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Industry NewsFollow up is key to Internet success
A large percentage of your business should be coming from the Internet or your business could be headed for trouble, said Mike Parker, a real estate consultant with Compass Internet Systems in California.
“NAR (National Association of REALTORS®) research shows that 87 percent of consumers are starting their home search online. That’s a large percentage of the market that you should be tapping into,” Parker said.
“If you do online marketing, you’ve only got about three seconds to grab their attention once they get to your site,” he said. “Once the consumer sees a site he likes, he’ll stay.”
A REALTOR®’s web site should be found by people looking for homes in the local neighborhood. “There are 11 billion active web pages. Typically, people type their location in a search site so search engine optimization is about math and money,” Parker said. “You have to do everything to get people to your site and once they’re there, get them to sign up to receive more information.
“You can make the Internet work for you by having people ask you for information and design your site to gather information for you,” he added.
Following up is the key to success. “Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s (MIT) research shows that people expect a response to their web request within an hour,” Parker said. “NAR’s research shows that 50 percent of agents follow up within 54 hours and 50 percent don’t follow up at all. Pick up the phone and respond immediately. The old auto-responder doesn’t cut it anymore. After talking with the consumer, send a follow up e-mail in response to his requests. Ninety-one percent of buyers stick with the first agent they speak to.”
Parker advised REALTORS® to learn to use the MLS to create a list of at least 10 properties that fit the client’s criteria. “Never ask what price range they’re looking for,” he added. “Ask what town they want to live in or how many bedrooms they need.”
“REALTORS® are an important part of the real estate transaction. A REALTOR® can make money for a client or save him money by taking a situation that looks desperate and turning it into a good situation,” Parker said.
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Kim Shindle is the Manager of Media Relations at the Pennsylvania Association of Realtors®. |
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To further elaborate, I advise “Don’t start by asking price range. Leave that for after you have obtained a description of the kind of property and the location that the buyer would like to find.”
One reason that the “find a house” form on so many sites is not liked by consumers is because it starts off asking all about price. People like to feel that the party they are giving the information to on such personal matters is more than some automaton and that entity values this personal information.
This may sound counter-intuitive, but we’ve done loads of research on this and we have found that in engaging clients online, price is not the thing to lead with: what they want is.
I disagree with not asking the question about price range. After 40 years in a small town where prices range from $60,000 to $500000 an agent needs to know price range so homes can be selected to “meet the needs and wants of the buyer”.
Too many of these bloggers are elitest who come from the big city, never having stepped foot in real America. The world does not revolve around YOU.
I do 40-60 transactions per year, the average agent in the country does 8-10.
I recommend you not speak for the whole country when you make recommendations. It pays to know your local market and local buyer rather than generalize for the whole country.