Here below is my take on a possible action plan for any mid to large sized real estate brokerage that would like to increase local market share by drastically enhancing its brand visibility and recruiting more agents to its team.
At the core of this plan is the creation of a company standard “Agent Lead Generation Package.”
The thinking here is that as the brokerage works to serve (and mandate) the lead generation efforts of its agents, it’ll concurrently establish it’s standing as the most omnipresent, technically progressive, office in its market area.
Broker Market Domination Action Plan
- Establish a wide multi-author, wordpress based blogsite designed to serve as the cornerstone of your overall lead generation system. This site will double as a regional web based “newspaper” of sorts and will likely have eventual value as such. Key components of this site should include a video gallery page, idx integration, an evolvoing google map and individual agent pages that stream agent created content and feature unique lead capture offers for each agent.
- Establish Company Social Media Profiles – A Facebook page, Twitter account, and Youtube account. Set them each to automatically interact with the main site, with new content being syndicated and shared between all components. Any content posted to the main site will land on Facebook and Twitter, with links calling eyeballs there back to the main site. Any videos uploaded to Youtube will land on the video gallery page and if properly titled and tagged in Youtube they should provide a stream of traffic for years to come.
- Establish a Content Creation Schedule for Each Member of the Team. Make it a company mandate that everyone must contribute to the site on a regular basis. This includes ownership, management, administrative staff, and all agent partners. Assign each team member a themed piece of content that they are responsible for on a weekly basis. Figure out a way to punish those who don’t comply, and to reward those who do. Example – You could charge each agent who doesn’t contribute content a $50 penalty that will be used to hire a freelance writer to create some content instead.
- Manage the Content – Someone will have to monitor all content to make sure it is in compliance with local licensing regulations. It’s probably a good idea for the Broker of Record to commit to reading all content on a daily basis. This will not only take care of compliance, it’ll also keep this broker in tune to what his/her team is up to. It will also make great sense to hire someone to review and tweak each new piece of content for on-page seo. Ideally this would be someone internal to the company who understands the local marketplace, but it can also be someone hired externally with experience working on real estate website seo.
- Create The Company’s “Agent Lead Generation Package” – This package will do a great deal to both retain and help attract new agents to the company. As part of the package provide each agent with: 1. A Niche Focused Blog Page within the main company site, 2. The ability to blog text, photos, and video directly into the site via email either from computer or phone, 3. Assistance setting up a Facebook Profile, Twitter Account, Youtube Account, and Linked In Profiles if needed. 4. An individual niche specific content creation schedule (as mentioned above. ) 5. Automatic syndication of agent created content to all of their social profiles 6. Automatic marketing services as part of the Company’s core Listing Servicing System
- Create a Blanket Listing Servicing System – For each company listing, commit to executing a series of marketing tasks. Executing these tasks properly will: 1. Generate More Buyer Leads. 2. Make it Easier for Company Agents to Justify Price Reductions (thus ensuring a lower occurrence of expireds) 3. Give Company Agents a Competitive Advantage In Listing Appointments 4. Drastically expand your brand visibility locally.
EXAMPLE OF A COMPANY WIDE LISTING SERVICING SYSTEM THAT MIGHT WORK – Each Listing Gets: A Single Property Website with Unique Street Address Domain Name, A (Hip, Not Cheesy) Photo Based Video Slideshow Uploaded to Youtube, Syndication to all the big National Real Estate Search Portals, A Blog Post about the property on the main company site, a Facebook Ad with at least 10,000 impressions for the property, rotating appearances within the overall company Google Adwords and Bing campaigns, a weekly Craig’s List post, and syndication to the company’s social media profiles.
- Recruiting– Create a separate company recruiting site. This site should be attached to a content creation plan that regularly touts the existence of the all of the stuff above, especially the Agent Lead Generation Package. The recruiting site should also bribe prospective recruits to receive the monthly recruiting blog E-newsletter. For example, you might offer the have the chance to win a free piece of juicy technology that the company provides on a monthly or quarterly basis. (Such as: An Iphone, Laptop, or perhaps a gift certificate for some paid search advertisting on Google/Facebok)
- Maintain The Progressive Culture
- In House Tech Support – Of course implementation of all this might require the creation of another staff position or perhaps reshuffling of existing staff duties. But if you can find a way to provide all of the above while providing company agents regular access to unlimited in house tech support, you could see a healthy ROI. Consider how many of your current agents aren’t doing an extra deal every year because of some very minor tech issue such as the inability to configure pop email on their phone.
– Hold a weekly company wide lead generation webinar. This webinar can start with a new lead generation tip for agents and conclude with an open question and answer session where the agents can get help with any ongoing tech issues they are having. You can also invite prospective recruits (subscribers to the recruiting blog) to this webinar as a way to deepen the relationship. Company’s like KW are already doing this by inviting folks to in house meetings.. why not expand the reach by employing webinars!
Expected Outcomes
HOW EXPENSIVE WILL THIS ALL BE?
Yeah, Expensive. But if executed properly, ROI will be generous. And of course, if you don’t act on a similar plan soon, one of your competitors will. And playing catch-up will be much more expensive than getting a jump on the herd…
So, What’s Missing
So.. what’s missing? 🙂
David Harris says:
Nice post Ryan. Are you suggesting that brokers “build” versus “buy” or maybe trying to help vendors develop a packaged solution that can deliver results?
David
December 3, 2009 — 1:01 pm
Tom Vanderwell says:
Ryan,
Thanks for not making me the only one throwing content up. There’s been a lot that’s been making me mad, but I’m glad you broke up the “mix.”
Tom
December 3, 2009 — 1:26 pm
Ryan Hartman says:
David –
I say brokers should be thinking “build an asset” all the way.
Not sure this can be packaged as software, or delivered by one vendor alone. Rather brokers should probably be thinking about where they can find the closest real estate technologist to help implement it (before all the good ones are tied up 🙂
December 3, 2009 — 1:31 pm
Ryan Hartman says:
Tom,
No problem – wanna do a bhb content monopolization post duel? 🙂
December 3, 2009 — 1:34 pm
Tom Sturm says:
Ryan, great article. and thanks for adding more to my future broker site to-do list! it’s exactly where i want to go with our 2nd homes market niche on Norris Lake, TN.
December 3, 2009 — 2:20 pm
Mark Madsen says:
Ryan –
I’ve got 9 MU to MU city real estate blogs launching shortly, but with a few more bells and whistles than you laid out, as well as a slightly different business model / execution.
I’m sure my partners will be happy to see your post reinforcing the fact that we’re on the right path.
Thanks for putting this together. Let’s talk soon, I’d love to get you in on the project somehow.
mm
December 3, 2009 — 5:18 pm
Dustin Dempsey says:
Nice post, good insight and plan of action on what to do.
Being both a Realtor and a WordPress developer, I can agree with your article whole-heartedly.
December 3, 2009 — 7:09 pm
Greg Swann says:
Dustin: I clicked through to your site from the link. (Attn: Pleasantville Foreclosure Bargains and other similarly-named visitors: This is how it’s done.) Those are some slick web sites.
December 3, 2009 — 7:30 pm
Derek Egeberg says:
Ryan,
Thank you for taking the time to paint the vision.
Good article!
Derek
December 3, 2009 — 8:09 pm
Sean Purcell says:
Lots of great ideas here Ryan, thanks; but I have one question. (This is not a flippant question – think about what I’m asking): “From a broker’s perspective, if I implemented this plan, why would I want agents?”
December 4, 2009 — 12:51 am
Robert Worthington says:
Ryanm you are a stud. Could I add sticking to the basics. For example, the Realtor who talks to the most people usually wins…those kinds of basics. Continue working expireds ect.
December 4, 2009 — 6:48 am
Ryan Hartman says:
Sean,
I see what your saying, and maybe for the smaller office or team leader, DIY would make more sense here.
But for me the magic acronym is “ACC”. Agent Created Content! Think 50 agents, each creating at least one post per week on a site that you own. And consider that each of these posts will show up in the facebook/twitter streams of each agent, each with x number of friends.
A mid to large sized brokerage could conceivably make millions of micro-touches in a years time via the inevitable long tail exposure and social media syndication alone.
So for the broker we have:
1. An incredible retention hook – a way to help agents help themselves generate leads very inexpensively.
2. The best listing servicing package in town. Listings beget… everything.
3. A sound recruiting strategy that employs fundamental web marketing list building to potentially touch pretty much every agent in your marketplace.
4. And a number of other things, (I could go on for a while,) but most importantly….
5. ACC! – 50 agents, 1 post/week, for 1 Year. What’s the traffic going to be like on a site with this much local content? How about the potential ad revenue?
When brokers start leveraging ACC to turn their websites into revenue generating “assets”, a lot of good will follow – company growth, added cashflow, a magnification of the resale value of the brokerage itself….
I just googled San Diego Real Estate – How much would someone pay to knock Trulia off of the #1 spot? Think a few folks might be interested in making a bid?
[Hmm…Prucal’s down somewhere around #9. Don, if you’re out there, tell mgmt that if they’re willing to drink the kool-aid, we can get them to #1 within 180-365… 🙂 ]
December 4, 2009 — 8:29 am
Dustin Dempsey says:
Thanks Greg,
What do you mean by: “(Attn: Pleasantville Foreclosure Bargains and other similarly-named visitors: This is how it’s done.)”
December 4, 2009 — 10:49 am
Greg Swann says:
> What do you mean by: “(Attn: Pleasantville Foreclosure Bargains and other similarly-named visitors: This is how it’s done.)”
We get a lot of link-baiting comments, where people use their keywords as their name. I kill them all — and I say that’s what I’m going to do at the top of the comment form, but some people can’t catch a clue. Not implying that you were trolling for business, but your comment was interesting enough drive me to your site. That’s good marketing.
December 4, 2009 — 10:53 am
Sean Purcell says:
Ryan,
I get what you’re saying. After many conversations with the Bawldguy I had a similar, much more rudimentary idea (well, similar the way a thin piece of beef jerky is similar to filet mignon) and referenced The Ultimate Cat Blog. Here’s the problem: once you’ve done all this work you are the rainmaker. You don’t need agents and they won’t help.
Ryan, I work with a lot of agents out here. My USP involves reciprocity: my passion and marketing for their loans. I’ve got a dozen offices I talk to regularly, I speak weekly to a large group of agents from throughout the county, I’ve got half a dozen offices where I directly coach the agents in marketing and I’m about to kick-off a 12 month marketing/motivational program with small groups of broker chosen agents in four different offices. In all of that interaction, if I find two agents who will write weekly (out of an office of 50-100) I am pleasantly surprised.
I’m not knocking your idea. I’m simply saying combine it with a more rainmaker-centric model. What you’re describing would mesh perfectly with The New Real Estate Model I discussed a while back. It is rainmaker-centric and that’s the direction we should all be heading, in my opinion.
December 4, 2009 — 1:21 pm
Teri Lussier says:
ACC indeed. Ryan, you drive me nuts when you post these ideas. 😉
Again, I’m thinking about this as a single agent. Why would I contribute to my broker’s site when I could do this for myself? Move all the content with me if I move? The broker needs me for this more than I need him.
And I am concerned that as brokerages become more savvy, they will assert themselves within the NAR to begin to define and enforce what agents can and can’t do online. I already see (or maybe intuit is a more accurate term) a shift in how vendors interact online, and with whom they now spend time interacting.
I think your ideas are awesome. But frankly, I also hope that no brokerages do this and that Sean is right, that most agents won’t do it.
December 4, 2009 — 2:28 pm
Dustin Dempsey says:
Greg,
Thanks for the kind words.
Definitely not trolling for business as I’ve currently got too much to handle (A good problem to have). 🙂
Running some similar sites, I know what you’re talking about regarding comment spam. Both captchas and javascript detecting scripts help minimize spam comments on my end.
Multi-users blogs have shown that they are truely good ways to generate traffic, and leads. Even if you’re blogging for someone else, your building up your online presence, and getting your name out there. In the world of WordPress, you can even take your content with you if you decide to depart (I’m sure this is similar with other platforms).
As I said earlier, good post.
Dustin Dempsey
December 4, 2009 — 2:54 pm
Carolyn Gjerde says:
Ryan, if even a smaller boutique brokerage implemented theses ideas, they would see some great results. I’m with a large regional company and know just from the wide range of ages of the agents that to get everyone just to be competent on basics of email for some is a challenge. If a plan like this was not required of all agents, but opened up to as many agents who wanted to participate, a large brokerage would see some great results. Yes, there will be agents who figure out it is better to put the content on their own sites, but just looking at the success of sites like Active Rain indicates there are enough agents who might be willing to contribute to a multi-author company blog and a company wide social media strategy.
December 6, 2009 — 1:19 pm
James Boyer says:
Wow Ryan, do you know how to “A Facebook page, Twitter account, and Youtube account. Set them each to automatically interact with the main site, with new content being syndicated and shared between all components. Any content posted to the main site will land on Facebook and Twitter, with links calling eyeballs there back to the main site. Any videos uploaded to Youtube will land on the video gallery page and if properly titled and tagged in Youtube they should provide a stream of traffic for years to come.”
seems very complicated.
December 6, 2009 — 4:37 pm
Ryan Hartman says:
Sean,
I’m saying that I think any broker (or rainmaker) who’s willing to create a true win/win in order to get valuable agent content –(and links in their agents’ social streams)– can profit beig time.
I’m with you for the most part.
December 7, 2009 — 6:56 am
Ryan Hartman says:
Teri,
If your broker had a pr7 with 1000 unique’s a day, would you do a weekly post on the company blog? Maybe something like “What’s Up At TheBrickRanch This Week?” – With a quick summary of your latest posts and listings?
[Similar to the way I’ve always used AR? 🙂 ]
If there was a brokerage in your town that was seriously committed to this stuff (financially and philosophically), I think more progressive agents like you might be the ones most excited about joining the effort. Sure you wouldn’t give the company site your best stuff, but you could surely benefit from being a contributor?
December 7, 2009 — 7:02 am
Tony Sena says:
This is good stuff. I just had a discussion with our broker about 3 weeks ago to build a site similar to what you described above. I am going to send her this link as it will reinforce what we discussed 🙂
Dustin Dempsey will be building the project 🙂
December 7, 2009 — 10:50 pm
Mark Madsen says:
Greg – Dustin is the man. He is my partner on our city real estate blogs project, as well as myfhablog.com. I sent out an email to all of the other partners referencing this post, so he was basically commenting to show support.
Ryan – got your email, I’ll call you this week.
Tony – Dustin has to finish our project before he can start on yours. lol
Sean – Most agents probably won’t participate by committing to a regular content schedule, but they would upload their listings if it put them directly in front of buyers. The good news is that Tony and I are going to test this model for all of us this year with our network of blogs and agents. Either way, it should be a great discussion to beat up at Unchained.
Teri – Most brokerages won’t do this because of the financial and time commitment. You’re also right about the social media savvy agents keeping their content to themselves, which is why we’re giving our agents ownership over their own blogs, unique URLs and content. Basically, they can walk at any point. However, by unplugging from the main network, they’ll just sacrifice SEO, Traffic, community and continued education.
Carolyn – I think it would be a great idea to open it up. Agents that get busy as a result of their successful blogs end up letting things slide online. But, if you’ve got enough people working together for a common goal on one high traffic platform, then the group’s combined content will help everyone make it through their peaks and valleys. Friends keep friends in the business. btw – I think bloodhoundblog has proven that local competing agents would be willing to contribute on the same site.
December 8, 2009 — 7:19 pm
Karen Brewer says:
GREAT VISION….local firms wont have the bucks…..big firm wont be able to get it together….and agents are used to being FREE AGENTS and wont post regularly or well.Remember content is king and you’d be surprised at how many people cant even write well.
December 8, 2009 — 7:21 pm
Tony Green says:
Great article! Thanks for casting the vision for what a great marketing strategy should look like. We currently have a small office, but have implemented a few of these strategies already and have set a 5 year goal for market domination.
December 9, 2009 — 11:00 pm
Teri L says:
What a difference a week makes.
Tomorrow I’m sitting down with another agent to seriously discuss how to combine forces and strengths, to create a team. Although, I don’t like the word “team” as a traditional real estate team is not exactly what we are going for here. I want a mini-brokerage within a brokerage.
I think we can implement your plan, Ryan, eventually, and it would be a great selling feature to bring in other agents.
So, what’s missing? I think we can make this easier for agents, and I think that will be key to getting content into a single site, from agents with a wide range of abilities. They can email content to me, I’ll put it in the blog myself, with credit to them. Save everyone tons of time. I can edit it, spruce it up a bit, don’t have to teach wp.org, don’t have to wrangle cats- it’s the “if you want it done right…”
If they are not comfortable, or completely suck at writing, they can use utterli.com to record content from their cell phone and I can post that. I’m not certain, but I have reason to believe that google reads utterli content the same as a written post.
Or they can utilize photos or video instead of writing. At the very least, they can become good map-makers.
Breaking each part down into bite-size non-scary chunks will get results quickly, without pain. If you say to agents that they must produce content, then put them on a big learning curve, I think that’s counter-productive at this point. But instead, if you suggest that next time they go to dinner in a geo-farm, take a few pictures of the restaurant and put a marker on a google map, and email the photos and any related links to me- that is doable, fun maybe, and community building.
Find each agent’s strength and build on it. All content has value, and the map-makers will create as much valuable content as the writers. The social butterflies can plunk events into a calendar. Those gonzo video types can offer entertainment and information, and the photographers give us real estate porn. It’s all good.
Except in my area. This will never work in area. 😉
December 11, 2009 — 6:22 am