In order to get phone calls from clients, there must be a direction from you asking folks to DO SOMETHING, preferably NOW.

Here are some Call to Action phrases. They should convey ease and urgency. And don’t forget the powerful “FREE”.

• Call/email me now (Toll free? 24 hours a day) for help
• Search for all homes in my city, my state
• Get your home valued for sale today
• Sign up for our free seminars/reports/new listings, it’s easy
• Order your free copy today

When my neighbor gives me the phone number of his brother who is moving to Atlanta, I have something that I don’t have when I’m trying to convert an internet lead into a client.

My neighbor knows me and though I may not have ever spoken to his brother, I come equipped with some degree of trust in his eyes. I know his brother. His brother trusts me enough to refer him to me. The first two requirements needed to be successful in selling real estate have been met.

I have generated a lead and I have some level of value and trust already built in even before the first words are spoken to this new client.

Internet leads are very different. With an internet lead, I have the first requirement that I will need to be successful in that the lead is there, but, that is where it ends.

In fact, internet leads might be thought of as slightly on the negative side of trust on a scale compared to a referral lead from a friend or neighbor. To convert them, we need to be polished in our phone skills. We are already fighting against the idea that we will be calling someone who might see us as salespeople and that’s a battle best fought if we are concise, polite, helpful and knowledgeable on the phone.

But where phone skills can really come into play is Continue reading this post

Wishing everyone a safe and happy Thanksgiving from all of us at HomeGain.

I’ve been selling real estate for over eight years now and have had the privilege of observing both successful and unsuccessful Realtors. I have worked in the same office with and have been involved in transactions with some of the top producers in my area.

One thing I have observed about their business is that their lead generation is mostly systematic. Not all of them receive their leads the same way but the big producers have built up a consistent lead generation system where most of their clients contact them. Of course, there are successful Realtors who are out door knocking and cold calling but the largest producers seem to be chased and not chasing.

Where to Get Leads?

There are many ways to “skin a cat”. Realtors can farm geographic areas, build a web presence, advertise in print, use direct mail, purchase leads, or network with their sphere of influence. All of the avenues can lead to success. You just have to decide which of them work best for you. Non computer savvy Realtors barely know how to turn on a computer so they might not be suited to focus on the web. A new agent with few contacts may find it difficult to live off of their sphere of influence. There are very successful agents out there in virtually every market using one or all of these avenues to garner leads. If you do just one of these extremely well you will generate plenty of leads.

Goal: Be Chased, Don’t Be Chasing

If you have been in the business long enough you have probably cold called or door knocked. Some love it while the majority of the agents I speak with generally do not. Your ultimate goal as a Realtor is Continue reading this post

…and real estate will lead us out of it. Today’s news that the Federal Reserve will buy as much as $600 billion  of debt sent interest rates on the average 30 year fixed mortgage down from about 6.25% to 5.5%.

With interest rates low and prices down 40% in some areas, real estate transaction volumes could pick up as real estate could once again become a very attractive investment.

Now if only, credit would losen up a bit…

Thoughts?

Louis Cammarosano