The Internet helped many real
estate agents alter the way they marketplace their services. Now the same
agents are varying the way they approach other aspects of the business - in
particular, the procedure of capturing, filtering, and contacting leads. Web
marketing helps attract more leads, but it's becoming clear that agents might
not be the right people to deal with them any longer.
Many real estate agents likely saw
the change coming thanks to the distinction between web leads and non-web
leads. It can usually be boiled down to a difference in commitment: non-web
leads are often solid referrals from other professionals who already know the customer,
while web leads can represent anyone with ten seconds to fill out an online
form.
Many Realtors with an online home
search require people to fill out a contact form in order to view full information
on a particular listing, and this method has had positive and negative results
- mostly negative. These leads are less than ideal, but Realtors can't afford
to disregard them completely - that's why their role is being re-defined.
If Realtors are to keep their new
web marketing model, they must also find a novel lead management process. With
their broader range of specialized associates, and generally superior office
technology, brokers can filter more emails and follow up on more leads that look
like they might go somewhere. The shift is also usual because most brokers
function mainly to provide support to Realtors where necessary, and don't have
a high web presence themselves.
An agent-broker business would
bring real estate in line with other industries where leads and sales are
handled by separate bodies. In the finance industry, for example, more than 70
per cent of leads are filtered and supplied by real estate agents. The model
proposed here works slightly differently as here Realtors supply the leads, but
brokers filter them. A smoother lead management procedure
would also allow Realtors to focus on sales and customer service, the two most essential
aspects of their occupation.
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