These days, motivated sellers are looking more and more online to solve their problems. If people can’t find you – or when they find you, they are turned off for one reason or another – your deal funnel will dry up.
So, we’ve identified 3 big ole blunders that sink real estate investors when it comes to their internet leads, and we’re sharing ways to avoid them and tips for having your internet presence bring more leads to you.
REI Mistake #1 – Not Focusing on Conversions
As a real estate company, the main reason you put up a website is to advertise to your target market and generate leads. You ultimately want to drive organic traffic to your website and work your way up to the first page of Google.
So if you have a website and it’s not converting well, you are missing out because you’re not going to have as much success as you you’d like to have. Even if your website is still in its first few months and gets one or two people visiting, you still want to increase your chances of converting those leads when they do visit.
Especially if you are paying for it through Facebook ads or pay-per-click.
Traffic is when someone visits your website. They were either searching for it or they see an ad for your website on Facebook or Google Pay-Per-Click.
Once that person is on your website, you want them to get in touch with you.
How?
They either fill out a form and submit it, or they call, email or contact you some other way.
The moment the person visiting your website interacts with you, the traffic is now a conversion – that of a looker to a lead. They are interested in what you are selling.
If you have one website that’s optimized for conversions and 200 people visit it but only 2 people contacted you or downloaded your ‘free report’ in exchange for their email, the conversion rate is 1% (2 out of 200).
The chances of making a deal from 2 people is pretty slim.
Say you have a second website and it’s converting at 7%. Take that same 200 people. Now instead of 2 conversions, you have 14 people interacting with you on your site. Going from 1% to 7% puts you in a better position.
If real estate investors are able to turn 1 out of every 14 leads into an actual deal, you are able to appreciate the benefit of having a 7% conversion rate. If you have 14 leads out of 200 people, there is a stronger possibility that at least one of the 14 turns into a deal.
If you’re serious about your website outperforming that of your competitors in your local market, then you should really check out Investor Carrot. They’re amazing at putting together great looking websites especially tailored for real estate investors!
You have to do everything you can to have a high-converting website. And here are some of the ways to help you improve your site’s conversion rates:
1. It’s not about your product – It’s about their transformation.
You may have the best contractors in the world… people who can make their house look like it’s from the show Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous.
But here’s the thing: The motivated seller doesn’t care. He wants to know, “What’s in it for me?” He’s looking to buy a transformation.
From bankrupt, lost his job, stressing out because the bill collectors keep calling and worried about his wife divorcing him – to hero for freeing the family from all these worries.
That’s what a seller will buy. Instead of just having pictures of all the homes you’ve fixed up on your website, think about including pictures of people living carefree lives, freed from their worries.
2. Get Acredited by the BBB (Better Business Bureau)
Paying to be BBB accredited helps your website be more trustworthy. This will help bridge the trust gap and give leads more confidence that you are a legitimate company.
3. Ask for Testimonials
If you consider buying an expensive product on Amazon, for example, the first thing you take into consideration is the reviews. Same goes in real estate. Your website will earn more credibility when there are people talking about it.
The best time to ask for a testimonial is after you close a sale – that’s when they are the happiest. Have them sign a release form. At the bottom of the form, it is important to inform them that you are using their testimony as marketing material.
If your company hasn’t done a lot of deals or there is no way you can get a testimonial, don’t stress because these testimonials don’t necessarily have to come from a client. It can be from someone you are working with, such as:
Closing attorney- Title company
- Insurance agent
- Business associate
Basically, anyone who can vouch for you and your company. People’s words carry more weight than the sales copy itself.
Video testimonials are stronger than written testimonials. With the written testimonials, ask if you can use their full name and put a picture of them next to it.
4. Upload Normal Pictures of Yourself
As a real estate investor, you want your clients to feel comfortable around you and not at all intimidated. Other investors found out that posting pictures of themselves on their website made their clients feel more comfortable and less guarded.
Having normal pictures of you in jeans and a golf shirt – not glamour shots of you in a private jet – or with your family up on the website goes a long way because they feel that they can relate to you in a personal way.
They also will feel like you are not profiting hugely at their expense!
5. Make Your Website Easy to Use
Organize your website. Coordinate the colors, make it easy to look at. If your website helps you capture email addresses through an opt-in form, it’s better to follow the 2-step opt-in…
Here’s an example of what NOT to do 🙂
The first form should be a short one asking for their name, phone number, email and address. After submitting the first form, the second form pops up asking for all the details like the number of bedrooms, bathrooms, how much they owe, etc.
If you put all the fill-in questions on a single page, they’ll probably freak out and see questions they don’t want to answer so they’ll skip it altogether.
But, even if they only submit the first form, you still receive all their contact information so you can follow up.
[inf_infusionsoft_locked optin_id=optin_8][/inf_infusionsoft_locked]REI Mistake #2 – Not Communicating Fast Enough
Competition is everywhere. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of real estate websites on the web. Your target market can see all those other websites, and if you’re not fast enough, they are likely going to click on your competitor’s site.
To prevent that from happening, it’s absolutely crucial to respond to your leads right away. If you do this, they will most likely refrain from going to other websites.
People looking for ways to sell their house will seem hesitant and nervous about the situation and they need someone to talk to. So if you get to them first, you will have the advantage.
When someone submits the first part of the form, you need to have it set up so you’re notified immediately – either via email or text, so you can shoot them a message or dial them up right away. Website designers can add this functionality for you.
REI Mistake #3 – Having Over-The-Top Expectations
You can’t put up a website and expect it to magically generate leads for you or expect people to find it without actually doing anything. It doesn’t work that way. There are tons of websites out there and Google is smart enough to know which websites to show.
You have to put in the effort to show Google that you are relevant. Ranking locally and being a local expert helps your site to rank higher. You can also hire a writer to produce content for you.
Know this…
If there is one thing you can take away – it’s that you need to be consistent. Try out new strategies and don’t give up. Don’t be that person who sets up a website, doesn’t put in the effort and gives up after a month or two because you ‘can’t see results.’
You have to commit and continuously work on it!
Avoid the Newby Mistakes! Do These 3 Things:
1. Focus on Converting Traffic.
Set up a website, if you haven’t already, or tweak your website in a way that helps you get leads. The ultimate reason for having a website is to generate leads. There are tons of online resources that can help yours rank higher in Google, and in turn, increase your site visitors.
2. Promote Your Website.
Promoting your website equates to promoting your business. Promote it offline as well. Let other people know that you exist. You can add ‘Hey, We Buy Houses’ in your email signature.
3. Consistently Post Ads on Craigslist.
If you go to Craigslist, you’ll see a bunch of other people posting different sections of real estate. Take a closer look at their ads and try to do something different. And keep on posting!
Share your BIG lessons with us!
Got any hard-learned lessons, falters, or good ‘ol fashioned mistakes to warn others about? Share below! We’ll take the best ones and write about them in a future post.
