Are you ready to “crack the code” of +30% close ratios? Join myself and Mike Lyon for a Free Webinar compliments of Lasso Data Systems. We will explore proven techniques to get positive sales results regardless of the economy.

We will demonstrate how to make the successful connection between online marketing to onsite sales with a proven formula that is not only pragmatic and ‘doable’, our combination of people, process and technology delivers proven results. Time after time!

Register Now>>

When: Tuesday, September 21st
Who: Mike Lyon and Myers Barnes
Time: 1:00 p.m. EDT / 10:00 a.m. PDT
Duration: 1 hour

Learning Outcomes:

* Successful integration between online & offline sales
* Role of the Online Sales Counselor
* The transition to the Sales Team
* Define the lead follow-up process
* Master a paint-by-numbers sales process
* Double your conversion ratio

All webinar attendees will have a chance to win one of the following:

* Myers Barnes’ new book: New Home Sales in a Nutshell
* Mike Lyon’s new book: Social Media Guide to Real Estate
* A Lasso QuickSTART Sales Subscription (value $1,495)

Register Now>>

E-mail marketing has an incredibly high return on investment because you’re only paying for your recipient list and the creative services used to create the art, copy, and e-mail itself, because there are no printing costs, and because those you are e-mailing have already opted to receive such mailings these people actually want to hear from you and are far more likely to read what you have sent and make contact with you.

Many of you may have already begun to dip your toes into the e-mail marketing game, and have seen the incredible results. Others of you may have tried, but without attaining the response rate you’d hoped for. The keys to effective email marketing are consistency, a strategically developed message, and a website landing page that captures registrations.

Where most builders and developers fail with e-mail marketing is in applying consistency. Simply sending out one e-mail message and expecting hard returns is unlikely to accomplish anything. Think more in terms of a campaign where a new e-mail goes out every two weeks, and possibly more often to promote community-specific events.

And, just as important as applying consistency, your message must be on-target and resonate with your audience. If you understand who the correct buyer is, you can create e-mails that are appropriate for their wants and needs. You also must provide the recipients with some incentive to make contact with you.

Typically, when NDG Communications creates an e-mail campaign, the e-mail provides a link to a "website landing page" that provides the e-mail recipient with a form to register to receive more information in exchange for some reward, possibly to enter for a drawing at an event, or the chance to win some prize. The recipient has an incentive, and you now have a registered (and most likely qualified) lead with full contact details.

Stay tuned for more from real estate advertising & e-marketing expert Tom Nelson of NDG Communications.

What brings traffic? Quality websites that are optimized for search engines to find easily. But beyond that, the second biggest source of traffic is still the most fundamental and traditional type of advertising: Signage. We often make many excuses for why traffic is down, and usually the culprit that sales people point to is "poor signage."

By following some basic rules, we can ensure that we see real returns on our signage investment, ensure that we’re giving sales staff everything they need to get traffic flowing, and remove any room for excuses. If your website is pulling qualified traffic and your signage is too, then the only thing left for salespeople to do is close the deal. No more excuses. Let’s make signage work as hard as possible for us.

THE FUNDAMENTALS OF NEW HOME SALES SIGNAGE:

THE ENTRANCE SIGN:
The entrance sign must be highly visible, easily readable (even at 55mph+), share product type, amenities, phone number, and most importantly, the website address.

MODEL/SALES CENTER SIGN:
The model or sales center sign must include model name (if applicable), hours of operation, phone number, and again, most importantly, the website address.

DIRECTIONALS/BANDITS:
Directional routes should be well mapped out. Directional signs should help buyers find your communities and capturing buyer interest in your property. These signs also let “drive-bys” know there is a home on the market in the neighborhood. The signs should be clear and easy to read; 20×24 is recommended. The routes should be driven every weekend to ensure proper placement of signs.

Stay tuned for the second half of this article from real estate advertising and e-marketing expert Tom Nelson.

As I mentioned last time, with interactive advertising the advertiser now has total control of budget meaning they determine how much they are willing to pay for each click, and how many clicks they will pay for in a pre-determined period.

And, with the fully detailed reports of the campaign’s performance provided by the various ad venues (Google AdWords, AdSense, Realtor.com, etc.) you can now actually see and determine what works and what doesn’t to refine your approach to maximize the return on your online advertising investment.

This is the true advertising revolution: You are now in control. You determine what is spent, where it’s spent, and when to change course to ensure your share of the prospect pie. And you do it armed with hard and accurate information about your results.

Stay tuned for more new home sales insights from real estate e-marketing expert Tom Nelson.

Last time, we talked about the fundamentals of making sure your website is as close to the top of the list as possible for prospect internet searches. Implementing those changes is critical, but the process takes time. And since we know that time is money, and that we have sales goals to meet every month and quarter, let’s discuss what you can do while you’re working on improving your search rankings. If you can’t get to the top of the list organically (that is, without paying for it, by relying on the fundamentals of your website’s content for search engine optimization), you can buy your way to the top, often for a very competitive price, and even with small and limited budget.

One very effective form of internet advertising, Pay-Per-Click (PPC), is flexible, measurable, and highly effective. Providing the campaign is professionally managed PPC advertising can provide an excellent return on investment, enabling you to reach potential customers at the right time, right place, and right cost.

What is "Pay-Per-Click"? When you search for something on google.com, you’ll see both a list of websites in the main column, as well as narrow column of "paid-for" websites in the right-hand column. These are essentially ads for your website that appear based on specific keyword searches. You determine which keywords or keyword phrases are appropriate for your prospects and your property, for example "Waterfront lots in Charles County" or "St. Louis Townhomes."

While it may appear that this approach could be costly, "Pay-Per-Click" is really "Pay-Per-Performance" because you only pay when a user clicks through to your website, rather than paying for each time your ad is displayed. This is a vast improvement over traditional print advertising which relies on the reader actually remembering what she or he read to use later, and cannot prove its effectiveness. Better still, with Pay-Per-Click, you get to actually bid on these search terms or phrases rather than just paying a set fee, and you can control when your ads will appear, as well as control your total budget, you determine how much you will spend in a given time period.

And, because this is interactive advertising, you can now truly see what works, and what doesn’t, so that you can fine-tune your approach over time to maximize your online advertising investment. Then, if your website has a clear and compelling message, the probability of conversion (an online registration) is high, and an in-person visit from the prospect is now much more likely, giving your sales team the opportunity to make personal contact with the prospect.

Stay tuned for the second half of this article for more new home sales insights from real estate e-marketing expert Tom Nelson.

Last time, I gave you some hard facts about the importance of search engine optimization for new home sales websites, like the fact that 84% of homebuyers start their new home search on the internet. So you understand WHY you need to be concerned about making sure search engines rank your website as high as possible. Now, here’s the HOW. Below are some fundamentals you must consider when creating your website in order to help search engines connect you with the right prospects who are searching for new homes.

It is estimated that 47% of all website visits come from direct navigation (that is, a user typing the website address or URL directly into the address navigation box). Therefore, your website’s address or "URL" should be simple and intuitive — as close to the community’s name or brand as possible. The closer your website address to your actual property’s name, the easier it will be for prospects to locate you online and for search engines to connect your website with the right prospects.

A website’s architecture (the pages of content and how they are structured together) and the actual content of the website’s pages themselves have a direct impact on the way search engines interpret the site’s information and determine its relevancy. So, the better your content, the more relevant it is to your prospects, and the fresher it is, the easier it will be for prospects to find your website via search engines. When you update your website often with news, events, and more detailed information, the search engines notice this and will boost your ranking higher so that you can be found more easily. Websites that never change will begin to fall further down the list. The lesson: Stay fresh.

Websites use special "tags" in the actual programming code to help search engines understand the content of your website. The Title Tag is one of the most important factors in achieving high search engine rankings. Limited to 68 characters including spaces, the title tag description is what appears in the clickable link on the search engine results page and is incredibly important in helping your website get better search rankings. Each page in your website can have a separate title tag that describes the page’s content. Remember, the title tag determines what your prospects will see when they’re searching for new homes online and find your website’s listing, and will help them determine whether to click your link, or to skip it and move on. So make sure you take advantage of this simple but most important programming tag to connect with your prospects.

Having other websites link to your website can boost your ranking with some of the search engines and substantially increase the flow of traffic through your site. Just as having new and fresh content regularly added to your website will help improve your ranking, the more links you have between your website and others the more search engine optimization benefit you’ll be able to realize.

There are many, many more methods and strategies for helping your website achieve better search engine results rankings, but the ones we’ve discussed today are among the most fundamental and a good place to start. My company, NDG Communications, has helped countless clients boost their rankings to get more qualified leads, increase registrations, and help establish communities with our effective SEO services and e-marketing capabilities.

Stay tuned for more new home sales insights from real estate e-marketing expert Tom Nelson.

WEBSITE GRADING CHART

URL (short, simple, intuitive) _____/10
Download Time (size of home page) _____/10
Look and Feel (readability) _____/10
Require User to Download Additional Software _____/10
Homepage on One Screen (above the fold) _____/10
Unique Selling Point (USP) or Value Proposition_____/10
Ability to Take Action (Key action points provided)_____/10
Feeling of Wanting More (depth of site)_____/10
Contact Details_____/10
Credential Validation (certifications, associations etc.)_____/10
Statement from Management_____/10
Useful Information_____/10
Level of Interaction_____/10
Use of Valuable Graphics_____/10
Use of Valuable Animation_____/10
Reviews, Testimonials, and Certifications_____/10
Content Presented in Digestible Quantities_____/10
Up-to-Date Information_____/10
Available in Multiple Languages_____/10
Accessibility for the Disabled_____/10
Disclaimers & Terms of Use_____/10
Easily Usable Site Structure/Content_____/10
Useful Title Tags_____/10
Description Meta Tags_____/10
Site Directory/Site Map_____/10
ALT Tags_____/10
Partner & Affiliate Links _____/10

TOTAL____/270

SCORING:

240 points or more: Excellent work; are you one of my clients?

200-240 points: Great effort, but more work is required to drive traffic and sales

100-200 points: Seek Professional Help

Less than 100 Points: Critical Warning—Get Help Fast

Stay tuned for more new home sales insights from real estate e-marketing expert Tom Nelson.

So your website has fresh and relevant content but even the best website in the world will not lead to conversions if prospects never even know about your website.

It is therefore critical to ensure that, when prospective buyers who should be your prospective buyers are searching the web, they find your website. The process of helping your website connect with people you want to find it is called "Search Engine Optimization" often abbreviated as "SEO."

SEO is a set of an ever-evolving set of methods to help your website achieve the highest ranking possible in search engine results. And while the specifics of HOW it’s done can be a bit complicated, the WHY cannot be overstated. Here are some incredible facts: According to Forrester Research, 81% of internet users find websites via search engines. In addition, the first 3 positions in "organic" (that is, non-paid) search engine results are viewed almost 100% of the time, and the 4th organic position was viewed 85% of the time.

In total, 90% of all Internet search engine traffic goes to the top 30 organic search results. And with 84% of homebuyers starting their new home search on the internet, you can see the overwhelming importance of proper Search Engine Optimization in getting prospects to your community.

So, that’s the WHY. Next time we’ll begin to discuss the HOW the specifics of how you can make sure your website has effective content, and is effectively optimized for web search engines to be able to connect you with the right prospects.

Stay tuned for the next part of this article for more new home sales insights from real estate e-marketing expert Tom Nelson.

Real estate advertising and e-marketing expert Tom Nelson shares how website searches are used by prospective homebuyers and how you can make sure your website is as close to the top of their list as possible.

If you haven’t figured it out already, your website is now the most fundamental marketing tool for new home sales, whether you’re a salesperson, builder, or developer. In almost every case, prospects will visit websites based on their google.com searches, long before they ever visit the actual property site. In fact, they’ll most likely decide which properties to visit in person based on their visits to websites.

Recent research tells us that approximately 84% of homebuyers start their new home search on the internet. Their goal in this research process is to shop by elimination—to narrow their search down to just three communities that fit their desires and then make an on-site visit. If your website does not effectively tell your story or resonate with the consumer, you will lose this battle before you ever realized it began. Consumers will not contact you to clarify your message—they will simply eliminate you from consideration. So websites must be carefully crafted and include good and fresh content that is relevant to the prospect’s needs.

Stay tuned for the next part of this article for more new home sales insights from real estate e-marketing expert Tom Nelson.

Many of you will remember Tom from my Sales Manager’s Summit this past June. Tom’s not like most of the other "internet marketing guru" types out there. The difference between those people and Tom is that he will not only tell you WHY you should be doing Internet marketing Tom will actually tell you HOW, with detailed specifics.

So I’ve asked Tom to become a guest contributor to my blog to share with you the latest insights, fundamental wisdom, and real-world techniques for using the internet to boost your sales and reach your goals. I know that if anybody can help us make sense of the new electronic frontier, and help us all get through this challenging time by working smarter, it will be Tom Nelson.

In the following weeks, Tom will be writing the blog, and giving you the strategies that he, as an industry expert, believes we should all be adapting in order to do our absolute best to attract qualified prospects and beat the competition to the punch.

Tom’s a true innovator, and he’s accessible. His company NDG Communications, Inc., has helped builders, developers, and real estate firms of all sizes and locations maximize their marketing investment to reach and exceed sales goals, even in the most challenged of markets. You can check out NDG’s work at www.NDGCommunications.com.

And I guarantee that if you read everything Tom writes in my blog, and follow his advice, you will see a dramatic change in your traffic no matter what the DOW or FED is doing!

Keep Selling, Super Achievers!
MYERS