Real Estate Technology Blog | Real Estate Marketing Coach

Although I very rarely, publicly at least, go into a long winded rant, today it just hit me and I just can’t keep my mouth shut on this one.  I was sent a link from a friend to check out a company offering web sites for Realtors.  The company was called Alamode, you can check it out by going to www.alamode.com.

Now, at first glance, I thought the site looked very Good and the websites being offered were nice looking.  But once I dug deep into the system it was glaringly apparent that the websites, programs, etc. being offered at this site were not developed by a Realtor but by a team of programmers and tech heads. 

While I have no problem with programmers or tech heads, in fact I use them everyday in my business, I do have a problem with a company, their programmers or tech heads making statements on their sites that are absolutely ridiculous and totally unfounded.  I see this all the time, some company will come up with a new technology that they think is the best thing since sliced bread but when it is actually put to use in the real world, it totally flops.

When purchasing any real estate related products, services or technology always, always ask the following questions:

1.  Was this developed by a Realtor?

2.  Was or is the Realtor That developed it actually successful?

3.  Can I speak with the person that developed this system directly?

If you do not get the answer you are looking for on any of these questions, I would strongly encourage you to run, don’t walk  the other way.

So back to Alamode, the following statement is actually printed on one of the main pages of their site, and I quote:

"Forget the standard drip e-mail or postcard real estate marketing. They’re time-consuming, outdated and expensive. With XSellerate, you’ll automatically turn leads into clients and always stay in touch with targeted, effective real estate marketing."

Huh?? Did they just say that marketing with postcards is outdated?  Umm, by who’s standards?  Maybe their programmers and tech heads standards.  I’m here to tell you this statement is completely false.  I will close over 100 transactions this year as direct result of postcards alone and have made literally millions of dollars using postcards over the years as have thousands of our clients. 

Do billboard advertisements work?

Question: So many agents in my area are using billboard advertising, but because it is very expensive, I am reluctant to try. Do billboard advertisements really work?

Billboard advertising is very expensive, so my advice for real estate professionals is to stay away from billboards. Unless you use it as a part of a strategically prepared, calculated advertising campaign and you know precisely how to measure results, billboard advertising is ineffective.

One thing is sure. There are many less expensive ways to market your services and most likely you will get more bang for your advertising dollar using carefully planned direct mail or display advertising.

Every type of advertising works if it’s done right, on purpose, with regard to advertising laws. Which, unfortunately, very few people do. One way or another, here are the questions you should ask yourself before spending your hard earned dollars on any kind of advertising:

- What are my expectations?
- How will I know that my advertising works?

Most real estate agents have no idea how to track their advertising. They don’t really know when a specific marketing piece works and when it is a flop. They repeatedly run the same ads without measuring results — and they are no able to measure results because no specific, measurable objectives were established. They hope that their ad will give them more visibility, generate more calls, or build their name recognition. But such results are not measurable. They are impossible to track, compare and quantify.

It gets worse. Most agents know that their advertising doesn’t work but they continue running the same ads to please, or to pacify, the sellers. Often they are afraid to stop because everyone else is doing it and they feel that without an ad they would be out of business.

The bottom line:

1. Keep in mind that no matter which advertising type you choose, it can produce fantastic results or it can be a complete waste of resources.

2. Make sure your advertising is created in such way that results are measurable and quantifiable. And always track your results.

3. Repeat those ads that are bringing you the highest return on investment and discontinue the ones that are money wasters as soon as possible.

I was catching up on some reading last night, checking out some of the latest real estate industry news from RIS Media and a few other real estate blogs when I noticed my name in the headline of one of the articles.  I was pleased to see that the work we have been doing here at Real Estate Toolbox University is starting to receive national recognition.  In case you haven’t heard of RIS Media, they are the largest source of real estate industry and real estate marketing news in the country.  They printed a press release outlining the details of our latest acquisition of http://www.sanemarketing.com which is really gaining a lot of national recognition in addition to this latest printing in RIS Media.  You may read the entire press release below as printed in RIS Media at: http://rismedia.com/index.php/article/articleview/16895/1/1/

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