We have polled home buyers and sellers once again and we’re sharing the results in order to help our AgentEvaluator® agent members better meet the needs of prospects.
We sent our survey to more than 14,000 home buyers and sellers who came through AgentEvaluator in the last year -– some who closed with a HomeGain agent and some who did not choose a HomeGain agent.
5 Useful takeaways from the survey that all AgentEvaluator members should read:
1. Consumer Feedback on agents is one of the top things homebuyers and sellers are looking for when they use AgentEvaluator.
- Takeaway: If you don’t have consumer feedback (reviews to say what a great job you’ve done as a Realtor) entered in your profile, get some entered today. To upload reviews, go to the Consumer Feedback section of your Proposal Templates page.
2. Most of the consumers who worked with a HomeGain agent chose that agent because of their personal response.
- Takeaway: As shown in both this year’s and last year’s survey, personalization has consistently been the most important reason consumers select HomeGain agents. If you ARE NOT personalizing EACH proposal to address the specific situation of the prospect you’re responding to, you should start today.
3. Most consumers expect to receive their proposals within 1 to 3 days.
- Takeaway: In comparison to last year’s survey, consumers have gotten a little more patient –- they’d rather wait a little extra time in order to get the personalization they’re looking for. Listen to what the consumers are saying -– taking the time to personalize your proposals will make you more likely to be chosen.
4. Most consumers who worked with a HomeGain agent chose him/her within the first week.
- Takeaway: You don’t have to be the first agent to propose in order to be chosen by consumers. You can use this extra time to respond to the consumer’s specific situation.
5. The main reason consumers did not decide to work with a HomeGain agent was they didn’t like the responses they received.
- Takeaway: What consumers want in their proposals is someone who speaks directly to them and their specific situation … many of these consumers would likely have matched with HomeGain agents if they had received a personalized proposal.
If you note these key takeaways and really integrate them into how you use AgentEvaluator, you should start seeing much greater success on the program.
For even more insight into how AgentEvaluator consumers responded to our survey, check out a few representative quotes from survey respondents…
From those who did select a HomeGain agent:
- “We found the BEST Realtor through HomeGain — I don’t think there is anything you could have done to make it better or to bring a better seller agent to me! Thank you!”
- “Do not allow Realtors to have an automatic response. I got too many that didn’t even look at my requirements before responding.”
- “I think that the process worked well for us, we selected 3 agents, met with them to interview, and then made our selection.”
- “Don’t let Realtors setup an automatic response to every Realtor search.”
From those who did not select a HomeGain agent:
- “The select agents I found were not timely in their responses, and the ones who were timely were not very personable.”
- “A complete waste of time. I got canned responses from several agents that advertised with your service.”
- “The responses are all canned and only one addressed my specific concerns.”
These responses show that while AgentEvaluator works great for some consumers, for many others, a truly personalized response could make the difference in them matching with you or deciding to look elsewhere for their agent.
If you act on the information shown above and integrate these key practices into your lead-response routine, you can take success in your own hands and start generating more matches on AgentEvaluator.
It looks like quick response and personality make a huge difference in positive opinion.
July 8th, 2009 at 9:50 pm
I found your information very informative
July 9th, 2009 at 9:01 am
I like homegain; however, I got too many requests for people searching in areas I don’t service. I’m a very fast responder. I can’t afford to pay a service a monthly fee, then never get leads in my services areas. I prefer to stay on alert for leads, but I don’t want to pay monthly fee for inefficient leads. If it’s possible to be considered an agent, without a monthly fee, I’m happy to pay referral percentage if selected and closed. But just can’t waste money during these economic times.
July 9th, 2009 at 11:27 am
The only thing I don’t have on my profile is the consumer feedback. I am not sure if I can include feedback from my customers outside of homegain. I personalize every response, till about 2 weeks ago, I used to respond to the inquiries within the same day. I agree with Kat Nimmons, I am paying a monthly fee and getting leads that are not from areas that I can service or from people who are looking 4 or 5 months out. If I can list my name and give a percentage of my commission if any deals work out and not pay a monthly fee, I would be a great fan of homegain. Right now the lead quality is abysmal.
July 9th, 2009 at 1:28 pm
Got to agree with Brad: I think a quick response is always a big factor in winning a client.
July 10th, 2009 at 12:06 pm
I’ve been using Homegain for a long time and it’s my best source of quality leads. I do personalize each lead by adding their name and some of their criteria (# of bedrooms, price range and area). I also add listings to each buyer lead. For sellers I give them a mini marketing plan and tell them I need to meet with them to do the entire presentation. For high dollar listings I do a PowerPoint presentation and hand deliver it to their door. I use lightscribe to burn a photo of their home on the disc – sellers love it.
July 13th, 2009 at 7:57 pm
I have been using Home Gain for about four months and was about to give it up because of the non-response from the leads. I figured out that you have to respond quickly and personally. Also, I was receiving a lot of leads way outside of my area, but I figure if they were buyers, I could get them qualified and work them regardless.
July 24th, 2009 at 8:47 am
Too many out of area leads. I feel I give it to them straight, but I found they’re calling off bus benches also. I offer whatever they need to make a rational decision, but I’d like some reponse and motivation from them also. My best leads come from my listings, which have been plentiful over the past year.
July 24th, 2009 at 8:59 am
I’ve been with Homegain.com almost since it’s inception in the late 90′s. It’s been a consistent source for a few deals a year. I’ve always answered quickly, tried to personalize my proposals. I don’t bother answering the ones that say they want a lowered commission, so maybe homegain could put some text in their representations to the public that while commissions are negotiable, that may not be the best way to select an agent. I, too, would appreciate not receiving the out of area leads.
July 24th, 2009 at 9:27 am
I used to use HomeGain a long time ago and then when you went with the monthly charge for leads–you lost me! There’s a lesson here from the responses of agents too–perhaps you should consider a % of the commission for a lead that closes. It is a customary practice in our business that we’re more than happy to pay a referral fee IF the deal closes escrow. These are tough times for all of us and any company wanting a monthly fee should rethink their business module.
July 24th, 2009 at 10:00 am
I have some customer feedback and I have turned off my bonus leads. Now I get less than 2 leads a week. Even those are very non reponsive. I will wait a couple of more months. If nothing come about, I will go with some ther lead generation service.
July 24th, 2009 at 10:26 am
Our team has been using Home gain for quite a few years. We usually get 1 listing and 1 buyer per year. We have received 2 listing leads that responded this year. Yesterday, our most current lead had an offer accepted. When asked why they selected us, we were told “you were personal”. I was surprised how many agents just sent canned responses. Yes, part of our response is a template but we make sure to address the buyers or sellers concerns.
July 24th, 2009 at 11:53 am
I have been using Homegain for quite some time now and have sold many properties through it. I also have had many many proposals that went no where too. I guess it’s a numbers game! Many of my Homegain clients have become lifetime clients and called and used me again years later when they wanted to sell thier home. The initial money is worth it, it just takes time to build your business. Most of my replys are semi custom, I go in and make a few personal changes to a standard template. It doesn’t take long at all.
July 24th, 2009 at 11:59 am
I get quite a few leads outside my service area but I simply archive them. I get enough for towns I can service that I don’t mind the hassle of archiving the distant ones.
I have been with HomeGain since early in the year and have gotten some serious leads from it. Nothing has closed as yet but I do get quality leads from the website.
It is absolutely essential that you not only personalize every response but you really should have a variety of templates ready to go such as responses for first time buyers, those downsizing, condo buyers and sellers, and residential.
I think having the ability to post references is a real plus, too.
So far, I’m pretty happy with the website all in all.
July 24th, 2009 at 12:16 pm
As an AgentEvaluator Product Analyst here at HomeGain I am very excited to see all of the responses on our blog post today.
Many of you expressed issue with receiving leads from out of your area, and I wanted to offer help:
1) The Bonus Leads feature was created to provide extra opportunity by delivering leads in surrounding areas to your core zips – and it works great in some areas, but not as well in others.
If this enhancement isn’t adding value, you can enable/disable it at any time via your personal profile settings. Just look for “Bonus Leads” below your contact info, and make sure to hit “continue” at the bottom to save any changes…
2) Because our goal (like yours) is to make sure that you’re closing deals & that consumers are getting the help they need – I can provide guidance on which zip codes in your desired cities have the most leads and least competition.
Please feel free to call and setup an appointment for zip code recommendations, tips & best practices, and any other account issues. We’ll schedule at your convenience: (866-512-7915)
July 24th, 2009 at 1:09 pm
Homegain is an incredible source of business. Pay attention to the survey. I have closed hundreds of deals over the last seven years with Homegain. Gross commission from Homegain leads was over $1,000,000 two years ago. I hope to go by the $2,000,000 mark this year. Everyone should join this lead generation machine.
July 24th, 2009 at 6:24 pm
I have been using Homegain..I think…for about 8 years. I have tried all of the other services (I have to because I coach Realtors) and this is the only service I have chosen to stay with.
It has been very successful for me (was even NY Top Ranking once). I find it to be the only service that is not reselling someone else’s lead, very principled and genuine; I recommend it to all of my students.
I accept leads out of my immediate area; as a marketing agent, I do not need to be in the immediate area; I market to other Realtors.
In my opinion, Homegain is the best of the best. Keep up the great work!
July 26th, 2009 at 1:38 pm
I just got my first two bonafide people that want to work with me and deal might make it into escrow. The funny thing is that I used a canned response. Although I canned my response, it is how I do business. How can I place a value on someone’s home without knowing it fully? My pocedures are real. It is alot different when you talk about things face to face rather than what prospects think they want in their limited profile.
August 1st, 2009 at 10:27 pm
I have used Home Gain for a few years now. At first I was very pleased and I have closed a number of deals with them. Proplem now is that Home Gain is sending the same lead to way more Realtors than I was originally told. Now the leads go out to 20 or more Realtors. This must be overwhelming for the clients as well as not a level playing field for us Realtors that were told the leads would go to up to 5 Agents. Get It Together Home Gain!!!
September 3rd, 2009 at 1:03 pm
Hi Rhonda,
I read your post and wanted to respond to some of the concerns you brought up about competition in your market area. I double-checked your current zip codes, and the average number of agents in your zip codes is under 5.
If you’re having trouble getting consumers to respond to you, I’d recommend integrating some of the feedback consumers gave in this survey. Personalizing your proposals should make a big difference in the rate at which consumers respond to you and match with you.
I’d be happy to talk with you about your account and provide some recommendations for you, so that you’re able to see more of the success you’ve previously experienced on AgentEvaluator. I’ll email you separately to setup a time to talk.
Best Regards,
Sheila Guastamachio
AgentEvaluator Product Manager
September 3rd, 2009 at 4:33 pm
Sheila,
Thank you for the comments as they are very interesting and I have been with Home Gain for over 3 years and pay a monthly service fee for leads. I try to customize my proposals as much as I can… I get chosen as the realtor of choice once a month if I am lucky and try to do the best job I can…I only wish I could imporve my percentage of success. It is tough when your competiting with 18 to 20 realtors for one lead . I was promised originally only 5 realtors, and I just talked to a home gain person that got 18 responses from realtors and he was over-whellmed…. HOpe this helps.
Regards,
Jay
November 4th, 2009 at 10:08 am
Hi all! I’ve been with Homegain for several years now and like you have seen many changes in the quality, quanity of leads and also the payment/fee structures. This is like the other changes in our industry, we need to adapt if we want to make money. Here is how Homegain is still proving to be my favorite lead site. I worked with my reps to evaluate my zip code coverage, I asked for direct, honest feedback (gasp!) and followed the advice. The challenges I was having with my Homegain “business” were showing up everywhere – by being more system oriented and businesslike on the back end, and more personable and intouch on the front end, my business is absolutely booming. Booming, I mean it. Best of luck in your business and be blessed!
November 7th, 2009 at 8:01 pm
I love Homegain. I am just about to break through the $1M mark in HG earned commissions.
I would like someone to explain in detail to me how we can be more personable when in most cases all we have is a buyers first name, towns and price range. I use their name and towns looking in and the rest is a template explaining how I can be of the most help. How do they know they are canned responses if they only receive the one form us, and we have used their name etc?
Sellers are the same. How can we make them more personal? Any and all suggestions are appreciated as I am always trying to be better at what consumers expect.
Jeffrey Bastress
jbastress@comcast.net
December 14th, 2009 at 8:59 am
Hi Jeff,
Thanks for the comments, and congratulations on breaking the $1M mark with us soon! Per our discussion about your specific questions here, I wanted to take a second to reiterate the points we touched on – for the benefit of other readers:
1) PEOPLE DON’T CARE WHAT YOU KNOW UNTIL THEY KNOW THAT YOU CARE. The top section of a proposal which says “Personal Response” should be just that – You responding personally to the consumer’s needs. This should be 100% about them, and unique each time. Info about yourself, your accomplishments, strategy, marketing plan, etc… all belong in the “Marketing Services” – and because that type of information doesn’t change each time, it is ok to template out in advance.
2) MAKE FULL USE OF THE TECHNOLOGY: add an intro-video to your account, embed pictures of properties in each response (just copy and paste any image that exists online), and create specialized templates with targeted videos based on client types or niche areas.
As always, I am more than happy to help anybody with questions about Best Practices & Tool Usage!
Happy Holidays-
Tim Crose
866.512.7915
timothy.crose@homegain.com
December 17th, 2009 at 1:07 pm