How many of your best prospects are you losing?

Did you know that you are probably losing some of your best prospects to the competition every month because of the Internet?

It's true.  As a successful real estate agent you have a 'sphere of influence' of several hundred people, all of whom are potential clients when they decide to buy or sell real estate.  At least 90% of them now have email and access to the Internet, and most of them now use the Internet as a source of information when they have a question about anything from medical prescriptions to mortgage rates.

In the Sacramento area alone there are now about 12,000 of your competitors who have web sites designed to snag your prospects and clients if they venture onto the Internet (and this figure is growing daily).  If your potential customer goes on the Internet to find out information, the odds are that they will not be using your site...UNLESS YOU HAVE TAUGHT THEM TO DO SO!

Additionally, your prospects and sphere of influence are receiving email solicitations every day offering them real estate related services, and that includes links to your competitors' web sites.  All your prospect has to do is to click on the link to satisfy their curiosity and, BINGO,  your competition has them on THEIR web site.

What can you do?

You've spent a great deal of time and money for a web site that is filled with outstanding pages to help your prospects gather information about homes, the community, financing, lifestyle, etc.  BUT YOUR PROSPECTS DON'T KNOW THAT UNLESS YOU HAMMER IT INTO THEM!  You have a terrific sales tool in your web site but, like any tool, it does no good until you begin to use it.

Here's what it takes to start using that tool effectively:

• Put on your 'prospect shoes' and take a careful stroll through your site so you know it like the back of your hand.  Look at it with 'prospect eyes' and find out how profoundly useful (or, ahem, how useless) your site can be to your prospect.
• Start SELLING your site.  Let people know how useful it is and how user friendly it is and how they can find whatever they're looking for there.  Isn't it a lot easier to go to your site than to try to sift through those other 3,000 sites?
• Collect the email addresses of ALL of your sphere--perhaps call them to touch bases, get their email and tell them personally about what a wonderful site you have put together for them.  Let them know that you will be contacting them by email and that you will send them a link to the site with every email that you do send.
• Learn about how to compose and send well-formatted, personalized email messages to your entire mailing list.  Get help if you're not comfortable with this. 
• Send useful, interesting information on a regular basis to your mailing list.  Remind them of the terrific features just waiting for them 24 hours a day, 7 days a week on your web site.
• Include a sales pitch for your site in your print advertising--not just a web address but list the features so that a prospect will think "I've got to see this".  For instance: "To get complete details on this home including a 360 degree virtual tour, plus information on the neighborhood, lifestyle, schools, recreation, employers, community service, fixing up your home and much more, visit our site at http://www.domain.com."  or "We now have a complete, up-to-date database of active listings in San Diego and you can have daily email updates if you wish.  No 'sign-up' is necessary"

You know how to sell.  Just do it!

Teach your sphere to go to your site and you won't lose prospects you will gain them.