Mitch 's Blog

As all of you know, I spend my days running two companies.  Tropical Realty of Suntree is my Real Estate company where I test all my programs I develop.  The eHomes Realty Network is where I share all my successful programs (and save you money and time from trying wasteful tests to see what works).  I have done pretty much every form of Internet marketing from PPC to buying leads to banner advertising, text link advertising, affiliate marketing, shared linking programs, cobranding, blogging, SEO and so on.

One topic that always comes up with most of my members is whether to do PPC or SEO.  There are pros and cons to both of them.

Pay Per Click

Benefits

• Pay only when someone clicks through to your site
• Target your marketing precisely where you desire
• Start today and create leads today - Instant results
• Cap your budget to spend as little or as much as you can afford
• Link directly to capture pages to increase lead capture
• Third Party Traffic such as Homegain can increase conversion rates to 16+%
• Predictable

Negatives

• Can get expensive if you don't know what you are doing (don't cap costs)
• If you don't have proper lead capture tools you are wasting money
• Lead Capture is around 8% - 10% through Google and Yahoo Search Engines
• Must manage keywords regularly to maximize production

SEO

Benefits

• FREE if you can do this yourself
• Targeted traffic based on keywords
• Some say consumers are more likely to click on these than PPC listings

Negatives

• Can be very expensive if you have to hire someone (many companies are rip offs)
• Rankings constantly change
• Can take a long time to get results
• Unpredictable

Of course I'm sure many of you are going to come up with many other positives and negatives for both.  I was just giving you my quick, very quick, thoughts on pros and cons of each program.

Over the past 7 years I have spent over $500,000 on Pay Per Click advertising.  I am not a tech guy and don't know how to do SEO myself.  Personally, I just don't have the mind to deal with it.  I'm sure it's not to hard if you learn, but I would rather pay someone.  I use a guy named Eric Blackwell to do my SEO.  I hired him about 3 months ago and he has done a great job getting not only my home page listed in many keywords, but also many of my landing pages listed high.  We haven't seen a benefit from it yet, but I have made a commitment to test it properly.  I have talked with many people who generate all their leads through SEO. 

With all that said, even if my SEO campaign is successful, I would never give up my PPC.  Here is the main reason.  It's predictable.  I know that if I spend X amount on PPC, it will generate Y amount of leads.  Using our 100MPH Marketing system will produce Z amount of sales.  The past two years, including this year, I have been able to predict my business...even in this market.  

Another reason to use PPC, is it's immediate.   Changes can be made pretty close to real time.  This means that I can make a change right now, and usually within a few seconds to a few minutes, I can test different programs and landing pages.  Unlike SEO that takes many months to acheive placement that will actually generate enough leads, PPC can be started today and you will start receiving leads today.  This will depend on your capture tools of course.

So which is better?  I'm a PPC man and most likely will always be a PPC man.  However, you can't argue the lead flow of some of the people I have met who use SEO.  I think in the end, a good balance of both is great.  You shoud use PPC to generate traffic and leads today while you are building your SEO program for later.  At some point you may be able to stop using PPC if you are one of the lucky Agents to top the search engines with top used keywords. 

One thing I do want to mention before you spend a lot of money on PPC.  I used to spend a small fortune on PPC per month and manage my 500 keywords daily for an hour or two.  In August of 2006, I discovered Homegain's BuyerLink program.  I have to admit, it changed the way I do business.  I went from averaging an 8% conversion rate of clicks to leads to a 16% click to lead conversion rate using Homegain.  So I doubled my conversion.  Just as importantly though, I pay half of what I paid on Google and Yahoo.  Without sounding like a sales person for Homegain, Conversion is double and costs are half.  I'm not sure why anyone would use Google and Yahoo for their PPC when you can use Homegains BuyerLink program.  (My members at The eHomes Realty Network receive a 5% discount on buying traffic from Homegain).

I hope this gives you a little insight onto whether you should use PPC or SEO or maybe both! Remember, before you start any program, you need to have a solid lead conversion plan in place.  The better your plan, the better your cost per sale.   As always, if you have any questions, feel free to contact me.  I'm always available to help. 

It just keeps getting worse.  I hope people out there are really taking a good look at what's happening to our country.  Obama yesterday has cut off WFTV in Orlando for asking Joe Biden tough questions.  Biden actually asked her who was writing her questions. 

The questions were pretty basic in reality.  The first one was asking if "spreading the wealth" was a form of marxism.  The answer is yes of course but Biden managed to stumble out a typical talking points response.  The other question was taking Biden's quotes from the other day saying Obama will be tested and asked him to explain what he meant.  He again did the political BS that we have seen all our lives.

Now the TV station has been a target.  When it first happened both the station management and the reporter, Barbara West, defended their position.  The interview was on their website.  This morning, the station isn't talking and the video has been taken down from their site.  In fact, there isn't even a mention of it on the homepage.  Can we be looking at pressure from the left letting them know that WHEN Obama gets in their license is in jeopardy?  I believe so.

Doesn't this scare you?  It scares the heck out of  me.  What happens when the Obama administration gets challenged  Are they going to shut themselves into the White House and not let the American people know what's going on.  They have already said they intend to destroy conservative talk radio.  What else is next in our new socialist country!

In the end, even if you like or dislike either candidate, our country is leaning toward a new era.  We are going to get change.  Look at history.  We have seen this change before....Chavez, Hitler, and Castro were all heralded as the great change needed for their countries.  It's the first time in my adult life, since the nuclear war scares of the 60's and 70's that I fear the end of our freedom. 

My question...doesn't anyone see this?  I can't believe that anyone would want an administration that promotes censorship and socialism.   I have my ears open.  Enlighten me. 

So today was the day.  It was a day I have been waiting to hear about for three years.  Today, on the national news, they finally said something good about the Real Estate Market.  They said that last month Real Estate sales were up 5% nationwide.  They said that they think the low prices and the low interest rates are bringing the buyers back into the market.  I figured the Democrats must feel like they won the election for this to come out in the main stream news 10 days before the election!  Maybe they are starting to feel a little guilty about scaring the heck out of every day Americans telling them our financial world is coming to an end and causing a potential disaster.  Maybe they can say this and that the Democrat portion of the Bail Out is working.  That must be good for Obama....right?  Who knows. 

I do know I was in shock when they said this today.  The media has not wanted to talk about anything positive for so long, I didn't know they had it in them!  So here we are, maybe the beginning of the new Real Estate market.  Tell your customers and tell your clients.  Tell your neighbor and tell your families.  The Real Estate market is coming back and we are all going to be busy and happy again!  Yippie! 

I hope you are all as excited as I am about this announcement.  It's the beginning of the next session!

How to buy Foreclosures in the current Real Estate Market November 2008

The 2008 Foreclosure Market in Brevard County Florida has some of the frenzy that was creating in the buying frenzy of 2004. Most Foreclosures are selling at close to 50 and 60 cents on the dollar from their highs of three years ago. As your Realtor, it is our duty to explain to you the best way to reach your goal of buying a foreclosure.

• Be sure your Realtor has placed your criteria into our Foreclosure Automatic Update System.

• Both the Agent and you, the buyer, will need to have a quick response attitude if you really want this home. These listings are going extremely quickly and if you are not quick, there will be multiple offers.

• It is the Listing Agents responsibility to present all offers to the bank or the seller. Therefore, when making your offer, be sure this is your highest and best offer.

• Prices of foreclosures are not very negotiable. Especially the aggressively priced listings. They sell quickly and at or higher than full price.

• The winning bid will almost always be full price or higher. If you really want a house, we would recommend bidding at least 5% or even 10% higher than the asking price. In most situations there will be multiple bids. Smart investors who realize how far down the prices of these homes have come, are jumping on the great deals. Almost every foreclosure is priced at their low.

• When making the offer, the less contingencies the better. It is unlikely the banks or corporations that own these properties will entertain paying closing costs or any other concessions.

• If you are financing, FHA loans are a more difficult on Foreclosed Homes. Many Foreclosed Homes have damage that may not be acceptable to FHA inspectors. Since these homes are all sold as is; the banks will not contribute any money to fix the home.

Our goal at Tropical Realty is to get you the best possible deal.. However, we also understand what is going on in the Foreclosure Market. Almost 70% of the homes we currently sell are Foreclosures. We understand them. Our goal is to not only get you excited about finding a property but also to give you the knowledge to be the winning bidder on your desired home!

As always, we look forward to helping you!

If you would like a list of Foreclosures in Brevard County, please go to:

http://melbournehomesearch.com/index.cfm/Foreclosure_Propery_List

One of our Realtors will send you a list asap!

If you run your business in Florida, Arizona or California, you understand Foreclosures!

Brevard County, considered one of the worst if not the worst Real Estate market in the country, is experiencing a tremendous amount of Foreclosure action. Currently half or more of the homes we are selling are Foreclosures.

Foreclosures are similar to the way it was back in 2001 and 2002. At that time you could get homes at close to 50% of their value. Now you can get homes that are 50% of what they sold for three years ago. However, with these great deals, comes a tremendous amount of competition. Not only do we have investors trying to pick up great deals, we also have many first time homebuyers and other buyers who were priced out of the housing market a few years ago.

Almost every home we make an offer on has multiple bids. Like the buying frenzy of 2004, we are seeing similar situations with Foreclosures in this market. With that said, if you are looking to buy a Foreclosure and have your heart set on a home, you should always bid your highest and best offer. Almost every Foreclosure we have sold recently has been sold at or higher than full price. How have we become good at selling these...we have lost a ton of them before we figured it out. We now educate all our buyers with the Forclosure Notice below:

How to buy Foreclosures in the current Real Estate Market November 2008

The 2008 Foreclosure Market in Brevard County Florida has some of the frenzy that was creating in the buying frenzy of 2004. Most Foreclosures are selling at close to 50 and 60 cents on the dollar from their highs of three years ago. As your Realtor, it is our duty to explain to you the best way to reach your goal of buying a foreclosure.

• Be sure your Realtor has placed your criteria into our Foreclosure Automatic Update System.

• Both the Agent and you, the buyer, will need to have a quick response attitude if you really want this home. These listings are going extremely quickly and if you are not quick, there will be multiple offers.

• It is the Listing Agents responsibility to present all offers to the bank or the seller. Therefore, when making your offer, be sure this is your highest and best offer.

• Prices of foreclosures are not very negotiable. Especially the aggressively priced listings. They sell quickly and at or higher than full price.

• The winning bid will almost always be full price or higher. If you really want a house, we would recommend bidding at least 5% or even 10% higher than the asking price. In most situations there will be multiple bids. Smart investors who realize how far down the prices of these homes have come, are jumping on the great deals. Almost every foreclosure is priced at their low.

• When making the offer, the less contingencies the better. It is unlikely the banks or corporations that own these properties will entertain paying closing costs or any other concessions.

• If you are financing, FHA loans are a more difficult on Foreclosed Homes. Many Foreclosed Homes have damage that may not be acceptable to FHA inspectors. Since these homes are all sold as is; the banks will not contribute any money to fix the home.

Our goal at Tropical Realty is to get you the best possible deal.. However, we also understand what is going on in the Foreclosure Market. Almost 70% of the homes we currently sell are Foreclosures. We understand them. Our goal is to not only get you excited about finding a property but also to give you the knowledge to be the winning bidder on your desired home!

As always, we look forward to helping you!

Ok, so normally I write about lead capture and lead conversion and how to be a great Realtor etc., etc., etc.  Not this time.

I have been playing guitar since I was 13 or 14 years old.  I'm not as good as I was in my prime, but I can still bang out a rocker!  This morning I was reading my Guitar magazine which seems to be featuring a lot of rockers from the 70's and earlier.  Today I read a story about Jimmy Page or Led Zeppelin. 

As I sat there reading the article about him playing at the  closing ceremony of the Olympics, I could barely get through a line without looking over at the picture.  I spent my youth listening to Led Zeppelin, Aerosmith, Styx, Journey, Ted Nugent and so many other great bands.  However, Jimmy Page was and is still one of the best guitar players of all time.  The picture kept drawing me to the point I was having trouble reading the article.

As with all of us, Jimmy has gotten older.  But what got me was how normal he was.  When I was younger he was an icon.  When I saw him live on stage it was amazing.  He is a monster guitar player!  While I read the article I started remembering my youth.  It was such a fun time in my life.  From the ages of 15-22 I played in a band and spent my time playing on stage every weekend.  It was quite a great way to grow up.  During the day I was a baseball player with so much promise, and at night I rocked away with my long hair going everywhere!  However, this day, today, I was getting a little misty eyed as I read the article with my guitar hero, are realy guitar hero, not a game.  Here he was, probably 15 years older than me, and just a regular guy now. 

It brought me to think about so much that has gone on the last 30 years of my life.  Have I aged like Jimmy has aged?  Am I happy?  Do I miss being young?  The answer to each question is yes.  I have aged as my long hair is now buzzed short.  I am happy.  I have a great wife, four kids, a beautiful granddaughter (yes crazy I know), a solid real estate company, The eHomes Realty Network, still healty, and so much more.  However, the last question, do I miss being young is the tough one.  I do.  I miss having the looks and the carefree life that the hardest part was having to get up to go to school on Monday.  I miss my hair...really miss my hair.  I miss the friendships that you can only generate when you are young.  The older we get the less chance we have of having true friends.  I'm lucky to have maintain a strong friendship with several of my friends from the band days.  I miss a lot about being young.  Probably mostly the dreams of the future.  What was in store for me for the rest of my life.

So hear I am, 47 years old and my life couldn't have been more different than I had planned.  I always knew I would become a businessman...of course that was if I didn't make it as a baseball pitcher or in a rock band.  Baseball went out the second practice of college ball when I blew my shoulder apart.  Being a rock star went out when I took on a ready made family at 22 years old.  By 23 I realized I had to have other priorities.  My life has changed so much.  I'm much wiser, probaby more skeptical, but still believe in the good of mankind.  It's challenging these days to think of the good when so much is going wrong around our world.  I guess that's why I'm so upset about the direction of our country.  Without being political, I just am not looking forward to this new socialist society we are heading toward.

I do, though, believe so much in our fellow Americans.  I believe that we all have more purpose than we realize.  I believe that our lives are what we make of them.  I believe that we are given so many paths to choose and no matter which path you take, it's the right path.  It just might not work out the way you planned.  I believe that if you help people you will be given the true joy of life.  There is no better reward than giving.  Mostly, I still believe in myself.

Why am I writing this blog today?  I really don't know.  I just didn't have any other place to write how I felt today after I read that article about Jimmy Page and saw how much older and normal he looks now.  I spent of the ride to work today thinking about it and most of this evening pondering why it had such an affect on me.  My goal for you and everyone here...just be happy with yourself.  It's a good thing. 

Thanks for listening!

This is an obvious answer but I can't tell you how many Agents I talk to that don't leave messages.  I believe you should leave a message every time.

Here are my reasons:

1.  If you don't leave a message, you have a 100% reality that they will not call you back.  It's sort of like a putt you leave short...it definately isn't going in the cup!

2.  If you leave a message you have a chance they will call you back.  I'm not much of a gambling man but I think your odds of getting a call back go up significantly if you leave a message.

3.  They gave you their number and expect a call.  What if they are looking to buy today but you just  missed them.  They will now find another Realtor and think of you as unresponsive to their needs.  Every time you don't leave a message you are potentially blowing a sale.  I won't take the risk.  The reason my Agents are so successful ( 1 out of 24 leads is a sale as a group) with lead conversion is because they are very responsive when they receive a lead. 

That's it.  In the end, they gave you their number and most of the time are pleased that you called.  Many people are not available when you call.  Most of the time it takes us a couple of calls to get hold of them.  Consumers want an Agent who works hard.  When they see you work hard, you win!  If you want to be successful with lead conversion, then start leaving messages and you will start seeing the beginning of your results!

If you have ever wondered how some Agents turn floor calls into sales, then you must listen to this webinar.  It's not a sales pitch to get you learn more about The eHomes Realty Network.  That's just not my style!  This is a one of our normal sessions that I do for my members.  It's a lesson in Floor Call Conversion. 

I think everyone should know how to convert floor calls to customers.  It amazes me that only 2% of the Floor Calls are converted to customers.  To me, it's one of the easiest means of getting and converting leads.  I have a few Agents at my Tropical Realty office in Melbourne Florida who want to do as much floor time as possible.  They understand and have seen the value!

Below is a blog I wrote on my site the other day.  The URL to login and register for the webinar is below. 

Did you know that only 2% of floor calls nationwide are actually turned into customers? I was shocked at that number when I read about it a few years back. When I started in this business the first words of advice I got from the "experienced agents" was to stay clear of floor calls. Of course being the rebel that I am, I knew there was an opportunity there. I then spent the next month listening to floor calls by other Agents. After listening, I decided that they had no idea what they were doing...which was why they all hated them! I decided to create my own program.

My first year in the business I had 36 sales. With 28 of those sales coming from floor calls. It's just not that hard if you actually take the time to turn them into a customer.

In my webinar on Thursday we will be discussing exactly what you need to do to be successful with floor calls. It's an easy step by step process to follow that will change the way you do floor calls. The results are amazing.

To register go to: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/350780788

The stats say that only 2% of floor calls are converted to sales.  Yes, you heard that right, only 2%!  That means 98 times out of 100 times a new lead calls you from a sign call, internet call, or any other call, you don't convert them to a customer. 

When I first got into the business everyone told me that floor calls were a waste of time.  Obviously if you know me, I saw a great opportunity.  The results - My first year in business I had 36 sales with 28 of them from floor calls!  I love floor calls and so should you!  It's a live person wanting real estate information.  What else would you want?

The reality is you probably werent trained properly or not at all.  On Thursday, Oct. 23rd at 2:00pm, I will be holding a webinar on Converting Floor Calls to Sales.  This is for my members at The eHomes Realty Network, but I am also opening it up to Active Rain members.   Just follow this link to register for this informational webinar.  If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask.

https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/350780788

My goal in life is much more than Real Estate.  My goal in life is to leave this world, and especially our country, in a better place.  I came into the world (1961) when our country was going through change.  Forty Seven years later we are still going through change.  In fact, we will most likely always be evolving and changing. My fear, because of greed and power, is that we have created a system that like all others, is going to fail. 

So how do we fix some of these problems.  I have outlined my beliefs in my manual called "Two Points to Save America".  The most important changes we need to make to accomplish the REAL changes needed for this country are term limits and campaign reform.  Yes, we have many more problems with our country that need to be addressed.  But in the end, we will never actually change unless we change the way we do business.  Actually, this is what I preach with The eHomes Realty Network.  If you read anything I write on here, I tell people that if you are not happy with the way your business is currently going, then you need to change what you are doing.  It's the same with our country.  Over the past few decades our government has grown to a corrupt machine that is full of fat and pork. 

Change is mandatory and unfortunately it is not going to happen this year.  Unfortunately, no matter who wins, we will be in the same place a few more years from now, except, in my opinion, a little more socialist.  This of course willl make my run for President even more difficult.

The first step in REAL reform is to vote every politician out of office.  It's time to take our country back.  I want to start now to prepare our country for the mindset of change in 2012.  I believe, that over the next four years, we will see exactly what I'm talking about.  More of the same. 

So let's look at todays election.  I was watching the news this morning and Obama has raised $150 Million dollars just in September to throw at his campaign.  Both candidates, especially Obama, talk about the little guy and the middle class.  Between the candidates, they are going to spend over $1 Billion on this campaign.  Did you hear me on that...$1 Billion!  They talk abou thelping the poor and less fortunate.  They talk about doing the best for the middle class.  If it takes them $1 Billion to run their campaign then I don't want them running my budget in the white house.  Obama has raised more money than anyone in our history.  He is running an full fledged advertising campaign.  This has nothing to do with being the best at policy making, but who can spend the most cash to win the election. 

Heres what I propose:

The first thing we need to do is stop career politicians.  First they spend half of their terms running for office.  Since they are so important in their positions, how can they just disappear from their jobs to spend 2 years running for another job.  Can you imagine telling your boss you are going to take some time off, with pay, to apply for some better jobs...oh, and this might take a couple of years.  Thanks for the paycheck each week though...I appreciate it! 

Stopping career politicians is easy.  It's called Term Limits.  I think that we should not have more than 2 terms in any office.  We do it with the President, and we should do it in the Senate and the Congress.  This would immediately end the rich and power seekers from running for office.  It would provide an opportunity for men and women who are not rich, but care about our country to run for office.  Just think how many people in this country are more qualified than Obama and McCain.  Actually I think I can go to any elemetary school and find better candidates.  However, a small town person can't take on the machine and win.  It's virtually impossible.  Whether you like Sara Palin or not, she is the first person I know of that has made it to being a possible Vice President without being filthy rich!  Term limits will change the entire focus of our government from trying to get elected to trying to accomplish their agenda in the short time they are allowed to hold office.

The second phase of my reform is Campaign Reform.  It's time that the non wealthy are able to run for office.  There are two aspects to reform.  The first part of this is money.  With my reform policies those wanting to run for office will not be able to receive donations from anyone.  There will be no private interest groups or lobbyists controling our leaders.  They will not owe anyone anything.  A new candidate would need to receive a predetermined number of signatures to have the right to run for office.  If an individual is able to obtain those signatures, then they will be eligible to receive their campaign funds from the governement.  This can work from the local to national scene.  This immediately changes how our candidates run for office.  I would like to see the candidates for Presidents have an equal playing field.  If they both get $50 Million to run their campaigns, they would have to run their campaigns like our governement...on a budget. 

The other part of Campaign Reform is a little  more difficult.  I believe that candidates and their camps must stay on path with presenting the facts about their beliefs.  I don't know about you, but I am sick and tired of listening to all the negative bashing.  With my changes, if a candidate runs a smear campaign they will immediately lose their funding.  Since they are not allowed to take outside funds, they would essentially be out of the campaign.  This would trickle down to everyone in their campaign camps.  Again, whether you like Palin or not, the smear campaign on her is the worst I have ever heard.  Bringing her children into this was even more dispicable. 

The American people have put up with this for a long time.  I'm 47 years old and I can't remember when our government was really for the people and not for themselves.  During years of prosperity they claim it's because of their great policies.  During economic decline they blame each other. 

If you are sick of this as much as I am, then it's time to start working toward change in 2012.  I don't know that I would really want to be President, but I do love this country.  The older I get the more I find myself in love with the ideals of our founding fathers.  Our country is slowly being torn apart and moving away from those ideals.  I want my country back.  Do you?