Mitch 's Blog

The title says it all.  Over the next few months I will be sharing some of the secrets and systems that has made my brokerage number one (out of over 500 offices) in working with buyers in Brevard County Florida with 193 transaction from 14 Agents in 2007! 

If you really are serious about generating a predictable lead capture and lead conversion program then this is the group for you to join.  We will share thoughts such as landing pages, URL's, IDX Systems, Lead Capture tools, Lead Conversion Software, Lead Conversion systems, generating traffic and so much more. 

I look forward to meeting and helping you!

To get a free website evaluation go to: http://www.ehomesrealty.com/index.cfm/Free_Website_Evaluation

To join our group go to: http://www.activerain.com/groups/MitchRibak

So I'm sure you have been hearing the words "landing pages" often and I'm sure many aren't really sure what we are talking about.  Sometimes we assume that everyone understands the lingo involved with lead capture and conversion. 

Landing Pages are very simply the page inwhich a visitor to your site lands on when clicking a link from the Internet.  Landing Pages are probably the most overlooked aspect to Realtors websites.  Most Realtors and Brokers use their home page as their landing page.  When you do this, you are telling the visitor to search around your site and see if you can find my capture tools...and hopefully you will give me your name, email address and phone number.

In my opinion, your landing page should be the page where your IDX is located.  Remember, the only real reason a person is using your site is to look at listings.  Why fight that?  Why make them try to navigate your site to find your IDX?  If you go on as many sites as I do, you will see that most Realtors really miss the boat on this.  They make lead capture a mystery versus a science. 

What else should be on your landing page.  Along with your IDX should be a place to capture their info.  Whether you let them look at listings before you capture there name (not my recommendation) or you have them register before looking (that's what I do), you need to use your IDX to capture as many visitors as possible.  If you don't have your site set up like this, you are leaving lots of leads in someone elses database!

You can view my landing page here to see how we capture 16%-18% of our visitors:

 http://www.melbournehomesearch.com/index.cfm/Melbourne_FL_Real_Estate

One other quick note on landing pages, I have found that if I create a landing page for each city that I service, we are better able to service our leads.  The more info you can retain from your visitors, the better you will be able to help them buy their home. 

Ok, one more quick note.  You will notice on the bottom of my capture form I ask a few questions.  Those questions are vital to our lead conversion.  The let us know time frames, if they need to sell a home (we get lots of listings from that question) and if they have any questions about financing (we have a mortgage partner that pays a monthly fee for their leads).  Some would say I might get a higher conversion rate asking for a little less info...they may be right.  However, with our 100MPH Marketing system, we need the info to help us convert leads.  I'm always playing with different things and perfecting what I do.  With the market changing the way it is, I am always adapting what I do to the market. 

Hopefully this clears up the questions about landing pages.  It's important to be sure you have the best possible landing page for your site.  Just think of yourself when you are getting frustrated looking for something on another website that didn't bring you right to where you need to be!  You usually leave fairly quickly, don't you?

If you would like to join my group, please click on the link below.  My goal is to offer Realtors and Brokers some of the answers to your website needs.  After all, why reinvent the wheel when we at Tropical Realty www.melbournehomesearch.com along with a few others, have already invented the wheel and it rolls just fine!

http://www.activerain.com/groups/MitchRibak

Feel free to go to my eHomes Realty Network site and take advantage of my free website evaluation.  You can get the by clicking here: http://www.ehomesrealty.com/index.cfm/Free_Website_Evaluation

As many of you may know, I have been helping people with their Internet programs for some time although I am fairly new to Active Rain over the past month.  I have written many posts that have been well received with tons of comments.  It's been a lot of fun. 

For that reason, I decided to start a group to help Agents and Brokers understand Internet Lead Capture and more importantly Lead Conversion. 

If you are serious about learning some of the basics of lead capture and conversion you will want to join my group.  My office has been using these tools and techniques for the past several years and they have proven extremely successful.  In Brevard County Florida we were number 1 with buyers in 2007 with 193 transactions with only 14 Agents.  This year we are on track to reach over 225 sales!

Even if you aren't very serious, you might want to join because you may just learn a thing or two.

Go to: http://www.activerain.com/groups/MitchRibak

I am fairly new to Active Rain and I have started a group, but I have no idea how I am supposed to let people know that I have started the group or how the general AR population will see my group.  Has anyone started a group before that could offer me some advice?  Thanks!

Here is my group URL: http://activerain.com/groups/MitchRibak

Have an awesome Sunday! 

Last week I posted the ability for Agents or Brokers to have their sites evaluated.  I received a bunch of requests and it was a pleasure helping all of them.  They all wrote back nice notes of appreciation and I was glad to help. 

I decided I would offer it again but this time I am going to evaluate just your lead capture tools.  I will take a look at your site and your capture or lack of capture tools and how you can increase your capture and business.

Unfortanately if your business is located in Brevard County Florida I can't offer this help.  As much as I like many of my fellow Realtors in my area, I can't share all my secrets with them.  I'm sure you understand!

Just go to: http://www.ehomesrealty.com/index.cfm/Free_Website_Evaluation , give me your info, and I will get back to you as soon as I can. 

Also, if you would like me to evaluate your current marketing program, please include the amount of clicks or unique visitors you receive monthly and how many of these are you converting to transactions.

I look forward to helping you!

Mitch

It's getting close to the launch of The eHomes Realty Network.  I figured I would list below the great tools you receive just for being a member of the Network.  This membership is only available to Independent Real Estate Brokerages and Teams.  Our Exclusive Membership will be limited to only two or three members per County (Very large Counties may have more).  Shouldn't it be your Brokerage instead of the Brokerage down the street!  If you are a Realtor, share this information with your Broker and help him or her understand that these tools will help propel your Brokerage to the Next Level!

Member Benefits

 ·        Internet Consulting - I have been considered one of the true Internet experts in the Real Estate world.  Before you throw your money away on useless programs, talk to me.  This service alone can save you thousands of dollars and it's all part of your membership. 

 ·        Website Design and Consulting - Our exceptional website design team will design your site to your specs.  You will get the best in website content and lead capture.  Already have a site?  That's great!  We will work with you to help make your site the best it can be!

 ·        Business Consulting - This is the 14^th company that I have started and operated.  I have a wealth of business knowledge in operations, systems, purchasing, hiring, conventional marketing and Internet Marketing.  I can answer most any business question you might have.  If I don't know the answer, I will find it for you.

 ·        Referral Network - As we grow eHomes Realty Network nationally, so will your referral network grow.  We will only be accepting a few Brokerages from each County as we don't want to share all our information with everyone.  You will know when you refer someone to a member of our network that we felt the Brokerage would be an asset to our members.  I believe we all can help each other.

 ·        Online Sales Training - All of our training has been broken out into 10-15 minute training modules available both in video (coming in July 2008) and in a downloadable manual to give your Agents.

 ·        Discounted In-House Training - Currently we are offering our membership a 25% discount on in-house training.  One of our trainers will come to your office and train your staff.  This usually takes two days.
 

 ·        Marketing Forum - Through the eHomes Realty Network website, you will have the opportunity to post questions and answers on a variety of marketing needs.

 ·        Business Forum - As with the Marketing Forum, you will be able to post your questions and answers on any business scenario you might have.

 ·        Volume Buying - One advantage of being a member is the ability for us to establish volume buying deals with many national vendors for office supplies, computers, marketing and more.

·        Product Testing Ground - Since we have tested many products, we will have an on-going list of products that either we have tested or one of our members has tested.  We will add the product and allow our members to write reviews.  If we haven't yet tested a product, there is a good chance that one of our members might have tested the product. We are all here to help each other!
 

 ·        National Brand Recognition - We are branding our name, marketing and advertising nationally for increased recognition of your company with buyers and sellers.

·        Recruiting Programs - We will provide you with training and programs for successfully recruiting more high producing agents.

·        Mergers & Acquisitions - We provide an M&A service to help you acquire or merge other companies into yours.  That means more agents and an immediate increase in revenue and profits.  We provide training programs as well as full services to guide you through this process.  We find the companies for you!  We can also assist you, if and when you decide to sell your company.

 ·        Continued Growth - We are not stopping with these great opportunities.  At eHomes Realty Network, we are committed to making this the one stop shop for all your Real Estate needs.  There is no longer any reason to join a franchise when you will have all the franchise benefits and more from The eHomes Realty Network!

Go to www.ehomesrealtynetwork.com and check out the rest of the site.  It's still being updated for our launch on Monday so please pardon the construction!  While there take advantage of my free website evaluation at http://www.ehomesrealty.com/index.cfm/Free_Website_Evaluation.

If you have any questions for me, please feel free to ask at mitch@mitchrealty.com.  I look forward to helping you grow your company! 

I'm proud to announce the launch of The eHomes Realty Network on Monday, June 23.  If you are an Independent Brokerage looking to acquire the tools of a having a franchise without having to change your name or your business model, you should consider joining.  Not only will you receive great tools and consulting to help with your business, you will have me as your partner to show you how to utilize the Internet to become an Internet Powerhouse in your area. 

To view the benefits of membership go to:  http://ehomesrealty.com/index.cfm/Benefits_of_Membership

We will start accepting applications on Monday.  In the meantime, if you have any questions, please feel free to call me at 321-258-4150 or email me at mitch@mitchrealty.com. 

This site is only available to Independent Brokerages and Teams.  Finally you will have the opportunity to compete with the franchises as a fraction of the cost!

As a company that meets almost all our customers via the Internet, we probably have learned more what it takes to earn our customers loyalty.  Our company is located in Melbourne Florida and our website is www.melbournehomesearch.com .  If you are looking for a home in Brevard County Florida that's where you can find me!

My goal of this post has nothing to do about asking you to buy a home from us, it's really more about understanding what your Realtor goes through.

Most Realtors work very hard in this business to be successful and actually in this market just to put food on the table.  One of the most disturbing things that can happen to a Realtor is when a customer they have been working very hard to help calls them to inform them that they bought a house.  Can you imagine how depressing it is to know that even though you worked so hard to help this customer, they didn't respect any of your work.  I think that most consumers understand that Realtors do not get paid a salary and do not earn a penny unless you buy a home from them. 

So why does this happen?  There are a few common instances that we see.

1. FSBO's - For Sale By Owner listings are all over the place.  Your Realtor can help you in so many ways when buying a FSBO.  Most FSBO's have no clue how to really sell their home which means the buyer is buying at their own risk.  Your Realtor can protect you from so many mistakes that we see on a regular basis.  Most of the time the seller is willing to pay your Realtor for bringing him the buyer.  If not, you can always pay your Realtor by adding a couple of bucks to the price of the home.  This is done often.  However, in this market most sellers will welcome your Realtor and you.

2.  New Construction - I can't tell you how many times a customer will tell their Realtor that they are not interested in waiting for a new home to be built.  Then the phone call happens. "We were just driving around and decided to stop in at Builder X.  We fell in love and signed a contract".  Keep in mind that if you go to a builder, the Realtor fee is built into the price.  Even if you are able to negotiate, which most consumers don't even realize they can, the Realtor fee is still there.  What most people don't realize is that the employees of the builder are not allowed to represent the buyer at all in these transactions.  They work for the builder and only the builder.  Your Realtor will most likely be able to knock off 5% off the sales price and 50% off the options in this market.  Your Realtor will also make sure that everything goes smoothly throughout the process.  Realtors do this every day so why not have your Realtor at your side.

3.  Open Houses and Listing Signs - It's a Sunday afternoon and your and your wife or husband are out driving around and see an open house.  You go in, fall in love, and put an offer on the house.  All of the sudden you have forgotten that your Realtor has spent multiple days driving you around from house to house (don't forget it's $4 a gallon to do this these days) and was always available at your whim.  You put an offer on the house and your Realtor is cut out.  Not only are you not represented again, but you just basically said to your Realtor we didn't value you or care that you spent so much time with us. The same goes with calling the Listing Agent to get into a house instead of calling your Realtor. 

The hardest part is when the consumer calls their Realtor  to tell them they bought a house or worse just disappears and doesn't even take their Realtors phone calls or answer his emails.  The worst part for the Realtor is trying to act like you are happy for this person who totally just disrespected you.   Being a Realtor is a tough job.  I never would have thought that until I became a Realtor.  In fact, most people look at Realtors as just someone who can open the door for you to look at homes.  There is so much more involved in being a Realtor. 

So, the next time you are using your Realtor, if he or she is good, don't disrespect him or her.  If you want to go to a builder, bring your Realtor.  If for some reason you don't call your Realtor, be sure to tell the builder that you are working with a Realtor and will only buy the home though your Realtor.  If you see a FSBO for sale, call your Realtor and at least let him try to make the appointment to get you in.  If you walk into an open house give the Realtor at the open house your Realtors business card so they know that you are working with an Agent already.  You will still get some open house or listing Agents that will try to steal you away from your Realtor.  If your Realtor is good, why would you do that to him or her.  Your Realtor has most likely spent a lot of time and money trying to help you buy a home.  Show him or her the courtesy that you would want to be shown to you if you were on the other foot. 

Are you sure you want to buy a short sale home?

 Well the short sale market is in session and there are a lot of buyers getting very frustrated. It seems no matter what I say; people are still listening to the media telling them to buy foreclosures or short sales.

My goal is not to tell you to avoid short sales like the plague, but to make sure you understand the negatives to the short sale.

First, based on last month sales, short sales are only about 3%-5% lower than regular sales. They are not really much of a bargain. Basically they are selling at market rate. Based on the amount of time involved and the frustration, that savings can quickly be lost.

So why am I so down on Short Sales? The biggest issue is that they are an unknown. I will point a few of the issues below:

1. In most cases, the soonest you will hear if your offer was accepted is 45 days or more.

2. The listing price has nothing to do with the actual price that the bank will accept. The bank does not give Realtors a deliverable price at the time of the listing.  The Bank will not give out a price until they have received offers.  (Many Agents are using short sales as a means to capture buyers.  They list the homes at a price that there is no way the bank will accept the offer, but the listing agent captures many emails and phone calls about that very low priced home.  Ethical?  I don't think so!)

3. Many buyers are offering the bank much lower than the listed price. The reality is, the bank will be selling that home at very close to market rate. They will do an appraisal on the property prior to accepting any offer.

4. While you are waiting for an answer on your offer, the listing remains active and the bank is usually receiving multiple offers.  (This is against MLS rules but since most Real Estate Boards around the country are not sure what to do with short sales, they simply let this rule slide.  According to our MLS Rules, they are supposed to be marked contingent while the sale is contingent on bank approval.)

5. When the bank finally does come back with an answer, there usually is no chance for a counter offer; they usually accept the best offer. (That is if any are acceptable at all)

6. The bank will usually turn down most offers that are asking them to pay anything toward closing costs.

7. The bank will usually not do any repairs on the property...they are mostly "as is" contracts.  Many of these homes may need a substantial amount of work.

8. The bank still may require the seller to sign a promissory note to pay the difference. So after all this time and potentially at the closing table, the seller may walk away from the deal.   At that point you are right where right back to the beginning of your home search.

9.  Based on my office stats, less than 35% of our Short Sale offers are approved by the bank.  Many of our of

Last night I offered anyone who wanted, a free evaluation of their websites.  I had many takers and spent much of the day reveiwing sites.  Many of them had the same problems and some have really no chance of being revamped to help their business.  Let's look at a few of my findings.

1.  It's obvious to me that many of you out there are just using sites such as Point 2 sites.  If you are serious about lead capture and conversion, you can't use a site like these.  These sites are free I believe, but there is a reason.  They give away sites to every Realtor who wants one.  The more sites they give away, the more money they make from advertising.  The problem is that in almost every page there are multiple links to take you away from your site.  If you work hard getting traffic to your site, you are giving it away just as quick as you are getting the traffic. 

2. Most of the sites had no lead capture tools on their sites.  If your goal is to use your site to generate business, then you must use it as a business.  The goal should be lead capture.  The more leads you can capture, the more potential customers and sales you will receive.  With that said, your landing page should be your IDX page with a data capture form on it.  Take a look at one of my landing pages and you wiill see what I mean.  http://www.melbournehomesearch.com/index.cfm/Melbourne_FL_Real_Estate is one of my landing pages for my Brevard County Florida office.

As you can see on this landing page, not only do I capture where they are coming in for tracking purposes, I am also capturing their search info and their name, email and phone number.  This is important info if your goal is to convert these leads to customers.  However, converting leads is another story.  Today we are just talking about your websites. 

3.  One of the other major issues with many sites was that their sites linked back to their corporate site.  I'm sure their Brokers love this, but it doesn't do anything for your business.  You should never link back to your Broker's site or for that sake any other Real Estate sites.  By doing this you are asking your visitors to explore a site besides your site as well as asking them to look at many other Realtors.  Most Brokers sites have Agents lists.  Once your visitor goes back to your Brokers site, your lost lead will be one of your co-workers new leads!

Honestly, there were so many issues with so many.  I could only touch on a few here.  If you are really serious about Internet marketing and don't have a site that supports your goals, then you are missing the boat.  I hear Agents complaining about their Internet Marketing not working, but they are not understanding the basics of lead capture.  No Internet program is going to have substantial results if you don't set up your site appropriately.  As always, if you need help or advice on your Internet program don't hesitate to call or write me.  It might take me a day to get back to you as we are getting ready to launch The eHomes Realty Network later this week but I will get back to you.  If you would like me to evaluate your site go to http://www.ehomesrealty.com/index.cfm/Free_Website_Evaluation and I will take a look at your site and give you my feedback...even if you don't like it!