Future of Real Estate Marketing » lead-generation

New Product Launched in Collaboration With NAR to Manage Leads & Track Calls

Katie Lance — Wed, 18 May 2011 13:00:27 +0000

I just became aware of a brand new product that will help real estate professionals manage leads and track phone calls.

This new product is the first voice-marketing automation platform specifically tailored to members of the National Association of REALTORS® – it is called Ifbyphone®.

Ifbyphone®, a voice-based marketing automation platform, announced on Monday, the launch of its newest product, Ifbyphone® for REALTORS®.

Why is Ibyphone?

Ifbyphone frees agents and brokers from deskwork by automating voice-based marketing. According to their press release:

“Agents can then use Ifbyphone® for REALTORS® to connect with hot leads faster, optimize marketing spend, and most importantly, close more deals. The product was created in collaboration with NAR and offered through NAR’s REALTOR Benefits® Program.”

Ifbyphone® for REALTORS® is delivered as a suite of software-as-a-service voice applications that includes:

Call tracking
Dynamic inbound call forwarding
Outbound call automation
Virtual call center solutions.

All are easily set up by the broker or agent, freeing up more time with clients and prospects.

“Using Ifbyphone® for REALTORS®, agents can focus on clients and prospects while Ifbyphone is handling the forwarding and tracking of leads,” said Irv Shapiro, CEO and founder of Ifbyphone®. “Real estate agents can spend the majority of their time in the field, responding to those leads, managing customer relations and working toward more sales, while maintaining a nimble virtual office with Ifbyphone®,” he added.

One of Ifbyphone’s powerful marketing tools, SourceTrak™ call tracking, provides agents and brokers access to comprehensive, real-time call reports. The automatically generated reports reveal exactly where marketing efforts are most effective. By tracking lists of unique phone numbers across online media, lawn signs, and print ads, Ifbyphone® records exactly where leads are originating. Agents and brokerages can then use the reports to more efficiently allocate marketing dollars.

Ifbyphone also turns “clickers into callers” by instantaneously calling the listing agent when a prospect submits a Web form. This “call form” then “whispers” to the agent the listing information and where the prospect saw the ad. If the agent is part of a listing team, Ifbyphone can dial each team member in sequence or all at once.

Other exclusive features of Ifbyphone® for REALTORS® include:

Forward calls to an individual agent or to an agent team
Leave client- or listing-specific memos, then review from anywhere
Qualify callers through voice response so the appropriate agent connects with the with the right person
Manage “floor time” remotely and free agents from the office by using an “on call” application with smart forwarding capabilities
Leverage lead measurement and reporting through Ifbyphone’s industry-leading SourceTrak™

The announcement of the new product comes four months after the National Association of REALTORS® invested in Ifbyphone through its strategic investment fund, Second Century Ventures. As part of the arrangement, the National Association of REALTORS® sought to collaborate with Ifbyphone® to develop solutions that enhance voice interactions for its 1.1 million members.

To learn more about Ifbyphone® for REALTORS®, visit the Ifbyphone® website or contact Ifbyphone® directly at (877) 295-5100.

What do you think? Is this a technology that you will use? I’d love your feedback, leave me a comment below!

Written by: Katie Lance, Social Media Director, Inman News, @katielance

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Tip Tuesday: 5 Things Agents Must Do to Generate Leads Online – Farming Using Twitter

Katie Lance — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 19:42:23 +0000

Lead generation using social media and other ‘non-traditional’ sources continues to be a hot topic among agents and brokers. There is a HUGE opportunity for Realtors to start ‘Farming’ online.

If I was an agent, there are a few things I would do ASAP to kick-start my lead generation using Twitter:

1. Take your Twitter campaign seriously. If you were to start a direct mail farming campaign today – how long would it take you to see results? 1 year? 2 years? The same is true for social media. You must be committed to the process to see results. Still not convinced Twitter can make you money? Check out what Dell has done!

2. Search for the type of clients you want to work with! Check out DemandStop – this web site helps agents farm Twitter for local leads. Find locals based on location and keyword relevancy (house hunting, apartments, rent, condos, etc.). You can search your location and connect with real people looking for real estate in real time. Another option is to check out the Advanced Search function on Twitter. Search key words, hashtags, specific words – all within a certain geographic area.

3. Put energy into conversations.

Re-tweet comments of interest. Why? The obvious reason is that you like the info and feel it is worth repeating. The not-so-obvious reason is that when you re-tweet it shows people you reciprocate! Others will start to re-tweet your posts. The re-tweet is PARAMOUNT to your success on Twitter. When you post something – it goes to your couple hundred followers. What if 5 of those people re-tweeted it? And then another 10 re-tweeted it again? Your audience and potential leads grows exponentially.
Respond to all mentions and messages. See who has mentioned you and thank them – every day! Respond to DM’s. Send a quick ‘thank you’ DM to anyone who follows you (but do not send them a slimy spam message!)
Share your lifestyle - be personal, be real. People want to connect with real PEOPLE!

4. Treat Twitter like drip marketing. Tweet about what you are working on: working with new clients, building your referral network, interesting industry info, local market stats that link back to your site or blog (Altos Research is a great option for this.) Plan your tweets out – just like drip marketing using SocialOomph or Hootsuite.

5. Add your Twitter handle to everything with your name on it. Wherever you have your phone number, add your Twitter handle: email signatures, Facebook page, website, blog, listing materials, business cards, and more!

Looking for more info? Check out Tom Ferry’s video from Connect NYC talking about this very subject at Connect. You do have to be a premium member to watch, but this video alone is worth the price!
Have you started generating leads on Twitter? What is working for you? Share your tips and comments below!

Written by: Katie Lance, Marketing Manager, Inman News

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Wanna Buy Some Leads?

Joel Burslem — Wed, 21 May 2008 01:01:25 +0000

Photo by Dave van Hulsteyn

Buying leads always seemed to be one of those murky areas of marketing for me.

Full disclosure: I have never bought a lead, know very little about the process and would probably try and build my business an online business through SEO, blogging, a laser-focused PPC campaign and building a kick ass web site before I ever bought a lead.

But, that said some people have had a lot of success buying leads so I can’t really discount it as a tactic.

And it looks like despite all the pronouncements of the death of lead generation there are definitely some new twists on this old concept – most clearly with the recent launch of Zillow’s Mortgage Marketplace (see Questions About New Zillow Mortgage Marketplace).

Marketplace definitely seems to be the hot buzzword right now since Reply.com has recently relaunched itself as a leads marketplace too.

Now I know I’ve given these guys a hard time in the past (see Reply Needs to Pull Its Head Out) but I actually kind of like this idea.

If I’m looking to find leads I can just go in and bid for them. If I have too many (a problem most would love to have….) I can go and sell them on to others. Right now they are trading leads in the real estate and mortgage sectors, as well as in insurance and automotive too.

The idea that I could potentially monetize any excess leads (generated off this blog for example) to others is especially fascinating.

The one thing I didn’t like about the experience is that, as a buyer, Reply asks for your credit card right up front before you’ve even dived in to the site. I think this is short-sighted quite frankly – I would have loved to go in and at least gotten a snapshot of what I was bidding on before having to input my personal details (and be referred to as a “lead” myself – ugh).

The normal caveats on leads apply here too – I want to see the quality, the freshness and the quantity of the leads before I bite.

Nevertheless, I think the marketplace is an interesting concept and a good direction for Reply to take.

And if they can fix that initial sign-up process, I might even consider buying a lead.

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Is Lead Generation Dead?

Joel Burslem — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 17:43:44 +0000

In a Web 2.0 world, my guess is it’s getting there. You’ve got a younger, savvy generation getting into the market (see Meet the new real estate customer), a more cautious marketplace (burned by the bubble bursting), a wider array of free advertising-supported tools now available for people (Zillow, Trulia, Frontdoor, CyberHomes, etc.) and new ways for agents to connect with consumers directly (blogging, social media marketing). Besides, who wants to be captured and dripped on anyway… it sounds like something the CIA would do.

In any case, from the minds at 1000Watt Consulting, here’s a look at what some real estate consumers might be thinking on the subject.

(h/t Inman News Blog)

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HouseValues Takes a Big Hit

Joel Burslem — Tue, 31 Oct 2006 22:25:41 +0000

John Cook reports that things are looking grim for the lead generator.

posted a net loss of $1.5 million for the quarter. That compared to profits of $4.3 million for the same period last year.

I’m not sure I buy CEO’s explanation that it was all due to market conditions. I’d pin it on evolving online marketing strategies and Realtors and brokers no longer paying for leads.

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