The number one place Real Estate Agents are spending their marketing dollars is on leads. The average Zillow lead costs around $55 regardless of the quality of the lead. Some Agents are spending as much as 20% of their commission on leads before closing a deal. Lead conversion rates are at an all time low, and here are the reasons why!

1. Every Agent is using the same strategy to generate leads. To many agents are bidding on the same keywords, and buying the same leads. The low availability of high value keywords drives the price up, and the evolution of googles ad platform to sell more leads has driven the value down.
2. Landing pages. While landing pages can generate high quality leads (if marketed correctly), having the same cookie cutter landing page as everyone else will not drive any traffic. Landing pages need to be well developed and unique.
3. Asking for a sale too early. Agents are quick to ask for business straight from the beginning. There was a time where this was an effective approach, but trust in the internet resources has decreased significantly so people are skeptical. Agents need to implement new strategies to build trust before trying to close. Streamlining the trust building process is key!
4. Agents are not using 3D tours and video on landing pages. Pictures no longer get the job done when it comes to generating leads. 65% of internet content is consumed in video format. You have to be apart of that to generate quality leads. There has also been a big shift to 3D tours across a variety of industries to stand out above the the immense amount of video being produced. Agents need to be ahead of this curve.
5. Spending to much time on unqualified leads. Many lead generating sources use pictures that misrepresent the property in order to create “false” interest to simply have leads to sell. When a buyer walks into a property and is disappointed because the marketing material didn’t represent the product well, the sale is nearly impossible to close.  The buyer wasn’t really interested in the property to begin with. It is more effective to market a True 3D version of the property. The end result is leads that are truly interested in the product you are selling.

So what do we do about this? Foster Virtual Properties has developed a system to drive unique leads generated by our immersive content. We make the True 3D tour the base of our marketing collateral. From the 3D tour we create a high value landing page, social media videos and an interactive tour experience. Instead of paying for leads from google AdWords, Zillow, and other traditional sources we use the power of social media to bring fresh buyers and sellers to you. People inherently trust recommendations, share and likes on social media from friends and family. By driving up social media sharing we eliminate the need to spend time building trust. We can also create a limitless number of teaser videos that provide new fresh content everyday to be shared via social media. Most importantly, we create a product that shows your customer what they will see in person. Your lead has had the opportunity to use our tour to navigate the property at their own pace. When they decide to reach out to you for a showing you can feel confident that they are a serious buyer.

I will share more of our lead generation techniques over the next few weeks. In the mean time, take a look at your marketing process. Are you doing the same thing as everyone else? If so, it is time to step out of the box and unleash the power of social media and the True 3D Tour!

– Mic Foster