Recently on another Blog, I had an Agent that insisted that my way of doing business, was not as strong as he does business because he would never consider his customer, a lead.
I did chuckle at the statement, but then I sat and thought about it a bit. Of course transaction wise, there is no comparison to what he does for business and what any of my agents does for business. However, it did make me think. Is generating leads over the Internet creating a quality relationship that I can call my leads, customers? After pondering a few minutes, I determined that my customer is a better and more educated customer than his customers.
Lead Conversion to me is taking a raw lead from the Internet and turning them into a consumer who is using my tools, my sites and my Agents to buy or sell their home. I think this is the ultimate sense of knowing you are offering a better product and service than the others that are out there. After all, there are millions of Real Estate websites out there and they chose to be loyal to my site and my Agents. I'm sure those consumers feel like a customer on my site. We service them, we call them, we send them lists, and we help them buy their homes.
After all is said and done, a lead is a lead is a lead until you turn them into a customer. it doesnt matter if they found you on the net, a floor call, a sign call or a newspaper call, its' still a lead.
I'm glad this guy went after me. It really made me not only understand more of what we do as a company, but I believe more than ever that there is no better means of buiding a Real Estate business than having a solid lead turn into a customer and then a customer for life. We have tons of them and you can too!
I know I have written a lot the past couple of days. My place on here is to spread a little bit of knowledge, especially my Internet expertise to you, the agents that want so much more but aren't really sure how to get there. Let me help you reach the next level! It doesn't cost any money to call me and ask for my advice.
Have a great night!
I agree! Converting the business is what matters -
Mitch - I feel like I'm following you around, hanging on every word. I appreciate the helpful insights you are putting out here on AR, making the community stronger with each post. Looking forward to your next posting!
There is a lot of noise about calling people leads, prospects, etc. Would it help if we named them readers, buddies and pals? I don't feel like I treat anyone like a "lead" but that is still what they are.
Hey Michael, I was thinking you were my stalker! I'm getting off early tonight as I had a long day and need some sleep My goal is to offer the "truth" about it all. That's one of the big reason I started eHomesRealty.com. It's about teaching an industry who isn't up on the technology and Internet stuff now to use it. Let's face it. The reality is will anyone on here actually implement any programs in the near future. Probably not. On my eHomeas realty.com, I offer Brokers and Agents the ability have all the franchise tools as your hands. With these tools , my knowledge of Intermet, and about 500 brokers out there (tell your broker you want this them to join this membership to increase your business. Let's face it, joining would be very cost affective once you start to understand more and more of how an Internet program really works. Even though my software isn't required to join the network, it is a great addiont to any lead generaton program. With that said, we ran our lead system manually before and whilie building the sotware. Either way, our friends and our membersd
Time to go to sleep! Have a great nigth!
I see the difference between a "lead" and a "customer" at a committment level. Meeting someone in person and establishing a face to face rapport - allows you to develop a stronger bond and committment. But I think it's easier for a consumer online to jump ship and go to the next guy very easily.
Hey Bo! You are right, they are more apt to jump ship. We have implemented a buyer brokerage policy in my office recently which has done a great job of securing our customers. However, my better Agents have not had a problem in the first place. It's all about giving great customer service and taking the time to build that relationship. Sure it's easier to build a relationship face to face, but with an Interent lead/customer, you have the ability and the time to build a very strong relationship. With that said, it's still about numbers when you are in any sales business. You have to have a strong database and a strong pipeline to insure you don't have any downtime. In the end, a customer is a customer no matter how that lead became a customer.