Top 5 Real Estate Tips for 2012

These might seem simple and basic, but it’s some of “THE BEST ADVICE” I can impart.

Having just returned from the NAR Convention and EXPO in Anaheim, I wanted to share some of the most valuable and beneficial business practices I was able to acquire from the many I had the chance to meet with and interview. I went on a 3-day fact finding “mission” researching the entire EXPO and discovering what hundreds and thousands of industry pros are going to need to achieve if they want their business to not only survive, but to flourish in 2012.

1. The Real estate Industry and EVERY business within it MUST BE MOBILE and MUST incorporate mobile device technology. Marketing and advertising on the mobile platform is NOT OPTIONAL anymore if you want to survive in business today. Period!

2. Your websites and blogs must be mobile friendly. Don’t have QR Codes that link to your site from a users mobile device that land on a standard non-mobile website or page that they can’t view or read. (Believe it or not, this is more common than you might think)  Go look at your websites or Blogs right now and see.

3. Response time to online contacts/leads is the most critical piece of your business today.  It only takes seconds to get a lead, and it only takes minutes to lose them forever. Answer your phones whenever possible and ALWAYS respond to email within 2-3 minutes, even if you have to let them know you’ll get back to them later.

4. There are two types of people out there, those that know you, and those that don’t.  The ones that don’t know you use Google so GET SEO!  Also use sites like Zillow, ActiveRain and others where people are researching REAL ESTATE. My father always told me to fish where the fish ARE, not where I think they are or where I think they should be.

5. ALWAYS use a GOOD CRM to manage and follow-up with your contacts, prospects, and past clients. There is no way to manage your business efficiently and effectively without the most important tool of all, your CRM!!

BONUS TIP: Don’t think you need to have and use every tool, technology, apps, software, etc you come across on the web.  Don’t try and be everything for everybody on every site and social network.  Find the right MLS/IDX tools and sites that help you cultivate contacts and connect with prospects.  Make sure you have GREAT capturing tools in place.  Lastly, constantly and consistently keep sharpening your people and conversion skills, it’s truly an “THE art” to be mastered.

Comments (4)

  1. Pingback: How To Convert Online Contacts | Brads Domain

  2. Thank you so much for sharing your insights. I have learned a lot from this and will apply it in the home that I’m selling. I definitely agree with you on people sometimes decorate TOO much and instead of making it look good its making it look worse. I will look forward to more of your posts. if you have time, please check out the pics of the homes for sale posted on my site and tell me a few more strong selling points of the house. Here’s the site.

    • Brad Andersohn

      Nicole – Thanks for commenting, your site looks good. Clean, easy to navigate, and having the lender front and center to pre-qualify potential prospects is a great idea.

      Making the search option easy for those who may not be familiar with the area is my only suggestion.

      Out of area visitors and those not used to your site may want to search by map, lifestyle, or community etc. Using visual tools like photos, video etc. will help suggest and motivate people to look further into what’s available in that area. If desirable, they’ll be inspired to take the search to a deeper level.

      Think of it like this: Provide the tools and options you’d like to see if you were going to consider buying a home in Pierre, Wisconsin. Since you’ve never been there and don’t know the area, what things would you like to know and see in order to make that buying decision?

      Sometimes Beds, Baths, and Price aren’t the only search tools and criteria consumers want to see.

Leave a Reply to Nicole Jane Thompson Cancel reply