16 Secrets of the Mega-Agents

NAR Data Proves Why Real Estate Lead Generation Stalls and How to Easily Fix It!

Why Every Top Agent is Doing THIS Right Now…Are You?

Where Do Real Estate Buyers and Sellers Find Their Agent in 2019?

As you may know, I've been re-reading "Think and Grow Rich" and chapter 2 is about having a burning desire backed by faith.

It’s invigorating!

However…

I have a confession to make.

I’ve been drifting for the last year or two.

Have you ever felt that way?

…like your business was lacking something new and exciting, but you just kept pressing on? I call it “embracing the grind”, because I know in “the grind” is an exciting new breakthrough just waiting to burst onto the scene.

However, after 23 years in lead generation…

You question things like…

“Are we relevant? Is technology going to displace us?” or “Is real estate really a relationship business that starts with a conversation?”

AANNNDDD…

“Is my view of the first conversation with a buyer or seller outdated?”

After all, we live in an Internet, text messaging, social media age that has transformed many industries, literally overnight.

Taxis, GPS systems, hotel room rental (Airbnb) all MASSIVELY DISRUPTED and transformed in the flash-of-an-eye…right?

So, let’s take a real hard look at real estate…

…and see if technology is impacting us in a similar way. Is it “transforming” your day to day real estate practice.

To break down that question, let’s dig into the NAR Buyer and Seller Generational Trends report. NAR began publishing it in 2013. Since then, I’ve kept a library of all six years, so I can go back and look at trends.

I’m a data geek...take advantage of my research!

So how much has technology changed your sources of business?

Where is your business coming from today vs. six years ago?

After all, we’re constantly hearing how Facebook is “changing the game” and the Internet is revolutionizing real estate.

If that’s true, then the underlying numbers should support that, right?

So, the key question is…

“Where do buyers and sellers find their agent today?”

We need to know where buyers and sellers find their agent, and then be in those places whenever a real estate discussion occurs.

Make sense?

So, if buyers and sellers are shifting in mass to the internet or social media, like everyone selling social media stuff says, then those numbers should be growing…right?

And if those numbers are growing…the business coming from other sources must be shrinking…right?

Those HUGE flows of business now racing through social media or being generated from YouTube and Google must be coming from somewhere.

Well let’s look at the NAR numbers.

From 2013-2018, “How much business came from the Internet, Social Media, and Referral and Repeat sources?”

Drum roll please…

BUYERS From The Internet…

2013 – 11%
2014 – 9%
2015 – 10%
2016 – 10%
2017 – 9%
2018 – 9%

Here’s the 2018 graphic…

BUYERS From Social Media…

2013 – (wasn’t tracked)
2014 – (wasn’t tracked)
2015 – *% (less than 1%)
2016 – *% (less than 1%)
2017 – *% (less than 1%)
2018 – 1% (finally broke 1%?)

Here’s the 2018 graphic…

BUYERS From Referral and Repeat Sources…

2013 – 59%
2014 – 62%
2015 – 60%
2016 – 61%
2017 – 61%
2018 – 60%

Here’s the 2018 graphic…

SELLERS From The Internet…

2013 – 3%
2014 – 4%
2015 – 4%
2016 – 4%
2017 – 4%
2018 – 5%

Here’s the 2018 graphic…

SELLERS From Social Media…

2013 – (wasn’t tracked)
2014 – (wasn’t tracked)
2015 – *% (less than 1%)
2016 – *% (less than 1%)
2017 – *% (less than 1%)
2018 – *% (still hasn’t broke 1%?)

Here’s the 2018 graphic…

SELLERS From Referral and Repeat Sources…

2013 – 69%
2014 – 71%
2015 – 67%
2016 – 73%
2017 – 70%
2018 – 69%

Here’s the 2018 graphic…

When you look at the cold hard facts, the big scary Internet monster and the social media silver bullet, they're like the wizard behind the curtain in the Wizard of Oz...they lose their power to scare anybody.

The Internet was going to end real estate agents, and social media has been a “game changer”…yet…23 years after the launch of Realtor.com, and 12 years after the founding of ZILLOW-monster, the last six years have been as steady as ever, no sign of massive disruption anywhere, as far as I can see.

Could it come?

Sure, it could.

However, the trend line heavily favors repeat and referral sources and you learning how to leverage all your hidden assets – your listings, client closings, and learning how to outgun the big three lead-stealers on your local turf!

You can do it…I promise you that you can.

In fact, to help with that watch our quick 7-minute video that can help you with all three of those things. It's the easiest way to get the best listings and most qualified buyers in almost any area...

Watch 7-Min Video Here »

Easy Listing Leads from Your Next Blog Post

Here’s a free blog post you can use to generate high quality seller leads.

However, remember blogging isn’t going to overwhelm you with leads. You’ll pick up a lead or two a month that you otherwise wouldn’t have. So I want you to be realistic. If it adds 3-4 transactions a year to your total it’s worth a few minutes a week to put this source to work for you.

So here’s a free “copy paste” blog post. Again, all we ask is that you maintain our citation as the source.

=== Copy From Here ===

Why Waiting Could Cost You Thousands of Dollars Extra When Selling Your Home!

At the risk of sounding cliché, the old adage “The early bird catches the worm” definitely applies to selling your home. Those who get started early tend to sell for more money in a shorter time.

There are three basic reasons.

Reason #1 – Buyers doing research in early spring are generally more serious about buying soon. As the weather gets nicer, it tends to pull a lot of folks who’ve been thinking about buying into the process. They’ve been thinking and planning the move all winter, so when sunny days hit, people start driving around looking at homes in their target areas.

Reason #2 – Sellers who get started early tend to generate a higher sale price because the increased demand, with more buyers in the market, typically helps generate better offers. So be sure to get your home in tip top shape for showing ASAP!

As most good agents will point out in their listing presentations, the typical home has anywhere from 5-15 items, ranging from minor issues to major improvements that need to be addressed before putting a home on the market.

So get focused on knocking these things out ASAP, because the last thing you want is to be working on your home while the best buyers are buying and being taken out of the market.

We’ve all heard, “Timing is everything.” Well, in selling a home that’s often true. The best buyers, the ones who will offer you highest sale price, tend to be drawn out of the market early.

So prepping your home for sale sooner than later, is a good idea.

Reason #3 – Getting started right now allows you to research, educate yourself on market conditions, and find out who’s doing a great job of listing and selling houses in your area.

You’ll gain understanding of the market and narrow your list of potential agents, enabling you to mentally and emotionally prepare. Selling your home can be a roller coaster ride of emotions and choosing a quality agent, someone who will be your trusted advocate, goes a long way towards smoothing out all the potential bumps in the road.

So to recap, getting started right now will help you in many ways. You can knock out all the prep work. You can do your research. And most important, it positions you to have the best possible chance to sell your home quickly and for the most money.

As always, if there is anything at all I can do to help you, please feel free to call me at 1-555-555-5555. The conversation is always free and you’re under no obligation of any kind. My entire objective in our conversation is always to help you in any way that I can.

Also, to help you with some of these important steps in preparing your home for sale, I’d like to invite you to receive our special free report, “11 Things You’ll Need to Know to Pass a Home Inspection.” Just call the recorded message anytime 24 hours a day and I’ll get that report out to you ASAP!

===== To Here =====

If you’re an agent reading this feel free to call the recorded message line. It’s an automated demonstration that will show you how this little ad on Craig’s List, your Facebook page, your web site, a local throwaway newspaper, your farming newsletter, a postcard or virtually any other marketing source can have you actually talking with sellers immediately!

I’m not talking about capturing a lead, calling them back and interrupting their dinner. I’m talking about having a live conversation with them immediately, right when they call, while they’re interested and have questions.

Yes, we also capture their lead information for you to follow up. However, what’s even more important is talking to them live, as they inquire. It increases your conversion rates 3-5X or more.

Would you rather interrupt people in the middle of something, barge into their lives and attempt to strike up a real estate conversation…or talk with them while they’re actually interested and want to talk?

Based on our clients feedback, catching people at the right time increases your chances of having a meaningful conversation by 300-500%! So check it out!

It’s 1-800-959-6550 Ext 7505 – 24 Hours

Call and it will show you how we help you break down the voicemail barrier and actually talk with sellers while they’re actually interested and want to talk.

That said…

Feel free to use this blog post with or without the ad. If you don’t have our MVR service, just post it without the ad. If you do have our MVR service, publish this blog post with that ad and watch your blog leads pick up substantially!

Until next time here’s to your success!

All the best,

Gary Elwood
President/CEO
Proquest Technologies, Inc.

An Easy Free Lead Source

In our last post we talked about blogging and got quite a few replies. One of the most common was, “I’d like to blog but I don’t know what to write.” and/or “I just don’t have time for something that only returns modestly.”

Well if you fall into that category I’ve got some good news. We’re planning on publishing a ready-made blog post for you right here every 2-3 weeks. The goal is to put out 20 free “copy-paste” blog posts for you right here.

Just copy, paste and publish. You might need to tweak the language slightly to reflect your given market, but 99% of the heavy lifting will be done for you. All I ask is that you maintain our citation as the source.

So here’s your first blog post of 2015, if you so choose…

=== NOTE ===

This post is no longer available for syndication. However, if you would like a free piece of content crafted uniquely for your site and your audience, fill out the brief form below.

======

If you’re an agent reading this feel free to call the recorded message line. It’s an automated demonstration that will show you how this little ad on Craig’s List, your Facebook page, your web site, a local throwaway newspaper, your farming newsletter, a postcard or virtually any other marketing source can have you actually talking with sellers immediately!

I’m not talking about capturing a lead, calling them back and interrupting their dinner. I’m talking about having a live conversation with them immediately, right when they call, while they’re interested and have questions.

Would you rather interrupt people in the middle of something, barge into their lives and attempt to strike up a real estate conversation…or talk with them while they’re actually interested and want to talk?

Based on our clients feedback, catching people at the right time increases your chances of having a meaningful conversation by over 1000%! So check it out!

It’s 1-800-959-6550 Ext 5505 – 24 Hours

Call and it will show you how we help you break down the voicemail barrier and actually talk with sellers while they’re actually interested and want to talk.

That said…

Feel free to use this blog post with or without the ad. If you don’t have our MVR service, just post it without the ad. If you do have our MVR service, publish this blog post with that ad and watch your blog leads pick up substantially!

Until next time Happy New Year!

All the best,

Gary Elwood
President/CEO
Proquest Technologies, Inc.

Should You Be Blogging?

Once you’ve read this post reply and let me know if you agree or disagree with our thoughts on blogging.

Tons of people have been touting blogs as this awesome business building tool. Yet, others seem to feel blogging is a complete waste of time.

Who’s right?

After dozens of conversations, searching high and low for good information on real estate blogging, and reflecting on my own experiences, our feeling is you should probably have a blog on your web site.

However…

You need to keep it in the proper context, just like social media. Don’t get sucked into wasting tons of time on something that typically only produces a modest trickle of business.

See the vast majority real estate blogs are very poor traffic or lead generators.

However, a blog can be a solid source of quality leads if you craft relevant messages and then lead your prospects to take action.

Frankly, the idea that you should be the ultimate “community resource” with your blog is unrealistic. There are too many good community web sites who already control most of that traffic. To compete for that traffic isn’t practical.

So what’s more important is to focus all your energy on what’s relevant to those blog readers you do attract.

You’re a real estate agent and when people read your blog they are reading it for a reason. Therefor it’s okay to talk about real estate.

Keep the focus narrow and all about your visitor’s wants and needs. Again, stop trying to be all things to all people with your blog. Ask yourself…

What’s the goal?

It should be the same goal as every other marketing channel you have, to create a live conversation with someone who’s interested in buying or selling real estate, right?

So how do you do that with your blog?

Stop posting recipes, pet stories, or funny happenings from the county fair.

Sure, those things can be interesting. But the fact is most people will never bookmark your blog or see it as their go-to source for local info.

Instead, take that brief moment of opportunity, while your prospect is reading, and convey something that’s highly relevant to their buying or selling decision.

In that moment do everything you possibly can to get that prospect to respond to you, because when they leave your blog…

They are GONE!

Thinking they’re going to come back is delusional. Your mom might. Your close friends might a couple times…but the prospects of your market…nope.

The prospects of your market are hit and run artists. They hit your site, they hit you blog, and they run.

So while they’re there you’ve got to focus every ounce of marketing energy you’ve got on getting them to respond to you!

If you waste your one and only chance…well…good luck!

Quit trying to play the big content company’s game posting every day.

Forget it.

The better approach is to post highly relevant articles once every 2-3 weeks and get prospects to respond to you so you can have a live conversation. Then meet them for coffee or get them to come to your office.

The bottom line is if you don’t talk to people…they don’t do business with you!

So when you’ve got a prospect’s attention…focus all your resources on getting them to a live conversation with you.

Create a “call-to-action” that causes them to respond to you for more information, and then guide them down the path that leads to an immediate conversation.

Emailing, texting, or pinging them on social media is NOT a conversation!

You’ve got to engage prospects and lead them down the path most likely to create a live conversation immediately! If you don’t these hit and run artists, ‘er I mean prospects, are instantly lost – back into the sea of Internet noise.

There are 5 basic steps to crafting a highly effective call-to-action, regardless of your marketing source.

To help you with bring it all I’ve put together a special free report “Five Simple Steps to Successful Lead Generation,” because the fundamentals of lead generation via your blog are the same as any other marketing source.

So if you want to ramp up the number of buyers and sellers in your pipeline you can check out that report here…“Five Simple Steps to Successful Lead Generation”

Happy Holidays!

Gary Elwood
President/CEO
Proquest Technologies, Inc.

PS Don’t forget to reply to gary@proquesttechnologies.com and give me your thoughts on blogging.

7 Ways Real Estate Agents Can Beat a Winter Slump

Depending on where you live, from about November through February the real estate market slows down – if not altogether dries up. What can you do to make the most of these dead months?

Here are a few suggestions:

Have an Open-House Party

Open houses can be pretty lame. A pair of buyers or two milling around a home while you sit and tap your pencil on the desk, staring out the window. Instead of treating an open house like a visit to a museum, ask the seller if you can have a happy hour.

The hitch is this happy hour is on Sunday from 2-4.

Bring food, drinks and music–and let people browse and have fun. And if you keep this strategy for the winter months only, then people will actually look forward to house shopping in winter. And keep in mind–you may not sell more houses, but you will make out like a bandit when it comes to generating leads. You will be the talk of the market.

Take a Poll

Ask your prospects, customers and former clients to help you gear up for 2018. Get suggestions for marketing, listing ideas and even staging tips. People love it when you ask for their opinion. Treat this like a monthly exercise and people will anticipate your next poll.

Go Shopping

Look for discount and deals on items you need for your office and work space. The winter may be a good time to buy that iPad or new printer or scoop up those $1 items that the retailer picked up for a penny. Look for closeouts as businesses are shutting down. Search out auctions to buy staging furniture. Heck, be on the look out for a house or two, too.

Got to Conferences

Go to regional or national conferences you weren’t able to attend during the busy months. Use this time to network with agents from across the country who might be great sources for relocation leads.

If you are of the ambitious sort, why not start your own conference or mastermind group? You can play host, become the authority in your community and pile up those leads as winter warms.

Penny pinch

Now that you aren’t rushing off to a showing every afternoon, take the time to reduce all of your expenses. Hunt down new prices for your phones or insurance. Investigate independent service companies and find out their competitive prices (think home inspectors or title people–anybody who can help your clients).

Take a Class

Now is the time to enroll for some higher education. Find a college course in accounting or seek out a mentor. Is there an online certification that you’ve been hoping to get? The winter is a great time to get it.

What other ways can you think of that will help you beat the winter doldrums?