The Department of Justice’s recent settlement with the National Association of Realtors is beginning to impact the industry : local boards are now required to provide more data! This means Virtual Office Websites (VOWs) and enhanced IDX data, such as “solds.”
Several of our clients have already asked us : how can I benefit by providing so much information to buyers? What is their incentive to work with a realtor if they can freely access this data? Simply put, the paradigm is shifting. The days of restricting access to information are over, and ultimately, those who provide the most information (with lead capture, of course) will be the ones to get the leads.
Your website is bait. But even more, these days, buyers are savvy enough to know that most data they want is out there, somewhere. When it comes time for them choose an agent with whom to work, whom do you think will get their business?
Our most successful clients do 2 things well:
- Provide information, and lots of it, about the neighborhoods they want to sell. This is great for Google, and buyers love it. They have a writeup about the area, and also good data, like home values.
- Use simple, unobtrusive lead capture forms to gather basic information from buyers who want to provide it (such as the one in our IDX product)
We’ve lost count how many clients of ours pay a fortune for a website that provides none of the information that buyers and sellers actually want. They might get some decent Google placement for certain keywords, but the site isn’t “sticky” and buyers don’t come back.
As more data is being made available by local boards of Realtors, the agents who find ways to use it are the ones who will be the most successful in generating Internet leads… so get on board!
