Archive for Real Estate Marketing Tips
This guest post was written by Larry Easto who is a
best-selling business writer, and publisher of Real Estate Marketing Link
What is The Dry Well Syndrome?
Slow markets, like the current one, often produce something that I call “The Dry Well Syndrome”. Anyone who has run their own business for a period of time has suffered from this syndrome at one time or another.
This condition is characterized by a pressing urgency to chase after the latest new business opportunity – regardless of what or where it is. The unstated rationale for this behavior seems to be ‘If I don’t land this business, I will never have a chance at new business again’. Hence the dry well syndrome: once this business is gone, the well of new business will be dry.
Real estate agents demonstrate this condition by chasing new business opportunities regardless of what and where they are. If for example, an agent normally serves an area composed mostly of single family homes, The Dry Well Syndrome will drive the agent to chase a potential luxury condo listing at the other end of town.
The mindset seems to be: ‘market knowledge and personal expertise be damned – a deal is a deal and besides who knows when there will be a new deal in my market?’
It is usually easier and more effective to prevent The Dry Well Syndrome than to treat it. However, the same approach works in both prevention and treatment. The key to that approach is increased focus.
Increase Your Focus to Avoid the Syndrome
An increased focus on the market or markets you serve and also on what you do well will help prevent The Dry Well Syndrome. Instead of trying to enter new markets, learn more about your own market. By the same token, instead of trying to connect with people in a new market, connect with more people in the market you already know.
Enhance what you already know and do well – don’t waste precious time and energy chasing off in new directions. Remember that to survive the economic downtown, and continue to thrive when it’s over, you will need a sound marketing plan.
If within the past six months you have not reviewed or revised your marketing plan—do it now. And if you need help in revising your plan, check out the personal marketing plan for real estate which will guide you through this process.
By updating your personal marketing plan, you will be identifying the strategies by which you will enhance your connection with your existing market. By implementing these strategies, you will also be protecting yourself from The Dry Well Syndrome.
Integration RULES!
Any successful technology has always had to come to the point of bowing to integration with other technologies in order to stay competitive. There are examples everywhere.
Take the Internet for example. The first time I was told that it took time to change where a domain name points, I was dumbstruck. Internet servers all over the world had to be informed. And, as soon as one got the message, it passed it on to the next, and so on.
Something as simple as plugging in a coffee maker is another example. Somebody set a standard for how electricity would be passed to the appliance, and everyone else followed it.
Even Apple finally got the idea that the business community was not going to make a mass migration to Apple computers, and that they needed to be able to play in the PC world. And, whether you believe that’s a good thing or not (I know some people who wish the PC would just silently disappear), that integration has kept Apple more competitive than it would have been otherwise.
So, if everyone else can do it, what’s it going to take for the real estate technologies to get on board?
What We’ve Got
Most of the agents I work with have more than one system that generates and tracks contact information, which can include some number of the following:
- A real estate website. Contact forms on the website typically generate an entry in the site’s contact database.
- An IDX MLS search with registration capabilities.
- A contact database/client relationship manager. Systems like Top Producer or Agent Office typically have client relationship management capabilities that go beyond what is available on a real estate website.
- A system that makes it easy to create and email online newsletters.
- Lead capture on a single property site.
And, these are just some of the things I could think of quickly – I’m sure you can think of others.
What We Need
What we need is a way to integrate the contact information for all the lead sources into one database.
What we need is an industry standard for, at a minimum, storing and porting contact information. I don’t think it would be reasonable to expect that the listings a site visitor saw on an IDX search could be transferred into a separate contact manager. But, what about the contact information itself?
This is not rocket science. How many pieces of contact information are there before you start getting into application-specific data? Even if we could get common elements like Name, Address, Telephone, Email Address and Source into one database, the benefits in terms of time saved and more effective marketing would be tremendous.
I’m just not sure who should be taking the lead in terms of setting standards. Anyone have any ideas?
Real Estate Marketing: New Industry Blog
· CommentsAs you may recall, Cyberhomes has an excellent real estate website tool that was referred to previously on this blog. Now, Cyberhomes has introduced a new blog that covers technology and trends in the real estate industry.
While still in its infancy, I think you’ll be just as impressed with the informational value of the blog as you will be with the blog itself.
Reggie Nicolay, Cyberhomes’ Director of Social Media has gone the extra mile in putting together an information-rich blog using some leading-edge technologies. The site offers webinars, videos and informational posts from Cyberhomes and others within the real estate industry.
One of the most unique features of the blog is the use of the new Facebook Connect functionality. That means that you can connect your Facebook identity to the Cyberhomes blog, which will expand your social networking sphere. It also has handy features that include the ability to click on a print-friendly version of any of the posts.
I think the blog, www.CyberhomesBlog.com is a new real estate marketing resource well worth checking out and keeping an eye on!
Last week I talked a little bit about the use of drip email in converting leads, and I want to continue that discussion. And, it would be great if some people join in, too! I know there are folks out there who have questions about converting leads, and others who are really successful at converting leads. Share your knowledge! Leave a comment or contact me to write a guest post.
In working with clients, I hear a lot about how people are trying to convert leads. And, there are a lot of approaches out there that just don’t work. And, it’s not surprising. I rarely hear from real estate agents who have taken sales courses. And, to some, “sales” is a dirty word, but that’s the subject for another post.
In thinking about the process of converting leads to clients, I came up with the following five steps you need to address. These aren’t all-inclusive, but it will start to define some of the problems and issues.
1. Follow Up Fast - That’s on everyone’s list, but it’s worth repeating, because You Can’t Convert a Lead You Don’t Respond To! And, I hear all kinds of reasons why people don’t follow up fast. The reasons range from they were busy and forgot about the email notifying them of the lead, to they didn’t think the lead was “good enough”. Maybe the person didn’t leave a telephone number, or didn’t ask a reasonable question, or indicate what they wanted.
It’s amazing how often I’ll notice leads in someone’s back office, then congratulate the person on the leads they’re getting. The agent often doesn’t even know they received a lead. Or, sometimes I’ll ask what happened when they followed up with Joe Smith who filled out a form on their site yesterday. The pregnant pause tells the story.
2. Treat Every Lead As If They’re Already a Client – For some reason, a lot of agents don’t seem to relate to Internet leads. They’re fine when they’re talking to someone in person, and often have an excellent “close rate” in that situation.
The important point here is that you need to develop a mindset that allows you to treat every lead you get from any source as if they’re already a client. As you’re following up with that lead, think of how you would work with them if they were sitting in front of you.
3. Make It Easy to Start a Dialogue – Consider the typical mindset of an Internet lead. They’re do it yourself folks. They’re out on the Internet researching a real estate purchase or sale. The likelihood that they’re going to buy or sell in the immediate future is low. Your goal should be to start a dialogue. So what if someone didn’t leave a telephone number? You can still start a dialogue via email.
And, this is where creating the mindset in #2 above is important. Think of someone (a lead) stopping by your office. Would you hand them a flyer about home buying or selling and then walk away? I don’t think so. So, why would you respond to an Internet lead with a drip email campaign?
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Bet you’re wondering how a yard sign could be so amazing. There are a number of real estate agents who are taking yard signs to new heights. One of them is Jim Lee, who markets Knoxville TN real estate.
Thanks to a post of his on RealTalk, I was introduced to the concept of creating custom yard signs that make a statement far beyond the standard signs that sit in front of most homes for sale.
Jim is creating his yard signs using a local printer who has a large-format inkjet printer. The signs are printed on both sides of Coroplast (corrugated plastic) for about $20 each. Remember, that that’s a Knoxville price – your experience may vary!
Looking at the layout of the Knoxville real estate signs, you’ll notice that the emphasis is on the house rather than on the person or brokerage selling it. What a concept.
I’m sure there are some brokerages that would resist this type of an approach because they view yard signs as advertising for the brokerage. And, like Jim, you’d need to make sure that the signs meet your state’s regulations in terms of advertising.
Those issues aside, I can understand why Jim’s clients love the signs. And, in addition to attracting buyers, the signs could well motivate an about-to-be seller into giving you a call!
