TODAY`S

TODAY’S
BUYER’S REP
A p u b l i c a t i o n o f t h e R e a l E s t a t e B u y e r ’s A g e n t C o u n c i l , I n c .
A w h o l l y - o w n e d s u b s i d i a r y o f t h e N a t i o n a l A s s o c i a t i o n o f R E A LT O R S ®
F ebruary 2015 · Vol um e XXI V · Num ber 2
In the Marketing Mix:
Paid Leads
Wouldn’t it be nice if all your business came from referrals and repeat
clients? Besides minimizing the time and money spent marketing your
services, you’d always be working with people who were already “sold”
on your skills.
Sound too good to be true? It is. Even the most successful agents commit
substantial marketing dollars on a wide range of tactics—including paid
leads. Some providers—like TigerLeads, BoomTown, and Zurple—offer
sophisticated systems that blend expertise in Internet advertising with
feature-rich IDX websites that allow visitors to conduct MLS home
searches, estimate mortgage payments, etc. After pushing traffic to your
site, their software captures visitors’ every movement, which can be
viewed via backend platforms.
LOOK INSIDE...
Agent Profiles
Of course, an agent’s results from paid leads hinges largely on cold calling
techniques. “Working leads” does not come naturally to most people. It
requires a special mix of intelligence, finesse, and tenacity.
Come on TOO strong and buyers instantly throw up their defenses. In
today’s world, where phone calls are regularly screened and emails are
easily ignored (or disappear in a spam folder), it can be incredibly difficult
to “break through” and make personal contact with an online lead.
This issue of Today’s Buyer’s Rep introduces you to three successful
Accredited Buyer’s Representatives who each use paid leads as one key
component of their business development efforts. You’ll learn which
platforms they’re using and how each structures their approach. You’ll
also find tips for cultivating online leads, plus what it takes to “go it
alone”—effectively turning your back on paid leads and building a site
that can generate strong organic results.
Continued on page 4
page 3
Online Leads:
An Organic Approach
page 6
Tips for Nurturing Online Leads
page 7
MEMBERSHIP
UPDATE
WORTH QUOTING...
“Success is the sum of small
efforts repeated day in and
day out.”
- Robert Collier
Plan Now for Special Course Offerings
at the REALTORS® Legislative Meetings & Trade Expo
Held May 11–16, 2015, in Washington, D.C., the
upcoming REALTORS® Legislative Meetings & Trade
Expo offers excellent opportunities to attend several
of our newest and most popular courses!
Pr
Mi
aw
Bo
all
ne
mu
To
ha
en
Tig
Iu
da
th
Ba
e-PRO® Day 1 Course
e-PRO® provides a roadmap to build your business and serve
the hyper-connected consumers of today and tomorrow.
Learn about the changing market and how to connect with
consumers, manage your online reputation, generate leads,
and gain referrals by signing up for the e-PRO® Day 1 course.
Upon completion of Day 1, students must complete
Day 2 online to earn the e-PRO® certification. The e-PRO®
certification counts as an elective course towards the ABR®
designation.
NAR’s Military Relocation Professional
Certification Course
When service members and their families relocate, the services
of a real estate professional who understands their needs and
timetables makes the transfer easier, faster, and less stressful.
This course educates real estate professionals on working with
current and former military service members, finding
housing solutions that best suit their needs and how to take
full advantage of military benefits and support.
Required for the MRP certification and counts as an elective
course towards the ABR® designation.
For additional details on these courses, or to register, please visit REBAC.net.
Connect online with fellow ABR®s for news, tips, and referrals!
REBAC.net
@abrebac
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TBR • February 2015
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Agent
Profile
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Michael
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Managing Brok
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RE/MAX N
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Kirkland, WA
Practicing real estate in the Seattle area for 30 years,
Mike Toomey admits to having a penchant for dabbling in
a wide variety of online marketing techniques. “Zurple,
BoomTown, Market Leader, Trulia, Zillow,… I’ve tried them
all,” says Toomey. “You have to be willing to stick your
neck out and spend some money, or you’ll never know how
much business you could have gained.”
Toomey also admits that some of his experiments might
have achieved better results if he’d put more time and
energy against them. That said, he’s been a very satisfied
TigerLeads customer. “I don’t work every lead I receive like
I used to, but as a long-term user, I’ve accumulated a large
database of leads and learned how to successfully cultivate
them into clients.”
Background
Over a decade ago, Toomey did all his own pay-per-click
(PPC) advertising (to market his listings). “Back then, it
was much easier to guarantee ‘page 1’ results on Google,”
explains Toomey. But as online paid advertising evolved,
along with organic search algorithms, he needed to find
different ways to push traffic his way. That’s when he took
a closer look at paid lead providers, since they’re
the “experts” in using PPC advertising to capture real
estate leads.
Approach
Toomey’s TigerLeads site can be found at
KingCountyHomeViewer.com. While the name of his
brokerage, RE/MAX Northwest Realtors®, appears in
the header of this IDX site, the design is intentionally
“generic.” Visitors can search for homes, but must register
to save their property search. Presumably, they’re more
open to registration if the landing page does not scream,
“REAL ESTATE agent site.”
Roughly 85 percent of the leads Toomey captures are
buyers. Using TigerLeads’ tracking tools, he can gauge
their level of interest (how many homes did they view),
what type of property they’re interested in (what search
criteria did they use), and where they’re looking (does a
map view display a tight concentration or a wide scattering
of properties).
“Evaluating their search behavior helps me gauge how
‘serious’ they are and how I can offer assistance, refining
their home search and ultimately working with them to
find what they want,” says Toomey. To improve the odds
that these initial conversations and/or emails are more
effective, he also tries to learn anything he can about his
leads via social networks and other online resources.
“People have no idea how much personal information is
readily available online,” adds Toomey. “But it will help
you feel better acquainted with them, which can make it
much easier to establish rapport.”
TBR • February 2015
3
Agent
Profile
®
R®, ePRO
Kelley Skar, AB
lty
Group, CIR Rea
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Calgary, Alberta
“The first time an agent told me he was spending $40,000
a year on online leads, my jaw dropped,” admits Skar. “But
upon adding that he earns $250,000 from those leads, I
became intrigued. It’s hard to argue with that kind of return
on investment.”
Skar took a closer look then signed up with BoomTown,
roughly two years ago. So far, he’s very pleased with his
results and plans to continue building his business on
this platform.
Approach
Skar’s BoomTown site is located at UpRealEstateGroup.com,
a domain he owns, but operates on BoomTown’s proprietary
platform. He pays a flat monthly fee to BoomTown to build
and operate his site, plus PPC advertising fees to promote
traffic to it, primarily via Google Adwords. (His total spend is
just over $3,000/month.)
Skar doesn’t have an exclusive arrangement with BoomTown
for the Calgary market, but if he wants to drive more traffic
to his site (and capture more leads), he can increase his
advertising budget, assuming BoomTown hasn’t already hit
their limits with other Calgary agents.
Behind the scenes of Skar’s site, BoomTown’s analytics
tools detail visitors’ behavior, helping Skar’s team gain a
much better understanding of potential buyers’ interests—
vital information when trying to convert leads into clients.
Agents’ sites are more likely to capture leads if they’re
providing a positive experience that engages visitors.
BoomTown facilitates this by offering customized sites with
state-of-the-art IDX search and related tools. Skar adds
his own blog posts—content he will continue to own if he
ever leaves BoomTown. (He maintains backup copies of all
posts, however, to ensure future access.)
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TBR • February 2015
Skar is also an active video blogger, but publishes his
videos on his personal website, KelleySkar.com. While
his team currently gets more leads from his BoomTown
site (UpRealEstateGroup.com), he concedes that the
quality of the leads from his personal site (KellySkar.com)
are typically better, theorizing that those leads probably
stemmed from an organic, personal search result versus
general PPC real estate advertising.
Bottom Line
Various types of online leads (via BoomTown and other
sources) account for nearly half of Skar’s transactions. He’s
also a big fan of BoomTown’s tools for lead nurturing and
agent accountability, claiming the other systems he’s tried
don’t even come close.
“When you consider the whole package—a great website,
guaranteed traffic, powerful visitor analytics AND excellent
tools for managing your team’s lead development efforts—
it’s easy to see how the potential return on investment can
be so substantial,” explains Skar.
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Agent
Profile
SM
R®, ABRM
David Kent, AB
hoice
Home Buyer’s C r’s Agent
uye
dba The Real B
Charleston, SC
For nearly twenty years, David Kent has led a team of
exclusive buyer’s agents in Charleston, South Carolina, an
area that attracts substantial relocation business—both
transferring employees and retirees. His online strategy
emphasizes the importance of buyer representation, plus
he provides plenty of content for buyers who aren’t already
familiar with the area.
Approach
Kent is another proponent of TigerLeads, although his
setup is different from Michael Toomey’s (described on
page 3). Instead of using a standalone TigerLeads site,
Kent has installed a TigerLeads widget into his own site
(RealEstateInMtPleasant.com) that powers visitors’ home
searches—a widget that he also offers to all the agents on
his team.
To supplement his online efforts, Kent owns two more
website addresses—DavidKent.net, which displays similar
content, and CharlestonHome.com, which redirects to his
main site. He also maintains a Wordpress blog, embedded
within his main site (RealEstateInMtPleasant.com/news).
Additionally, he does some PPC advertising
(independent of TigerLeads) and is active on various
social media platforms.
Kent estimates that leads originating from TigerLeads
represent 20 to 25 percent of his team’s business,
compared to roughly 65 percent from referrals and repeat
clients. Even though online PPC leads are generally much
lower quality, Kent still finds them valuable in terms of
giving agents a chance to work on their calling skills and
test various techniques for engaging with potential buyers.
“We’re not selling a product,” explains Kent. “We’re trying
to help people buy a house, and the only way we can do
that is by getting more information from them.” Speed
is essential—ideally, the first call should occur within
five minutes of capturing the lead. But even if you’re the
first agent to establish contact, Kent says you won’t get
far unless you’re also savvy about the best ways to offer
assistance and get them to talk to you.
Additionally, Kent recommends doing some quick
homework on your lead. First, check their activity on the
TigerLeads platform to get a better understanding of what
type of home they were searching for and where.
Kent also recommends searching for other potential
“connecting points”—where they’ve worked, where they
went to school…even what music they like—by doing a
basic Google search on their name. If you only have an
email address, there are many other online tools, including
some that integrate with email services, that can cull more
information from social media profiles and other sources.
(See page 7 for more details.)
“Your number one goal is to create rapport,” explains Kent.
This is true for any buyer-client, but considerably more
challenging when you’re working with online leads versus
a personal referral.
TBR • February 2015
5
Online Leads:
An Organic Approach
In today’s world, are paid leads providers the best way to capture online
leads? Can you compete with professional pay-per-click advertisers? Or
better yet, can your website appear among the first ten organic results
instead of in the margins, along with several other ads?
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o
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Yes, it’s possible. But making it happen may require a major shift in your
current strategy.
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The Formula:
1. A specific, narrowly-defined,
2. Fresh content filled
market niche.
with keywords.
Instead of trying to compete on broad
and general search terms (like “Dallas
real estate” or “homes for sale in
Detroit”) narrow your focus to appeal
to a particular type of buyer. There
are many ways to define your niche—
by the type of property (“downtown
Minneapolis condos”), the type of
client (“first-time buyers”), or a specific
community (“Lakeview neighborhood”),
to name a few.
For starters, think about your buyers
and the questions they tend to ask.
(Try to stay focused on the specific
niche you’ve defined.) If you develop
your website content with this in mind,
you’ll be supplying the very type of
information these specific types of
buyers are searching for online.
Because their search terms overlap with
your content, your pages are much more
likely to appear in their search results.
This is why hyperlocal sites can be so
successful. Steve Volkers, ABR®, of the
Steve Volkers Group, took this strategy
one step further and created a blog post
for each condominium association in
Grand Rapids, Michigan on his main
site (stevevolkersgroup.com/searchby-condominium-association). It’s a
valuable research tool for buyers and the
content is rich in keywords that improve
his search engine rankings. Very savvy!
Blogging is the best way to do this,
because you’re regularly adding new
material to your site. (Search engines
strongly favor fresh content over static
web pages.) Blogging also keeps you
on your toes, forcing you to continually
hone your knowledge and your ability
to discuss important dynamics in
your market.
3. A personable approach.
Keep your tone conversational—it’s
easier and more enjoyable to read. Also,
let your personality shine through so
buyers get a chance to know you before
registering on your site or contacting
you. Sure, your unique style won’t
necessarily appeal to everyone, but
you’re more likely to attract people who
DO want to work with you. It’s certainly
much easier than trying to build rapport
through cold calling.
Other Benefits:
•
Buyers are more inclined to click on sites that appear in Google’s organic results, instead of paid ads, because they
consider organic results more valuable and trustworthy.
•
An organic approach typically improves the quality of your leads—you’ll be responding to “real” people with sincere
interests. Also, it’s probably less likely these leads have been captured on other sites, meaning you won’t be competing
against several other agents.
•
You’ll be less vulnerable to the whims of paid leads providers, including cost increases or changes in other terms.
Any of the three steps outlined above will improve your site’s performance. Adopt all three techniques and you’ll have an
online powerhouse. Yes, a strong organic site still requires a substantial investment of time and money, but you’ll have more
control over your results—and experience substantially higher-quality online leads and conversion results.
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TBR • February 2015
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Tips for Nurturing
Online Leads
1Speed
Competition among agents, coupled with consumers’ demand for “instant gratification,” have conspired to shrink the
optimal time for responding to a new online lead to five minutes or less! That said, there’s also a school of thought that
argues that busy agents (the ones who can’t possibly jump on a lead that quickly because they’re actively engaged with
clients) are the ones buyers should be most interested in meeting—not necessarily the one who pounced on them first.
Still, far too many inquiries go completely ignored. Don’t make the mistake of letting your leads slip through the cracks.
This is when systems can be invaluable. That doesn’t mean “automating” your responses, but it does mean developing
and refining a set of steps that are repeated over and over, so you don’t feel like you’re reinventing the wheel with every
new lead.
2Research
The more you know about a prospective lead, the easier it is to form a personal connection and help them with their
search. If you have online tracking tools—offered by various paid leads providers and IDX systems developers—look at
the properties they viewed on your site and related search criteria.
Beyond this, if you only have a name, or a phone number, or an email address, you can probably collect more details
from various free reverse lookup services. For example, enter a phone number at whitepages.com/reverse_phone to learn
the name(s), age(s), and address associated with that number (works best with land lines).
Several paid services go a big step further, aggregating a surprising amount of personal data from social media
profiles and online databases into a single, in-depth, report. Some of the leading providers are BeenVerified.com,
InstantCheckmate.com, and Spokeo.com.1
3Communication Skills
Try to be as specific as possible when responding to leads so buyers immediately know who you are and why you’re
calling (and don’t mistake you for a telemarketing service). Thank them for visiting your site (state the name of your
site), ask a question regarding their search, and let them know you have additional information for them (you want to
prompt a reply).
While most agents believe that your first attempt should always be a phone call (because you may actually be able
to have a conversation), you may need to rely on email too. Follow a similar approach—be specific, ask one or two
questions, and offer information. While specific is good, don’t go to the other extreme and leave long-winded messages,
regardless of whether you’re calling, emailing, or texting.
Also don’t waste time bragging about your own credentials. This is about THEM and meeting THEIR needs. If you’re
lucky enough to have a phone conversation, be prepared to ask the right the questions and LISTEN to whatever
information they share—these are vital clues for your next steps—offering assistance and building rapport.
Interested in more tips? Check out the REBAC Connection Webinar on Converting Online Leads (February 2014)
presented by Kristy Hairston, ABR®, of Village Real Estate Services in Nashville, TN. It’s posted in the Member
Center of REBAC.net, along with many other valuable webinar topics.
1
Note: When using online services to learn more about consumers, U.S. agents should remember that Article 10 of the REALTOR® Code of Ethics states that
REALTORS® shall not deny professional services to any person for reasons of race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status, or national origin. Similar protections
for equal housing opportunity exist under the Fair Housing Act.
TBR • February 2015
7
Real Estate Buyer’s Agent Council, Inc.
430 North Michigan Avenue
Chicago, IL 60611
1-800-648-6224
REBAC@realtors.org
TODAY’S
BUYER’S REP
February 2015 · Volume XXIV · Number 2
New NAR Tech Edge Events!
Have you heard the buzz about last year’s one-day technology conferences, sponsored by
NAR’s e-PRO® Certification? They were a big hit with attendees and better yet, several
new dates and locations have been scheduled for 2015, including:
March 22
March 26
April 17
May 28
June 10
July 21
September 18
November 2
Better Homes and Gardens Fusion Conference
Burlington, VT
Miami, FL
Greater Chicago, IL
Twin Cities, MN
Dallas, TX
Honolulu, HI
Anaheim, CA
Watch for more locations to be
added. Visit the e-PRO® website
for details, additional dates, and
registration information:
epronar.com/nar-tech-edge