Focusing on small changes makes all the difference! In this Real Geeks Facebook live training session, Greg Harrelson and Abe Safa discuss, "Real Geeks Hacks You Probably Haven't Thought About." Learn some little known tips that will have you thinking like a guru about your website and your follow up!
Set the Website Up To Generate Leads
Harrelson started off the episode discussing his thoughts on registration and the actual makeup of the website content. “My opinion is that we should force people to register,” he said, based on the fact that when Real Geeks looks at numbers, people who force registration seem to be getting more leads. Still, Harrelson stated, “Before you get leads, you have to have traffic.” He suggested that long tail keywords give a lower quantity of traffic, but a higher quality lead. Those people will be more receptive to registration because they are in the mode of buying as compared to those who search more general terms.
“Are you building community pages?” Harrelson asked saying that was the key. “They don’t own SEO for long tail terms,” Harrelson explained referring to real estate portals like Zillow. “They typically don’t show up #1 for neighborhoods and communities.”
"If we'll make a little bit more investment... you're very likely to start showing up in rankings." Harrelson suggests agents reference Real Geeks help files and tutorials in the Facebook group. If you will start building and use organic content, with original paragraphs and descriptions, with a picture you’re more likely to get high quality traffic and leads. “I’d rather have one lead that’s looking for a home for sale in Cresswind, than have 10 leads in Myrtle Beach,” agreed Safa.
“Just having a website does not guarantee you leads,” Safa explained. “It's not a Real Geeks’ issue, you've got to be able to drive traffic to it.” Safa and Harrelson discussed the number of leads needed to get a sale, “You only need one,” said Harrelson. "It's what you do or don't do that’s going to dictate the quality and volume of the leads."
Hacks Broken Down by Harrelson and Safa
- "Most people don't realize that they can leverage the Real Geeks technology to help them get price reductions, " Harrelson shared. He said he would set up an active seller to receive new listings and every notification of sales near that price point that have occurred in that community. Each search is named after the client so that the client will be notified of anything that sells for less, which could prompt a price reduction conversation. Safa said that was a great way to keep the client informed and prime them for price reduction, if needed. Harrelson tells his sellers that he does this to keep them informed, because the more information they have, the faster and easier it is for them together to make decision regarding the property sale. “We can promise to do so much for a seller when its the automation that is going to actually fulfill those promises,” Harrelson said.
- Use all the Real Geeks tools and “just the components of the CRM alone are fantastic," according to Harrelson. We need to be building for the future,” he said, referencing that at some point the market changes and “the person with the biggest database of seller leads wins.” Database growth is long game because the real benefits come as the market shifts.
- Safa talked about the power of workflows and how they create talking points with buyers and sellers. "Get creative. You've got a powerful communication tool at your disposal." Safa shared that his active seller campaigns allow him to make and keep promises to his sellers. He uses workflows as an assistant. Harrelson values workflows for the constant touch ability and acknowledgement they receive, but reminds agents that they still need to call. Call COI every six months and have the workflows send emails, texts, and reminders to call again, he explained. He also stressed the importance of stopping a workflow when a property goes pending (manually).
- "Think about how you're creating urgency," Harrelson said. "How well are you at adjusting your conversation based on the market conditions? “Anybody who's building a buyer or seller database, the agent is going to be the winner." If you're one of the agents still standing in a down market, you'll have an advantage.
- Harrelson suggested reaching out to inactives with messages that include a link to the home page of your Real Geeks website. "The longer they are inactive, the harder it is to engage them," however he has found that by adding a workflow that asks them to check out all the new listings every 60 days. “when they click on that link,” he said, “They'll become active instead of inactive.” His process is to keep the leads from becoming dead by catching them in the process, and forcing them to reengage before that happens. "They don't get better over time, they get better over touch."
- “Share your site on social media,” Safa said. Use the Facebook posting tool. "When we post properties that we've listed and post interior pictures, it attracts their attention and brings them to the site," Harelson shared. He explained that a few dollars over three days on very targeted ads can be very successful.
- Use video to engage your sphere. Speaking to concerns on video, Harrelson encouraged, "You sound and look the same on video that you do in person... Get over that." Agents who use video are converting at a much higher rates. “Get comfortable with it fast,” Harrelson urged, “Over time you can really establish a powerful connection.”