Is Your Phone Ringing?

My goal is to help you make money. Advertising should not cost you money, it should make money for you. In this slow market it's imperative that you get the most marketing bang for your marketing bucks. How do you track your calls? What phone numbers are featured in your ad? Is your receptionist sending all calls to the floor duty agent? Are your agents following up?

We have more than 500 distribution boxes in Western Carolina, and more than 20 online partners. If you're not getting calls we need to take a look at your advertising. In October, I made a mistake and put the wrong price in an ad. Oops! When I dropped off books at Century 21 I was informed, "If we had any doubt people are reading The Real Estate Book, we don't now. Our phone has rung off the hook."

If your phone is not ringing, let's have a look at your ad. Is the copy fresh? Are the photographs current? Do the properties have good curb appeal? Let's face it, there are some homes you can not get a good picture of, no matter what you do. Can the house be photographed from the side? At an angle? From the back? Maybe that's not a property you should feature. Use your advertising space wisely; feature a wide range of property to attract a wide range of potential buyers. And remember, your callers are not calling to buy puppies, every single call on every single house is a lead to be worked.

Call tracking. One of the simplest ways to track calls is to drop the MLS# and use an RE# instead. When prospects call the office and ask for RE# 10204, you'll know it's a call from your ad in The Real Estate Book.

What phone numbers are featured in your ad? Ask your agents if they're getting calls. Sometimes they're getting calls on their cell phones and they might not think to tell you. Ask.

Make sure whoever's answering the phone forwards all prospects to the floor duty agent. "I'm sorry, that one's sold." Click. Not something you want to hear at the front desk. But it happens. Oh dear!

Is your web address featured in your ad? Is the property address online? Sometimes people want to do a drive by and may be inadvertently counted as a call from a yard sign. Are you getting calls from people asking for addresses so they can do a drive by? Where are these calls originating?

The fortune's in the follow up! Make sure you have a system in place to stay in touch with potential buyers and sellers. Whether it's as simple as sheet of notepaper or a software program like Top Producer you need a working follow up program in place.  [Note to self: This would be the place to insert a link to LMS]

Remember, like Rudy in Lake Lure says, "If you're not advertising -- you are advertising -- advertising that you're going out of business." It has always been and will always be, it's not the best agents, but the best marketers who get the most leads.