It’s Time to Build A New Virtual Model Home
What kind of an impression would you make if people searching for a new home show up at your model home and you have no furniture, a small desk in a dimly lit corner and weeds in the flower beds? When they ask for a brochure, a salesperson hands them a crinkly piece of paper with the prices scribbled on it. Needless to say, I’m sure you wouldn’t expect a return visit from them any time soon.
Sadly, this may be what’s happening on your website. How many browsers abandon their online search after visiting your homepage because of the lack of information, complicated navigation, “under construction” pages and poor or outdated design? If 90+% of new home buyers are starting their search online (have I hammered that statistic home yet?), then it is highly likely that your website will be their first impression of you as a builder.
Ask yourself: What kind of impression is my site making? Does it accurately reflect the image I have in the community? Maybe you don’t know…maybe you think you know. You must look at your site with a fresh eye and make sure that you have all of the pieces of the puzzle in their proper positions – and that they’re easy to access.
Don’t pucker up too much when it comes to attracting qualified prospects.
Do You Go The Distance with Prospects?
Do you find yourself asking, “Why doesn’t anyone respond to me?” In this video I talk about some facts that might surprise you. Like less than 10% of sales professionals follow up more than 3 times?
I also give you the formula for increased responses. It’s actually pretty simple.
View the video here
Just Released – Social Media Guide for Real Estate
I am happy to announce that my new book is here! The Social Media Guide For Real Estate will feel good in your hands and make you look smart sitting on your bookshelf. Your colleagues will be envious and say, “Wow, what I would give to be on the cutting edge…” You can check out the details below or order here.
So here’s the deal, I want to give a lot of these away!
In fact, I will give out one copy every day for the rest of this month. Want to win one? All you need to do is:
Send out a tweet. Just copy and paste the following: Hey @mikelyon I want a free copy of your new book Social Media Guide for Real Estate http://bit.ly/smguide4re
and/or
Head over to Facebook and share this blog post on your profile or page. You need to let me know by tagging me here or my page here. Don’t know how to tag, no big deal – just post on my wall that you shared it, or on the DoYouConvert page.
(you can post until you win or your friends get annoyed)
Of course, if you don’t want to go through all that trouble and wait around to win – you could always just pick up a copy now.
Thanks to everyone who helped get this book out and I look forward to your feedback!
Why You Need This Book
Are you looking for answers in this brave new Web 2.0 world? The opportunities to connect with potential buyers abound, but navigating these uncharted waters have left many real estate professionals with a bad case of “analysis paralysis”. The Social Media Guide for Real Estate will help you establish a clear strategy for your business that will produce a steady stream of qualified clients while helping to position you as the undisputed expert in your field.
In This Book You Will Learn:
- What “social media” is and how it works for the Real Estate business
- What social networking sites will work best for your business model
- Ideas for producing high quality content that gets attention
- Useful tools to help you efficiently manage all these sources (and not waste valuable time)
- The proper etiquette for utilizing the social networking sites, like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn
- How to create a strategy to avoid overload
- And much, much more…
What industry leaders are saying
“Mike has a unique blend of real estate common sense and social media savvy. As our social media coach, he provides timely and effective strategies to help our agents grow their business. His powerful impact has moved Facebook into the top 10 referring sites for ReeceAndNichols.com”
Jerry Reece, CEO, Reece and Nichols
"When it comes to understanding how social media can be used to grow a real estate business, Mike Lyon is the expert. His no-nonsense approach is not only practical, it is very doable. This guide is THE GUIDE to understanding the ‘Why’ and the ‘How’ to make it happen."
Bryan Sheppard, CEO, Coldwell Banker Select
Getting Social at the Triangle Sales and Marketing Council
Join me and the Triangle Sales and Marketing Council of North Carolina for two exciting events coming up next week!
Special TSMC Breakfast Seminar with Mike Lyon
Social Media Success: Winning in a Web 2.0 World
Date: August 18, 2010
Time: 8:00 AM -10 AM EST
Location: Breir Creek Country Club – 9410 Club Hill Drive Raleigh, NC
Description: Learn how to touch your sphere of influence through Social Media, Discover ways to quickly implement Social Media into your business plan, Maximize your impact by interacting on sites such like Facebook and Twitter, Engage and grow your online community, and Utilize free tools and tricks to increase your business without busting the marketing budget.
Click Here to Register >>
Converting Browsers to Buyers: Proven Strategies for Selling Homes Online
Date: August 18th, 2010
Time: 12:00 PM- 3:00 PM EST
Location: HBA of Raleigh-Wake County 5580 Centerview Drive Raleigh, NC
Description: Learn about the online sales process, Discover ways to engage leads quickly and effectively online, Maximize your lead capture rate by setting appointments from your website, Attract and capture qualified traffic, Implement a plan to meet and beat your sales goals.
Hope to see everyone there!
Have You Shopped Yourself Lately?
Looking to increase conversions? Think like a customer.
O.K., so you’re a successful homebuilder. Fantastic. And you’re marketing online—and maybe even taking advantage of an Online Sales Counselor to increase prospect interaction, response and conversions. Even better.
Still, you’re probably starting to realize it’s no longer O.K. to just sit back and wait for homebuyers to come a-knocking. Today’s online marketing technologies evolve and improve almost hourly, so if you want to make sure you’re focusing your online marketing efforts in the right areas, it’s critical to keep up with what your competitors are up to, as well.
The alternative? Being left behind in a huge cloud of technology dust. Here are a few quick tips that every marketing manager/OSC should be doing on a regular basis.
Google new homes in your areas—and see how you stack up.
In a few seconds, you can do a quick Google search for “new homes [your town]” and see how you rank in the search results (or if you rank at all). You’ll get a glimpse of your competitors’ offerings—and maybe even discover some new options for listing properties in other areas.
Just keep in mind: results and rankings change almost constantly, so make sure you constantly optimize your site for easy access by Google and other top search engines.
Don’t trust third-party sources for accurate, up-to-date listings.
Do you list your homes on third-party sites like NewHomeSource.com, NewHomesDirectory.com, Trulia.com? Again, search these sites for homes in your area as if you’re a customer to make sure your listings are current and accurate. Try searches in different areas and investment ranges. These websites don’t have time to keep up with everyone’s inventory—so make sure you check back with them often to make sure your listings are up to date and correct.
Try to “break” your website with a critical test-drive.
Curious how your site performs when a potential customer is searching for a home? Again, put yourself in their shoes—or at least in their web browser. Fire up your site with a critical eye, as if you’re seeing it for the first time. Then, ask yourself:
- Is the navigation intuitive?
- Are communities and floorplans easily accessible?
- Are any of the links “dead”?
- Are any of the pages—or listed properties—outdated?
Nothing is more frustrating to a prospect than an outdated website. That means one of your most important online marketing jobs is to MONITOR AND UPDATE EVERYTHING constantly. At the same time, make sure your company’s important features and promotions are properly highlighted—and that navigation is part of the solution (instead of a sales-blocker).
Don’t forget to keep track of competitors, too.
It’s easy to become complacent and think that the online homebuilder marketing universe revolves around you. Don’t worry; it’s just human nature, but it’s also one of the great barriers to expanding your horizons—and your success. Keeping an eye on your competitors’ sites is one of the best ways to learn about new features, programs and marketing strategies you may be able to leverage for your business.
Submit a request—to your OWN company.
O.K., so you send out hundreds of emails a month. But are you on the receiving end of your own marketing campaigns? You should be. Just remember the old phrase “Out of sight, out of mind.” Make sure to include your own contact information in all your marketing campaigns—automated or otherwise—to make sure your messaging is concise, properly targeted and correctly delivered. In your new “consumer” mindset, you may realize you don’t like the tone, phrasing or even the overall content of the communications you’re sending out to represent your company.
Conduct period reviews of the online marketing landscape.
Over time, for various reasons, web-based programs and processes for marketing your business online will break down and stop working. By far, the best way to check your entire web-marketing ecosystem is to regularly conduct new-home searches via your own site—as well as those of your top competitors. Just make sure that SOMEONE in your organization is the “point person” for periodic reviews of the online marketing landscape.
Remember, today’s web-savvy customers are already comparing you to your online competitors—so you might as well be aware of what they’re seeing. That way, you can proactively plan new programs and quickly react to competitive developments.
