In 2020, there is absolutely no denying that real estate agents and brokers need to make video a priority. Not only is video content important for helping your real estate website gain listing visibility in search engines, but it is also a powerful tool that helps potential clients connect with your personal style and brand.
The most common videos in real estate remain virtual tours; however, there are many other ways that you can use video to enhance your real estate brand and carve out a powerful name for yourself. Here are some practical ways that you can incorporate more video into your personal branding strategy from the experts at Weichert. Translate Your Blog Posts Into Videos Are you already generating a regular real estate blog or regular social posting? You can get more leverage out of every post by translating that content into a video. All you need to do is use your blog post like a script to showcase your expertise. Affordable software like ContentSamurai can create videos from your blog posts in seconds by automatically analyzing the content! You can also use videos to supplement your blogs. For example, if you write an article about how to stage a house to get it ready for the market, you could include videos of you showing them how to complete the steps in the article. Interview Local Businesses The top experts in branding and marketing will tell you that as a real estate agent or broker, it is in your best interest to make your company name synonymous with your market. In other words, when someone thinks of your market they should automatically think of you and vice versa. One of the best ways to accomplish that goal is to use content like videos to showcase your expertise on all things local. Take time to interview and feature local highlights on video, like restaurants, boutiques, schools, and attractions that make your market such a great place to live. Since those businesses will be grateful for the free advertising, they are likely to promote your videos as well, gaining you lots of extra and free exposure to potential clients. Showcase Members Of Your Team One of the best ways to help the community get to know your business and recruit new members to your team is to showcase those who are currently part of your team. For this tactic to be effective, you need each video to clearly communicate the following:
It is a good idea to feature these videos on your website, social media, a newsletter, and YouTube channel. When done correctly, each one of these interviews will provide confidence and social proof to clients who are considering hiring a member of your team, as well as and agents looking for a brokerage. Gather Video Testimonials Speaking of social proof, it is well worth your time to gather video testimonials from clients as well. Before hiring an agent to represent them in the largest financial transaction of their life, they want to know that other people just like them have had a positive experience with that agent. Video testimonials are more powerful than written ones because they can better communicate the emotion behind the words. Ask each client to tell the story of why they chose to work with you, what impact you made on the transaction, and what they enjoyed most about the process. Profile Your Farm Another extremely powerful way of pushing your real estate website up in the search engines is with hyperlocal content like neighborhood pages or profiles that showcase each city or neighborhood you serve. While there should be written content and links to any blogs that are relevant to each neighborhood, you should also include as many videos as you can. One easy way to do this is to ask the photographers that work your listings to do a drone shot of the neighborhood in addition to the house. Becoming a master content creator with video will dramatically elevate your brand awareness and overall success. It should be one of the many tactics you employ as part of a comprehensive marketing plan. A partner like Weichert can give you the guidance and tools to own your market. For more information about how Weichert can empower you to grow your brand, go to www.weichertfranchise.com. Original content posted on https://www.weichertfranchise.com/blog/use-video-to-enhance-your-personal-brand-in-2020/
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We live in a world of distractions. The media, news, entertainment, technology tools and social media are constantly bombarding us from all directions. It’s easy to get sucked in to all the cool, shiny new ways to attract leads. While tech is great for attracting leads, don’t become so distracted that you forget to practice the skills and habits that close them. In this highly connected world, it’s more important than ever to hone your relationships and your personal selling techniques. Lots of people can use the same lead technology, but there is only one you. Use that to set yourself apart.
Use Technology To Stay Connected Make sure you have a good CRM. This is the best way to keep your contacts organized and keep track of your communications with them so you don’t lose touch. If you stay out of touch too long, it opens the door for a client to become connected with someone else and call on them when they need something. A good CRM is the perfect example of a tech application that blends automation and good sales techniques. Use the automation and calendaring features to:
Use Technology That Showcases Your Personality It’s no secret. People want to do business with people they feel a connection with and can trust. That is especially true when it comes to one of their biggest assets – buying or selling their home. The best way to stand out is to utilize technology that allows your personality to shine. Use video to share real estate tips or your knowledge about the neighborhoods you work in. Post them on Facebook or use a video email service, such as BombBomb to communicate. This will help humanize you and make you more memorable than a static post or email. Don’t Forget Your Hustle Lead generation sources are focused on one thing…selling leads. And they are happy to sell the same lead to you and the 10 other agents in town if you are willing to buy them. Customers typically work with the first agent they speak with. So make sure that agent is you. This means picking up the phone when it rings and not waiting to respond to that email. Don’t be so busy that you don’t have time to be responsive. Yes, you may have to speak with a few frogs, but you never know when that awesome lead is going to come to you and you need to be ready. Be Smart About Lead Gen Options Make sure the lead gen options you choose are truly productive for your business. How qualified are the leads you are receiving? Do you have to pay for them up front? What is your close rate on the leads you do receive? If it’s not good or you don’t know, you may be spinning your wheels and wasting valuable time and money. This can distract you and make you unavailable when the quality leads do come to you. Make sure you are spending your time and money on the right things. Always Keep It Personal No matter what technology and lead sources you use, don’t lose sight of the personal touch. Don’t let the technology do all the work. Find ways to use it to reach your customers in personal ways or use those applications that allow your personality to shine through. You are your product and people can’t buy if they don’t know you. As Jim Weichert always says, “People buy people, before buying a product or service.” Conviction & Consistency Are King At Weichert, we believe that tech is critical, but must be complemented by proven and successful sales activities. From a technology and lead generation perspective, Weichert associates and affiliates are automatically provided with its proprietary CRM and can qualify to receive leads from its lead center. Weichert invests heavily to attract online leads that are then screened by its call center. This helps connect the most qualified prospects to its agents. Those leads feed automatically into the Weichert CRM. Additionally, Weichert provides a blueprint of best prospecting and sales practices, together with qualified suppliers to help its offices and agents stay connected with prospects. When you approach tech with the right frame of mind, stay true to your mission statement and core values and deliver value to your community, you will never have to worry about how fast tech changes or its impact on the industry. Don’t be concerned with change, as much as you are maintaining consistency and staying connected with your clients. For more information on how Weichert systems can set you up for technology and beyond, go to https://www.weichertfranchise.com or call 877-567-33350. This content originally published at https://bit.ly/2J7VPzF In the last 30 years, brokers have seen their primary means of selling and advertising go from newspapers and referrals to online or digital sources. According to NAR, almost 95% of homebuyers used a website to search for homes last year with 72% of those using a mobile or tablet app. What is equally interesting is the prevalence of mobile usage across demographics. Of Course 99% of millennials used mobile devices or apps to assist in their home search and 58% of them found the home they bought on a mobile device. Even consumers between 35 and 65 used their mobile devices for real estate research at a rate over 89% and roughly 40% of them found their home on a mobile device. Another interesting dynamic is that overall, 14% of all buyers found their real estate agent using a mobile device. Real estate agents have been on the front lines of the mobile revolution as well with over 90 percent of REALTORS® using digital or mobile devices on a daily basis. Despite this, REALTORS cite “keeping up with technology” as one of the biggest challenges for brokerages in the next two years. So how can brokers assess their use of mobile technology and insure they are keeping up with the industry? Common Mobile Strategies Going mobile in 2019 means more than just texting and getting email on your smartphone. The following guidelines are critical if you are to be effective, and want to appeal to the shifting demographics of both homebuyers and new agents you may be trying to attract. Here are a few things to consider:
Getting Up to Speed With Mobile It’s certainly a challenge for independent brokers, even if they are tech savvy, to keep up with and train agents on the best uses of mobile technology. That’s why brands like Weichert have put so much time and energy into figuring out and implementing mobile-focused digital strategies. Weichert.com recently completed a site redesign focused on providing an optimized mobile experience. It attracts over 3 million visitors a month and is key to the company’s digital strategy to attract leads to its Customer Care Center. Those leads are delivered to our brokers and agents in real time, on both their desktop and mobile devices and directly into our Weichert PRO CRM. The CRM features a mobile app which allows easy access to all features including client management, marketing tools, email and more. Weichert offers a mobile app to help agents stay on track with monthly production goals by allowing them to easily set and track their activities. In addition, Weichert places local Facebook advertising optimized for mobile users to help build brand awareness in its markets. Keeping up with technologycan be hard, but there are other solutions. By affiliating with a company like Weichert, you can take advantage of their vast resources for keeping up, so you can focus on managing your business. If you’d like to hear more about available Weichert resources and how they could benefit your business, contact Weichert today to learn more at weichertfranchise.comor 877-567-3350. Original content posted on https://www.weichertfranchise.com/blog/its-a-mobile-world-how-do-you-stack-up/ As you recruit agents into your brokerage, it’s important to acknowledge there are differences in the way various generational groups communicate, respond, work and interact. Understanding these differences can be your secret weapon in motivating and communicating effectively with your team. Millennials currently make up the largest portion of the workforce and account for 50% of workers in the next 2 years. Here’s how you can make sure your brokerage is a good fit.
Values That Match Their Own As an experienced broker, you already have a good handle on the basic qualities that an agent looks for in evaluating a brokerage: leads, commission splits, support, education, etc. However, if you want to both attract and retain Millennial real estate agents, you’re going to need to appeal to more than just those cornerstones. The desire for self-fulfillment is strong in this generation and drives them to seek out companies that strongly support their growth and learning at this stage of their career and down the line. Millennials are especially driven towards companies that promote a positive, well-rounded and healthy culture. If they do not form a strong connection with your company culture and trust in its genuinely altruistic nature, they will not hesitate to leave for greener pastures. This is a key difference from the Baby Boomer generation who has more of a “pay your dues” mindset and would usually stay with a job for years to gain experience. By contrast, a Millennial will leave quickly if the fit isn’t there. Technology That Supports Their Goals Although it is not their top priority, tech is still an important factor for Millennials that have grown up with it. Tech-savvy tools like a CRM, modern website, and lead generation systems are mandatory to them. Like your company culture, this is an area where you will need to both talk the talk and walk the walk. If you are not yet familiar with all things mobile and social, now is the time to bone up. Remember, these tech-savvy newbies are looking for you to take them by the hand as their leader and show them the way. If you can’t show them at least some acumen and understanding with social, mobile and technology as well as real estate, you will struggle to convince them that they are in the right place. Someone to Turn to For Guidance Taking less experienced agents by the hand and making sure that they know they can turn to you for help or guidance is crucial; a rule that applies to new agents of any age or generation. Millennials seek out leadership that frequently engages in positive reinforcement. One way to do this is to find regular ways to recognize your agents for their various accomplishments. If you hold regular team meetings, this would be a good time to hand out various awards for goals reached or at least acknowledge those agents that are making progress towards goals set like listings taken or open houses held. This will also contribute to the positive company culture you are trying to foster. Team Meetings Team meetings help to build camaraderie and give a brokerage that familial feeling that Millennials crave from their place of work. The more that you can make them feel as though they are a part of a family working towards a shared goal, the more invested they will become in the overall success of the brokerage. Again, injecting your team meetings with positive reinforcement and recognition for a job well-done will resonate with Millennials. They are also a great time to offer continuing education on day-to-day issues that real estate agents face and technological advances that could help the team with their goals. Do You Have The Right Stuff? As Jim Weichert emphasized when he started Weichert, Realtors® over 50 years ago, it’s all about the personal. As a successful real estate broker, connecting with people on a human level is in your wheelhouse, so don’t be afraid to tap into those fundamental skills when working with Millennials. Making your brokerage more attractive to Millennials is just a small evolution, not revolution. If you have a holistic company culture, tech-savvy tools, an abundance of leads, and good systems for ongoing education, then Millennials, and everyone else will want to join you. Weichert supports its affiliates with things such as sales meeting templates, an awards and recognition program, ongoing training, technology support and more, providing a perfect plug and play system to help brokerages create an optimal fit for Millennials. With Weichert at your back, you can do even more. Give us a call today at 877-957-9692 or visit us at weichertfranchise.com for more information. Original content posted on https://www.weichertfranchise.com/blog/how-to-make-millennial-real-estate-agents-feel-at-home-in-your-brokerage/ Technology continues to transform the way we do everything from how we communicate to how we buy and sell real estate and everything in between. At its most extreme, technology is even being offered as a replacement for a real estate agent. One has to sometimes wonder whether tech is really working for or against the industry. Digital technology is cool and shiny and the next new thing is always so tempting to try. But it should not distract or replace the personal activities needed to succeed in this business. It will never replace a handshake or the trust built through conversation and making eye contact. A real estate transaction is typically a complex, expensive, and highly personal transaction. Your challenge as a broker is to strike that critical balance between using technology to find your clients and the personal touch to win over and keep them. This approach is the right one, for both buyers and sellers, and for you.
Leveraging Tech Is GoodThere is no denying that many of the tools and resources available to real estate agents and brokers have helped make doing business easier. There’s also nothing wrong with utilizing tools like a real estate CRM or lead generation software to help drum up business and manage it more efficiently. However, certain pieces of technology that we often rely upon today, like email and text messaging are routinely keeping agents, brokers, and clients at more of a distance than they once were. For example, if you have a quick question for your client that only requires a simple answer, you’re probably more likely to shoot them a speedy text or email. While this might seem easier, it cuts out the chance to casually chat about their day and build that friendly rapport that instills trust and garners future business. But Building Real Relationships Is BetterAlthough people can move to technology, technology fails to move people in the way human-to-human contact does. Unlike some businesses where you can get away with keeping clients at an arm’s length, real estate is a contact business and requires you to develop your relationships beyond a superficial business exchange. Consumers are driven by emotions and loyalty; two things that can’t be found in an app or a website. Don’t be tempted to wait for the business to be delivered to your doorstep from that slick new lead gen program you just invested in. Seize every opportunity to nurture your relationships with personal contact. Easy Ways To Foster A More Personal Relationship With Clients The more that you invest into nurturing your relationships with your clients, the more loyal they will be to you in the years to come with their transactions and with referrals. Here are easy ways to help you take your relationships to the next level:
In a world where technology drives functionality, it can be all too easy to rely entirely upon it. However, one must remember that the business of buying and selling real estate was built on the value of real relationships and real people. Although technology can certainly drive us forward and help reduce busy work or trivial tasks, there is nothing that can replace the value of shaking someone’s hand, looking them in the eye, or laughing over a meal together. It is important to find a healthy balance between leveraging technology and taking every opportunity for valuable personal contact. A Brokerage Built By Real People For Real Relationships Since Jim Weichert began his real estate career in 1969, he inherently understood the value of a handshake. He knew that people wanted to buy from people and made it a priority. As he built the Weichert brokerage one handshake at a time, he made sure to empower his team with the tools and technology they needed to work smarter. Yet, he always made sure they understood the power of that personal touch; a core value of the Weichert brand. If you believe in the value of building lasting relationships, Weichert may be a great fit for your business. To learn more about how you can plug in and be a part of a franchise that will provide you with systems that balance technology with personal touch points, go to https://www.weichertfranchise.com. Original content posted on https://www.weichertfranchise.com/blog/how-to-keep-it-personal-in-a-high-tech-world/ Running a real estate brokerage has its share of expenses. Payables—large or small—are a necessary part of doing business. Expenses like rent, office supplies, insurance, furniture etc. are easy to understand and manage. What is less obvious are the investments in marketing, advertising and technology that many brokers spend thousands or even tens of thousands of dollars on each month. The temptation to periodically cut these expenses requires a much more considered analysis that can’t be based completely or even in some cases, primarily on pricing. Conversely, you shouldn’t drop precious budget dollars on every new shiny thing that comes on the market.
Necessity Of Large Expenses You must build and advertise a reputable brand to draw clients to your listings, competing with more well-known franchised brokerage names. Brand building for the independent brokerage can quickly eat away at your budget, especially when figuring all your advertising expenses. According to data published in 2012-2014 by the Association of Real Estate License Law Officials, U.S. real estate agents and brokers spent approximately $8.9 billion on residential advertising in 2015. That’s a substantial amount of money, yet an important expenditure if you are to compete for listings and credibility in your local market. Let’s not forget our need for technology, and its ever-increasing role in real estate. Other than general IT set up and maintenance, customer relationship management (CRM) is a large, yet crucial, cost of doing business that can help streamline much of the real estate process in a busy brokerage. CostOwl reports that in 2018 inhouse CRM costs range from $100 to $1,000 per user plus maintenance, support, updates and potential customization, while web-based CRM systems run $50 to $100 per user every month with lesser fees for smaller brokerages. Expense Analysis Revisited As you know, with some business items, using a less expensive version works just as well and saves money. But this isn’t necessarily true for larger purchases. Of course, you want to spend money that provides the most value and significant benefit to your brokerage. It’s always a good idea to consider your bottom line when factoring in a new or recurring expense, but there is a difference between purchasing a store name brand to save money on office supplies versus buying a bargain basement real estate CRM technology because it has a lower up-front cost. In the case of a CRM for example, between increased labor in transferring data, lost production time and price of a new system, it’s more cost effective to choose the right CRM system for your brokerage from the start. One that provides high value, and is right for your operation, rather than choose a system based primarily on price. When you are part of a franchise, such as Weichert, you typically have the added benefit of a CRM that they’ve already vetted or customized. The Weichert CRM, for example not only provides top tier real estate features such as contact management, marketing automation, open house management, and mobile app access, but its internal workflow has been designed to echo the best practices brokers and agents are taught on their roadmap to success. Your ability to integrate a CRM into your operations is just as important as the CRM feature set and this is not an area to pinch pennies. Look At The Whole Picture Why be penny wise and pound foolish, as the saying goes? Look at the whole picture of expenses in a way that incorporates a wider view of their utility. Once you’ve made these decisions, give these expenditures a chance to prove themselves. Advertising mediums can be tagged to understand how much additional sales you are getting from expenditures on each. Technology can be judged to large degree on the utility it provides to you and the feedback of your team on its usefulness and ease of use. Budgeting more for items that can have big payoffs in the long run, such as specifically targeted brand advertising or an efficient CRM system can increase the brokerage’s long-term income and reduce their operating costs in a way that more than offsets the cost of the advertising or system. Gain Access To Systems That Work At least some of the headaches’ associated with expense management and analysis can be helped by having some deep, expert experience in your corner. Having the resources of a franchise system behind you can save you tremendous time vetting options and more time being productive. Not only do you instantly gain a brand name that matters, input from your coaching team and fellow franchisees about many of the most agonizing expenditures you face is always just a phone call away. Could your brokerage benefit from this? Learn more at weichertfranchise.com or call 877-533-9007. Original content posted on https://www.weichertfranchise.com/blog/stop-seeing-red-smarter-view-brokerage-expenses/ While every broker understands how important technology is to an increasingly younger home buying audience, managing the selection and use of technology in your brokerage can be a challenge to say the least. With real estate software vendors, advertising agencies, mobile apps, and website technology issues all competing for your time, it can be difficult to get traction on technology initiatives, or even know where to turn for reliable, impartial advice as to what to use, and how to use it.
Technology Management Is A Process Often, it feels like there’s a new piece of tech or some hot new real estate marketing strategy coming out every day and brokers are trying to make sense of it all as they consider juggling their technology investments. What brokers must consider is that understanding and managing issues around technology does not require an engineering degree, but it does require a process. A process that can happen regularly, does not take a lot of time, and leverages resources that are truly experts in real estate technology. The experts at Weichert recommend that you look at your brokerage’s technology on a regular basis. Look at your technology investments from a few different perspectives:
If the selection and use of technology to support your processes is too often the thorn in your side or you feel like you can’t keep up, affiliation with one of the larger real estate brands can be a tremendous resource in this area. They take that burden off your plate, freeing you up to focus on other things related to running your brokerage. Weichert, for example, is continuously improving existing technology and evaluating new ones to ensure it’s using and providing the most efficient and effective techniques for managing real estate business. Affiliates are given access to these technology tools, such as our online marketing resource center, paperless transaction management system and our WeichertPRO CRM tool. Developing A Productive, Successful Relationship with Tech As a broker, you’re a relationship builder. So, it’s key to build a “relationship” with the technology you use and your process for evaluating it. The brokerage that makes effective use of technology is one that will develop into a real force to be reckoned with now and in the future. A brokerage with well-integrated technology will have a more efficient workflow, smarter online real estate marketing tools, and timely, consistent follow-up. Furthermore using effective, up-to-date technology can lead to higher agent retention, better productivity, and more efficient team dynamics. And who doesn’t want that? Real estate is ultimately a face-to-face industry and Weichert firmly believes that technology will never replace a handshake – but we also understand how the real estate industry is changing – and we want to deliver the best of both worlds in order to help build stronger, more effective brokerages. If you share this vision, get in touch with us today at https://www.weichertfranchise.com and let our team show you some technology solutions that can help take your brokerage to the next level. Original content posted on https://www.weichertfranchise.com/online-real-estate-marketing/managing-technology-brokerage/ While they haven’t yet isolated the gene for real estate success, Weichert affiliate Brandon Long may be the perfect test subject. Brandon inherited his mother’s love for the real estate industry and more than a little of her drive for success as well. “I grew up in a real estate family,” mused Brandon, on a typical busy day that took him between two of the four offices of Weichert, Realtors® – The Griffin Company, in northwest Arkansas. “My mother started a brokerage back in 1974 when I was just 4 years old. In those days, you could just get a license and open a storefront. She’s been at it ever since and is still the largest independent broker in her market.” When he was in his late twenties, Brandon took the plunge and got his real estate license, too. After a few years as an agent, Brandon knew that owning his own brokerage was where he wanted to be. Brandon and his good friend Carter Clark, started an independent brokerage focused on the residential market in and around the Northwest corner of Arkansas in 2003. “Our market is in an area with some of the largest corporate headquarters in the county. Walmart and Tyson Foods are based here and every vendor that sells to them has a presence in the local area,” notes Brandon. “We are in a beautiful corner of the state and many of those employees decide they want to settle out here.” While achieving some growth from 2003 to 2007, the housing crash propelled Brandon and Carter to consider some of the challenges they were facing as an independent brokerage in a highly competitive market. “Recruiting and training agents was a big challenge for us,” says Brandon, “We had nothing formal and weren’t sure how to develop it.” By late 2007 it was getting harder and harder for them to see a way forward. They decided to consider a franchise relationship. Due Diligence In researching possible franchise affiliations, Brandon and Carter looked at literally every real estate company out there. “It came down to Weichert and one other company,” says Brandon, “We chose Weichert because they were the only company that really cared about how we would make a profit.” In late 2007 they signed on with Weichert Real Estate Affiliates, Inc. In their first couple of years, which was in the midst of the housing crash, the brokerage grew from 20 to about 70 agents. Their success did not go unnoticed by other local brokers and they were presentedwith an opportunity to merge with another large brokerage in the area. The Weichert corporate team assisted with due diligence throughout the merger and Weichert, Realtors® – The Griffin Company was born. With the help of Weichert and through other acquisitions over the subsequent years, the brokerage grew steadily. In January of 2018, their company will open its fourth office in Fort Smith, adding another 35 agents to the roster. The Weichert® System Today As a franchisee for a decade, Weichert, Realtors® – The Griffin Company continues to derive great value from the relationship with Weichert. Some of their favorite benefits include the Weichert Listing Presentation system aka “DOORS”, which has become an indispensable part of the agent selling process. The sales team uses it on almost every listing presentation. In addition to creating a powerful and accurate presentation, DOORS is facilitated by online tools provided by Weichert which make creation of the material easy. “If I go up against another broker with our Doors presentation vs. whatever they bring, I’ll win the listing 95% of the time,” says Brandon. For Brandon, another great benefit of the Weichert affiliation has been the coaching and training–for Brokers. “I’m always learning something from Weichert Training. I never miss the “Saw Sessions” and I’ve gone three times to the Weichert Management Academy.” The endless opportunities for coaching and learning through Weichert continue to allow the company to stay ahead of changes, technology and opportunities in the industry. But according to Brandon, no discussion of the Weichert System would be complete without mentioning the Weichert Lead Network. “We develop a huge amount of opportunities through the Weichert Lead Network. In 2017 we anticipate that 90-100 closings will happen through these leads.” Brandon points out that the National Association of REALTORS® says on average it takes 48 hours for agents to respond to leads and 50% get no response at all. According to Brandon, “With the Weichert lead acquisition and technology systems, the leads are pre-screened and transferred to a live agent on my team within 3-5 minutes of receiving a call or online form. This makes an enormous difference in our ability to be first in our market.” The Results In 2007, Brandon’s brokerage was looking at the most depressed housing market in a lifetime. After instituting the Weichert System, he was able to more than triple his agent team in just under two years. His success attracted opportunities. After a merger, and several acquisitions later, Weichert, Realtors® – The Griffin Company has increased its agent count by almost tenfold since it affiliated, has 4 offices in northwest AR, and business is booming. Brandon sums it up this way, “We couldn’t have survived without Weichert and we continue to succeed because of their active commitment to our success.” Visit Brandon and the team at http://www.weichertgriffin.com/ For more information on franchise opportunities with Weichert Real Estate Affiliates, Inc. visit https://www.weichertfranchise.com/ Original content posted on https://www.weichertfranchise.com/blog/franchise-success-spotlight-weichert-affiliate-brandon-long/ In Part 1 of this series about keeping leads warm we discussed the new definition of “responsive” and the importance of being that first conversation with a lead. In the second part of the series our focus moves beyond responsiveness and answers the question: “How do we nurture and leverage all the contacts we make even when they aren’t ready to engage?”
Facts About Lead Follow Up A study by the Harvard Business Review found that most businesses fall into a pattern of neglect when it comes to leads. They waste about 71 percent of leads by not following up or stopping contact too soon. Then consider that lead-to-close rates in real estate sales run between 1% and 5% in most studies and you begin to see why every contact is precious. For every 100 contacts an agent gets, they will do a deal with 1 to 5 people. If an agent is not engaging every contact and their close rate is at the lower end of that scale, they are doing themselves a disservice and limiting their income potential. The message here is clear for brokers and their agents: Even if the vast majority of leads do not immediately turn into transactions, each new lead should be treated with a sense of urgency and pursued as if it is coming from a ready, willing, and able home buyer or seller. Most experienced real estate professionals we talk to understand this intuitively, yet many of those same individuals struggle with both the timeliness and the consistency of this follow up for all but the most promising opportunities. Contacts are Investments Timely response to leads makes the prospect feel appreciated and makes the impression that you are a highly responsive professional. But how do you nurture contacts who are not ready to move forward? Here are a few ideas from the team at Weichert Real Estate Affiliates.
All this nurturing is done by the most successful associates and creates the kind of relationship that can lead to an active lead, when the prospect is finally ready to move forward. Nurturing Contacts Efficiently As Brokers, we need to focus on helping our agents close sales and often the time required for good follow up on everyone else is hard to come by. Nurturing leads tends to slip as a priority when faced with clients active in the home search or the offer stage. That’s why having both a regular process and tools for lead nurturing can be so valuable to brokers and agents. An obvious aide to efficient lead nurturing is a good Real Estate CRM. As an example, Weichert offers its proprietary system to all affiliates called Weichert®PRO. This system is tied directly into our national lead generation technology, enabling both brokers and agents to effectively manage more leads and clients. Things like planning, promotion and follow up from an open house are facilitated within the tool, leveraging software designed specifically for that. Email campaigns can be configured to regularly stay in contact with everyone on your contact list. Even personalized ones can be easily generated for birthdays and anniversaries etc. But perhaps most important is the use of a specific process for lead follow up that is timely, efficient, and personal. For instance, at Weichert we have developed a system for nurturing that is actually supported by our CRM tool. The tool perfectly aides this process, and your team can define highly effective nurturing campaigns, while spending less than ½ hour a week to keep those leads from going cold. Follow Up Makes a Big Difference Whether it is a phone call after an initial meeting or a handwritten note expressing gratitude for the opportunity to earn their business, small gestures do mean a great deal. It’s definitely the Weichert Way. When you make a personal connection with leads early, it increases the effectiveness of all future communications and lays the groundwork for a successful long term relationship. If you would like information on how your brokerage can benefit from the training and lead nurturing tools provided by Weichert, Contact our team at https://www.weichertfranchise.com today. Original content posted on https://www.weichertfranchise.com/blog/dont-let-leads-go-cold-part-2-follow-process/ It’s no secret that the Internet has changed the real estate industry – and every other industry for that matter. It’s made every transaction easier, smarter and faster. We can sit at our computers or look at the palm of our hand and browse a home down the road or across state lines, ask a real estate agent across the country about a home’s location over social media, or evaluate possible mortgage and financing options on websites. All done without so much as a phone call.
Most successful brokers however, understand that in the sale of residential real estate, having a personal, face to face connection with a buyer or seller has a power well beyond the individual home being discussed and gives you maximum influence during the sale. Marrying the Digital Age With The Personal Touch What we need to realize is that the need and importance of the personal connection in real estate selling hasn’t really changed much in the last 50 years. What has changed is simply when and how that happens. In the digital age, more and more initial contact with buyers and sellers happens online. They respond to digital ads, search online, respond to Facebook posts and Tweets, watch virtual tours posted online, or visit your brokerage website. The difference today is that your client is better informed and has a much better idea of what they want before you ever get to talk to them. This move to digital should not be viewed as a threat, but as something overwhelmingly positive. By learning to use digital mediums more effectively, you can create MORE opportunities to have those important face to face contacts that make a difference. Social media, and other real estate portals instead of threatening our livelihood, have actually made it easier for professionals to connect with buyers and sellers. What’s more, you can connect with them at the moment they are interested in your services, something the internet has given us that we rarely had in a pre-internet world. Real Estate Marketing – One Handshake at a Time At the end of the day, real estate is still a scary and complex process for customers and that personal service they get from you, guiding them through it all, can make all the difference between the experience they get from Brand X and you. And if you do it right, you will build stronger relationships with buyers, sellers, browsers, and people of every age and from every walk of life. Years from now, when they are ready to sell their homes, it’s not your clever Facebook post they’ll remember: it’s that you looked them in eye, shook their hand, and made them feel like you would do whatever it takes to make their dreams a reality. Making personal connections is something we believe whole-heartedly at Weichert. It’s what we teach, what we believe, and in many ways, it’s how it all got started. The Power of the Personal Back in 1969 a man named Jim Weichert started his career in real estate in an interesting way. With his new broker license still hot in his hands, Jim wasn’t content to wait for customers to find him. Instead, surrounded by dozens of more established real estate brokers, Jim started handing out business cards at local train stations. Every morning, and every afternoon, you could find Jim greeting prospective customers commuting to New York City. His approach was refreshing and highly personal, supporting his long-held belief that “people buy people before they buy your product or service.” The Weichert brokerage grew dramatically, but through it all, Jim maintained the importance of the personal touch as a core value driving the Weichert methodology. Even as the internet became the predominant method of advertising and promotion, his “people first” business philosophy maintains a central role in the operational systems he developed for the Weichert franchise model. By perfecting those systems and recruiting strategies, he created a business model that other brokers could follow with ease and greater certainty. In the current digital world, Facebook is the new train station, where you can connect with much more than commuters. (Though you are welcome to go to train stations too, this still works!). In this age of self-service and fast moving content, there is something refreshing to a consumer about that personal touch, good customer service and personal reassurance that everything will be fine. Don’t use technology to replace a handshake; rather, use the technology to prompt one. If you have a vision for your success that includes listening, learning, and working differently than your competitors, you just might be next Weichert Franchise success story. Contact our team at https://www.weichertfranchise.com to learn more. Original content posted on https://www.weichertfranchise.com/blog/internet-will-never-replace-handshake/ |
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