There are two parts to converting online leads: first is having engaging tools to convert visitors into leads – to capture their information; second is working the leads from the time they engage to the point of sale through a follow up system. You have to have a plan for both!
Converting hits into leads
Let’s address the first part: converting visitors into leads. Gone are the days of the brochure-type website—consumers don’t care about you or your credentials! Instead they want, no, they expect more information and interactivity. A good website is one that’s built to engage your visitors and convert them into leads. In fact, it’s much like staging a home.
You stage a home to make it more inviting and attractive to buyers, and capitalize on the fact that they’ll save time and money by not making the changes themselves. The same is true for your own website. You want them to find your services inviting and attractive, and convey that you will provide them with time and money-saving tools and services to help them in their home search.
As Realtors, we often recommend that our sellers remove the clutter, pack away the family photos, throw on a fresh coat of paint (in a modern color) and accentuate the positive aspects by drawing the prospective buyers to those things. The same concepts apply to your website.
The novelty of websites has worn off so you can’t get away with that busy website with a 50-item navigation menu, 8 different bolded or blinking fonts and colors, and 20 pictures of your dog. I’m not saying personalization is a bad thing, but the reality is today’s consumer is seeking information. If they see that your website doesn’t have what they need, or is difficult to use, they’ll surf to the next site.
Websites shouldn't be an afterthought
For many agents, their website is an afterthought— a necessary evil—and it shows. After all, you’re “not in the technology business, you need to be out there belly-to-belly with your customers.” True, your time on the computer should be focused on moneymaking activities, but don’t let that be an excuse for a poor website, since your website can be one of your most productive and most profitable prospecting tools in your arsenal.
Not only that, but your website is a reflection of your personality and your professional style. Clutter on your website says you’re trying to do too many things at once. It says you lack focus and direction. An outdated graphic design, mismatched colors and old images (uh, em: your college photo) say that you’re not proactive or creative. Your image becomes that 70’s house that the fix-and-flippers are dying to get their hands on at discount rates.
Is that hitting home? Again, think staging. Your website should be designed/staged to sell. It should be modern, clean, and uncluttered with a clear path to the information they are looking for. That way you come across, organized, focused and fresh.
Little time, Big impact
Since you only have a few seconds to capture their attention and get them to click, images are one of the easiest ways to make a huge impact on your conversion rates…it’s like that fresh paint. Your key lead generating tools (those with sign up forms) should always be prominently displayed with a powerful image that tells the story without having to read more than a couple words.
If you provide an IDX search of local properties (with a form to sign up) it should have a picture of a home or a for sale sign with the words Property Search. If you offer free reports, they should also be visual images, telling (in 10 words or less) what they will get when they click.
Now, before you trash all those articles you’ve labored over, there is still a place for them.
Your interior pages, such as dedicated Home Buyers or Home Sellers sections, should be well organized and well thought out. Your objective here is to build up your credibility by providing valuable content to guide them through the buying or selling process. Visual content plays into that, but in this instance, they are added to enhance the story and create a better flow.
Cross marketing formula
Cross marketing within your website is an easy and effective way to increase your conversions. Use this 2x3 formula: every tool (including articles) and every page on your website should promote two other lead-capture features within your site. In addition, each page should have three ways to get to that feature through a combination of links, hyperlinked images and ads.
For example, if you offer a list of the top 20 things first time homebuyers need to know, it should be peppered with opportunities to view properties and to join your newsletter. In this way, you are guiding them through your website without being intrusive. In essence, you’re showing them around and turning on the lights as you go.
Now that you’ve cleared a path for your customers to walk through and removed the distractions, you can turn your attention toward maximizing your search engine efforts.
The right link for the right page
If you are going to spend the money to run ads on Google or Yahoo or any other sites, make sure that your offer tells them exactly the result they will get when they click on the ad. And, more importantly, when they click on the link, make sure it goes to the exact page and place where they can find or sign up for that information.
In a search engine environment, this is absolutely critical because consumers have so many choices of links to click on. So, if your ad teases a free report or a daily email of listings, the link should go directly to the sign up page for that report.
Whether you’re evaluating website providers or building it yourself, these tools will help you develop a more effective strategy for capturing leads. Once that’s in place, you can tackle the next step of developing follow-up systems to nurture those relationships into sales.
About the author
Verl Workman is the national technology speaker/trainer that stands out as #1 when it comes to showing companies and their sales associates how to make money using today’s technology.
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