While researching as I develop my son's site, I've noticed that many of the Craig Proctor-influenced realtors advertise guarantees such as "sell your home within 90 days or I'll pay you $XX" or "if you don't like your home blah blah". How are they able to make these guarantees? Is there any way that a young, just-starting-out realtor whose is barely scraping by financially can also make similar guarantees?

thanks for your insights! Suzanne

Some agents will actually purchase the homes themselves, usually for x% off appraised value. They then turn around and relist them.

Some agents work with investors who are more than happy to purchase a home under appraised value if the numbers work.

As far as a young realtor making those guarantees, that depends on how he words the guarantee (if he is unable to purchase it).

There are guarantees that can be made that are just as powerful (and do not require a huge credit line). 'Your House Sold in 90 Days, Guaranteed or I Pay You $1500' or something like that.

By the way, that site you made is great! Looks really nice! I would have that site more focused on people your son already knows- not the general public.

I would have your son (or you) check out realmarketingpros.com and/or powermarketingcenter.com

They will help in lead generation- which is the name of the game as well as give you a firm grasp on how and why websites pull in leads.

Thanks so much for your compliments and for the info on guarantees. I'll suggest that Craig look into getting an investor to back him up.

He is really struggling financially right now, so there's no way he can go with one of the paid lead generation systems. I'm setting up his site so that it will cost him absolutely nothing (not even hosting since it's on my hosting account.)

I was heavily involved with development of RealTSolutions's system from the ground up a few years ago and designed all their templates that were used on about 1000 realtor sites before the company was sold to InteliTouch and went to H*ll in a handbasket. So, I'm very familiar with the powerful capabilities of a database-driven system of that nature. However, I'm a graphic designer, not a database programmer, so I lack the skills necessary to create something like that for Craig. However, I'm open to suggestions about any techniques within my capability that I can use to help Craig.

I know from my personal experience as a whitewater boater and kayaking and canoeing instructor that the line "when you hear the mountains calling you home, call Craig" will have a powerful emotional appeal to Craig's audience. That lifestyle quickly leads to a really poweful sense of displacement, so bad that driving back to the city on Sunday night is almost literally painful.

I've been thinking of ways he could offer kayaking along with house shopping, but have to make sure that he doesn't get into a competitive situation with the kayak school that he still teaches for part time. (They are also my web design clients, so I have to be doubly careful!) He could offer paddling tips and perhaps a paddling-oriented newsletter. What else? Again, I'm open to suggestions and welcome new ideas!

Thanks againn for your time and advice.
Suzanne

No problem!

Starting out with limited cash is tough, but doable. My first 2 closings came within a month of my license and closed 2 days apart. I lucked out in that I had friends who were ready to buy.

If I could do it all over, I would save up more and do alot more research on the business. There are alot of people who will tell you that you cannot survive without spending thousands of dollars on marketing- it just isnt true. Your son will find out that there are hundreds of people out there after his money- so make sure you reseach before investing into anything (stay away from annual contracts as well).

For $50 a month powermarketingcenter.com will give your son the tools he needs to generate his own leads. (Not sure if you misunderstood in my last post- it it not like a housevalues.com site where you pay for leads, they give you the tools to do it yourself). He will also have access to a marketing community lead by like minded agents who really do help each other. Email Brian and he would be happy to walk your son through everything they have to offer. (Best money I have spent by far and I would recommend it to anyone- awesome support and you really cannot beat the price).

If I were him I would talk to his kayaking employer and set up some type of co-advertising. While you would have to check you specific laws on this- he could buy a kayak for clients who use him (or a gift card of some sort). Kayak company would be happy, your son would start building his business. Might be nice to offer kayak lessons for the entire family when they purchase a home.

There are alot of free ways to generate business-open houses, floor time, etc. It is the slowest way to build a business- but it is free! Just make sure before spending a dime, you do the research.