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You are here: Home > Real Estate > Real Estate > Seven The Hard Way – Reasons Real Estate Websites Don't Work |
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Add You - Seven The Hard Way – Reasons Real Estate Websites Don't Work
The Sales Training Series: Sell By Agreeing On At Least 3 Needs or not your site is successful. Design your website with clear pathways to your conversion goals, and measure them. If you’re driving paid search traffic to a road-to-nowhere site, consider applying that money toward creating a better web presence for your business.Salespeople know that they’re supposed to sell to the customer’s needs. Here is the classic—and tragically wrong—way they usually learn to do it: Uncover the first need. Begin a product presentation, covering features and benefits, and then attempt to uncover another need and then give more product talk, etc.Research shows that presentations like this are 25 percent less effective than those in which a thorough needs assessment is followed by a summary of all of the customer’s needs. You will be far more successful if you begin by uncovering and agreeing on at least three relevant needs that the customer perceives as important. Only then should you begin 5. All take, no give. The ethos of the Internet is something-for-something. You might give up your name and email address to receive a newsletter or special report, or take a survey in return for a chance to win prizes. Yet, many agent websites offer no incentive for visitors to take some desired action such as providing contact information. Do you offer a free home valuation, Neighborhood Report, newsletter, coupons, business directories or links to local resources? Since many visitors are in the just-loo Gum Removal in Air Terminals More and more, your first point of contact with prospects is your agent website. So many people use air terminals for their travel that it is virtually impossible to avoid finding gum throughout the terminal. Adding to the problem of gum removal in air terminals is the fact that even in the terminals' shops and stores, chewing gum is sold. Chewing gum machines allow people to buy gum easily, without having to set foot in one of the stores. Children chew it throughout the terminal, and they are more prone to leaving these little "gifts" than adults are (and they are quite prone to it as well). The only solution is gum removal in air terminals.The challenges to gum removal in air terminals:Gum removal in air terminals can be time co Your first – and often only – chance to impress prospects is a valuable opportunity that’s often wasted. Avoiding a few common but critical mistakes can mean the difference between success and failure. If you’re looking to provide a compelling, interactive client experience instead of a tired online brochure, here are seven mistakes to avoid: 1. All about the agent. It seems counter-intuitive, but the focus of effective agent websites isn’t agents – it’s consumers. Your photo, sales awards, accreditations, nicknames, community activities family background are far less interesting to site visitors than they are to you, and they belong on “About us” section, not the home page. Instead, capture attention with local images and current, relevant content that’s not available on other real estate sites. To draw attention to your skills and achievements, it’s often more effective to get success stories and testimonials from clients and colleagues, rather than blatant self-promotion. 2. The three-second rule. Web researcher Joseph Carrabis suggests it takes visitors just 3-5 seconds to decide if website information is interesting enough to continue reading or click away. In this "attraction phase" visitors scan the page and quickly decide if they want to invest the time to explore further to see how content relates to them - in other words, what's in it for me? Try scanning your website as a first-time visitor would. Is the information you’ve provided to capture their attention up-front and prominent? The questions that site visitors have in mind – What’s on this website? What’s in it for me? What services does this real estate professional offer? – need to be answered very quickly. 3. The language of the dog. On the subject of effective website content, e-business author Jeff Eisenberg likes to say “Speak to the dog, about what matters to the dog, in the language of the dog.” In other words, use language and terms appropriate for your audience. For example, do you know what search terms people are using to find your website? You can get a quick idea at a website called www.digitalpoint.com. Click Webmaster tools on the left, scroll down and click the Keyword Suggestion Tool link. Then, enter search terms that people are likely to use when searching for your services. You may be surprised to see how small variations in phrasing affect the number of daily searches performed. To boost site visibility, try incorporating popular search terms in your page titles, descriptions and headlines. 4. A road to nowhere. Successful real estate practices have a clear path from prospecting, conversion and sales, to repeat sales and referrals. Yet, many real estate websites lead nowhere. There is a vague notion that site visitors will click around, find the information interesting and hopefully contact the agent or broker. If you have not defined measurable goals such as newsletter signups, phone calls, email requests for information or special report downloads, it’s difficult to say whether or not your site is successful. Design your website with clear pathways to your conversion goals, and measure them. If you’re driving paid search traffic to a road-to-nowhere site, consider applying that money toward creating a better web presence for your business. 5. All take, no give. The ethos of the Internet is something-for-something. You might give up your name and email address to receive a newsletter or special report, or take a survey in return for a chance to win prizes. Yet, many agent websites offer no incentive for visitors to take some desired action such as providing contact information. Do you offer a free home valuation, Neighborhood Report, newsletter, coupons, business directories or links to local resources? Since many visitors are in the just-look Uncover Your Unclaimed Money Instead, capture attention with local images and current, relevant content that’s not available on other real estate sites. To draw attention to your skills and achievements, it’s often more effective to get success stories and testimonials from clients and colleagues, rather than blatant self-promotion.Unless you won the lottery this week you would probably be excited to find money owed to you. Unclaimed money and property in excess of $25 Billion is being held by the government and is just waiting to be claimed.You may be thinking, 'I have never forgotten about money owed to me', this may be true, but what about the monies you are not aware of? i.e. an inheritance or savings bond. Oprah Winfrey stated 9 out of 10 Americans have unclaimed money.So why is this money just sitting around? Chances are you haven't heard about unclaimed money, there is a lack public awareness and no simple method for searching and claiming lost fun 2. The three-second rule. Web researcher Joseph Carrabis suggests it takes visitors just 3-5 seconds to decide if website information is interesting enough to continue reading or click away. In this "attraction phase" visitors scan the page and quickly decide if they want to invest the time to explore further to see how content relates to them - in other words, what's in it for me? Try scanning your website as a first-time visitor would. Is the information you’ve provided to capture their attention up-front and prominent? The questions that site visitors have in mind – What’s on this website? What’s in it for me? What services does this real estate professional offer? – need to be answered very quickly. 3. The language of the dog. On the subject of effective website content, e-business author Jeff Eisenberg likes to say “Speak to the dog, about what matters to the dog, in the language of the dog.” In other words, use language and terms appropriate for your audience. For example, do you know what search terms people are using to find your website? You can get a quick idea at a website called www.digitalpoint.com. Click Webmaster tools on the left, scroll down and click the Keyword Suggestion Tool link. Then, enter search terms that people are likely to use when searching for your services. You may be surprised to see how small variations in phrasing affect the number of daily searches performed. To boost site visibility, try incorporating popular search terms in your page titles, descriptions and headlines. 4. A road to nowhere. Successful real estate practices have a clear path from prospecting, conversion and sales, to repeat sales and referrals. Yet, many real estate websites lead nowhere. There is a vague notion that site visitors will click around, find the information interesting and hopefully contact the agent or broker. If you have not defined measurable goals such as newsletter signups, phone calls, email requests for information or special report downloads, it’s difficult to say whether or not your site is successful. Design your website with clear pathways to your conversion goals, and measure them. If you’re driving paid search traffic to a road-to-nowhere site, consider applying that money toward creating a better web presence for your business. 5. All take, no give. The ethos of the Internet is something-for-something. You might give up your name and email address to receive a newsletter or special report, or take a survey in return for a chance to win prizes. Yet, many agent websites offer no incentive for visitors to take some desired action such as providing contact information. Do you offer a free home valuation, Neighborhood Report, newsletter, coupons, business directories or links to local resources? Since many visitors are in the just-loo Payday Loans - How do They Work? ided to capture their attention up-front and prominent? The questions that site visitors have in mind – What’s on this website? What’s in it for me? What services does this real estate professional offer? – need to be answered very quickly.A payday loan is designed to help you fill the gap between paychecks. You might apply for a payday loan if you have trouble paying off utilities or because of an unforeseen medical expense. A payday loan can be a real life saver, as long as you ensure that you pay off the loan within the allocated time. If you fail to pay off your loan in time, you may incur heavy fees and interest.A payday loan is usually borrowed for around two to four weeks. After your cash advance payday loan have been approved, your lender will deposit your cash directly into your bank account, as long as you have direct deposit capabilities. Most loan lenders will transfer your money t 3. The language of the dog. On the subject of effective website content, e-business author Jeff Eisenberg likes to say “Speak to the dog, about what matters to the dog, in the language of the dog.” In other words, use language and terms appropriate for your audience. For example, do you know what search terms people are using to find your website? You can get a quick idea at a website called www.digitalpoint.com. Click Webmaster tools on the left, scroll down and click the Keyword Suggestion Tool link. Then, enter search terms that people are likely to use when searching for your services. You may be surprised to see how small variations in phrasing affect the number of daily searches performed. To boost site visibility, try incorporating popular search terms in your page titles, descriptions and headlines. 4. A road to nowhere. Successful real estate practices have a clear path from prospecting, conversion and sales, to repeat sales and referrals. Yet, many real estate websites lead nowhere. There is a vague notion that site visitors will click around, find the information interesting and hopefully contact the agent or broker. If you have not defined measurable goals such as newsletter signups, phone calls, email requests for information or special report downloads, it’s difficult to say whether or not your site is successful. Design your website with clear pathways to your conversion goals, and measure them. If you’re driving paid search traffic to a road-to-nowhere site, consider applying that money toward creating a better web presence for your business. 5. All take, no give. The ethos of the Internet is something-for-something. You might give up your name and email address to receive a newsletter or special report, or take a survey in return for a chance to win prizes. Yet, many agent websites offer no incentive for visitors to take some desired action such as providing contact information. Do you offer a free home valuation, Neighborhood Report, newsletter, coupons, business directories or links to local resources? Since many visitors are in the just-loo Common Misconceptions with an Online Business people are likely to use when searching for your services. You may be surprised to see how small variations in phrasing affect the number of daily searches performed. To boost site visibility, try incorporating popular search terms in your page titles, descriptions and headlines.When searching the internet for a work at home business you will find thousand of opportunities. Most of these will sound too good to be true. A lot of times they are just that, too good to be true. Promises of instant wealth without lifting a finger sounds great but we all know it is virtually impossible.Many times it is believed that online business programs are a way to get rich quick. That is very far from the truth. When entering a business on the internet it is best to be realistic about the earning potential. Just like any business, it takes time to develop and become profitable. Some do not look at these programs as their own business, but it really 4. A road to nowhere. Successful real estate practices have a clear path from prospecting, conversion and sales, to repeat sales and referrals. Yet, many real estate websites lead nowhere. There is a vague notion that site visitors will click around, find the information interesting and hopefully contact the agent or broker. If you have not defined measurable goals such as newsletter signups, phone calls, email requests for information or special report downloads, it’s difficult to say whether or not your site is successful. Design your website with clear pathways to your conversion goals, and measure them. If you’re driving paid search traffic to a road-to-nowhere site, consider applying that money toward creating a better web presence for your business. 5. All take, no give. The ethos of the Internet is something-for-something. You might give up your name and email address to receive a newsletter or special report, or take a survey in return for a chance to win prizes. Yet, many agent websites offer no incentive for visitors to take some desired action such as providing contact information. Do you offer a free home valuation, Neighborhood Report, newsletter, coupons, business directories or links to local resources? Since many visitors are in the just-loo National Lending Corporations or not your site is successful. Design your website with clear pathways to your conversion goals, and measure them. If you’re driving paid search traffic to a road-to-nowhere site, consider applying that money toward creating a better web presence for your business.A loan is a type of debt that is to be repaid by the borrower over a specific, pre-determined period of time. There are loans for various types of financial needs such as buying a home, buying an automobile, or financing higher education. Lenders are financial institutions such as banks and credit unions that specialize in providing loans to individuals as well as organizations. National lending corporations are lending companies that operate on a national level and have business in most of the states of the United Sates.There are many national lending corporations competing for business in the huge financial market. They have to adopt many strategies to hav 5. All take, no give. The ethos of the Internet is something-for-something. You might give up your name and email address to receive a newsletter or special report, or take a survey in return for a chance to win prizes. Yet, many agent websites offer no incentive for visitors to take some desired action such as providing contact information. Do you offer a free home valuation, Neighborhood Report, newsletter, coupons, business directories or links to local resources? Since many visitors are in the just-looking stage and aren’t ready to pick up the phone and call you, you can provide different touch-points at various commitment levels to make it as easier to begin a dialog with you. 6. Content isn’t king. In an effort to attract as many prospects as possible, many agent websites try to be all things to all people. A laundry list of real estate services is not compelling content, and this type of “information overload” can give site visitors with the idea that you don’t offer any particular expertise that would benefit them. Old listings, typos and outdated articles can all make visitors click away in search of competing websites with better information. And remember, content doesn’t begin and end with text. Photos, animations, virtual tours, maps and charts should also be high-quality and up-to-date. 7. Fire your nephew. You don’t still have a website that was created in 2002 by someone’s nephew, do you? In three seconds, your website can give visitors the idea that you offer quality services or that you lack attention to detail…not a good quality for real estate professionals. You don’t need the latest blogs, podcasts and 3-D animation to be successful, but your site should be of comparable or better quality than your industry peers. Make it a point to visit the sites of local and national competitors to gather ideas and see how your site stacks up. Charles Warnock, eNeighborhoods Marketing A Dominion Enterprises Company
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