Mitch 's Blog

Are you ready to become and Internet Real Estate Agent (IREA)?  As many of you know, I have been talking and helping a ton of Agents over the past several months.  It's been very rewarding for me to know I am directly responsible for a bunch of Agents who have come over the Internet side of Real Estate.  Eventually, in my opinion, most transactions will be the result of an Internet connection.  As more and more Agents come to understand the Internet and it's wealth of benefits, online competition for buyers and sellers will become fierce!  For this reason, it's very important for you to start thinking about your Internet Marketing strategy.  Sadly, of the many people I have spent tons of hours helping, only about 50% of them have ever taken my advice.  It's a shame because the Agents I have spent time with have decided that the Internet sounds like a good idea, but they chose not to really use it.  I'm not sure if it's a financial thing or just paradigm paralysis.  My guess it's the latter.

Let's talk about Paradigm Paralysis for a moment.  For those of you who don't understand what that means, let me explain.  Paradigm Paralysis is the inability to change what you currently do because it's out of your comfort zone.  You do what you have done the past however many years you have been in business and are afraid of trying something new.  I'm going to tell you a short and very true story about this.  Many years ago the Swiss were the king of watch makers with 95% market share.  Any good watch was made by the Swiss.  In the late 60's (don't hold me to the date), this guy came up with a new concept for making watches.  He went to all the watch makers and they laughed at him.  They told him that is now how you make watches.  As any entrepreneur would do, he packed up and went somewhere else with his idea.  He happened to end up in Japan and pitched his concept the them.  They loved it!  The idea of course was the LCD watch.  Since those days, the Swiss now only control 5% of the market and Japan owns most of the rest of the market.  This my friends is Paradigm Paralysis.

So how does that relate to Real Estate.  It's actually very similar.  When I got into the business I was getting advice from everyone.  They all told me the same two things.  They told me floor calls were a waste of time ( I sold 28 homes my first year from floor calls) and Internet leads were a waste of time (I sold over 50 homes my second year using the Internet).  Over the past 7 years I have been in business I have kept track of most of those Agents that told me to stand clear of both those horrible means of generating business.  The funny thing is, they are all, well the ones still in business, struggling to make it and have never done more than 12 transactions in a year.  They are stuck in what I call "The Old School" Real Estate world while the adaptable Brokers and Agents like me, are flying by!

So do you want to be an IREA?  If not, that's ok with me!  There isn't enough room for all of you out there.  However, if you really want to start taking your business to a level you never thought possible, maybe you should call or email me so I can help you.  If you are a broker or part of a team, you can always go to my eHomes Realty Network at www.ehomesrealtynetwork.com.  If not, you can always drop me an email and I will gladly give you some tips on changing your ways.  However, if you are going to be one of the 50% that are not going to actually do anything, please don't call.  I can't help you if you don't want to help yourself!  You can reach me at mitch@mitchrealty.com.  Hopefully you will join me as an Internet Real Estate Agent!

I have had a bunch of people email me lately on how to deal with their customers who use both Homegains and Zillows Home Valuations.  As we all know, both these tools are not accurate.  They are really a starting point for the consumer to start determination of their homes value.  I have read a ton of blogs on this issue and most Realtors are against these tools being out there.  Personally, I don't have a problem with either of them because it allows me to show my customers why I am the professional Realtor and why they really need us. 

Before we look at how it affects both buyers and sellers, I want to tell you about my findings.  I have found, each time I have used both tools on the same property, that Homegain was usually more accurate.  Both companies however come in usually lower and sometimes substantially lower than the actual value of the home.  The main reason for this is their inability to look at factors that affect valuations.  As an example of these factors, we can look at waterfront.  For instance, I live on a canal in Merritt Island Florida.  However, just a block away from me are homes that are not on waterfront.  The difference in valuation is sometimes at least $100k to much more.  When my home is run through Homegain and Zillow, the value it gives me values as low as $186k and only as high as $290k.  My home was recently appraised at $400k. 

From an Agents standpoint, the other reason I like Homegain is I believe they do a better job of capturing customers and traffic which usually end up on my site!  That's a good thing! 

So let's look at how they affect your sellers and buyers.

Sellers

I love when one of my customers has used Homegain or Zillow to value a home.  Since their valuations are almost always very low, it gives me a chance to be a knight in shining armor!  For instance, in my home example above, if I went by Zillow or Homegain the most I would have thought my home would be worth would be $290k.  As a Realtor, wouldn't you want your customer to believe their home is worth much less than much more.  I know what I prefer. So say you are the Realtor and you come to my house and all of the sudden you telling me my home is worth $400k versus $290k.  You use your expertise to show the real comps and how this all affects the price of the home.  Instead of having to fight with the potential customer on how they need to lower their price like we do every day, you just made your customers a potential $100k more.  I think they would be excited.  If they wanted a quick sale, you could lower the home price to $375k and still be way above what they were prepared to list. Great stuff.  Thank you Homegain and Zillow for that help!

Buyers

Ok, so this one gets a little tougher.  Since the price comes in so much lower, the buyer thinks they should offer that price.  Again, this is where you need to use your experience and expertise to explain to them why the Homegain or Zillow price is incorrect.  You simply explain to them this is just an estimate and how it doesn't take into outside influences when pricing the property.  You simply show them real comps (which you should be doing with your buyers anyway) to support the asking price or the offer they should really be offering.  I like this to as it proves your value to your customer.  But let's look at another possibility.  Maybe, with the help of their valuation, you can get a great deal for your buyer.  If you submit the Homegain and Zillow valuations with the offer, they may be more apt to negotiate at a lower price since these companies are saying their home has much less value.

In the end, these companies are not going away and if they do, there will be one right behind them opening their doors.  With the advent of the Internet will bring new tools.  Some will be good and some will be bad.  I know I wouldn't have it any other way since my entire marketing program is online and all my business comes from online leads. 

As always, if you have any questions or need any help with anything please don't hesitate to ask.

Have a fun Wednesday!

I had an interesting conversation today with an Agent in Rhode Island.  She works for one of the big franchises and is totally unhappy with the office and the company.  Of course, with my goal to help, I asked her why she wasn't happy.  There were many reasons, but the biggest was that her Broker is also her competitor as well as every other Agent in her office.  She told me that even the Broker is hesitant to help the Agents because she is a compteting Broker and is always trying to beat her Agents.  As she was talking, I couldn't help but think about all the big companies in which the Agents have to fight not only for their business, but to keep their stuff quiet and hidden so nobody, not even the Broker, takes any business away from them.  How horrible that must be I thought!

I understand that in some cases, especially now, that some Brokers need to be selling to help keep the business going.  However, I can't imagine, being a Broker, taking any business away from any of my Agents.  Why would an Agent want to work for a Broker who is trying to take her business?  I couldn't figure that one out. 

After listening to her and saying good bye it brought even more questions to me.  How can a Broker who is actively trying to work with buyers and sellers actually run their Brokerage?  I know how many hours a week I work currently with 25 Agents or so.  Is this the reason why we have so many unethical Agents?  Should Brokers be allowed to sell property actively?  Maybe if there are less than a certain amount of Agents they they could be allowed to sell too.  It seems to me that it must be a major industry wide problem and might even be the single most issue that troubles our industry. 

Anyway, it was just a thought and I was curious how many Brokers actually compete with their Agents and as Agents, how do you feel about that?

I can't believe it's the 4th of July already! I remember my parents telling me that when you get older the time flies by! I really didn't buy it as I knew how long a school year seemed to last. Now my oldest son is telling me he can't believe he has been out of high school for 11 years and just turned 29 years old. Crazy!

When I think of the 4th of July and the memories this holiday conjures up, I mostly think of the American Flag, Fireworks, Family, Friends and of course our young men and women in harms way far away from their country. Their 4th of July is about staying alive and protecting their mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, aunts, uncles and friends back home. If it wasn't for our soldiers over the past 200 years or so, we wouldn't have the opportunity to enjoy this coming weekend like we do.

The 4th of July should be our most patriotic day of the year. Without getting totally political here, I think over the past few years, and especially this year, many Americans are losing their patriotism. I talk with so many people that seem to not like the country we live in right now. Let's keep something perfectly clear though, our country is made up of you and I. Our country does not belong to politicians, it belongs to us. If we are to preserve what our current and past soldiers have died for, we are going to have to become more involved in what the politicians are doing to our country. I just read an email that stated that Pepsi has a new can of soda with the flag and the Pledge of Allegiance. In the Pledge they left out Under God. Is this really happening to us? Are we so afraid of hurting someone's feelings that we are going against the fiber and blood that our country was built upon. If this doesn't scare you, it should. It should scare you that our world is changing quickly before our eyes and our country is being negatively affected because of our lack of unity as a nation.

Let's all remember that when push comes to shove, we are all neighbors and we all need to learn to compromise. If for a moment, we the people, can bring back our patriotism, then we will have the ability to work together to solve some of our pressing issues. However, if we choose to continue to fight each other verbally to the point of hatred amongst Liberals and Conservatives, we will soon lose our country. We will go the way of all the Empires prior to The United States of America. I don't want that for my grand children, do you.

Unfortunately, if you are my age (47) or so, it is left upon us to straighten out this mess. We do not have the luxury and we have the moral obligation, to make our country whole again. Let's face it, our parents generation did a heck of a bad job over the past 30 years. Most of today's problems could have been resolved years ago if they actually acted on the problems of the day. I think back to 1974 and pumping gas at my friend's dad's gas station with huge lines. I remember the talk of not being held hostage by the Middle East and the need for alternative energy. Unfortunately it was just talk and nobody did anything. After all, the future problems would be the future...it's so far away. Well here we are 30 years later and the future is now.

Ok, I'm done ranting. I love our country. I love the people. I even love New Yorkers which is tough for me being a Boston Red Sox fan! I love what we stand for. I love the fact that when anyone in our country or around the world is suffering from devastation, that we are the first ones to give. Not just from the government, but from you and I. We are America. Please help us protect our country and get involved. Remember, all the politicians are our employees. It's time to fire our staff and get a new one! Unfortunately we don't have that option this election, but we have 4 more years to really make a difference in the next election in 2012. Let's not let our grand children down, they are depending on us.

With all that said, I hope that you all have a Happy 4th of July weekend. I hope you reflect on what I have said here and what you can do for your country. I think one of our Presidents said "Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country. It's time!

Happy 4th of July!

So you have decided to sell your home and your first step is to hire a Realtor.  Before you do so though, you should do your own home work to get an idea of what your home is valued.  You really don't want to hear any surprises when you bring the Realtors in the door.  In most cases I would recommend interviewing at least 2 Agents and sometimes 3 Agents.  This is going to be the biggest decision you make over the next several months.  Hiring the wrong Agent can cost you a ton of time and money, not to mention the fact that the home has been on the market at least 3 or 4 months by this time.  Let's look at some of the things you should look for in a Realtor.

Pricing - If you did your homework, you should have a pretty good idea on your home price.  If the Realtor is telling you they can get you much more for this home, you must ask why and see data supporting this price.  It's all about the numbers.  Just the same, if an Agent comes in too low, you need to find out why they came up with this price with support information.

Marketing - I have heard so many tall tails told by Agents when marketing their listings.  The first question you need to ask them is what do they do for their Internet Marketing.  My guess is most Agents or Brokers will have a website.  The next question you need to ask is how many people a month come to your site and how many buyer leads do you generate per month.  (you will have a lot better success in selling your home through an Agent or Brokerage that has strong Internet program.  Sort of like Tropical Realty of Suntree which you can view at http://melbournehomesearch.com/index.cfm/Search_MLS

Once you have asked them about their site, then you need to ask whatever other sites do they upload their listings too.  The more your home is out there on the Internet, the more chance of it selling.  Listings can be uploaded to Google, Homes.com, Trulia, Homegain, Zillow and so many more.  Before you choose a listing Agent be sure they are maximizing your properties exposure over the Internet. 

Print Marketing - We have had Agents tell their customers they market over sees in multiple foreign magazines and languages.  When we had the customer question him, He couldn't produce any of the magazines.  Don't allow someone to tell you they do something, make them produce their material. 

Personally, we don't spend a penny on print advertising.  It has never worked for me and it works even less these days.  There are thousands of homes in magazines that probably get your home looked at 3 or 4o times.  Most of our listings going through our Internet Marketing Program are receiving 200-300 visits per month and some higher!  It's absolutely amazing!  If a Realtor puts his money into the Intenet marketing versus the Print, don't get down on him.  He is actually doing you a great service!

If you have any questions about selling your home, feel free to call or email me. You can email me at mitch@mitchrealty.com.  You can also go to my site at www.melbournehomesearch.com to view different homes in our area.  Either way, I'm always here to help.  Have a great 4th of July!

Those are the three

I'm just wondering if anyone is going to NAR in November.  I live near Melbourne so I will drive the 1 hour it takes to get to the place. It should be fun.  Do they do any types of AR parties or anything at the convention?  I'm just curious if we have the opportunity to put some faces to these blogs!

Hi Everyone!  We have been getting a good response from new members in our Internet Capture and Convesion Group.  However, we would like to build it up a little more so when we bring on new topics to discuss we have many points of view.

Our topics will include and are not limited by the following:

Lead Capture - Is your website the right website - Don' spend another dollar without learning more informatin about your site's abilities.  Do you take advantage of the tools that may already be available on your site.

Lead Conversion - It's one thing to capture a bunch of leads.  If you don't have a solid conversion program, again you are wasting your money.  Learn how to take an Internet lead from click to close!

Internet Marketing - I have seen so many people waste thousands of dollars. Again, the more you no about Internet Marketing, the less mistakes you will make. 

Follow up - By understanding the importance of follow up, and even more so in the Internet arena, you will very quickly see the power of the Internet and your sales.

These are just a few of the very important subjects I plan on discussing.  Currently we have a great group of people.  Come on and join us and we can tackle some of your questions on Internet Marketing.

Welcome aboard!!

I'm doing some research right now and am interested in finding out how many Brokerages have full Internet Marketing programs for their Agents.  If you do, do you have a specific lead conversion training for your Agents?

The more I learn on here, the more I can help those who ask.  So far the responses to my blogs have been excellent and I seem to be helping someone new every day with their Internet program.

So here are my questions:

1.  Do you have an Internet Program?

2.  Do you have a specific Internet Lead Training Program?

2.  Does most of your marketing Budget go toward the Internet?

3.  What percentage of sales are as a result of the Internet?

4.  What percentage of Agents in your brokerage actually work their Internet leads?

Thanks for your time in filling this short questinairre out for me.  I'm really curious as to how much our industry really knows about the Internet as well as how many Brokers know the value of the Internet.

Thanks again and have a fun night!

I have been talking to a ton of people lately.  Many have asked me to evaluate their websites and their ability to convert a click to a lead.  This is such an important part of taking full advantage of your Internet marketing, yet most of the people I asked, had no idea what their ratio was.  If you would like me to take a look at your site and give you my opinion, go to:

http://www.ehomesrealty.com/index.cfm/Free_Website_Evaluation

So what I would like to do, for all our sakes, is let's find out where we all rate with each other with regard to click to lead conversion rates.  All you have to do is write a comment with your percentage.

My percentage ranges from 16% - 18% of the people that click on my sites become a lead.

What's your number?

Also, I have started a group called Internet Lead Capture and Conversion.  If you would like to keep on top of some of our discussions, please go to http://www.activerain.com/groups/MitchRibak .  You will learn some great ideas on how to capture and convert Internet leads.

I look forward to the responses I get.  I'll put together a report to everyone after I obtain the percentages.  Hopefully we will gather enough to make this worthwhile. You can't increase your percentage if you don't know where you stand!