I have noticed that in almost all sales – Real Estate is no exception – salespeople tend to have up and down cycles in their sales stream. Most just attribute this to luck but I think there is more to it than that. I think they work hard to create leads and then when they are working the leads they stop generating new ones.

This creates a cycle where leads are generated, then there are sales, then there’s a down period, and the cycle begins again. In my opinion, it is important to cut out the down periods by continually creating new leads and improving all systems.

It seems that the same type scenario occurs in all phases of our business. Whether we are working on leads, systems, or marketing. We get motivated and work hard to generate or improve and then we cycle into a sloppy phase.

So…my question is how do we stay motivated to continually improve our lead generation techniques, systems, marketing, etc.?

Here are some ideas to stay in the groove: Continue reading this post

I had a great conversation today with a past executive officer of FAR and now part of NAR. He came to my office to check out our 100MPH Marketing Software and System and our eHomes Realty Network. He will be signing up his Brokerage to take advantage of our tools. Anyway, after I did my demo, we started talking about the Internet and what NAR is doing with regards to the Internet. It was a great conversation and I really can’t talk about most of what was said as I don’t have permission to do that.

However, since I started my soft marketing of my software and membership company, I have talked with many major players in our industry. They all have one thing in common…they don’t know anything about the Internet.

Here is what they are thinking at the National level. They are hearing that the more information you have on your website, the more chance you have of getting a customer. Our conversation was a lot more detailed of course, but this interesting to me. They believe they should be gearing up on a national level to offer a ton of products for real estate agents to put on their websites.

Unfortunately it appears that they are hearing what they should be doing from the wrong people…in my opinion of course!

So I asked him what he thought the purpose of a Realtors website should be. He answered the same answer I hear from so many. He said, “to provide as much information as possible”. I told him, that is what most agents think, which is why 99% or more don’t make any money from their websites.

I told him that the real purpose of a website, like any marketing, is to get leads and turn them into customers.

He was a little shocked by my answer Continue reading this post

After the dot.com bust it appeared the initial promise of the internet was vanquished and the naysayers were right, that only geeks were using the internet and that business on the web couldn’t be conducted for profit.

So much for naysayers. The internet is now used by every bubba, grandma and you-name-it around the world. The internet is fulfilling its promise and rapidly becoming a standard tool of business, advertising and communication.

The argument is over whether real estate agents should be using the internet to conduct business. I’m sure there are successful hold-outs, and it’s probably true that many agents don’t have a comprehensive internet plan to conduct business, but it’s now pretty much a no-brainer that the internet is the place to be for real estate business.

NAR is addressing the issue, agents are getting their own websites, brokerages are putting together plans and every conference, workshop and seminar has something to say about it.

Many of us are way beyond all that and our main concern is just how best to utilize all the possibilities now that we’re in the middle of it. For those just starting, I’d suggest catching up fast by reading blogs like Bloodhound, Agent Genius and, Continue reading this post

The Gospel According to NAR

I had read the Gospel according to NAR (National Association of Realtors)—77% of buyers use the internet to search for homes.

The NARstat is sacred dogma, incessantly chanted by mainstream media and the bloggerati. It provides the philosophical foundation for the agent congregation putting their listings on all manner of real estate websites, especially Realtor.com, the largest real estate church on the net.

The NARstat requires agents do penance and upgrade to the revered “featured listing” pews. To question the holy NARstat would be a blasphemy akin to questioning the earth’s roundness (actually, the earth is an oblate spheroid, but I digress.)

The NARstat also justifies, to a large extent, the agent’s participation and marketing in the new Web 2.0 world where the Google keyword prayer box promises to bring roaming client pilgrims to the agent’s blog or their Truzilfacespace profile—leading to blessed business and salvation for all. But, are we worshipping a false god at the Tower of Google?

The Internet Reformation

Last summer, I took a little RV cross-country trip with Rudy, my partner at the time. We set out to spread the Word of Web 2.0 to the masses, who we suspected were unbelieving techno-pagans. Our odyssey took us to over 30 cities—places like Boston, Philly, D.C., NYC, Atlanta, Orlando, Miami, Tampa, St. Pete, Chicago, St. Paul, Denver, Phoenix, San Diego, Sacramento, Reno, Seattle, Portland, Salt Lake City, Boise, San Francisco -— and all the Waffle Houses in between.

We interviewed real folks young and old, owners and renters—to discover how and where they looked for the places they call home. After 5 weeks on the road and 10,000 miles logged on this beautiful country’s highways and byways, it was I who began to question my internet marketing faith. Continue reading this post

The approximately 2,000 Realtors® who came by our booth at the 2007 National Association of Realtors® Convention & Expo in Las Vegas, Nevada last week, that’s who!

Thank you to everyone who stopped by the HomeGain booth! It was our busiest and most successful event ever.

We handed out TomTom™ One GPS navigation systems, $50 American Express® gas cards, remote control cars, and, of course, orange gorillas.

Everything except the gorillas fell under our theme “drive your success.”

We met Realtors® who never heard of HomeGain, and who were very excited to hear about how they can receive more traffic with BuyerLink, reach home sellers with AgentView, get 20 guaranteed home buyer leads with AIMS, and market themselves online to home buyer and home seller leads with AgentEvaluator.

It was also NAR’s largest show in history, with a record-breaking 744 exhibitors and 31,000+ attendees.

Were you at the Expo? Were you able to stop by our booth? Let us know what you thought!

What did you like and didn’t like? What sessions did you find most valuable? How was the special guest Bill Cosby and the concert with James Taylor? Continue reading this post

Announcing the new & improved www.homegain.com!

Remember the lime green page, with an orange and black logo? It’s been replaced with navy and orange.

We spent the last year redesigning over 300 web pages, focusing primarily on the most trafficked pages such as the home page, the find a REALTOR® pages, the instant home valuation pages, and the view homes for sale pages.

The functionality and usability of HomeGain.com’s services and features remains unchanged. HomeGain.com is launching 30-35 percent faster now, too, making it an even more improved experience for visitors.

Thank you to all of our real estate agents, brokers, other real estate professionals, homebuyers, home sellers, other consumers, family, and friends for all of their feedback and input on making the site what it is today.

Of course, let’s not forget everyone at HomeGain who put in endless hours of hard work.

We have received hundreds of positive comments on the cleaner, fresher look of the website, the ease of navigation, and the useful features like the instant home valuation tool.

But don’t just let us brag about it, check it out yourself and tell us what you think! Continue reading this post