Getting Your Web Foot in The Door

Focus on Your Objective

Getting one’s foot in the door used to be the objective of door-to-door salesmen and it is still the objective of real estate agents and brokers who want to list and sell real estate. These days, instead of knocking on doors while wearing reinforced shoes, it makes better sense to get your foot in the door with your Website. The process is the same as in days of old but the tools are modern and much less offensive. Here’s how it works.

THE VACUUM CLEANER SALESMAN’S OBJECTIVE

To begin with the vacuum cleaner salesman’s only objective was to interest prospects that had a need for his product. He did not waste time on folks with hardwood floors and he made sure that he came to each door with a compelling offer. Vacuum Cleaner Salesmen used to offer to come in and vacuum the carpet. Many housewives welcomed the chance to have their vacuuming done for them, so the offer worked.

FREE DOES WORK

There are people out there who do not believe that FREE is the most powerful word in advertising but those people are among the misguided in the world. The word itself is enough to get the eye to pause at least long enough to check it out. I frequently get calls from carpet cleaning companies who offer to clean one room free but unfortunately for them I DO have hardwood floors. However I know the offer works with several of my neighbors.

HOW IT WORKS ONLINE

On the Internet getting your foot in the door and keeping it there means that you must get your customers’ attention and then provide them with something of sufficient value to keep them there. What could that something be?

Connect

The door-to-door vacuum cleaner salesman got inside the house with his offer to vacuum the carpet. While vacuuming the carpet he seamlessly went into his sales pitch. Usually he could amaze the woman of the house by showing an inordinate amount of dirt his vacuum pulled up from a carpet that had already been vacuumed that day.

HOW TO AMAZE WITH REAL ESTATE

Your Website is going to have to Amaze your prospects with words and graphics and clever offers. Remember that certain power words such as FREE, WIN, SAVE, URGENT and a few others work to draw attention to your Website and can be used on your home page to pull people in. But how can your prospects SAVE? What can they WIN? And what can you give away FREE on your Website? Those are just a few of the questions we deal with while developing a FREE Custom Web Plan. I’ll be happy to put together a Free Web Plan for you if you visit http://www.sellrealestate.net/FreeWebPlan.asp

ONE MOUSE CLICK TO REJECTION

With words and offers and graphics, the goal for your Website is to get your prospects to agree to one small thing. Agreeing to something small is the most essential step in getting them to agree to something larger later on. Remember, online you are only one mouse-click away from total rejection but on the other hand the people who visit your Website are interested in your services in general or they wouldn’t be there. Whereas the door-to-door salesman had to knock on their door, your Web visitor has knocked on your door so to speak and that makes your marketing that much easier.

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Bingo

Now let’s review what the vacuum cleaner salesman had done so far. Did he walk up to someone’s front door and ask if they wanted to buy a vacuum cleaner? NO! The vacuum cleaner salesman learned from the school of hard knocks that you have got to start small before you can sell big. So, the vacuum cleaner salesman offered to clean the carpet FREE of Charge. That’s how he got his foot in the door and won the right to demonstrate his vacuum.

HOW THIS WORKS ON THE WEB

If you have a Website that makes a very compelling FREE offer or offers to let visitors WIN something valuable you will get a lot of people to take that first small step with you. But what have you gained? Well, you use these strategies to build a powerful Email list with hundreds or even thousands of prospective buyers and sellers. With their permission you can contact them again and again with further items of interest. On the Internet, a good Email database is worth Gold….a lot of Gold. In other words, even if the prospect is not ready to take action immediately, if your Web does a good job for you, you will pick up substantial sales with a well planned and well executed follow up system.

ONLINE – FOLLOW UP IS AUTOMATIC

Well, follow up can be automatic and I cannot think of any reason why a serious agent or broker would want anything less. Follow up can take the form of a good E-Newsletter, Listing Alerts, Just Sold Data and even highly targeted messages geared to specific markets such as first time buyers, FSBOs, investors and more.

ONE STRATEGY SPELLED OUT

Here’s an example of using a Website from Foot in the Door to Listing. Create a Web section offering Free Advertising on your Website for FSBOS. That’s a Free offer and a great foot in the door technique. When a FSBO takes you up on your offer, you call them an offer to include a picture of their house on your Web. This is also Free and an even stronger foot in the door strategy so that you can evaluate the worthiness of the lead. Then, using automated Email keep in touch with the FSBO until you get the listing. Want more ideas like this? Call me toll free at 888-814-5347.