webinars

By Builders Digital Experience

84 percent of today’s home buyers contact a real estate agent when starting their home search and according to the National Association of Realtors, 63 percent of new home buyers are represented by a Realtor®.  With such a large percentage of homes being purchased with the help of an agent, it is important to have a good relationship with the agents in your area.

BDX recently conducted research that shows that 50 percent of agents prefer to sell new homes! This is a HUGE opportunity. While many of these agents understand the benefits of a new home, they don’t always feel comfortable with the new home process.  Help agents get comfortable with the process of new home sales by providing training materials that not only highlight the features of your home and neighborhood but also set expectations for the sales process so agents are familiar with your procedures.

Keeping your website information current is also extremely important.  This is generally the first impression agents and buyers will have of your company, communities and homes.  Having outdated information may force an agent to overlook you even if your products are great.  Including information specifically for agents such as your commission structure and your registration policy is also helpful.

In addition to maintaining an engaging website, expand your exposure by making sure your homes are listed on New Home Source Professional, where your communities are featured for agents to search and share with their buyers.  This agent facing site is designed to help agents sell new homes and showcase all of your new home advantages.

Another way to keep agents informed of your inventory and consumer promotions is by sending e-blasts.  One thing to keep in mind when creating content for your e-blasts is that 89 percent of  agents think consumer promotions are very important when they are putting together recommendations for a buyer; so be sure to include them.  And remember, especially in large markets, agents can receive hundreds of emails a day from builders promoting their homes so instead of sending blasts daily, try sending weekly or bi-weekly emails that are concise and have a singular focus. If you’d like help with your emails to agents, click here.

Additionally, having agent only events in your communities is a great way of targeting your best prospects.  Exclusive events, like a broker’s open, can drive excitement while making a memorable impression of you and your brand and making it more likely for an agent to refer one of your homes to their clients.

It is important that we as builders give agents the tools they need to sell more new homes.  In order to ensure good referrals and repeat business in the future, we must establish and maintain long term collaborative relationships.  What are you doing to make the real estate agent connection?

 

 

By Builders Digital Experience

The internet has become the first place to stop when starting research for a new purchase, especially when shopping for a new home.  As you may know, 9 out of 10 home buyers will begin the search for their next home online; making a builder’s website as important as their model home.  You wouldn’t want to miss out on a potential lead or client just because they didn’t think your site was engaging enough, right?  With the home building market looking up, the competition is tough and you must stand out in the crowd.  Here are four categories you should consider to ensure your website is attractive to buyers:

Design – Is your site attention grabbing?  Your website is often the first impression a buyer will have with your company, so make sure it properly reflects your brand.  The site should be well organized, free of clutter, appealing to prospective customers and easy to understand.

Layout – Think about how you want your information organized and compare that to how it is currently set up.  Easy navigation is key to a good site.  You don’t want customers getting frustrated because they can’t find your floor plans or photo galleries.  Your company information, products and/or services should be visible and easy to understand.  Be sure to have links on each page to navigate from your home page to other important pages you want visitors to see.

Content – This is one of the most important categories as you should be constantly updating information to make sure it is current and accurate.  Posting new images and information on your homes and communities keeps potential buyers engaged and continues to drive traffic to your site.  Renderings and photos of the home, community and amenities allow buyers to imagine what it would be like to live there.

Website Speed – We live in a fast paced environment where people have little patience for delays and they expect the same for websites.  A potential buyer is not going to wait around for your content to load; more than likely they will get bored and move on to your competitor that may better meet their needs.  More and more people shop and browse the internet from their smartphones; not having a mobile presence could have a negative impact your business.  Consider our  website platform for tablet and mobile devices.

A good website is important to attract, engage and sell homes.  Differentiate yourself from the competition by using video, interactive floor plans and photography to bring your homes to life and create a welcoming visual sense of place for home buyers.  Our experienced team is ready to work with you to showcase your homes and communities.   For more information on the variety of products we offer, visit the BDX website.

To learn more about creating a visual sense of place for home buyers, register for BDX’s free webinar on April 10.

Mike-Blake-Internet-LeadsFrom Mike Blake, The Mike Blake Group

We know that nearly every home buyer is using the Internet in their buying process and in 2013, “best in class” builder organizations will attribute 25-30% of their net sales to direct Internet leads.

Best-in class performers realize that to be successful requires a paradigm shift.  Previously, the purpose of building organization marketing departments was to drive leads to model sales centers.

This made sense because builders controlled the information prospects needed to buy a home, which also allowed salespeople to maintain control of the sales process.  The basic paradigm was “I’ll give you the home information you need in exchange for your buying criteria”.

Today’s best-in class builders realize that they no longer have exclusive control of the information.  In fact, almost all information like, community, school, tax, planning and zoning, home design, home features, etc. is now easily accessible on the Internet.

This shift in information control gives prospects greater control of the sales process.  Potential homebuyers are exercising that control by moving further down the buying cycle before ever reaching out and contacting an onsite salesperson.  As a consequence, salespeople are left in the dark many times up until the point the prospect is ready to purchase.  The end result is on-site salespeople have less leverage to obtain the buying criteria and are in a weakened position to negotiate a purchase.

Best-in class builders now realize that in order to regain influence they need to reach prospective customers earlier in the buying process, while they are still in the “research” phase of the buying cycle.

They are quickly learning that to be successful requires becoming as “prospect focused” as they are “customer focused”. Best-in class builders understand that Internet leads regardless of the source are the lifeblood of the company.

These builders soon recognize that onsite salespeople are not the best suited to manage Internet leads.  They rightly have come to the conclusion that the face-to-face selling process is significantly different from the process required to convert Internet leads.  In essence, it is a difference in mentality.  On-site sales people are “hunters” versus online sales people are “farmers”.

In conclusion, to be one of the best at converting Internet leads, become hyper prospect focused and hire dedicated and highly trained Internet sales staff.  Lastly, develop efficient processes to effectively perform these four basic functions; lead generation, lead capture, lead dialogue and lead management.

To hear more from Mike about managing Internet leads, join him for a webinar on March 28th. Click here to register.

 

Mike Blake

The Mike Blake Group

www.mikeblakegroup.com

“Inspiring Top Performers”

mikeblake@ultimatesalesdriver.com

A SocialMediaToday survey discovered that 65% of marketers plan to reallocate advertising spending from TV to online video this year. With more than 25% saying that online and mobile video are the 2 platforms that will have the largest spend increases in the next two years.

For the past two weeks, we have been showcasing different ideas to help you use video to sell more homes.  Yesterday we focused on Video As Sales Material and today we’re looking at creating Video Webisodes.

IDEA #8: Create Video Webisodes

We we say “video webisode” we’re talking about creating video that’s published or produced in regular installments — as a series. Webisodes are a great way to engage your buyers. As they stay tuned for more it creates word-of-mouth and buzz around your company.  Some additional advantages include:

  • Capture audience that are more emotionally invested
  • Create additional networking with social medias relating to your webisodes
  • Increase web traffic with loyal viewers coming back
  • Create a story that really depicts all the benefits of your company

Here is a great example of “outside the box” video — producing a video webisode for each community.  All are about living the urban lifestyle!

 

 

Video marketing is all about representing your brand in new and attractive ways.  Creating an eye-catching video series is only a couple of steps away.  Learn how BDX can help you create affordable, high quality webisode videos. Click here to check out our interactive brochure or email us today.

When:
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
11:00 AM – 12:00 PM CST

Register Here.

“We get leads but they just don’t seem to be very good?” How many times have you heard that from your sales team? Low lead conversion is usually the symptom and not the actual problem.

Surveys have revealed that only about 3% of sales executives are following up appropriately with their online leads.

This essential hands-on workshop provides an easy-to-follow roadmap leading to a successful Lead Management Program that will help you attract and convert more prospects into qualified buyers and explode your sales goals.

Learning Outcomes:

  • The latest homebuyer statistics and shopping behaviors.
  • Learn about the online sales process.
  • Discover ways to engage leads quickly and effectively online.
  • Maximize your lead capture rate by setting appointments from your website.
  • Set appointments that convert 30% of the time.
  • Mike’s top tech tool that guarantees more sales.

Presented by Mike Lyon

Mike Lyon has “real world” knowledge and first-hand experience in the realm of online marketing and sales for homebuilders. He delivers his information from the trenches and draws from his diverse background in online advertising, digital design and internet sales.

With his energetic and entertaining speaking style, Mike has brought to life the topics of internet marketing, sales and technology at events across the country including the past 3 International Builders’ Show.

He is a highly sought after consultant and has contributed to the success of homebuilders and real estate companies all across the nation. He is the bestselling author of Browsers to Buyers: Proven Strategies for Selling New Homes Online and the recently released Social Media Guide for Real Estate

Learn more about Mike at www.doyouconvert.com or follow him on Twitter @mikelyon