Selling Soulfully with Jennifer Allan

Jenny & Anonymous ask: "How often should you write or post something to your blog?"

A.  As often as time permits and you can write meaningful content about your business.

Donne asks: "Renee - what are your syndication sources?"

I believe they've connected on this offline, but the rest of us would love to hear, too!

A.  Syndication is created anytime your post is referenced with a link, replicated on another blog, carried by RSS subscribers, etc.  The possibilities for syndication of content is endless.

Donne Knudsen comments: "I find that I spend a lot more time and energy converting internet leads compared to the time and energy it takes to convert a referred lead."

Great point! Would love others' thoughts on this. 

A.  Apples and oranges.  A referral is a referral by networking.  A lead is a contact generated by advertising.

Jenny asks: "Do any of the speakers hire out their online lead generation work or do they do it all personally?"

A.  I do mine all myself.

Nathaniel asks: "Is internet marketing targeted towards brokers only or can real estate sales persons take advantage of marketing on the net without any conflict from the broker?"

A.  Depends on the broker and their brokerage model.  Some brokers want to control Internet leads and refer them to agents for a percentage of commission.  Most do not. 

Doug asks: "Can we see some examples of good real estate blogs?"

Here are the blogs of our speakers who blog, but please feel free to add to this list!

Renee Burrows: http://activerain.com/blogs/lasvegasrealestateforyou
Karen Rice: http://www.pikewaynepablog.com/
Lenn Harley: http://activerain.com/blogs/lennharley 
 

Phyllis asks: "Other than Active Rain, where do you post your blogs?"

A.  Twitter and sometimes on my own web sites.  From time to time, RealTalk.

Anonymous asks: "Based on the leads that come online and register - how long will you stay in contact with them - 1,2,3,4 months? .... Before they actually buy... at what point do you give up on someone?"

A.  Since folks enroll themselves in my IDX system on their own, they stay as long as they wish to review listings.  I purge the list once a year.  Consumers who make direct inquiries by e-mail or phone are referred to agent or sold.

Ruthmarie asks: "Regarding pay-per-click, did using pay-per-click help you get your site/blog established? Or did the results go away once you stopped using it? In other words - can I use PPC to establish my site and then stop and continue to see results?"

I used PPC Google AdWords from about 2003 to 2004.  Once organic SERP was sufficient to keep our agents busy, I stopped.

We had a lot of questions about IDX and although we tried, I'm not sure we answered them satisfactorily for many in the audience. The main question was "What's the best IDX" or "What IDX do the speakers recommend?" Our answer was that it depends on your local MLS as to what IDX(s) is/are available to you, and whether or not your board even allows broker reciprocity. Some attendees commented that their broker don't allow individual agents to have an IDX on their websites. Any thoughts or comments on this?

A.  The best IDX is the one you're using.  The easiest is from your local BOR or MLS.  Mine is http://www.homefinders.com/lennharley .

http://www.homefinders.com/frameset.htm

http://www.virginia-real-estate-homes.com/frameset.shtml

On a related note, Vickie asks: "I'm an agent with the largest real estate brokerage in the metro Kansas City area. Every agent has a personal web page with IDX. What would you recommend I do to stand out & drive business to my site?"

GREAT question!!!

A.  Make sure that your web site is well optomized for Google and let your web site drive consumers to your IDX.  When a lead or contact comes in from your IDX site, jump on it.  When the phone rings, answer it.  You'll be way ahead of the rest.

Dolores asks: "Do you recommend showing or not showing the property address on your IDX feed site?"

A.  No recommendation.  I do not show addresses for many reasons.  They are easy to find but no one is going to knock on a door with my IDX flyer in their hand. 

Dixie asks: "What quanity of leads do the participants receive on monthly basis? What percentage turn into closings?"

A.  5-10 leads per day, 2 per day referred to agents, 50% sold.

Kevin asks: "What about successes with specific targeting of small markets or is your focus broad based in larger geographic areas?"

A.  Both.

Nishika asks: "How important are the graphics (maps, stats, charts) used in blogs? Any recommendations on vendors who create them?"

A.  I believe that the consumer wants to search listings of homes for sale and look at photos of homes for sale.  Anything that gets the consumer to reach that gold will more likely bring a contact.

Jenny asks: "Do you update the information on your websites on a regular basis?"

A.  Yes.  Not as often as I would like. 

Maureen asks: "Do you recommend using your own name for your real estate website?"

A.  NO.  I recommend using a real estate related term with geographical reference.

Karoline asks:  "What one thing would you say makes your website a success in gaining business from the website?" and related: "What do you find reaps the biggest reward for your time, updating the website, blogging,etc....?"

A.  SEO.  Both.

Thanks, Lenn!!!! Very thorough!!!

wow, alot of information. I bookmarked this for obvious reasons. There is alot of great information that I need to reread and digest. But then, I'm a little slow.

Thank you

Can I add the best IDX is the one you use properly. I am still discovering everything I can do with Diverse Solutions. Sounds like a really good program.

A.  Apples and oranges.  A referral is a referral by networking.  A lead is a contact generated by advertising.

Really a non answer... yes they are different...but you will still spend less time and dollars on the referral vs internet.

Hi Jennifer - I so enjoyed being on your show the other evening. I loved the energy your presenters brought to the show and it was great to listen to the diverse routes we have all taken to ultimately get to the same goal; more closings. I am happy to answer the questions that appy to my use of the internet. But . . . I'm off to two closings ($560k) followed by a second showing ($320k), all generated through my website. It's a busy Friday! I will post answers to the listener questions this evening. Hope you get the chance to take the dogs out today - once again, an amazing day to be at the beach!

Thanks for all the good answers Lenn, and your constant presence. And congratulations on nearing the million mark for AR posts.

Fantastic post Jennifer (and Lenn). Extremely helpful and of course it will be bookmarked. Thank you.

Denise

Hi there, Jennifer- we loved the show . Thanks so much for hosting it. It also was fun to hear the voices of the folks I feel I know from following their blogs!

 I am very interested in finding a better idx solution than the one my board has. The search is so limited in filtering down. I want something where I can do subdivisions and have the results on pages about the specific subdivisions. Oh and want economy. Boy am I hard to please! Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Jennifer, what a great idea, and thank you to these women for answering these questions! I love to learn -- especially from those who do it WELL!

I never entered the date into my calender so I missed it!  Glad it was such a huge success!

Great post and full of information for all to take in.

Great questions and very powerful information.

I get a ton of business from the internet, but it helps that I can do business nationwide.  One thing I have found is that it is critical from a time management perspective to focus on the leads that are the best ones and put the rest on an automated follow up campaign.  Personally, I have leads in my sustem literally forever and have converted leads that are as old as 4 or 5 years.  The trickle system I use trails off after the first 6 months, so they only get a quarterly email which is not diffficult by using a database program.

Great post!  I honestly believe that the internet is the best source for leads other than referrals.

Hi Jennifer...Sorry I missed the Webinar, I was getting an Offer signed(Sold a home to 1st time buyers).

Here's my response to one of the Questions, I'll try and address others later.

Anonymous asks: "Based on the leads that come online and register - how long will you stay in contact with them - 1,2,3,4 months? .... Before they actually buy... at what point do you give up on someone?"

Answer : Until They Buy or Die !

But Reply to Internet leads Right away or hire some too.

Every sale I've Made this Year has come from the Internet, people are finding me all over with their key word searches around Victoria...Keep Posting here,especially Localism posts and in time you'll dominate, search Fred Carver-ReMax it should show over 340,000 results on Google, and the Last time I searched Yahoo was way over a million. Now I don't look to see the relevance of these and Consumer do not as well, only the first 1-2 pages. It's a Listing Tool !

I just had a call yesterday me about what I do to sell homes, I said search Fred Carver-ReMax in Google. That was a call on Selling a 7,000 sq.ft. home with 50 acres asking 3.5 Million, we'll see how serious he is when we meet next week.

Donne asks: "Renee - what are your syndication sources?"

Here is a feed submitter and it does cost $ but there is a free trial.  I think I paid $50 and the amount vs time to find and submit your site (and you can submit your static site too,) is very worth it.  You simply put your profile together in the program and it has the sources in there.

Donne Knudsen comments: "I find that I spend a lot more time and energy converting internet leads compared to the time and energy it takes to convert a referred lead."

I find it takes the same amount of time.  I talk to them as if they were a referred lead and then put them in my system.  For example I picked up a lead doing an interior BPO on Saturday and these people have been the worst energy vampires I can remember.  They don't have money and they don't get the process - no matter what I say to them and I am trying to be patient and kind.  People who read my blog know me and understand the process - because they have read my blog and I have explained what is going on here a million times.  I probably shouldn't call that a "referred" lead because it is a cold lead but they met me in person.  I always reference certain posts to new leads in my buyer database (whether internet or referral lead) so they can "get" certain market conditions.

Donne actually produces a great blog with high quality and posts that are very educating.  I do suggest you (if you haven't already) write a couple of posts about the current process to share with your new clients (whether they are leads or internet referrals) so that they come back for more.  I have used my blog so there are less objections and people can chug forward when they come across some of these strange market forces.  This strategy and tactic has worked very well in my market and I find my (soft sale) closing skills has improved from it.

Jenny asks: "Do any of the speakers hire out their online lead generation work or do they do it all personally?"

I do it personally.  I am in the process of hiring out (my systems) for listing marketing.  I put my son on payroll last week so I don't have to share my systems with an "outsider!"  Muhahahahah.

Anonymous asks: "Based on the leads that come online and register - how long will you stay in contact with them - 1,2,3,4 months? .... Before they actually buy... at what point do you give up on someone?"

My system actually allows me to stay in touch with them for as long as they want me to stay in touch with them.  We have a three + year old condo high rise buyer we are still working with and we also just funded and recorded a buyer yesterday that we procured on March 3rd of last year.  The beautiful thing is I can see the back end activity from these buyers that I know when it may be the "right time" to call (by what they are doing on my site).  I stay in touch with broadcast emails (again using articles within my blog) on a 1-2 week interval otherwise.  It is truly systematic and as Lenn called it "Synergy".  Look for all the ways you can use your blogs!

We had a lot of questions about IDX and although we tried, I'm not sure we answered them satisfactorily for many in the audience. The main question was "What's the best IDX" or "What IDX do the speakers recommend?" Our answer was that it depends on your local MLS as to what IDX(s) is/are available to you, and whether or not your board even allows broker reciprocity. Some attendees commented that their broker don't allow individual agents to have an IDX on their websites. Any thoughts or comments on this?

At the risk of sounding rude, if your broker isn't allowing IDX, I don't believe they are on the cutting edge.  Unless you can give me a compelling reason WHY they wouldn't allow IDX and yet still be on the cutting edge, it may be time to start interviewing brokers who will embrace the types of marketing you do or want to do.

On a related note, Vickie asks: "I'm an agent with the largest real estate brokerage in the metro Kansas City area. Every agent has a personal web page with IDX. What would you recommend I do to stand out & drive business to my site?"

I am from the midwest also.  I would suggest blogging, the use of twitter and other social networking.  I find even in LV that I stand a little head and shoulders above the rest because I am "out there."  If you don't want to write a blog, try a photo blog or video blog, just blog blog blog!  And go Chiefs!

Nathaniel asks: "Is internet marketing targeted towards brokers only or can real estate sales persons take advantage of marketing on the net without any conflict from the broker?"

I am a salesperson.  Talk to your broker to find out what they will and won't allow.  If they are unreasonably restrictive, go shopping for a new broker!  Reasonable means you have to stay within the boundaries of the law.

Nishika asks: "How important are the graphics (maps, stats, charts) used in blogs? Any recommendations on vendors who create them?"

I use excel and I have personally created many reusable charts where I just plug the new stats in them.  I think I should start selling them, LOL!

Jenny asks: "Do you update the information on your websites on a regular basis?"

I try but lately it has been impossible.

Maureen asks: "Do you recommend using your own name for your real estate website?"

My main website is my name.  I also have about 50 other domains that I point to specific pages within my website.

Karoline asks:  "What one thing would you say makes your website a success in gaining business from the website?" and related: "What do you find reaps the biggest reward for your time, updating the website, blogging,etc....?"

The biggest reward is the lack of objections.  I use my website and blog to educate about current market conditions.  When I do this = less time "closing" a sale.  This allows me to write about one or several current objections and kill about 100 birds with one stone (so to speak.)  When there is a new objection, I write about it!  So you can not only use your blog for lead generation, you can email blast your pipeline to educate them about the process AND make your job easier.

Wow ~ So much great info to read and follow up on! Thanks Jennifer, Lenn, and Renee for taking time to answer so valuable answers to our questions! What sharp ladies you all are.

Great program yesterday, and great answers posted here. Thanks, Jennifer, for putting together such a great program.

Thanks to all you ladies for the wonderful presentation Wednesday night. It was great to hear the interaction between 5 stars of AR. Thanks in particular to Lenn and Renee for taking time to write the answers to so many of the questions. Thanks so much JA for putting it on.

Wow  

 What a great post ....tons of information in a great outline....and great answers!!!

Thank You,

Robert

Robert Twaron

Military Relocation San Antonio, Texas

Thank you for the program, Jennifer.  I am wondering why you did the seminar, considering the SWS philosophy of getting tons of business from our network of friends versus using the internet for leads.  Note that I actually think that the SWS philosopy still jibes with how we handle ourselves daily, whether a potential client comes from the internet or a referral. I'm not criticisizing, just curios. :)

Wow!  What a lot of great info!  Thanks to all of you for sharing you wisdom!

kp

Jennifer - I actually did go onto Renee's blog and checked out her blog syndication widgets and did go and signed up for zimbio.  It was really easy and not too time consuming submitting my blog and pinging it and filtering the posts I wanted to syndicate and didn't want to syndicate.

Then Renee posted the link to the automated blog syndication service and for a nominal fee, I can get signed up for a bunch of sites.  DEFINITELY WORTH THE FEE!

Thx for inviting me to the webcast; I appreciated it and would love to attend any future ones about improving my internet presence.

This is an informative and interesting subject and one that is only now beginning to be understood.  Most agents and agencies think more highly of their internet leads than the should.  An internet leads is truly a cold call.  It is a prospect clicking on your free tool looking for something they want.  They do this on multiple sites at a time.  It takes a skilled salesperson to get them to open up and share real information so that you can help them get to what they want.

Thanks so much for getting this information to us today. It's appreciated!

Patricia/Seacoast NH

Wow, what a great post with so much information. Lenn and Renee, thank  you for taking the time to actually answer all of those questions. Definitely going to have to come back and study a few of the answers.

Wow! Lots of great information in this blog. Thanks for sharing all the tips and knowledge.

WOW what a wealth of informatio.  Thanks for sharing with us all.  I i greatly appreciated.

I would like to answer #26.  While I am not a member of the SWS network (yet) I do understand Jennifer's philosophy for SWS.  My stats from internet business (percentage wise on where it comes from) was dismally lower compared to the others on the show.  I integrate my social networking & blog with my sphere.

As far as Jennifer doing this, I think she prefaced with a "I don't get it, it didn't work well for me, how do you convert internet leads?"

I really enjoyed reading Lenn's responses at the top of the page. Some wonderful dialogue was generated at the SWS studio. Kudos!

This is so much information I can't take it all in.  Thanks for taking so much time!

Thanks, I really appreciated your information. I found it very helpful.

Cal

great info, generating a converting internet leads is an art form.

Thanks Jennifer I am bookmarking this post so I can look at this at a time of peace and quiet thanks again

Wow!  Sorry I missed this show!  it sounds as if a ton of information was shared by the Bloggers!  I'll dig deeper and see what other info. I can gain!

This is a lot of information to digest. Thank you all for consolidating and sharing your ideas and possibilities in one place.

Great information, I would love to reblog this for my tampa folks

I didn't get notice of most of these comments, so it was quite a pleasant surprise to log on and see all the good stuff! Thanks, Renee for posting your responses and I'm looking forward to Robin's as well (and yes, Robin, I did find time to hit the beach today).

I was, frankly, also a little overwhelmed at all the information, but I think the advice to take it one step at a time and to filter in and out what works for you and your model is good. I'm always told how I need to do this or that in addition to what I'm already doing and I have to remind myself to take a deep breath, step back, and congratulate myself for what I AM doing, knowing that when I'm ready, I'll take the next step, whatever that step may be.

Lisa - Renee answered your question for me - I've never had much luck generating new leads from the internet, so I was curious (and somewhat skeptical) as to how it really works. And yes, I do believe that if you treat online leads the way you would treat the people you know, you should have a fairly good conversion rate. Truthfully, I don't know if that's the case, but it makes sense to me. Anyway, changing times call for changing strategies and I'm certainly open to new ideas.

Wow! Great line up for a Q&A. This a very good topic and I enjoyed reading all of the comments in this post. Well done ladies.

Jennifer, I'm jealous. Sounds like ya'll had a wonderful time together.

Hi Jennifer --

I enjoyed the webinar and found it very informative.  (Unlike one I joined last week which ended up being nothing but an infomercial for what they were selling. ) -- Oh well...

Thanks for arranging such great speakers.  I've followed several of them on AR and it was nice to listen to what's working for them.  I'm looking forward to more responses here and will check back a little later! 

"Other than Active Rain, where do you post your blogs?"

I post mine on my Wordpress blog, and occasionally on Trulia. 

Based on the leads that come online and register - how long will you stay in contact with them - 1,2,3,4 months? .... Before they actually buy... at what point do you give up on someone?"

I only give up on them if after I've taken them out I realize thay are unrealistic, or for one reason or other I don't feel comfortable with them.  When it comes to the folks on my MLS autoemails, I will never cut them loose, just let them keep getting them while they still are looking at them.

One agent I know had a guy call her out of the blue, he had been on her auto email list for years....and when "the" house came on the market, he called her and told her he wanted to buy it.  He knew the house, and when it was ready, HE was ready.  She had forgotten about even signing him up but he thanked her for continuing to send him listings over the years.  I will always remember that.  It does not hurt to keep someone signed up as long as they want to be signed up!  I am not a pesky person so I don't bug them.  I usually let them contact me when they are ready.
 

RE: IDX.  My broker allows us all to have IDX on our websites.  The most economical program for me is the IDX that is supplied by our MLS provider, Flex (FBS Systems) They have made some excellent improvements on Flex over the years and I'm very happy with it. I pay a nominal amount per year to have customized IDX links - I use links I made based on my own custom searches. 

"I'm an agent with the largest real estate brokerage in the metro Kansas City area. Every agent has a personal web page with IDX. What would you recommend I do to stand out & drive business to my site?"

You need to rule the search engines.  Your blog can help you do that if you learn how to blog effectively - keeing in mind search engine strategies as well as putting stuff out there that readers will FIND. 


"Do you recommend showing or not showing the property address on your IDX feed site?"

Many properties in my area are in gated communities, so the general public doesn't have access to drive by anyway...but I say let them have the address.  I don't care if they want to drive by and scout the place out - I love the customers who tell me they already drove by a certain house and they don't want to see it because they don't like the yard or the neighbors...saves me a lot of time and gas!

"What quanity of leads do the participants receive on monthly basis? What percentage turn into closings?"

I haven't tracked this very well but about 80% of my closings resulted from internet leads.  I've had some contact me and waste my time, and I've had others contact me who made an offer after our 2nd time out.  Unfortunately, I have not kept good track of it. 

"What about successes with specific targeting of small markets or is your focus broad based in larger geographic areas?"

I target buyers looking in MY area, period.  I don't want people interested in PA real estate.  I want people interested in Pike  or Wayne County, where I work.

"How important are the graphics (maps, stats, charts) used in blogs? Any recommendations on vendors who create them?"

I either create my own using PaintShopPro (similar to Photoshop), my own digital pictures, or I purchase something from iStockphoto.com.  Occasionally I will use something that is a Creative Commons w/ Commercial permission, but that's rare.  Graphics are important to make your blog look compelling and attractive but they should be a complement to the content, not the main content (unless it's a photo blog!).  Too many graphics is distracting.  And too many words is overwhelming.  It takes a delicate balance.  I for one hate blogs that have a cute graphic on every paragraph...it's annoying.

"Is Karen using her personal facebook or does she have a business fan page?"

I have both, a fan page (see it here:  http://www.facebook.com/lakewallenpaupack It is still a work in progress and I'm putting more stuff up soon) but most of my activity is on my personal page, where I just have fun and chat with people.  I only occasionally make some kind of business remark on my personal page - very very rarely, like "I'm headed out to show properties, see you guys later" or "I just got this new listing and am so excited" but only once in a blue  moon and it's always in an off hand/casual way.  Most of my interaction on Facebook is very personal/fun...commenting back and forth with other realtors across the country and with my friends from "real life."

"Do you update the information on your websites on a regular basis?"

I try to.  Sometimes it doesn't happen.  I try to blog a couple times a week but that doesn't happen a lot.  When I get new listings I like to put them on my websites.  My blog feeds onto my website so that automatically goes on when I post a new blog.

"Do you recommend using your own name for your real estate website?"

Yes, but also have a local keyword name as well.  Your friends may very well recommend you by name and someone can look you up that way. It's cheap enough that there is no harm in having your name as a domain, but more important is the local keywords.

"What one thing would you say makes your website a success in gaining business from the website?"

It ranks well in search engines and I think I give good info that people want.  It's easy to navigate and easy to find.

"What do you find reaps the biggest reward for your time, updating the website, blogging,etc....?"

Definitely the blogging is the biggest reward...not only does it get me business but it gives me a creative outlet.

One thing I have found is that it is critical from a time management perspective to focus on the leads that are the best ones and put the rest on an automated follow up campaign. Personally, I have leads in my sustem literally forever and have converted leads that are as old as 4 or 5 years. http://www.sandgardenhomes.com/

I'm sorry I missed the show, but love the great answers and blog. Thanks for getting this all going, time for me to bookmark and study!

I love the whole discussion, I hope many will learn from the comments. Through some trial and error philosophy we somehow ended up mirroring many of these stratagies. Who'd a thunk it! Good Job!!!

WOW this is a ton of info.  I bookmarked so I can take some time to digest.  Thanks

Jennifer, WOW. After reading the blog and all the Q&A I feel like I was there.                                  I don't consider this TMI.      Thanks, I needed that.

Hi Jennifer ~ The seminar was super and it's fantastic to have all the additional info in these posts. You had a really amazing line-up the other night!

Liz

Wheewww . . . took me forever to read through all this! Great information Jennifer, Lenn and Renee. I'll try to answer some of the questions posed by those listening to the show the other night, although my internet focus has been mainly through lead generation from Pay Per Click combined with IDX system and a killer back end system and most of the questions are focused on blogging. Love blogging, love Pay Per Click (with the right system). One is more time intensive, the other is more dollar intensive. I believe both will get the job done if used properly.

I blogged a couple of times a week on Active Rain for about a year. I enjoyed the blogging, and met a lot of great real estate agents (Like Jennifer!), but I wasn't really seeing this work turn into closings (My ultimate goal, if you know what i mean!). I already had a busy real estate practice, but our market (Florida - primarily resort and second homes, a good bit of military and retirees) was changing and I could foresee the problems we were going to be facing. I had tried all the canned "real estate web in a box" sort of sites with no real results,

Ultimately, I signed up with a group who provide an almost unbranded - I hate the term stealth, but I guess it might be the word - site that just shows the homes (ALL the homes) in my market through IDX. It has a fabulous back end that gives me tons of information on the prospects; reverse phone look up, when they are in, what homes they look at, what homes they save as favorites, whether their e-mail address is authentic, what they typed into the search engine to find me, a live view of who is on the site, etc. The site does have a "drip" component, but it is sending listings weekly based on the criteria the client has plugged in, versus "drip" campaigns that send home buying tips, etc., which I don't think are targeted to the specific buyer/seller. This is my primary site and it relies on Pay Per Click so is a sponsored site at certain times on certain search engines. I also have a secondary branded site which actually feeds into the same search site and I don't pay for these leads. If you want specifics, just e-mail me through Active Rain.

Donne Knudsen - I spend a lot more time and energy converting internet leads compared to a referred lead - This hasn't been my experience. Here's the thing, I get enough information that I can discard a large number of the internet leads. I call the ones that look good immediately. It's all about return on investment. If I can speak with them and they seem real, I invest in them. My site will be sending them listings every week and then i do some targeted research if it seems warranted. It always surprises me when people write me to thank me for the "great" listings I am sending them. I do believe many people think I am working just for them and that I have 6,000+ listings! That's cool, I get a kick being superwoman - if even just in my own mind!

Jenny - Do any of the speakers hire out their lead generation work? - I think my site (hired out) does all the lead generation. However, I do all the initial contact work. I have several great real estate agents working on my team, but I find I am just better at the initial phone work. I'm not timid as far as calling and I do know my market. I figure, if someone has given me their phone number, they must want to hear from me. To be honest, there have been less than a handfull of times that this has not been the case. I have been known to call back and say, "Oh my goodness, we must have been disconnected," leading to a great relationship with a new client . . .

Nathaniel - Is internet marketing targeted towards brokers only or can real estate sales persons take advantage of marketing on the net without any conflict from the broker? I am a broker associate so I don't own my own brokerage. I am the lead agent with a team of agents who receive clients from me (these might be called warm leads) and we don't have any conflict with our broker. He wants us to SELL! If your broker finds you in conflict then there is a problem and it's not with you.

Anonymous - Based on the leads that come online and register - how long will you stay in contact with them - at what point do you give up on someone? I may give up pretty quickly, but my website continues to send them listing alerts - new listings that meet their parameters as well as price changes - every week. This continues until they buy or unsubscribe.

Ruthmarie - Regarding pay-per-click, did using pay-per-click help you get your site/blog established? Or did the results go away once you stopped using it? In other words - can I use PPC to establish my site and then stop and continue to see results? My Pay Per Click system is pretty involved. My only obligation at first was 3 months, compared to a one year contract with some of these "real estate in a box" sites. I don't think I will ever stop using it. By the six months mark it was paying for itself. I blog only occassionally, but I have added a photo blog to my secondary site which drives to my PPC site, but without the "Pay" component.  Over time I hope to see some pretty good organic SEO to just add to my PPC.

Dixie - What quanity of leads do the participants receive on monthly basis? What percentage turn into closings? I get 250 leads a month. Let me tell you, that's a boat load of leads! Our goal is 2% closing on these leads. Remember, I am throwing a lot away (Not really, I let them "simmer" as they continue receiving leads and sometimes I refer them out. Maybe they didn't buy this year, but maybe they will next year. The studies show internet buyers looking for 17 months prior to purchase.) But - big BUT - we get lots of additional closings from these sales. We had three closings this week, and I wrote a contract today for the son of one of my internet leads who bought a home from me. It's no different from your SOI - if you do a great job every sale becomes 3 sales over time. They will sell with you in 3 to 5 years and they will refer two friends.

Kevin - What about successes with specific targeting of small markets or is your focus broad based in larger geographic area? Our team is made up of three agents covering two counties - population about 250,000. We have just added two more agents. I think it is important to really know the neighborhoods, so when I talk to an internet lead about a particular area I will say something like, "I know that area, but Ruthie (one of the agents on my team) really specializes in XYZ neighborhood. She is in and out of those homes daily and will be the best resource for you. Let me have her call you."

Maureen - Do you recommend using your own name for your real estate website? This only seems good if you want only your SOI to find you. I think I'm pretty cool, but a really large number of my clients come from out of my area and don't know me from Adam's housecat. Even the local clients are usually going to search the internet for something like "homes in Pensacola." If they are searching for Robin Sherman they probably already know my phone number or at least what office to call to find me. Makw your website name something about your area.

Karoline - What one thing would you say makes your website a success in gaining business from the internet? What do you find reaps the biggest reward for your time, updating the website, blogging,etc....? Blogging takes tons of time and I really want to connect with real clients now so I would say that if you aren't already successfully blogging the biggest bang for your buck is going to be getting a great site with IDX and paying to have it sponsored. If it is too expensive, go together with three or four other agents and have leads come to you on a round robin basis. Supplement it with blogging. Maybe one day your organic SEO will work. A lot of this is market specific. If you are in a market with nobody else with a real estate blogsyou might quickly become the queen!

Internet marketing for real estate is still fairly new and it is changing so rapidly. The social media hasn't been around that long and Google has changed the way they rank sites. What you learn today will change tomorrow. Be open to learning. A healthy approach to whatever we endeavor to do I think! Good luck and now, GO SELL SOME REAL ESTATE. Someone out there needs your expertise!

Jennifer:  Glad you made it to the beach!  I hope you got some sun for me!

My big takeaway was from Lenn -- "Read the Google Webmaster Guidelines."

Hi Jennifer -- Thanks for the info and links, I'm off to click on some!

Thanks Jennifer!! :) What a lot of great info!! I, too, have bookmarked this, so I can read and re-read as time permits!!

Wow, what great information here. The comments were real good too. Thanks for the post.

I am definitely going to have to come back and read and study this when I have more time! Thanks for sharing!  Sorry I missed this!

Wow lots of good info here.  Too much to take in on one sitting.  I'll have to re-visit this post.  Thanks.

Karen & Robin: Wow! You took a lot of time to answer a lot of questions. 

That is very impressive!

I love Jennifer's approach to things.

Jennfer sounds like I missed a great webinar, but appreciative of this post and the members of the panel dropping in here to answer some of the questions.

Great wealth of information here.  Internet marketing isn't as new as many agents seem to think.  There just haven't been that many agents that have really taken the time to learn it.  I've been marketing online for almost 12 years.  The market has changed drastically from what it was when I first went online, but it has always been my best form of advertising (best return on investment), and the most rewarding.  It's also the least expensive. 

The buyers start their search online, so shouldn't that be where you can get in front of them first?

Don't get hung up on "SEO" (Search Engine Optimization).  It isn't what it once was.  You need to stay current on your site, and blogging is the best way to keep your site fresh, and keep prospects coming back. Engage your prospects, and give them special offers in exchange for their email address so you can build rapport and a relationship with them.

Blogs do so much for you, behind the scenes, than traditional websites do.  Using special enhancements, you can set your blog up to do most of your heavy work for you. 

Nathaniel asks: "Is internet marketing targeted towards brokers only or can real estate sales persons take advantage of marketing on the net without any conflict from the broker?"

If your Broker doesn't "allow" you to have your own lead generation system, then you are working under the wrong Broker.  Your marketing should benefit you (which does ultimately benefit your broker, too), and if you are going to spend the time and money to generate the leads, then they need to come directly to you.  And any Broker that is more about "them" than their agents, is not a good Broker.  Do keep in mind that you will need to abide by real estate laws in the content that you have on your site (ie Logos, Company Contact Information, etc).

Hi Jennifer,

Thank you and Renee and Lenn and Karen for the show. It was very informative and a lot of fun. And thanks Lenn for answering my question.

Great post. Very helpful information. Its a fine line between real estate agents and Brokers.

Great post. Very helpful information. Its a fine line between real estate agents and Brokers.

There really is a lot of useuful information here, I need some time to proces it and come back later this weekend.

I wanted to be there Wed  but missed it business got in the way. I appreaciate the info and I also was curious as comment 26 was about the merging of strategies.  Like Renee says it may be something to consider. 

From the desk of David Dee,

Jennifer, lots of great info and answers here. Wish I had made the conference call to listen in.

Wow - A lot if great information here...  Realtors helping Realtors, I love to hear it....  This is what Active Rain is all about!!

Wow ... GREAT info - definitely need to bookmark and savor.

Great information and a great featured post. Thanks for sharing

"I find that I spend a lot more time and energy converting internet leads compared to the time and energy it takes to convert a referred lead."

Of course you do.  They say that the typical homebuyer takes about 18 months from the time they have that first thought about a new home to a contract to buy. You might pick these folks up (on the internet) anywhere along their decision timeline. So sure it could take some time. Also consider you have to not only sell a home you have to sell yourself as well. With a referral chances are you will be introduced to the potential client when they are closer to their decision and the referral comes with a recommendation (ie some one else sold them on you)

Just because one source of new business is easier dosent mean you should develop another source

"Based on the leads that come online and register - how long will you stay in contact with them - 1,2,3,4 months? .... Before they actually buy... at what point do you give up on someone?""

The short answer to "How long will I stay in contact with a potential buyer?" ...is Until they buy.

In my experience most folks take more than a few months to decide to buy a new home. (I have read that the typical web shopper takes 18 months from their first online look at real estate to a decision) When they register on your website could be anywhere along their decision time line. I will keep in touch sending listings that meet their selection criteria and with the occasional phone call until they tell me to stop (I have over 500 folks in my database receiving emails each time a new property comes on the market that meets their criteria) I have sold property to folks that have been in my database for 3 years

Jennifer:

How did I miss this? I am here every day. Was there a notification of this event or emails sent out? Was it recorded?

I am reading everything that you have just provided and it is great but I would love to know about any future event like this if that is possible.

Thanks so much.

Hi Claudette! Just send me an email (jennifer@sellwithsoul.com) and I'll make sure you're on the list to receive notices of stuff like this. You may already be, but a spam filter might have "protected" you from me! Darnit...

One more comment about internet marketing. Too often, people just take the standard push marketing they were doing in newspapers, magizines, and direct mail, and transfer it to the internet. The internet has created a shift in how we present ourselves to the public. We can be "aggressive" with IDX, and Google placement, but just to scream our listings on everything does not translate well to the internet empowered consumer who ask what is the benefit to what you are projecting. 

Wow, Jennifer and Lenn...and others...alot of great information here.  I read 'most' of it and will stop back again. Thanks.

Oh my goodness! Lots of great info. Bookmarked!

Well done.  Lot of good information.  Will keep this one for reference.

I'll answer this one:

Maureen asks: "Do you recommend using your own name for your real estate website?"

Yes. Because the more successful you become, the more people will enter your name into google to find you. However, that doesn't mean you can't build on keywords and phrases by buying other domain names and pointing those domain names to your website. I have a bunch of domain names with keyword phrases that point to my site. When I use one of those keyword phrases in a blog, for example, I link to the name of that domain name, not to my website. That let's google know that my domain name is the same as the keyword phrase. And that domain name goes directly to my website, so I'm tying up the loop.

Jennifer - So sorry I missed your webinar! But BOY, this post of yours is absolute GOLD!  I'm on my way out to show a listing ... but I've got this bookmarked so I can come back to it later.

Thanks to Lenn and to all who have shared this invaluable information with us!!

Jennifer,

This is a great post and Lenn's comment could be a post itself. I've bookmarked it and will be coming back to read it in detail.

Brian

Jennifer-- What a GREAT discussion going on here. I have to come back later to absorb it all.

great post.  I'm trying to digest it all as well.  I need to put a page together to capture my leads.  I get tons of hit on my blogs, but they aren't going anywhere to search for listings.  I will remedy this very soon.

Lots of great info here.  This is such a fantastic place to learn.

With over 85% of home buyers starting their search online it's even more important to have a viable internet presence. 

My blog starts on ActiveRain, then it automatically posts to Facebook, Linked In, Plaxo, Twitter and my website.  I also blog on Trulia and Zillow. 

To save time I have most places linked so I only have to blog once and it automatically posts. 

I also to Q&A on Trulia and Zillow. 

But, agents shouldn't be fooled, this isn't a quick thing, it's hard work and it takes time and buyers and sellers won't automatically come to your site, you have to have content to attract them. 

Love the premise of asking the questions for commenters to answer!!!!   

I was signed up for this and at the last minute had to miss it to show an out of town buyer houses.  At least I wrote the contract.  That makes me feel a little better.  I am so sorry to have missed it though.  Will it be archived?

Jennifer,

I find that I get a large percentage of my business online. And my web visibility also secures business with some other clients who are referred by others but they want to check me out.

Anonymous asks: "Based on the leads that come online and register - how long will you stay in contact with them - 1,2,3,4 months? .... Before they actually buy... at what point do you give up on someone?"

A - I've had buyers buy in as few as 4 months and as long as 3 years.  I don't give up on them unless they ask me to remove them from my mailing lists.

A lot of good information here! Must come back.

Great information. I will have to watch the show! Thank you!

Great information. I will have to watch the show! Thank you!

Response to comment #29.  I disagree.  Further, I can't see how the term "cold call" even enters the conversation when discussing Internet leads. 

The use of the Internet is the epitime of "PULL" advertising.  There is absolutely no "cold calling" involved and deliberately so.

In fact, Internet advertising is one advertising medium that is the opposite of the cold call.

This blog post is a great tutorial.  So many informative and resourceful comments !  I will go back and re-read some of the blog posts.  Sounds like it was one heck of a webinar !  I just read another featured post about "her lightbulb coming on and now getting it".  This is just awesome.  Jennifer - you rock !

Great follow-up to the show!  Thanks, Jennifer!

Yes!  You're another good source for all things real estate.  Sign me up for your next webinar.  In the meantime, I'll be digesting this post.

Very Informative post Jennifer! I will be passing on the info to my agents.

Just have to come and say BRAVO to Lenn re: her response to comment #29.  Cold calling has absolutely NOTHING to do with internet marketing AT ALL.

Further, many of the people who contact me want to work with me because they see I have an excellent internet presense.  It's not about cold calling or "techniques" it's about being competent and showing your online prospects thru your internet presence that you are the one to call for real estate help!

Great post! Very useful information. Thanks for sharing.

Its all about the google local biz center. I get 2 calls a day off it for a quote, I can't even imagine when it gets better visibility. Considering that auto insurance and home insurance are googled over 10 million times a month in the united states and 72 percent of the time when someone searches google they're looking for something local.People don't know this but you optimize your local listing the same way you would with a website. Most people don't understand that SEO is a long and delicate process for both the local biz center and organic search results. It mostly breaks down to link building, this can be dangerous because at google Mr. Matt Cutts (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matt_Cutts) will immediately cut down your local listing or website if you quote "farm link". I would only recommend adding 5 links a week out on the web for your website. Don't add it in cheesy directories with low PR ranking. This will only hurt your SEO. In all reality it takes a good full year to optimize a website. For training on SEO I would refer you to Aaron Wall(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aaron_Wall)

WHATEVER YOU DO, DON'T HIRE ANY SEO COMPANIES. THEY ARE A WASTE OF MONEY AND ALL THEY DO IS FARM LINK. This is bad because like I said Mr. Matt Cutts is out looking for this. Please refer to article in 2005 Traffic Power sued Aaron Wall, due to the fact that google came along and completely banned Their website and all of its client websites for farm linking. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Search_engine_optimization

They sued Aaron because of remarks he latter went on and blogged about.

Go ahead and shoot me an email if you have any questions on optimization. One huge factor that has came in place for SEO is blogging. Please check out my local listing to see the relevancy. http://maps.google.com/maps/place?hl=en&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&oq=&um=1&ie=UTF-8&q=independent+insurance+agents&fb=1&gl=us&hq=independent+insurance+agents&hnear=Denver,+CO&cid=16592570390809749691&ei=PLGBS6LrAYessgPu_an0Aw&sa=X&oi=local_result&ct=result&resnum=4&ved=0CC8QnQIwAw

Please scroll to the bottom, you will see that google connected my local listing with my blog.

Cheers and I hope this info helps.

Mark

http://denversinsurance.com

denversinsuranceblog.com

So much information all in one place..... This is being saved, thank you.

Sounds like a lot of great questions asked, I agree with Donne.... Much easier to work with a warm lead than a cold internet lead

Wow Jennifer! I am sorry not to have known about this ahead of time.

Hi! Just wanted to say I loved the show on getting business from the internet! I"m still digesting all this valuable information!

Lot of great info here. Jennifer, thanks for getting all of our questions asked and answered. Greatly appreciated and love your classes!