RealTown's RealTalk

Regarding Open House Pennants - while these are not single pennants for your open house signs, you can get open house pennants from the Houston Association of Realtors.  The come in two color and multicolor versions. 

Pat Hallesy, ABR, GRI, e-PRO
Associate Broker
Keller Williams Realty
Fredericksburg VA

licensed in VA

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"Floor time hardly ever works due to the fact a prospective buyer with a question of a property would prefer to find the answers on the internet rather than call the office."

I guess that really depends where you are. I work out of the Coldwell Banker office located in the village of Del Mar - we get lots of great walk-ins.  Some days, it's dead, sometimes it's busy.  It's a numbers game.  And, of course, like any lead, it has to be worked, massaged, and still, only a small percentage result in a sale, but I know everyone in our office considers floor time a priviledge and wouldn't miss it for anything...

Eva Meier, PhD,e-Pro, ABR

www.DreamHomesByTheBeach.com

Visit my blog at www.DelMarCaliforniaRealEstateSearch.com

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This is a very helpful thread that I've just read, having recently returned from vacation.  For a guy who spent the early part of his career in the print communications industry (newspapers, magazines, advertising agency biz), virtually of of my lead generations efforts are online these days.  And of all the online tools you can possibly use, the single best that I've found is the non-branded, stand-alone IDX site that's driven by Pay Per Click advertising on Google and Yahoo.

I've mentioned my IDX site previously: www.Search4PA.com.  It's been so successful that my broker (whom I've partnered with) and I have actually turned off our PPC campaign because we have way too many buyer leads and simply can't handle any more.  So I'll work the 821 viable leads I've accumulated over the past year (not counting the 300 or so leads I've already discarded as worthless), figuring that I should be able to close at least one each month for many months to come.

There are several vendors who can create a non-branded, stand-alone IDX site for you.  Most of these sites are relatively expensive to maintain, because not only must you pay to keep them updated with daily data feeds from your MLS, but they only work when you advertise them on the major search engines.  That's the PPC portion of the budget.  But they have the ability to capture leads and make it relatively easy to convert those leads.

For example, my site's back office lets me see -- in real time -- every listing a buyer clicks on the moment they click on it.  So, when I contact a lead, I know exactly what they've been looking at.  I know their price range, favorite neighborhoods, type of home -- literally everything about their search.  Because I'm armed with so much information about them, I'm better able to discuss their needs and get to the heart of being able to help them much faster and without having to ask as many intrusive questions as most agents must ask.  And, my site automatically emails listings that match a buyer's search criteria, without me having to lift a finger and set up a search in Trend (my MLS) -- and without the buyer having to specifically sign up for an IDX-based or VOW-based home search.

If you'd like to learn more about the stand-alone IDX site concept, including pricing, feel free to contact me.  My direct line is 800-890-9509.  Not only am I a Realtor actively selling homes, but I'm also a partner in a consulting company that brings agents & brokers who need to generate serious leads together with the companies that develop these kinds of sites.  I have no ownership in any company whose products I resell, although I do receive a sales commission if you buy the product through my consulting group.

Having stated my disclaimer, here are three of the very best companies that can do for your business what they've done for mine:

Tiger Lead Solutions.  www.TigerLead.com.  Tiger is the vendor that created my site, and I believe their back office is the very best available.  But it's also designed for techies like me who love the bells & whistles.  It's also the most expensive site, and it's sold mostly to small teams of anywhere from 2 or 3 agents up to entire offices.  Tiger has about 110 sites up and running across the USA, and they offer geographic exclusivity.

Speed-Lead.  www.Speed-Lead.com.  Speed-Lead is a slightly watered down version of Tiger, and it's a lot less expensive.  Their back office is far less sophisticated, and it's designed for agents who simply want to receive the leads, let the leads conduct their own home searches, and use their own contact management program to work the leads.  One example of a Speed-Lead site is: www.HomesOfferedOnline.com.

Diverse Solutions.  www.DiverseSolutions.com.  Similar in pricing to Speed-Lead, but with Tiger's level of sophistication, this is a vendor that offers a high tech, high touch program.  While I'm not quite as familiar with its sites as those of Tiger or Speed-Lead, I'm nevertheless impressed with what I've seen so far from them.  One example of their sites is: www.PhoenixRealEstateSearchSite.com.

I hope this information proves helpful if you're seeking to develop a stand-alone IDX site that will bring you numerous leads.  And please don't hesitate to ask me anything about how and why these kinds of sites work so very well.