...and much more focus on figuring out how to best use the current technology we have". I was standing in the back of the room at the Inman Conference and paused at this commentary shared by an Industry Leader in a packed house of brokers, agents, and techies. Those comments caused me to immediately reflect on the current condition of our industry and how we have, and are, playing with technology and innovation.

Here are my observations and keep in mind I have a front row seat fully engaged on both ends, with the agent and broker on a daily basis. I also have software programs in the marketplace being used by thousands of agents and brokers. My perspective doesn't come from theory...it's reality.

1. Most technology has, and continues to be presented by vendors as the magic pill, solve all your problems, or bright shiny object A big fat lie.
2. Piggy backing on my first comment, technology has created an expectation by many in our industry "we can have less human interaction and get a result" A myth..not the deal...It's not less interaction, it's different interaction required in blended spaces due to the evolution of human behavior (the online consumer) and the consumer's changing expectations.
3. Technology has facilitated a condition of laziness in our industry due to false expectations of what the technology WILL do. A requirement in my organization when interacting with a potential customer, and yes, prior to the buying decision is made is a simple statement, "This is not telephone avoidance technology. Don't buy it if you aren't going to do the work"
4. Due to all of the innovations affecting our industry, a relationship/artistic business is moving to somewhat of a scientific/mechanical based business as a broker/agent gets their arms around all the functionalities of various programs required to learn before implementing. Paralyzed is the operative word. Unconsciously creating a condition where the end user expects it to be the "magic pill" once they figure it all out.
5. When our industry started to experience all this "new technology", there was a level of fear I observed, fear by many "technology is going to drive me out of the business". My response, "No, technology is here to KEEP you in the business if you enroll, adopt, and implement"
6. Technology is simply a tool to support us in our relationships with today's online consumer, accommodating the evolution of human behavior and expectations that go with it. Tech is not designed to remove the "human experience/interaction" in our business, it is here to enhance the experience in how and where we play and interact today. We must evolve to creating an online experience for the online consumer facilitated by an online agent not forgetting many of the traditional ways of doing business. Same old stuff you've heard over and over, right? My question...are you taking the action and committed or just givin' it a whirl?

In Real Estate, as in much of business, being all things to all people, is an impossible business model to chase.

The Long and Short of It.
In Business 'The Long Tail' concept states that you can sell more 'less popular' items than you can of popular items. A common example is that Netflix rents more niche movies than popular ones.

So what does this mean to real estate agents? That you can make a business in marketing niche markets and that it can be often times more profitable.

The #1 real estate related website in the United States is Realtor.com. Knowing the Google keywords people use to find Realtor.com will tell you a lot about online consumer behavior and will give you a lot to think about in your own online lead generation efforts as they relate to niche markets.

The Google keywords used most often to find Realtor.com are "Homes for Sale" and the location in which they are searching.

Why is this? Because people instinctively begin their home buying process by searching properties' to get a sense of the market.

Realtor.com, Trulia, Zillow, Real Estate Companies etc ALL allow online consumers to search for almost all 'Homes for Sale' throughout the country.

So how are most agents trying to generate leads with their websites? By offering a small subset of capabilities and nothing unique or otherwise beneficial to people. In other words, agents are trying to compete with Realtor.com, Trulia, Zillow with the proverbial 'one arm tied behind their back.'

Good luck with that.

Trying to compete head-to-head with a company with millions of dollars to spend on technology and marketing is a losing proposition!!

The Good and The Bad

The Irony is that local real estate agents are in the best position to capitalize on their local market knowledge, but they typically do the worst job at capitalizing this knowledge online.

Local agents know what local buyers and sellers are searching for (in real time! A showing is the most up-to-date search result and one that has immediate feedback capabilities....something rarely accomplished on a computer). In the world of real estate online lead generation, the most obvious worst offender of this principle are the Real Estate Agents that offer website visitors the ubiquitous "Search the MLS" or "Property Search" as the defining features of their websites. Some of the more cutting edge agents even have "Search by Map" prominently featured as if searching real estate by map was invented yesterday. It wasn't and pretty much EVERY website offers it.

In other words agents are trying to compete with Realtor.com and all the other real estate websites by offering infinitely less data and capabilities.

How is that working for you?

Offering people and online consumers 'the same but less' is not a sustainable business model.

Grab the market by The Long Tail
Agents should focus their efforts on niches so that

1. They have a better chance of being found and noticed
2. That they have a better chance at being relevant to some people (a market) vs. not relevant to anyone (the market).

And this has important implications in all your online marketing as well. "Search Homes for Sale" / "Property Search"

99.9% of agents allow online consumers to search for 'Homes for Sale' with the main segmentation being "My Listings" sometimes euphemistically entitled "Featured Listings."

To the online consumer this looks and feels like 'every other agent and website' on the Internet. When the people start thinking you are like 'everyone else on the Internet' that is not a good thing. In addition, they can go to one of over dozens of real estate websites and not only search every location in the country, they can typically do a lot of analytics that your agent website does not come close to offering. You are trying to complete with websites that have millions of dollars to spend in marketing and advertising.

Create a Niche -> Market the Niche -> Get Found -> Get Results
Local Real Estate Agents work in defined geographical areas. In every agent's 'area' there are geographical submarkets and property submarkets.

What geographical submarkets or particular property types are in your market that you know people buy and sell? Identify some market niches, and then using either your MLS or website IDX provider's tools, create and save predefined property searches that return just those properties when clicked on as a link. In other words, give people what they want. You certainly know your market better than a corporate website out of New York, San Francisco or wherever it is that corporate is based!

A great example of this is Dave & Suzy Cardwell's pre-defined property search for Crow Canyon Country Club in the San Ramon Valley area of Northern California. While most all other agents in their area show "Search the MLS" (which Dave & Suzy have as well), they allow online consumers to One Click Search several key niche markets that they know people buying in their area are interested in (technology provider AgentAchieve).

Property Subtypes are also a great niche to market and let people One Click Search. Rick Miner, in Seattle markets several property niches such as Waterfront and View Homes at his website (Northwest MLS IDX, member of Michael Russer Online Dominance).

Easier, Faster and More Relevant is Always Better

Put yourself in the online consumers shoes. Let's imagine 'you' are interested in buying a property in Crow Canyon Country Club. Are you more likely to click on a link for Crow Canyon Country Club or Search the MLS? Or that you are interested in Waterfront or View Homes of Seattle....would you more likely click on Waterfront and View Homes or Property Search?

The beautiful thing about allowing people to One Click Search niche markets is, is that on the one hand you are giving people that want this information the information they want upfront, fast and easy. And secondly, you are not turning off 'everyone else' who just wants to search your general MLS listings.

If people have to search your website or click too much to 'hopefully get' what they are looking for, then you are going to lose a lot of lead generation opportunities.

The Funnel
Of all the websites on the Internet, only Craigslist allows you to post your listing (what the online consumers are searching for) along with a links to the tools and information online consumers also want at YOUR website vs. sending them somewhere else and to someone else!

By providing links to the tools and information that online consumers want around your listing that the online consumer is searching for, you create a funnel that will bring the online consumer to you vs. sending them to someone else like a sieve.

Surround your listing with the tools and information at your website and leverage online consumer interest and generate both website traffic and leads! Create your funnel!

Market the Niche -> Get Found

There are many places that you can insert live links to predefined searches for the niche markets in your area. Some of the best include:

1. Your website (but how do they find your website?)
2. Your online marketing including Craig's List and your eFlyers

Online Lead Generation and Listings are two sides of the same coin. Your listings can help you develop a stronger online lead generation program and having a strong online lead generation program can help you get more listings.

How? It starts with your listings.
According to Google, your listings are what online consumers search for when they go on the Internet searching for real estate. The most common real estate related search terms on the Internet are "Homes for Sale" and the location or "Real Estate for Sale" and the location. In both cases people are searching for LISTINGS!!! Your listings!!

This means that listings are the number one online marketing asset that you have as a Realtor or Broker. And they are also the most cost effective online marketing asset you have.

The Sieves
Most real estate related websites are popular in part because they centralize a lot of listings from all over the country. These websites benefit by getting as many listings as they possibly can on their websites to drive traffic from people searching real estate online. But these websites do not benefit by just showing people your listings, they benefit by providing online consumers links to other tools and information that they (the online consumers) are looking for like mortgage information, relocation information, community information, etc.

By consolidating as many listings as possible from Realtors and Brokers throughout the country and then providing these value added tools and information, real estate related websites make money by directing online consumers to OTHER agents, brokers and service providers that pay to be featured or otherwise highlighted and linked to. What does this mean to the Realtor and Broker whose listings are attracting the online consumers to these websites in the first place? It means they are losing a large percentage of the traffic and leads that they could be getting if they were the one providing the other information that they want.

The Funnel
Of all the websites on the Internet, only Craigslist allows you to post your listing (what the online consumers are searching for) along with a links to the tools and information online consumers also want at YOUR website vs. sending them somewhere else and to someone else!

By providing links to the tools and information that online consumers want around your listing that the online consumer is searching for, you create a funnel that will bring the online consumer to you vs. sending them to someone else like a sieve. Surround your listing with the tools and information at your website and leverage online consumer interest and generate both website traffic and leads! Create your funnel!

Marketing Funnel Results
What kind of results can you expect with a strong marketing funnel? The results of brokers that have used this approach tell will give you the answer:

A medium sized broker in New Jersey sees the results in the traffic to their website as follows:

1. Craigslist (Listings-to-Leads) - 50.4%
2. Google - 29.4%
3. Yahoo Search - 3.35%
4. Trulia - 3.29%

A small broker in South Carolina see the results of their website traffic explode by using the principal of the online marketing funnel too.

1. Craigslist (Listings-to-Leads) - 47.7%
2. Yahoo! Real Estate - 29.4%
3. Trulia - 8.3%

Brokers that utilize an online marketing funnel vs. a sieve can expect similar results!

Marketing Funnels and Sellers
The more online leads that you funnel to you by providing the listing information they are searching for along with the other tools and information they want, means the more people you communicate with and talk to. And the more buyers you talk to, the more buyers you get to talk to about your listings!! If you are not the one talking to the online consumer, then you are obviously not going to be able to talk to them about your listings. This directly impacts the seller and the ability for them to get their property sold!!

First, educate the seller about the fact that it is their property, the listing, that buyers are searching for online. Then show the seller how you are going to surround their listing with links to the tools and information at your website that will not only generate leads to you from people who want more information about real estate in general, but also allow you the ability to talk to more people about the sellers property! So remember it is your listings that people are searching for on the Internet!

Put the tools and information around them that people also want that link back to YOUR website and create an online marketing machine that will help you get more leads and more closings this year! And the more buyers you talk to, the more buyers you get to talk to about your listings!! If you are not the one talking to the online consumer, then you are obviously not going to be able to talk to them about your listings.

1. Are you managing people or are you managing a system that manages people?
   The number one challenge real estate agents have is “time starvation” due to the simple fact they are trying to do everything vs. delegating non-revenue producing activities to someone else. Why systems? You are able to stop reacting and accomplish your specific objectives on a daily basis. You will be able to predict your results if your business is managed and measured consistently. Your capacity for growth will increase dramatically.
2. Do you have a job or are you running a business?
   How much revenue are you producing on a consistent basis when you aren’t at work? This is the simple distinction between having a job and running a business. A business generates ongoing revenues regardless of whether you are there or not. With a job, you don’t show up, the revenues stop. Do you want to keep trading hours for dollars? “But my clients want to meet with and work with me”. That’s where you’re wrong. The consumer doesn’t hire you they hire the way you run your business. How are you currently running your real estate business?
3. How do you create your systems before assembling your team?
   Take the time and write down every task and action that is required to run your business. Be very detailed in this step so that you don’t have questions come up after you have created your team. Now describe how each action step is to be completed, how it will be measured, and who is responsible.
4. Managing your team
   This is where the real work takes place. You have been a successful salesperson for years so it should be real easy to assemble a group of people, tell them how “I do it”, they do it, and everyone’s happy, right? It doesn’t quite work that way. You must transition from salesperson to leader or manager. If you’re not a good manager you will experience high turnover which will decrease your production overnight. Here are some simple steps to follow: Have a business plan, be organized, inspire your team, and constantly be evaluating and measuring.
5. Basic activities for your real estate team
   Let’s get specific with the general activities for your real estate team. Lead Generation, Qualifying, Sellers, Listing Coordination, Working with Buyers, Marketing and Advertising, Negotiating Contracts, Transaction Management, Managing your Website and Online Initiatives, Database Management, and Administrative Functions.
6. Positions required for your team
   
   1. Transaction Manager
   2. Listing Manager
   3. Administrative Assistant
   4. Buyer’s Agents
   5. Marketing, Advertising, and Web Manager

1. 99 – 35 – 1
   99% of the people looking at your property listing online are not interested in that specific property and are not going to contact you about it.  35% of the people looking at your property listing online are interested in other real estate.  Your online marketing is going after only 1% of the market!
2. The goal of online marketing.
   The goal is to give buyers valuable information with multiple reasons and ways to contact you about real estate, not just a particular listing.  99% of the people that look at a listing online are not going to click for more information or make contact with you to get more information because they decide for whatever reason that it is not the home for them.  But, of the 99%, what about the estimated 35% of people that will be buying a home in the short or long term and need help finding the home of their dreams?!  There is no reason why you can’t offer them your expertise and services.  Your online marketing MUST get this MUCH LARGER group of future buyers to contact YOU if you want a chance at getting a healthy share of online leads.
3. Give buyer’s MORE Value:  Local Search and Local Information
   Buyers begin their online home search looking at property listings.  This is why having your property on as many relevant websites as feasible is always good.  But buyers also want information on the neighborhoods, the schools and even unique things like the history, farmers markets, and more so they can make an educated decision in the home buying process.  This is where local brokers and agents can really shine and put themselves at an advantage over others in their market.  Put these tools and information in front of buyers when they are most likely to ‘convert’, when they are looking at property detail information of your listings on the Internet.  Trulia, Zillow, and Realtor.com do this, you should too.
4. One Click It
   People love it when answers come easy. And people much prefer clicking to typing. You know what is hot in your market. Don’t make buyers go somewhere else looking for this information!  Include links to predefined IDX searches for a few of the hottest or interesting markets in your area to really get buyers clicking on your online marketing and not typing their way somewhere else.
   
   
   1. Downtown Condos $200-$250,000
   2. Hayes Valley Homes $800-$1.2m
   3. Foreclosure and Banked-Owned
   4. $5,000,000+ Homes
   5. Local Farmer’s Markets
   Include a few searches for the hottest markets in your area with hyper links to your website where the appropriate IDX search will be displayed along with ALL the rest of the tools and information that buyers are looking for online.  By giving buyers the easy answers you know they want at a click, you will start to get your share of this 35% of potential buyers and get the opportunity to continue the conversation further increasing your chances of converting more leads.
5. Free form marketing websites!
   While Craig’s List, Backpage and other similar websites might not be considered worthy of a broker’s time, the numbers tell a very different story. The number 8 website in the United States by unique visitors with 1.2 billion page views a month Craig’s List is the 800 pound gorilla in the world of real estate related websites sending buyer leads to brokers and agents.  There is no other website with as much traffic that gives you so much opportunity to publish ads that directly target BOTH the 1% of buyers looking for a property similar to yours AND the 35% of buyer’s interested in buying OTHER real estate.
6. 4 keys to successful online marketing
   To convert the greatest number of online leads, your online marketing should include the following:
   
   1. Around 6 good quality pictures of the property (Not 2 and not 25!)
   2. Basic information about the property (condition of the foundation not needed here!)
   3. Multiple search tools and local information to increase buyer response (a link to your homepage or a virtual tour is great, but not nearly enough)
   4. Multiple reasons and ways for the buyer to contact you (just an email and phone number is not enough)
   
   The goal of online marketing is to whet the appetite of likely buyers and then give them the tools, reasons and ways to contact you by following these principals, just like the big corporate websites, you will find, as brokers and agents have before you, that there is a lot of business easily found online.

1. Do your research before you choose a neighborhood or area to farm!
   Don’t pick a specific neighborhood because it’s close to your home or you like the way the houses look, make your choice based on statistical data.  What kind of turnover has taken place in the past 12 months?  Does a specific agent or agency have a huge market-share?  If turnover is low and the neighborhood is dominated already, pick a different area to farm.
2. Consistency is critical!
   Mailing to a farm quarterly or every other month isn’t going to get you the result you want.  You must mail to your farm every single month!  Homeowners constantly get mail from real estate agents, but rarely on a consistent basis from one agent.  It’s the agent that is in front of them the most that will get the business.
3. What do you send?
   Abandon the envelope and stationery.  You have only a limited amount of time to capture the attention of people, get their attention with a postcard.  Eliminate the chance of someone not opening your mail.  A glossy postcard will at least be looked at and possibly kept if you have good content.
4. What is good content?
   Keep your farm abreast of the market conditions at all times.  Average sales price, median sales price, days on market, interest rates, current active inventory and all the information you can provide them to position yourself as the information portal.  Consumers are looking for a competent agent with market knowledge.  Not the agent that sends the best recipe card.
5. Don’t wait for something to happen, make it happen yourself!
   As you become established in your farm as the local expert with up to date information you can now leverage yourself to generate even more results.  How do you do this?  Contact every FSBO in the neighborhood.  The FSBO has now become a warm contact for you.  They have been receiving your statistical market information and you have credibility.  Consistently hold open house in your farm area.  A lot of the visitors will be homeowners that have been receiving your valuable market information.

1. It’s a Listening Presentation not a Listing Presentation!
   Leave your ego at the door and don’t tell the seller what you think is important, ask THEM what is important. Then, focus your listing presentation on their wants and needs.
2. Don’t Fall into the Pricing Trap!
   The moment you set the price for a listing, you will be a hostage to that during the term of the listing.  Provided the seller with the market data and allow them to determine where they want to start the pricing.  Have an agreement to review the marketplace on a consistent basis and adjust the price according to the competition and activity.
3. The Numbers don’t Lie!
   Keep abreast of the market conditions at all times.  Average sales price, median sales price, days on market, interest rates, current active inventory and all the information you can provide the seller while marketing their property.  You and the seller don’t determine the outcome, the market does.  Consistently provide the seller with detailed market data.
4. Service the Listing!
   Have you ever taken a listing, walked out the door, and become a secret agent?  One of the biggest complaints that sellers have is the lack of communication that takes place between them and their agent.  One of the most critical parts of the listing presentation is establishing an expectation and agreement around communication and the frequency of that communication.  Their goal is to sell the home and your responsibility is to communicate what you are doing to make that happen and what they need to do to support that.
5. What’s the Feedback?
   The seller doesn’t determine what their home will sell for and neither do you, the market does.  The market is defined by the buyer that makes a buying decision based on what is available.  Speaking with buyer’s agents that are showing your listings will help guide you and the seller in the strategy you must use to get the home sold.

1. Beat the competition to the best new listings!
   Are you showing homes or selling homes?  When working with buyers your job isn’t to show a bunch of homes, it’s to sell a home.  The key to selling a home is being aware of the best inventory.  Stay in contact with the strong listing agents in your marketplace so that you are aware of the best opportunities before the competition.
2. Do the research!
   Constantly track listings that go under contract, actually close and new listings the day they go up for sale.  Knowing the inventory isn’t the only thing expected of you, it’s critical that you are fully aware of what true market value is.  Your job is to support the buyer in their decision process by consulting them with the value of homes in today’s economy.
3. Work with pre-approved buyers!
   It’s easy to get excited when you get a sign call and it’s a buyer that wants to look at a specific home.  You drop everything, schedule a quick appointment, and run out the door to meet the buyer at the property.  Then you find out later they’re not qualified.  You will not only save yourself a lot of time, you will increase the negotiating power of your buyer with a pre-approval in hand.
4. Present your offers in person!
   You are there to represent the best interests of your buyer.  To adequately do this, make sure that you present your offer to the seller in person.  You will provide a personal touch and might pick up some critical information during this meeting.
5. Prove that your buyer is serious!
   One of the best ways to do this is with a strong deposit with the offer you present.
6. Keep your offer simple and clean!
   Make sure that your contract is simple, without all kinds of contingencies and repair requests.  The cleaner your offer, the more interested the seller will be.