Comments on: Agents: Remove Old Systems That Are Driving Your Customers Crazy

By: PaulD

PaulD — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 01:56:45 +0000

That’s a great situation to be in Robert, and one we should all strive for.

By: Robert Simeon

Robert Simeon — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 01:21:01 +0000

Well said – Paul I agree 100 per cent with you on this. As I have said many times over that we use Domain and REA as secondary to our very own online business – which out performs both.

By: PaulD

PaulD — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 00:42:32 +0000

Nick,
I do not measure success based on the enquiry we get in any way. That is a number that I keep an eye on so that I know where we are going. Our sales have remained relatively constant eventhough the enquiry from REA has reduced substantially, and our enquiry from Domain has all but disappeared. I agree that quality over quantity is everything. My point was, that the huge UB numbers are what REA use to justify their continuing push to extract more and more money from agents, eventhough the enquiry has dropped. We are finding that people turn up to open for inspections in droves, without any prior contact with the office. I’m thinking that it is precisely the quantity AND quality of information that we provide that encourages them to turn up. They already know the house before they get there, and yes, it is all about quality. We have had many examples of people making offers at the OFI, whereas this rarely happened in the past. The other point that I raised is that many agents have no clue as to whether or not their enquiry is up, down or sideways. The trick is to identify where the enquiry is coming from and concentrate on that source.

By: Nick

Nick — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 11:04:01 +0000

PaulD if a agent is measuring their success based on the level of inquiry then they are stuffed.

Inquiry stats don’t sell properties and don’t earn a commission.
Quality over quantity is what matters here.

By: Greg Vincent

Greg Vincent — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 15:58:38 +0000

Thank You Allan. This is exactly the sort of feedback agents need so they can understand how difficult & cumbersome some of their current marketing strategies are for the consumers.

One of the simplest principles of marketing is ” Make it easy for a customer to buy”. Jumping through hoops should be left for the circus.

When someone is about to make one of the most important & emotional buying decisions of their lives it’s important to try to make them feel as special as you can & streamline the process to the best of your ability.

As I mentioned in the article, not calling back simply gives the agency a bad reputation.

One agency I know has a policy that they call back all enquiries within 4 hours (during work hours) & they are doing extremely well in their marketplace.

By: Allan

Allan — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 05:08:24 +0000

As someone who recently purchased my first home I have to say I was totally amazed at the lack of follow up from some agents and how hard it it to get information sometimes.

I agree that as someone on the other side of the fence, looking at realestate.com.au & domain and trying to work out our saturday to view as many properties as possible during a limited time (looking at houses a 90 minute drive from where we lived) I want as much info as possible, detailed description, photos, land size, whether there is a lease in place etc. Waiting for a salesperson to contact me which in some cases was more than a day and sometimes not at all! can get frustrating.

When ive explained my circumstances – a young child, and requisites – a back yard etc and im driving across suburbs like a madman only to get there and see that its a 350sqm block with barely enough room to swing a cat, I feel I have not only wasted my time but potentially missed out on viewing a property that may have fitted the bill and doesnt endear the agent or agency to me. Likewise, making calls & waiting on callbacks only to find out the property wont be suitable is just a waste of both of our time

Something not mentioned in the article which I found annoying was enquiring on a Monday or Tuesday about a property and been told the agent doesnt work today but will be able to get back to me Wednesday!

and lastly, calling up about 8 properties to try and view, only to find 4 of them have been sold can get a little annoying, im sure there is reasons for not updating it on the internet as ‘under contract’ but annoying none the less.

/rant

By: Greg Vincent

Greg Vincent — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 00:07:43 +0000

Paul, Thanks for your insightful statistics. I always find your data from the front line very informative. It’s great to see that you have your finger on the pulse.

Jenni, testing & measuring is so much easier on the web. (as per Robert’s comment).

For your sales meeting I wouldn’t go in suggesting that they change all their ads because you’ll find it extremely difficult to get any agreement with that type of approach. At your sales meeting suggest they trial a form of ‘Split Testing’.

Rather than adopting an across the board change, you could suggest that they try adding more photos & more content on just a few of their existing listings & see what response you get & compare the response you’re getting from the properties with less information.

Also, if you feel the need to have the phones ringing you can always revert some or all of your listings back to the old ad & fewer photos. You could even change the same property from old way to new way once a week if you wanted to. (flexibility is one of the best parts of marketing on the internet).

Hopefully, this might help you to open their minds a bit more that “Less isn’t more”. Less usually means more frustration for buyers PLUS more work for the agents & the receptionist.

PS: Another simple thing you can do to keep your listings looking fresh is change the main photo around from time to time too.

Images catch the eye & if you feature an inside photo, often times people will click open the listing to see what the front of the house looks like. I hope this helps.

PPS: Rachael, Snoop & Craig thanks for your thoughts on this too.

By: snoop

snoop — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 18:40:53 +0000

Intensely annoying
Not posting price on ads.
Agents windows full of sold listings
Junk mail with look what I sold and a mugshot instead of something useful.

By: Jenni

Jenni — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 03:56:06 +0000

Great post!. It is almost impossible for the agents though to let go though. It is now included as a topic for our next office sales meeting. It will be interesting to see what the reponse will be, especially from those agents who have been doing it for 20 years !!!

By: Rachael Lord

Rachael Lord — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 03:37:02 +0000

PaulD interesting information. Thanks for sharing.

Nice post Greg, always look forward to your articles