Real Estate Marketing in Fairfax VA – Field of Dreams
The Field of Dreams…remember that movie? The one with Kevin Costner in Iowa (where I am from) and he hears these voices that say “Build it and he will come”? Then Kevin Costner proceeds to destroy a chunk of his crops and everyone around him thinks he is crazy for doing such a thing! Well, you will have to watch the movie to find out how it ends but let’s just say that what Kevin Costner did, and the sacrifices he made worked out amidst the disapproval of those around him.
There are thousands and thousands of licensed Realtors in the US. Many are “solo agents,” meaning they are on their own. They show homes, market their business, lead generate, order signs, and work with buyers and sellers. Though I named several tasks they do, it is minor in comparison to ALL the responsibilities they truly have. Not that long ago, most Realtors went the way of the solo real estate agent. There was no Social Media, the Internet, YouTube and more to take into consideration when marketing your business. The ability to network, send out TONS of direct mail, door-knocking, and even have the largest advertisement in the local paper were some of the main marketing techniques. In today’s real estate climate, “Teams” seem to be taking over as the most efficient way to expand your real estate business to huge proportions. Does the solo real estate agent have a glass ceiling or are there ways to break the glass ceiling?
I can’t tell you how many times I hear that real estate online leads suck. With that said, I know many Realtors that spend big money each month on online leads. It’s like saying postcards get a very small return and are thrown in the trash, yet people send them out every month hoping to get that listing or buyer calls. The issue is real estate online leads don’t suck…it’s the kind of online leads they get AND the people trying to convert them to clients. Online leads are actually some of the best “leads” you can get, but the issue is where are your online leads coming from? In my opinion online leads get a bad wrap. There are many factors into WHY this is, and I want to discuss the reasons Realtors hate online leads, and what they can do to make sure the online leads they do receive are primed prospects ready to act!
Facebook has been in the news as of late regarding the amount of data they have collected on their users, and in turn given that data to an analytics company which was later used to possibly influence it’s users based on their affiliations and likes. In the real estate field, we know that the use of social media to interact, engage, and educate is super important. I decided to take the plunge, and here is what I found out by downloading my Facebook data.
Having been in the Title business since 2005, I have seen many things as it relates to methods used by Title Companies to generate business. When I was a Title sales rep in Phoenix, AZ most of the major Title Companies has sales teams. These salespeople would lead generate Realtors and lenders to create Title orders for their company. There were some companies that had joint ventures or MSA’s (market service agreements) but they were not prevalent. Mostly because of the many Title salespeople each company had that caused the “capture rate” of those agreements are pretty low. When I moved to the Washington DC area, I found the opposite is true. Most Title Companies had joint ventures or other agreements in place and very few employed salespeople who generated the organic business. Let’s discuss the two different Title Company business models, how they work and the major differences.
This is not a blog about how amazing Stewart Title is because we have the best service, escrow staff, etc. Everyone says that about their company. I want to talk about the REAL differences that influence and affect YOU…our clients. Settlement and Title Companies are everywhere in each market. Figuring out who to use to support your business can be tough, especially if they essentially all do the same things. Realtors are viewed the same way. If you don’t have at least one strong value proposition, you are in trouble as consumers will view you as the same as other Realtors.
I was having lunch last week with a client and we were discussing his current business model. This client primarily works by referral and spends his marketing dollars and time sending notes, making calls, and doing pop-byes. All great, but I asked him a question…“What are you doing to keep your real estate sales funnel full…with NEW people?” He looked at me and I could tell he was unsure on the answer. If your entire database is 50 people, it is a limited number of people who can use your services and refer you to others. What if your database was 100 or 200+ people? What would that look like for your business? This applies for Realtors, Lenders, and Title Reps. You have to always be adding new people into the sales funnel. Not doing so limits your business tremendously. Taking the right “action steps” to get new people is the challenging part. Here are some tips to make it happen!
For quite a while, there have been rumblings in our industry about eClosings. If you are unaware about eClosings, they allow us to conduct a settlement with a buyer/borrower electronically over a computer. Essentially we are doing a “face-time” with the buyer and they sign their closing documents similar to DocuSign. The documents are “e-notarized” and “e-recorded.” If you think this is too outside the box, keep in mind, this technology has been used for years for many things we do in our normal lives. I can pay my mortgage on my phone through an app, or I can order Domino’s Pizza and know online exactly when it goes into the oven. Why not closing on a home? The eClosing process is very easy and Stewart Title has partnered with Pavaso to make things even easier for our clients. Here is a press release that just came out:
I recently taught a class at a Realtor association for new agents called: “I Just Got my Real Estate License…Now What?” The class was 2 hours long and covered a variety of topics to help these new agents get their businesses off the ground. When the class ended, each person was given an evaluation form of the instructor (Me!) and how I did. One thing caught my eye from one of the Realtors. The question on the form was “What are your biggest daily challenges?” The answer they gave was “Not enough Leads.” Unfortunately, the agent’s names were not on the evaluation forms, or I would have reached out to that agent to explain that the lack of real estate leads is hardly their problem.