What can REALTORS learn from the many dot com failures we read about every week? More importantly, what can we learn from the
experiences of those that survive?
Many of the myths of the internet have been put to rest, hopefully for good, by the recent dot com failures.
One of the first myths to go was "If you have a clever URL, they will come." Quoted from a 199 article by James J. Cramer,
co-founder of The Street.com ..."Wrong ! People will only come if you interact with them successfully. Nobody surfs the Web for
URLs. If you want traffic, you have to buy traffic thru internet advertising or search engine positioning and you have to interact with that traffic one-on-one once it is in the cyberdoor."
The above statement has two very important elements that deserve closer scrutiny. In regards to the effectiveness of internet advertising, that also has proven to be a myth with many dot coms including NBCi.com citing as a reason for their failure the fact that their advertisers were not getting
sufficient response to their ads and therefore had cut their internet advertising budgets. Search engines however, still
remain the best method of attracting new and highly targeted visitors to web sites.
The second element can not be stressed highly enough, so I am going to capitalize it - "YOU HAVE TO INTERACT WITH THAT TRAFFIC
ONE-ON-ONE"!
Various versions of that statement are the one common thread in the stories of internet survivors. Success is not dependent on the technology used but rather on the quality of personal contact. So why then are many REALTORS rushing to embrace just
the opposite in the form of autoresponders and automated follow up systems? Many REALTORS mistakenly view the internet as a
place where the "numbers game" is played and hope to prosper by setting up automated systems that do it all for them.
One group we can learn from are also agents - travel agents. The demise of travel agents was widely predicted as the technology the internet provides was to have made them
redundant. Why talk to a travel agent when you can do it yourself faster and cheaper on the internet?
In fact, business is great for many travel agents! One reason often cited is that the internet has made the average consumer better educated about travel and allowed agents themselves to aggregate the information customers are looking for and become specialists in specific destinations. Another reason is that the web has extended the market reach of even the smallest of
agencies.
Travel agents were among the earliest adopters of the opportunities the internet provides. Travel agents on the web have an attraction over self booking because they offer one stop shopping and there is accountability - there is someone to call
when things go wrong.
But the biggest attraction is that with an agency CUSTOMERS HAVE REAL PEOPLE ON THE END OF THE LINE TO LISTEN TO AND ANSWER QUESTIONS AND TO MAKE SUGGESTIONS.
There it is again - people interacting with people not with technology. Real estate is a business where a relationship must be created and trust built before a transaction can be had. Use of technology such as autoresponders and automated follow up
systems are very impersonal and not at all what visitors to web sites are looking for. TECHNOLOGY DOESN'T CREATE RELATIONSHIPS,
PEOPLE DO.
For travel agents, the internet has meant a drop in commissions and service fees have successfully been introduced by many
agents to make up for this. Customers have accepted this and are willing to pay the service fees because of the personalized
service they receive.
We can also learn from the experiences of the E-tail sector who have found there is a huge number of e-customers who feel unease
when there is no physical contact with a salesperson. Many of those that have survived have set up systems such a call centers to allow e-customers to interact with sales people and obtain more information from real-live people about products that interest them. Once again, the key element here that determines success is the person-to-person contact and not person-to-technology.
REALTORS can learn from all of this and benefit by personally answering their email often and also by following up with each
lead personally - not using an automated follow up system. Potential clients want to interact with you - not your computer.
Only after personally contacting a prospect and determining that a prospect will not turn into a client any time soon should
an automated follow up system be employed. Regular email newsletters work well as does sending personalized regular market updates using a email merge program. Often such long term prospects who are regularly followed up with will turn into clients several months down the road.
How successful is personal interaction?
HREF="http://www.results-net.com/montreal/">Jean-Claude Rousseau of Montreal sent me a note a few weeks ago which says it all...
"1. On March 27 a prospective seller from Taipei, Taiwan filled my home evaluation form for her condo in Montreal. On April 2
after a few emails and a real evaluation of the unit I took the listing and put it on our MLS system. On April 12 we had an
accepted offer. Finally on April 18 we had a firm deal.
2. On April 9 a prospective seller from Ottawa filled my home evaluation form for his condo in Montreal. On April 14 after 2
emails I met him and got the listing. On April 17 I show the unit to a customer of mine. The same day got an offer, accepted
the same night.
3. On April 4, 2 ladies from Toronto filled my home search form for a condo in Montreal. I showed the properties on April 7 and 21. An offer was taken on April 22, presented and accepted on the April 23.
If some have doubts about the
Results-net real estate system - I don't! If you check your e-mail a minimum of 2 to 3 times a day, and respond fast, success will come.
Three sales inside a month what more do you want? ... Oh yes, an other customer from North Bay, ON. a military prospect, has
filled a home search form, I met him a few days ago and we should visit some properties in the week of May 13. "
Jean-Claude's story really emphasis the benefits of responding quickly - yourself - having an autoresponder do it for you is
not a replacement. From there your success will be in direct proportion to your skills at building a relationship with the prospect. Jean-Claude obviously has the necessary skills!
Technology can be a wonderful tool if used to enhance personal service and not to replace it. Take advantage of the experiences
of the dot coms that are surviving and offer your web site visitors personalized service - and reap the benefits!
[This message has been edited by doug (edited 08-02-2003).]
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