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Are you losing prospects because you don't know how to market effectively?
By Betty Ziegler
So you have more listings right now than sales. Not surprising, as the number of homes for sale in this market is overwhelmingly more than the number of sales going on.
Chances are that your particular listings will join the numbers of expired or be on the market for more days than you can count. But unlike the average agent with a new listing and pie in the sky hopes, you can turn lemons into lemonade.
The average real estate agent puts up a for sale sign on the property they have just listed. And after a few words of encouragement to their seller, they drive off praying for the sale. They post the new listing on the board in their Broker's office, hoping that some other agent will bring that qualified buyer to the table. Sound familiar?
The reason? Most agents use a combination of selling techniques they see other agents in their office doing. If you want to hit that three figure income, why would you imitate an agent making $25,000?
Now, let's turn those lemon listings into lemonade!
First, identify the "active market", those qualified buyer leads who will actually close escrow. You want to spend your time talking to people that are ready to make a buying decision right now. One of the many advantages of a call-capture system, like the one I use, is that it helps to segregate the prospect into an "active" buyer or just another looky-loo.
This simple act of placing one of my call-capture, 800 number sign riders on my listings generates calls 24/7. This is the perfect employee! It never takes a lunch break or puts my most valuable client on hold. My sign rider not only generates buyer leads for me, it captures their phone number perfectly every time, without fail.
Those "active" buyers are calling me
I am not out knocking on doors or making endless cold calls like so many seminars taught us to do. There is a definite time for such marketing tactics, but this is not that time. I have my "perfect employee" working for me right now and I have had to hire extra administrative help to handle the overflow. After a brief interview, usually over the phone, I invite my new clients to my office to meet with my loan officer, Chris. Chris will pre-qualify them and get us on the right path to meet their needs.
I cannot say enough about pre-qualification. If you are not getting your buyers pre-qualified you are wasting both your time and theirs. The last thing you want is a surprise after the offer is made.
Be the information source.
I cannot imagine not having call-capture 800 number signs working for me.
Why do lead generation systems work so well in this market? Freely given information is one key to a good agent/client relationship. Your prospects get the information they desire and you have lowered their resistance.
The threat dealing with a "salesperson" has diminished. These leads are willing to work with you because you were willing to work with them first.
My particular 800 number company has a feature that alerts me to the prospect's incoming call, if I choose to. I am therefore "immediately" available to them, and they are not lost to the next agent.
Make 2007 the year you finally market effectively, with less effort, and reach your financial goals. In the years beyond you will reap the benefits of the referral business it will bring. How sweet that lemonade tastes!
About the Author
Betty Ziegler shares her marketing success freely at http://www.Information-Valley.com
Visit http://www.Information-Valley.com for free real estate marketing tools
Article Source: http://www.simplysearch4it.com/article/49246.html
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