Real Estate Leads

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2008-01-20T17:05:00.000+08:00

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Real Estate Leads 101:A System For Success

2008-01-18T02:48:00.000+08:00

When dealing with real estate leads and converting leads to clients, there are three important questions to ask yourself:

1. How are you getting real estate leads?

2. How are you following up with your real estate leads?

3. Are you using a system for effective follow up?

How to Get Real Estate Leads

For questions 2 and 3 to even be an issue, you first have to figure out a way to GET real estate leads. You can't follow up with something you don't have! There are several traditional ways for real estate agents to collect real estate leads in their pipeline. One way is the direct marketing approach – basically you send out a whole lot of newsletters, fliers, and postcards with your contact information to homes in the neighborhood you're farming for real estate leads. If you start getting calls and emails, you've started building your own pipeline.

A second way of getting real estate leads is to network and ask past clients for referrals. As a real estate agent, you should always be talking to be people in the outside world, letting them know what you do, handing off business cards. Whether you're at a sports event, a dinner party or you're child's school play, there are plenty of opportunities to build real estate leads. Never be afraid to call on old clients for referrals either – if you did your job right,t hey should be more than happy to send friends and family your way.

A third way to get real estate leads is through internet marketing. In this case, I mean building your own website with contact pages as well as subscribing to some kind of online lead generation service. By doing both, you can both harness your own real estate leads and also get plenty of leads from an outside source.

My advice? Go with all three. A good mix of direct mailings, networking, and internet marketing should have your pipeline a mile long with real estate leads. Keep in mind though that you will have to spend a little money to get all those leads!

Following up with Real Estate Leads

Without follow up, your real estate leads will be leads forever, never clients. Following up simply means to increase the effectiveness or success of something with further action. Following up with real estate leads can involve phone calls, emails, direct mailings, dropping by the property, etc. Basically, use any means necessary (within reason) to make contact with your real estate leads to determine what you can do for them. It may take 2 weeks of follow up to convert a lead, it may take 2 months, it may even take 3 years, but as long as you are consistent and persistent with follow up tactics, you can convert your real estate leads into clients.

One thing to keep in mind with follow up is that you should always have a reason to be contacting your real estate leads. Don't give them to much information in one mailing, or else you use up your reason for contacting them at a later date. Instead, send them pieces of useful information regularly over extended periods of time. It doesn't even necessarily have to be directly relating to home buying or selling – you can send them information about their community they may not know, the schools, job opportunities in an area you know they were thinking about moving to, the standings for the little league championship their son was in, etc. The information you're sending your real estate leads should be a individualized for each lead.

Are you going to convert all your real estate leads? No. Do you need to convert them all? No. Should you still TRY to convert them all? Always! Most people will need a real estate agent at some stage in their life, so you might as well be the agent right there to help them out, answer any questions and keep them informed with useful information.

Employing a System for Follow Up

A system is simply any formulated, regular or special method or plan of a procedure for obtaining an objective. In the case of real estate, your objective is to convert real estate leads to clients through follow up. Your system of follow up is simply an organized, efficient and general procedure to get in contact with your leads.

Without some sort of system of following up with your real estate leads, it's very easy to waste precious time because of disorganization. Having a system is the most effective way to streamline your follow up so you still have time to actually list and sell your clients' homes! After all, with hundreds of real estate leads to constantly follow up with, when are you supposed to have time for listing presentations, settlement, advertising homes for sale, etc?

By having your own organized plan of follow up, you can dedicate certain hours in your day to your follow up of real estate leads. There are services out there that “sell” follow up systems to real estate agents, but they're really not necessary for everybody. If you're already disciplined and organized, there's no reason you can't formulate your own system of follow up, like designing several email templates, dedicating a certain amount of time each day to phone calls and creating an easy to access, track and monitor database of your real estate leads which includes all the important contact information needed to get in touch with them.

A system can be something as simple as creating a schedule for yourself and then rigidly adhering to that schedule. Having a systematic approach to following up with your real estate leads is the best way to maximize your conversion rate and minimize time spent following up.

Get more information on real estate leads by visiting GetMyHomesValue.com.

Ashley Lichty is a webmaster and the resident SEO of Web Xtreme, Inc. She has a background in real estate and marketing with an emphasis in writing.

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Commercial Real Estate Agents

2008-01-18T02:47:00.000+08:00

By Marcus Peterson

Let’s face it – you cannot intelligently buy commercial real estate properties without the help of an expert. Hiring a commercial real estate agent is your best bet against losing thousands of dollars you’ll likely spend, when you make costly mistakes or miss out on solid, commercial real estate investing opportunities. That is why finding and hiring a commercial real estate agent should be your first and most crucial step – it can make or break your commercial real estate venture.

Benefits of hiring commercial real estate agents

Professional commercial real estate agents or broker companies give you access to the best commercial real estate information available. They provide you with information about the latest sales price data, vacancy and absorption rates and comparative tax and labor costs to help you make informed decisions.

Experienced commercial real estate brokers can also help explain to you the present market lease trends, the current demographics, and they will give you a straightforward competitive analysis of different commercial properties that fit your purpose and budget. Professional commercial real estate agents or broker companies give you all this information so that you can anticipate opportunities, gain a competitive advantage and implement the best possible real estate approach.

If you plan to build commercial real estate, an agent can help you determine the best location using scientific local market data and a keen knowledge of the economic trends that affect the commercial real estate market. These agents are specially trained to handle very large transactions – millions upon millions of dollars. Their purpose is to find investments that will not only increase in value, but also give the investor a good revenue stream.

Never try to invest in commercial real estate property without consulting a commercial real estate agent. He or she will have the right training to impart helpful research, advisory and transaction services to you so that your commercial real estate venture goes smoothly.

Commercial Real Estate provides detailed information on Commercial Real Estate, Commercial Real Estate Loans, Commercial Real Estate Agents, Commercial Real Estate Brokers and more. Commercial Real Estate is affiliated with National Association Of Realtors.

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Tips for Real Estate Investing in Las Vegas

2008-01-18T02:45:00.000+08:00

By Stephanie Hetu

Real estate investing in Las Vegas is very popular. Not only in Las Vegas, but all over the world people are investing their hard earned money in real estate. Many times you can double your investment and make a nice profit if you know how to do it. Being careful in which real estate you choose and your plans for profiting from it will pay off in the end.

When choosing which real estate to invest in, in Las Vegas, decide what kind of investment you want to make. Do you want to resell the real estate? Are you thinking of renting out or perhaps leasing the real estate? Knowing what you plan to do with the real estate will and who is in the market for it will help you tremendously in this endeavor.

If you are looking for commercial real estate to place your investment in, the location may hold all of the cards where your profit is concerned. Of course you would not want a piece of commercial real estate that is not in a predominant commercial area of town. You also want to take into consideration the businesses that surround the real estate that you are looking into investing in. The businesses that surround the real estate you are looking at, will need to be reputable and of high value for you to make a good profit.

When looking to invest in residential real estate, notice the neighborhood that the real estate is in. Also consider how much you are paying for the real estate and the improvements you plan to make to it before reselling or leasing. This will have a big impact on how much of a profit you will make. Take into consideration the condition the real estate is in when buying ‘as is', and have someone come in and give you a quote on the improvements you are wanting to make. Doing this and having a plan before you jump into buying something will let you see if you will actually make a decent profit or not.

Find more information about Las Vegas Real Estate at http://www.vegas-real-estate-tips.com.

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Generating Real Estate Leads - How To Improve Your Real Estate Website

2007-12-02T10:53:00.000+08:00

By Max Suther

Generating real estate leads from your website is not easy, but there are ways to do it. We know that real estate leads generated from websites are more likely to convert to buyers and sellers than real estate leads generated by non-internet methods. So the focus of real estate agents and investors should be to create a website that converts internet lookers to real estate buyers and sellers.Most people use the internet to research their next home purchase. They browse various real estate sites until they find a home they want to view in more detail.

They will then call the real estate agent who owns the website or the agent who has the listing. What we need to do as real estate agents and investors is capture the attention of the buyers and sellers via our website. Your website should be an excellent source of information for the internet surfer. Here is a short list of what your website must have.

· Make sure your contact information is easy to find. I suggest putting your contact info on every page.

· Make sure your readers can move from page to page with ease. Your website navigation needs to be simple.

· Make sure you tell the visitor how you can help them.

· Create information that will help sellers and buyers. Have them signup for a newsletter on how to sell their home or how to purchase your first home.

Having a constant source of real estate leads is necessary to building a real estate business. Most agents don’t have a clue about how to generate real estate leads using the internet. Don’t fall into this category, start learning all you can about how to market on the internet and how to use the internet to generate more real estate leads.

For information on how to generate real estate leads, try visiting http://www.wesellandbuyhomes.com/Investor.asp, a popular website that offers real estate lead generation tips, advice and resources to include information on exclusive real estate leads.

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Lake Havasu Relocation Services

2007-12-02T10:50:00.000+08:00

By Jennifer Bailey

Because Lake Havasu has a rich pool of real estate companies and communities, relocation services have also become a hit.

Most relocation companies work with national movers to coordinate the transfer of a client's properties from one place to another. The same goes for Lake Havasu relation services. Because the demand for such services is high, Lake Havasu relocation services are often offered at big discounts which could reach as much as 60%.

Basically, the process involves assigning a relocation consultant with a client. The consultant will assist and monitor the relocation from start to finish. He or she usually gives the client a call to get the details of the move.

Afterwards, the consultant makes at least three estimates that can be submitted to the client for review. Once the client has made a selection, the consultant arranges things for the actual relocation and sees to it that everything will be completed smoothly.

To attract more customers, relocation services in Lake Havasu even offer replacement coverage of up to $75,000 at no extra charge. This is a way of guaranteeing the client that everything will turn out well.

Many relocation services are available online. There are a number of available companies that offer these services. The details are displayed on their respective websites. Estimates can be offered to the client for free by simply filling out online forms. A relocation consultant will give the client a call within the day to provide the estimate.

However, in Lake Havasu relocation services are commonly built into the real estate sales package. This is part of the marketing strategy of several real estate agents. These agents incorporate the details of the relocation services they offer in the quotes they post online. In most cases, they tag relocation services as free when residential buyers or investors purchase certain lots in Lake Havasu.

Lake Havasu provides detailed information on Lake Havasu, Lake Havaus Spring Break, Lake Havasu City, Lake Havasu Homes and more. Lake Havasu is affiliated with Lakefront Property For Sale.

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Is the Internet a Viable Source for Real Estate Leads

2007-11-30T22:17:00.000+08:00

by Reg Gustin

The real estate industry has moved into the internet arena, and cyber space has become a viable tool for shopping for one's dream home. Many buyers are utilizing the web to research their potential purchases from the comforts of home. According to studies done by the National Association of Realtors, seventy seven per cent of homebuyers in 2005 researched their purchase via the internet. This increased traffic has opened the door for real estate lead generation, but is the internet a viable source for real estate leads?

As a real estate agent, solicitations from real estate lead generation companies seem to fill our email servers daily, but are they worth the cost and effort? If you follow a few rules, the answer is yes. Internet leads can be a very profitable source, when pursued with the same diligence one would pursue traditional sources.

Before generating traffic and capturing leads, ask yourself a few questions. First, can I follow-up with the leads provided in a timely fashion. If the answer is no, stop, go no further.

A second study done by the National Association of Realtors, the average response time by an agent for information requested was three days. That's right, on average it took an agent three days to reply to a request for information the agent offered on their website. So, if you can not respond in a timely manner, do not pursue.

Do you have the organizational tools to follow-up? Follow-up is easy when an agent has ten leads, but what about one hundred leads. This is where a database program can be very beneficial. Don't re-invent the wheel. There are many real estate contact databases out there. Find one that is right for you.

Are the leads exclusive? Many lead providers will sell the lead to more than one agent, claiming the agents must be quick in responding to solicit the leads business. The lead generator is doubling their profit, and the lead becomes annoyed very quickly by all the attention from several agents. Therefore, unless the lead is exclusive, do not pursue. If price is the motivating factor, reconsider your motivation as you will get a bum lead for a bum price.

Another great question before getting started, can you contact other agents within the lead generation program for references? Most real estate lead generation companies will provide a list of testimonials provided by agents within the system, follow-up with other agents on the site as well.

What kind of results do you expect? If you are looking a 20-30% close rate, internet leads probably aren't for you. The industry average seems to be about 1% and some companies boast 2-3% with exceptional agents converting 5-10%. I think you will find the return on investment to be exceptional if you convert 5% of your leads.

Finally, what's your time frame? If you need immediate results, keep looking. Internet buyers tend to research homes for 3.7 months before contacting an agent. The good news is that +80% of the time, internet buyers will do business with the first agent they contact.

Moral to the story: internet leads can be an excellent supplement to a healthy business, but patience, organizational skills and realistic expectations are a must.

Reg Gustin is owner operator of the website http://www.pro-online-agent.com and http://www.proonlineagent.com.

go to pro online agent to find out if internet real estate leads can enhance your business http://www.pro-online-agent.com.

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Generating Real Estate Leads Through the Internet

2007-11-30T22:15:00.000+08:00

by Reg Gustin

Generating real estate leads through the Internet is an excellent tool for expanding your business, eliminating geographical barriers and increasing sales.

But how do we create leads from cyber space? After all, the information highway is infinite with no boundaries. How can a small business owner, you the real estate agent, create qualified traffic?

Imagine your web site is a small store on a busy street and you are surrounded by large corporate department stores. Outside your store window are pedestrians, bicyclists and automobiles passing by. This is traffic. And, in this traffic are people interested in your product. These are prospects. Of these prospects, some will come in the store and make inquiries. These are contacts. Some of these contacts will start to shop. These are leads. Some of these shoppers will make a purchase. These are clients.

Your web site is no different. The keys to successful Internet marketing are the THREE C's:

Create - create traffic

Capture - capture prospects, thus creating contacts

Cultivate - cultivate contacts into leads, then into clients

Create - the first step in generating real estate leads through your web site is to CREATE traffic. Creating traffic for your web site is done using three primary approaches:

Search Engine Site Rankings - the search engines (Google, Yahoo, MSN etc.) rank your web site based on a number of factors including age, popularity, content, link-ins, etc., and list your site accordingly in the directory. This can be a long process, as a couple of major contributing factors are age and traffic. Thus, if you have a new site or a rarely used site, your ranking remains low, and because your ranking remains low, your traffic remains low. Because your traffic remains low, your ranking remains low, and so on. You can see the cycle.

Keywords Pay-Per-Clicks - you, the web site owner, bid on keywords with the search engines, and the search engines list your site in the Sponsored Links section of the directory. This can be an efficient way to drive traffic to your site, but it does come with a cost.

Owner Driven Traffic - you, the web site owner, drive traffic to your web site via electronic articles, emails, signs, print media etc. This can be very costly, as it is difficult to generate enough traffic to capture leads.

So how do you Create enough traffic to generate quality prospects? Well it's not as difficult as it seems. First create a quality keyword driven web site, and then use all three methods until your site is ranked high enough to maintain an adequate stream of prospects through the search engine directories.

Capture - the second step in generating leads through your web site is to CAPTURE the traffic. Capturing traffic for your web site is done using tools such as guest books or registration forms with bait. Capture the user's information; do not give away free information.

Example: a user is searching the Internet for the MESA MLS. Now, the user has found our site, so do not give the information away for free. Searching the MLS is our bait, and a registration form is our capture tool. More often than not, an agent will allow the user to use the MLS without registering, and the rationalization is that users do not want to provide the info or the info is faulty. No problem, this is the first filter. We are trying to find out who is serious and who isn't. Utilize the registration form as a filter. If you don't, they won't be back... what do you have to lose?

Cultivate - the final step in generating prospects through your web site is to Cultivate the leads. Cultivate leads with DRIP CAMPAIGNS. A Drip Campaign is a series of content driven messages sent over time. Preferably this system is automated:

In our example: the keyword was Mesa MLS, and a user found our site and signed up on our registration form. Now what? Implement "The Drip Campaign" - an automated series of messages delivering content that differentiates you the agent. Cultivate the prospect and convert them into a lead, then into a sale.

A great drip campaign is the MLS search provided by ARMLS. On your registration form, request information relating to their home search, then set up an automated search on the MLS that sends them listings.

Be careful, don't send the user into information overload, and only send a couple of listings at a time.

Many real estate agents have decided to concentrate their efforts on cultivation. Therefore, a quality lead generating company may be an effective way of advertising.

To find out more about generating real estate leads through the internet, go to http://www.pro-onlineagent.com.

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