post each day be sure to schedule those posts between 9am-12pm OR after 6pm. While these times seem to work the best I still encourage you to see what works best for you (especially if you are a relo specialist!).

Comments – Watch those comments and respond to them as soon as you can – even if it is a “Thank You!”.  Your fans will appreciate the courtesy. The best way I can explain this in your daily life: if a buyer reaches out to talk to you on the streets are you going to ignore them? Do you think they will reach out in the future if you are that rude? RESPOND TO COMMENTS PEOPLE!

Brand – Don’t forget Facebook is about growing your business.  People are still primarily using Facebook as a way to communicate with their friends – brands are not their primary concern.  So take advantage of that and treat them like friends.  Have a conversation and don’t blast them with messages to sell at every moment.

So tell me what works for you in the Facebook World?  How are you leveraging your business?

Read Full Post »