The most important reason a personalized bio should be taken seriously, is because your visitors are showing to have an equitable interest in who they do business with. By reviewing your visitors click habits, you can see that your bio page is often in the top 5 most clicked/viewed pages.
With that in mind, it makes it easier to also understand the logic of getting good search engine placement by simply creating a personalized website. The goal of a search engines is to keep their visitors coming back by placing the best, most informative, and unique websites at the top. The more common your website's information, the less likely people want to learn or buy from it. The less likely people are to learn or buy from your website, the less likely search engines will consider your website as a valuable resource.
Here are a series of questions that will help you create a unique and informative bio. By creating your bio, you can expect better search engine placement, as well as a better customer experience for you clients. By answering the questions below, you will be able to create a powerful bio that helps you build trust and excitement with your visitors. Be specific, sincere, and most importantly...unique!
INFORMATION REGARDING:
Architecture Arts Business Dining Growth History Landmarks
Nature Nightlife Recreation Sports Shopping Tourist Attractions
Architecture:
Describe to me what makes the style of homes and property in your area unique.
Arts & History:
What is your favorite landmark in the area ? What is the history behind it?
What museum or park do you recommend I visit first?
Describe things I may see and/or do there.
What type of, and where can I go, to enjoy the performing arts?
How would you describe the landscape of the land?
What seasons of the year do you enjoy most?
Business:
What type of Industry and Business fuel the local economy?
Dining:
What are some of your favorite places to go if casually dining out?
What are some of your favorite places to go if celebrating a special occasion?
What is a common fast food that I may not find in other areas of the country?
Growth:
How would you describe the growth of your community?
History:
Does your area have a unique history?
Landmarks:
What are your favorite "natural" landmarks in your area?
What are your favorite "manmade" landmarks in your area?
Nature:
What type of wildlife thrives in your area?
What type of foliage thrives in your area?
Nightlife:
Where can I enjoy your area's nightlife?
Recreation:
What are some of the outdoor activities people in your area typically enjoy?
Sports:
What professional and college sports teams can I cheer for?
A) Professional:
B) College:
Shopping:
Where do you recommend I do my department store shopping?
Where do you recommend I do my home shopping?
Are there any unique villages or strip malls for me to spend my Sunday?
Where would you buy a new pair of shoes?
Tourist Attractions:
Parks?
Shopping?
Etc…?
If your area had *blank*, how would you describe it?
A) Flavor:
B) Style:
C) Feeling:
D) Scent:
E) Pace/Speed:
F) Sound:
Below are some questions that will help your visitors learn about "who" you are. Here's what I'm looking for:
INFORMATION REGARDING:
Availability Community Involvement Experience Family
Hobbies Passion for RE Language Travel
1)Availability:
Are there times and/or days you find yourself unavailable?
Is there a certain type of client you're looking for?
(first-time, investor, luxury, HUD, VA, FSBO, expired, etc.) Please be specific
What do you feel you offer that's different from everybody else (avoid "customer service")?
2)Community Involvement:
Are you a member of any local clubs/boards?
(Chamber, Rotary, Women's Council of Realtors, etc.)
Have you ever done anything that's made a big impact on the community?
3)Experience:
When did you first get into real estate?
Do you have any credentials?
What work did you do before real estate?
Did it have an influence on you when choosing to get into real estate?
4)Family:
Are you married? (if yes, please describe your significant other)
Do you have any children? (if yes, please describe your children)
5)Hobbies:
Other than real estate, what else interest you?
Where do you go to enjoy your personal activities?
What was something you are tremendously proud to have done?
6)Passion for RE:
What do you specifically love about real estate?
Describe your best transaction and that customer?
What was the nicest thing a customer every said to you?
7)Language:
Do you speak any other languages?
8)Travel:
Where have you traveled in the past?
If you had to move to another city anywhere in the nation, where would it be?
Why?
If you had to move to another city anywhere in the world, where would it be?
Why?
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Profile of an Online Prospect
By Chris Abad, Z57 REALTOR® Resource
Many REALTORS® just don't understand that Internet leads are very different from offline leads that call from a sign or walk into the office. Online buyers have a tendency to collect data and do research until the very last minute when they then realize they need a REALTOR® for the transaction. Because of this, they are reluctant to give up personal contact information, (especially phone numbers, exactly what they're looking for) at first. The whole trick is to continuously keep in contact when them so when they do get serious, they come on back.
1. Internet buyers spend an average of 5.9 weeks considering the purchase of a home before contacting a REALTOR®, compared to 2.1 weeks for traditional buyers.
2. Internet buyers spend an average of 4.8 weeks investigating homes and neighborhoods prior to contacting a REALTOR®.
3. Having done significantly more research than their traditional buyer counterparts, Internet buyers spend less time looking for a home once they began working with a REALTOR®, spending just 1.9 weeks on average, compared to 7.1 weeks for a traditional buyer.
4. The typical Internet buyer also visited fewer homes with their REALTOR® than the typical traditional buyer. Internet buyers visited an average of 6.1 homes with their REALTOR®, whereas a typical traditional buyer visited 15.4 homes with their REALTOR®.
5. Internet buyers tended to be younger than traditional buyers with a mean age of 38.5 years, compared to 43.5 years for traditional buyers.
What does all this mean to a REALTOR®? What this means is that the Internet home buyer is not the same home buyer you thought you knew. They take longer to choose a REALTOR®, but that's because they are beginning their process much earlier in the game. (It doesn't require much effort to decide one day you want to browse around online and start looking for some homes. It's a bit more of a commitment to set aside an afternoon to go driving around looking for open houses). What's most important is that these people WILL BUY. In fact, once they choose you as their REALTOR®, they're actually BETTER buyers. They don't shop your services as much, they usually have more money, and they're better educated (both about buying a home and in general).
Most REALTORS® have difficulty is seeing past the extended initial phase that Internet buyers are so well known for. Instead, they usually are seen literally throwing this business away and writing it off as "bad leads". Your ability to effectively manage and maintain the Internet buyer during their initial phase of home buying is what will set you apart from your competition and ensure your success.
Following Up With An Inquiry
Your initial follow up with an inquiry is a critical stage in the process. Poor follow up stops everything in its tracks. When it comes to following up with inquiries, there are a few things you should keep in mind:
1. Immediacy is crucial. A unique attribute of the Internet is that information is accessible immediately. Because of this, Internet users have developed into a very impatient "now" culture. If you do not respond to an inquiry within 12 hours (at the most) of receiving it, your chance of losing their interest increases dramatically. Best practice is closer to a 0-15 minute response time. Because of this, the auto-responder built right into your landing page can be your most powerful tool. Be sure to customize this auto-responder to your specific needs.
2. Ask leading questions. Many REALTORS® make the mistake of putting a sentence like "If you need any help, don't hesitate to ask." Then they wonder why no one replies to their emails. Be sure to ask questions that provoke an immediate response. Initiate the conversation, rather than waiting for them to decide they're ready to talk to you. Asking questions like these in your auto-responder are sure to turn those inquiries into real conversations: Are you looking for a place with a pool? Are you looking for a 1 or 2 story house? Do you have children? If so, are you looking to move within a particular school district? Where will you be working?
3. Include a value proposition for your website. Getting someone to come back to your website is important. You increase your brand awareness every time you are able to get yourself in front of them. Be sure to include a reason for them to go back to your website other than the reason why they went there in the first place. Just ask yourself, "What else do people buying a home in my area want to do on my website, other than search for homes?"
Inquiry Incubation
Due to the need to hit short-term sales goals, many agents will focus all of their attention on working "hot leads". Focusing too much on this can cause problems in your marketing strategy. The cost of generating a "hot lead" can easily be more than 10 times greater than the cost of generating any other lead. You will experience harsh lows in your sales pipeline, when all the "hot leads" sell. You end up being caught in a vicious cycle of actively searching for the next "hot lead" at a very high cost. With Internet-based marketing, the key to driving down your cost of acquisition and maximizing the benefits reaped from your advertising dollars is to practice effective inquiry incubation methods. This means to not just focusing on the hottest leads, but to also identify the warm, and even cold, inquiries and nurture them over time into hot inquiries.
Keep these things in mind when dealing with your online prospects and make them a part of your Internet marketing strategy.
Many REALTORS® just don't understand that Internet leads are very different from offline leads that call from a sign or walk into the office. Online buyers have a tendency to collect data and do research until the very last minute when they then realize they need a REALTOR® for the transaction. Because of this, they are reluctant to give up personal contact information, (especially phone numbers, exactly what they're looking for) at first. The whole trick is to continuously keep in contact when them so when they do get serious, they come on back.
1. Internet buyers spend an average of 5.9 weeks considering the purchase of a home before contacting a REALTOR®, compared to 2.1 weeks for traditional buyers.
2. Internet buyers spend an average of 4.8 weeks investigating homes and neighborhoods prior to contacting a REALTOR®.
3. Having done significantly more research than their traditional buyer counterparts, Internet buyers spend less time looking for a home once they began working with a REALTOR®, spending just 1.9 weeks on average, compared to 7.1 weeks for a traditional buyer.
4. The typical Internet buyer also visited fewer homes with their REALTOR® than the typical traditional buyer. Internet buyers visited an average of 6.1 homes with their REALTOR®, whereas a typical traditional buyer visited 15.4 homes with their REALTOR®.
5. Internet buyers tended to be younger than traditional buyers with a mean age of 38.5 years, compared to 43.5 years for traditional buyers.
What does all this mean to a REALTOR®? What this means is that the Internet home buyer is not the same home buyer you thought you knew. They take longer to choose a REALTOR®, but that's because they are beginning their process much earlier in the game. (It doesn't require much effort to decide one day you want to browse around online and start looking for some homes. It's a bit more of a commitment to set aside an afternoon to go driving around looking for open houses). What's most important is that these people WILL BUY. In fact, once they choose you as their REALTOR®, they're actually BETTER buyers. They don't shop your services as much, they usually have more money, and they're better educated (both about buying a home and in general).
Most REALTORS® have difficulty is seeing past the extended initial phase that Internet buyers are so well known for. Instead, they usually are seen literally throwing this business away and writing it off as "bad leads". Your ability to effectively manage and maintain the Internet buyer during their initial phase of home buying is what will set you apart from your competition and ensure your success.
Following Up With An Inquiry
Your initial follow up with an inquiry is a critical stage in the process. Poor follow up stops everything in its tracks. When it comes to following up with inquiries, there are a few things you should keep in mind:
1. Immediacy is crucial. A unique attribute of the Internet is that information is accessible immediately. Because of this, Internet users have developed into a very impatient "now" culture. If you do not respond to an inquiry within 12 hours (at the most) of receiving it, your chance of losing their interest increases dramatically. Best practice is closer to a 0-15 minute response time. Because of this, the auto-responder built right into your landing page can be your most powerful tool. Be sure to customize this auto-responder to your specific needs.
2. Ask leading questions. Many REALTORS® make the mistake of putting a sentence like "If you need any help, don't hesitate to ask." Then they wonder why no one replies to their emails. Be sure to ask questions that provoke an immediate response. Initiate the conversation, rather than waiting for them to decide they're ready to talk to you. Asking questions like these in your auto-responder are sure to turn those inquiries into real conversations: Are you looking for a place with a pool? Are you looking for a 1 or 2 story house? Do you have children? If so, are you looking to move within a particular school district? Where will you be working?
3. Include a value proposition for your website. Getting someone to come back to your website is important. You increase your brand awareness every time you are able to get yourself in front of them. Be sure to include a reason for them to go back to your website other than the reason why they went there in the first place. Just ask yourself, "What else do people buying a home in my area want to do on my website, other than search for homes?"
Inquiry Incubation
Due to the need to hit short-term sales goals, many agents will focus all of their attention on working "hot leads". Focusing too much on this can cause problems in your marketing strategy. The cost of generating a "hot lead" can easily be more than 10 times greater than the cost of generating any other lead. You will experience harsh lows in your sales pipeline, when all the "hot leads" sell. You end up being caught in a vicious cycle of actively searching for the next "hot lead" at a very high cost. With Internet-based marketing, the key to driving down your cost of acquisition and maximizing the benefits reaped from your advertising dollars is to practice effective inquiry incubation methods. This means to not just focusing on the hottest leads, but to also identify the warm, and even cold, inquiries and nurture them over time into hot inquiries.
Keep these things in mind when dealing with your online prospects and make them a part of your Internet marketing strategy.
12 Ways to Capture More Leads Online
12 Ways to capture more leads online
Twelve Ways To Capture More Listings Online
by Dan Gooder Richard
Old Rule: The Internet will dis-intermediate real estate professionals.
New Rule: The Internet makes personal service even more priceless.
It's long been a widely accepted principle that real estate professionals prefer listing properties over working with buyers. After all, the potential profit is greater with listings, because they are more easily managed and require less personal attention. Yet, curiously, many agents market online almost exclusively for buyers.
Fortunately, the online opportunity is already in place to accelerate a shift in the balance between marketing to buyers and marketing to sellers. Agents who have cut their teeth on the Internet by marketing mainly to buyers have only a bit of rethinking and website tweaking to do. Here are a dozen actions you can take to boost your listings online:
1. First, market to home sellers as if they were buyers. Since most sellers approach the internet first as interested buyers, ask on every response form if the buyer prospect has a home to sell. Include features in your website designed to capture seller prospects. Offer free, no-obligation trade-up "coordination" services that appeal to the double commission sell-to-buy prospect.
2. Grab sellers early and don't let go. Once you have the seller's contact information, follow up fast with drip e-mail responders. According to NAR's October 2004 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, 73 percent of prospective home sellers list with the first agent they contact. So make it your #1 marketing mission to be that first contact.
3. Ask for the listing. Entitle your response forms with a straightforward phrase such as "For Sellers," "I want to Sell My Home!" or "What can I get for my home?" Don't be shy. Appeal directly to home sellers on your top level navigation.
4. Determine a timetable for your follow-up campaign. Include a simple qualifying question on your website response forms by providing two check-off boxes: "Planning to move in less than six months?" and "Planning to move in more than six months?" Offer different information kits to each self-qualified group.
5. Cultivate prospects with drip-marketing follow-up. Use automated e-mail responses, based on the seller's timeline for moving. Send more e-mails more often for prospects that plan to move soon. Include response links in every e-mail.
6. Drive prospective sellers back to your site again and again. Give prospective sellers the keys to the mansion with easy access to your rich content library filled with accurate, up-to-date information, buyer and seller tips, calculators, and forms to request related services.
7. Make it easy for sellers to request a competitive market analysis, which you can deliver by e-mail, postal mail, or in person. Refer to your personal visit as a prelisting home inspection or marketability evaluation visit. Offer a quick "over the Internet price opinion" alternative by e-mail where the prospect doesn't have to speak to an agent.
8. Continue to market to sellers by phone and mail as well as online. Feature continuous direct response offers designed to demonstrate your knowledge and skills and convert e-leads to live appointments. Often making "buyer" offers to prospective sellers (latest listing updates, relocation information, schedule a showing, etc.) will alert you when a long-term prospect is ready to list.
9. Promote your promise to provide an all-out marketing campaign for each listed property. Set up a unique website address for each listed home; feature virtual tours plus multiple photos. Highlight their home on e-cards, e-brochures and printed flyers as well as on multiple websites. Establish an e-mail first alert network of company colleagues and area co-brokers who have active buyers for new listings.
10. Invite nosy neighbors in. Include a response form in your website that neighbors can use to find out what a house down the street sold for. Feature this free service in your neighborhood direct-mail farming newsletters and "Just Sold" postcards. Archive sold information on your website to bring homeowners back to your site for "Market Updates."
11. Create a plan to pull in FSBOs. Offering genuine assistance to do-it-yourselfers is the most effective rapport-building technique. Have an automated system that lasts a minimum of five weeks. A minimum of 10 contacts per prospect is recommended, including five e-mails with helpful advice on pricing, marketability, and property promotion. You can also send market updates, your guarantees, your commission rate, and a complete run-down of your listing services. Ask for the FSBO's "extra buyer" referrals in exchange.
12. Convert expireds to listings. Establish a web form on your site specifically for expireds and prominently label the navigation button with an apt title such as "House Didn't Sell?" Offer to provide a report that explains "How to Sell a Home That Didn't Sell" and a free room-by-room "Marketability Analysis" if they want to re-enter the market.
Twelve Ways To Capture More Listings Online
by Dan Gooder Richard
Old Rule: The Internet will dis-intermediate real estate professionals.
New Rule: The Internet makes personal service even more priceless.
It's long been a widely accepted principle that real estate professionals prefer listing properties over working with buyers. After all, the potential profit is greater with listings, because they are more easily managed and require less personal attention. Yet, curiously, many agents market online almost exclusively for buyers.
Fortunately, the online opportunity is already in place to accelerate a shift in the balance between marketing to buyers and marketing to sellers. Agents who have cut their teeth on the Internet by marketing mainly to buyers have only a bit of rethinking and website tweaking to do. Here are a dozen actions you can take to boost your listings online:
1. First, market to home sellers as if they were buyers. Since most sellers approach the internet first as interested buyers, ask on every response form if the buyer prospect has a home to sell. Include features in your website designed to capture seller prospects. Offer free, no-obligation trade-up "coordination" services that appeal to the double commission sell-to-buy prospect.
2. Grab sellers early and don't let go. Once you have the seller's contact information, follow up fast with drip e-mail responders. According to NAR's October 2004 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, 73 percent of prospective home sellers list with the first agent they contact. So make it your #1 marketing mission to be that first contact.
3. Ask for the listing. Entitle your response forms with a straightforward phrase such as "For Sellers," "I want to Sell My Home!" or "What can I get for my home?" Don't be shy. Appeal directly to home sellers on your top level navigation.
4. Determine a timetable for your follow-up campaign. Include a simple qualifying question on your website response forms by providing two check-off boxes: "Planning to move in less than six months?" and "Planning to move in more than six months?" Offer different information kits to each self-qualified group.
5. Cultivate prospects with drip-marketing follow-up. Use automated e-mail responses, based on the seller's timeline for moving. Send more e-mails more often for prospects that plan to move soon. Include response links in every e-mail.
6. Drive prospective sellers back to your site again and again. Give prospective sellers the keys to the mansion with easy access to your rich content library filled with accurate, up-to-date information, buyer and seller tips, calculators, and forms to request related services.
7. Make it easy for sellers to request a competitive market analysis, which you can deliver by e-mail, postal mail, or in person. Refer to your personal visit as a prelisting home inspection or marketability evaluation visit. Offer a quick "over the Internet price opinion" alternative by e-mail where the prospect doesn't have to speak to an agent.
8. Continue to market to sellers by phone and mail as well as online. Feature continuous direct response offers designed to demonstrate your knowledge and skills and convert e-leads to live appointments. Often making "buyer" offers to prospective sellers (latest listing updates, relocation information, schedule a showing, etc.) will alert you when a long-term prospect is ready to list.
9. Promote your promise to provide an all-out marketing campaign for each listed property. Set up a unique website address for each listed home; feature virtual tours plus multiple photos. Highlight their home on e-cards, e-brochures and printed flyers as well as on multiple websites. Establish an e-mail first alert network of company colleagues and area co-brokers who have active buyers for new listings.
10. Invite nosy neighbors in. Include a response form in your website that neighbors can use to find out what a house down the street sold for. Feature this free service in your neighborhood direct-mail farming newsletters and "Just Sold" postcards. Archive sold information on your website to bring homeowners back to your site for "Market Updates."
11. Create a plan to pull in FSBOs. Offering genuine assistance to do-it-yourselfers is the most effective rapport-building technique. Have an automated system that lasts a minimum of five weeks. A minimum of 10 contacts per prospect is recommended, including five e-mails with helpful advice on pricing, marketability, and property promotion. You can also send market updates, your guarantees, your commission rate, and a complete run-down of your listing services. Ask for the FSBO's "extra buyer" referrals in exchange.
12. Convert expireds to listings. Establish a web form on your site specifically for expireds and prominently label the navigation button with an apt title such as "House Didn't Sell?" Offer to provide a report that explains "How to Sell a Home That Didn't Sell" and a free room-by-room "Marketability Analysis" if they want to re-enter the market.
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