Wednesday, October 9, 2024

convert leads

    Each year, the folks at realtrends.com release their annual real estate website rankings. Those rankings, regardless of the company compiling them, are always a fun read.

    Realtrend’s criteria for getting a spot on their list include websites with the “best design.” In fact, they’re looking for “show-stopping websites.”

    These are not always the best-designed websites to increase organic SEO or capture leads.

    Nope. 

    It’s not just the prettiness factor that proves a real estate website “… has what it takes.” We beg to differ. The “best” real estate websites actually work for their agent-owners. 

    They do this by ranking in organic searches, helping to convert leads, educating visitors about the buying and selling process, and informing them about the area and its attractions. 

    The Quotecard Series is shown above. To learn more, Click Here.

    And they do it while not annoying the visitor, making them search for the information they need, by loading at lightning-fast speeds and more.

    There’s an old Duke Ellington-composed song that says it all: “It Don’t Mean a Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing).”

    The best real estate websites are not only pretty, but they’ve also “got that swing”

    A real estate website that has “that swing”:

    • Features responsive design (don’t yawn–we’ll explain, in plain English)
    • Is attractive in its simplicity
    • Converts visitors, or leads, into prospects
    • Attracts organic search engine traffic
    • Is user-focused 

    Let’s take a look at each aspect in more detail. Then, use this information when having your real estate website built.

    Responsive design

    This is one of those phrases that makes eyes glaze over. 

    What it refers to is a website that adapts its “… content based on the browser space available. This allows consistency between what a site shows on a desktop and what it shows on a handheld device,” according to Mads Soegaard at interaction-design.org.

    Why is this important? Responsive websites load quicker on mobile devices. And, since 76% of homebuyers use a mobile device when searching for homes and agents, responsiveness is critical.

    Attractive in its simplicity

    Think “clean” when it comes to a real estate agent’s website layout. Don’t let anything detract from your branding, from your CTAs, and from the user’s experience (fluff won’t be read anyway). 

    Leave a lot of white space, use short sentences and paragraphs, and take advantage of bulleted and numbered lists.

    “… make your website — especially your homepage — simple and clean with easy-to-navigate buttons and tabs,” suggests the pros at quicksprout.com.

    Simplicity is key, they say because sites “… with simple designs have higher conversion rates.”

    Check back soon for part 2 where we’ll show you how to build a website that attracts organic search engine traffic, ensures higher conversion rates, and the extra “goodies” it should offer real estate agents.


    When you have time…below are some marketing tools to help support your success.

    1. Put Your Real Estate Business a Step Above with Your Own Branded Magazin

    Homes & Life Magazine is a customizable magazine with rich, full-color content and a sharp, professional aesthetic. It includes compelling, direct, response-driven articles written by real estate industry experts and engaging lifestyle content. Send out Homes & Life Magazine in Just Minutes – No Minimums Required. Or we’ll ship it to you. Homes & Life Magazine is the ultimate “Coffee Table Lingerer”! …and it costs less than sending a greeting card!Click Here

    2. The Free 6-Month Done-For-You Strategic Marketing Planner

    The Real Estate Marketing Planner is a powerful 6-Month Guide that strategically defines what marketing to do and when. Four key market segments include niche Markets, geographic farming, sphere of influence, and past clients. – Click Here

    3. The Free Online Real Estate Business Plan

    The Real Estate Business Plan allows you to enter your business goals for the year and get a breakdown of how many prospects, listings, closings, and so on are needed to reach your financial goals.   – Click Here

    4. The Become a Listing Legend Free eBook 

    This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is Become-A-Listing-Legend-3D-Book-White-274x300.jpg

    Ready to take a vertical leap in your real estate career? If you’re looking for inspiration…and the tools and methods to dominate a market and go to the top in real estate…you’ll find them in this free book. – Click Here


      The following are three ways to ensure you get the biggest bang for your buck after generating some real estate leads.

      We’ll call them the three “T”s of lead conversion.

      1. Trust

      As you can imagine, confidence is a trust-builder. However, the opportunity to show off this confidence to a prospect may not appear. So, how else can you build trust? Testimonials.

      There is just no substitute for a glowing review of your services, especially if it highlights your knowledge of all things real estate.

      Think again about possible challenges that may be causing your prospect to hesitate jumping into the market:

      • The need to sell a home before buying
      • Closing date challenges
      • Showing challenges
      • Equity challenges
      • Problems with the home, neighborhood, etc.

      Testimonials that address these common challenges and how you dealt with them are like gold.

      Use them on your website, in your email signature, on your business card, and on every direct mail piece you send.


      Convert MORE leads into listings with the Famous Market Quotes Series. To see more designs Click Here.


      2. Time

      This is a lesson for agents who hope to convert more leads than their competition: be the first person to return calls.

      NAR studies show that 75% of real estate consumers sign up with the first agent they interview.

      Did you know, the average first call response time of all companies that responded by phone is 40 hours and 56 minutes (Xant Research Lead Response Report).

      Nearly 41 hours doesn’t seem hard to beat, right?

      How about five minutes? Studies show that’s the sweet spot. Conversion rates are 8X higher if contact is made within 5 minutes.

      “Measure your response times in seconds and minutes, not hours and days,” cautions Dan Sincavage, co-founder of Tenfold.

      That lightning-fast first touch and an automated recurring postcard campaign will help convert prospects the rest of the way: into full-fledged clients.

      3. Tenacity

      When you plant a seed, does it immediately spring from the soil in full bloom? Of course not. 

      By the same token, do we dig up seeds to ensure that they’re germinating? Nope. For some reason, we have faith that the seed will sprout. 

      We also have faith that if we nurture the seedling, it will grow, and we’ll realize a return for all our time spent on it.

      Yet, when it comes to prospects, so many agents tend to give up after a short nurturing period; the results weren’t immediate.

      “The average incubation period of a lead is 6 to 24 months,” according to coach Kevin Ward

      Knowing this should give you the patience to hang on, with faith, that many of them will convert to clients.


      PLUS: When you have time…below are some marketing tools to help support your success.

      1. Put Your Real Estate Business a Step Above with Your Own Branded Magazine

      Homes & Life Magazine is a customizable magazine with rich, full-color content and a sharp, professional aesthetic. It includes compelling, direct response-driven articles written by real estate industry experts combined with engaging lifestyle content. Send out Homes & Life Magazine in Just Minutes – No Minimums Required. Or we’ll ship it to you.

      Homes & Life Magazine is the ultimate “Coffee Table Lingerer”! …and it costs less than sending a greeting card!Click Here


      2. The Free 12-Month Done-For-You Strategic Marketing Plan

      The Real Estate Marketing Planner is a powerful 12-Month-Guide that strategically defines what marketing to do and when. Four key market segments include niche Markets, geographic farming, sphere of influence, and past clients. – Click Here

      3. The BusinessBase, SOI building system

      The most effective thing you can do to build a real estate business is to become more visible, more likable, and remembered more often. The BusinessBASE™ not only checks all of these boxes but is also a business-building machine. In two easy steps, you can begin to build a robust sphere of influence that will provide you a lifetime of repeat business and referrals. – Click Here

      4. The Free Interactive Real Estate Business Plan

      The Free Interactive Real Estate Business Plan allows you to enter your business goals for this year and get a breakdown of how many prospects, listings, closing, and so on are needed to reach your goals.  – Click Here

      5. The Become a Listing Legend Free eBook 

      This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is Become-A-Listing-Legend-3D-Book-White-274x300.jpg

      Ready to take a vertical leap in your real estate career? If you’re looking for inspiration…and the tools and methods to dominate a market and go to the top in real estate…you’ll find them in this free book. – Click Here

      6. The Take a Listing Today Podcast

      Watch the ProspectsPLUS!, Take a Listing Today Podcast for actionable content to help you get more listings. – Click Here