We work with thousands of real estate agents that are all excited about technology, social media, Facebook fan pages and the opportunity that it brings to grow their business. Many are doing it right, but most are looking for help and ideas. I wanted to thank you all for helping us reach 4,000 Facebook fans and for a real estate technology page in an industry that typically has been behind the curve with technology, that’s no small feat! Enjoy and here’s to the next 1,000 fans!

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Top Producer just released(in beta) it’s brand new real estate CRM app for the iPhone and a few select people have it right now including the team at Tech Savvy Agent! Even though it is still in an unreleased beta, it seems to be pretty darn stable.  Something is always better than nothing, especially when that something is free.  With the flood of real estate apps hitting the market it was only a matter of time before Top Producer came through.

Your favorite guys at Tech Savvy Agent got a chance to play around with the app already and it looks awesome.  Take a look at our video to see this new app from Top Producer in action and make sure you watch until the end as we are running a contest and will be attempting to secure some beta’s from Top Producer for you guys.  We want to hear from all of the tech savvy agents out there using the iPhone now to assist in running their real estate business and share with others who are not how it has helped and become a part of your day to day life as a Realtor.  Please post your favorite real estate apps as well so other like-minded agents can take advantage of them too!

Another first from the Tech Savvy Agent team!  Enjoy.

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The team at Tech Savvy Agent gets asked all the time about how Realtors are leveraging Craigslist to generate leads that convert and are consistent/quality.  We had the pleasure recently of meeting Scott Pierce who has worked with major Silicon Valley firms including Oracle, Cisco Systems, Intel, Apple Computer, Applied Materials and more.  Scott is the founder of Listings-to-Leads, a leading provider of lead generation tools for real estate brokers and agents on Craigslist, eFlyers and other online sources. Formerly the Director of Online Marketing at a leading Sotheby’s International  Realty affiliate, Listings-to-Leads was born from the need to generate more leads for agents and brokers using their listings, the number one searched item by online consumers.

Scott put together an awesome explanation of how the system works and has even included data(which is always nice when choosing a lead provider) from some of his current clients that are seeing success.  Please feel free to leave your thoughts on this unique service below or link over and ask Scott directly, but we  must admit that it is definitely a Tech Savvy option!

You Get More Leads & More Listings

with an Online Marketing Funnel, Not a Sieve.

The Online Leader in Lead Generation

Online Lead Generation and Listings are two sides of the same coin. Your listings can help you develop a stronger online lead generation program and having a strong online lead generation program can help you get more listings.

How? It starts with your listings.

According to Google, your listings are what online consumers search for when they go on the Internet searching for real estate. The most common real estate related search terms on the Internet are “Homes for Sale” and the location or “Real Estate for Sale” and the location. In both cases people are searching for LISTINGS!!! Your listings!!

This means that listings are the number one online marketing asset that you have as a Realtor or Broker. And they are also the most cost effective online marketing asset you have.

The Sieves

Most real estate related websites are popular in part because they centralize a lot of listings from all over the country. These websites benefit by getting as many listings as they possibly can on their websites to drive traffic from people searching real estate online.

But these websites do not benefit by just showing people your listings, they benefit by providing online consumers links to other tools and information that they (the online consumers) are looking for like mortgage information, relocation information, community information, etc.

By consolidating as many listings as possible from Realtors and Brokers throughout the country and then providing these value added tools and information, real estate related websites make money by directing online consumers to OTHER agents, brokers and service providers that pay to be featured or otherwise highlighted and linked to.

What does this mean to the Realtor and Broker whose listings are attracting the online consumers to these websites in the first place? It means they are losing a large percentage of the traffic and leads that they could be getting if they were the one providing the other information that they want.

The Funnel

Of all the websites on the Internet, only  Craigslist allows you to post your listing (what the online consumers are searching for) along with a links to the tools and information online consumers also want at YOUR website vs. sending them somewhere else and to someone else!

By providing links to the tools and information that online consumers want around your listing that the online consumer is searching for, you create a funnel that will bring the online consumer to you vs. sending them to someone else like a sieve.

Surround your listing with the tools and information at your website and leverage online consumer interest and generate both website traffic and leads! Create your funnel!

Marketing Funnel Results

What kind of results can you expect with a strong marketing funnel? The results of brokers that have used this approach tell will give you the answer:

A medium sized broker in New Jersey sees the results in the traffic to their website as follows:

1. Craigslist (Listings-to-Leads) – 50.4%

2. Google – 29.4%

3. Yahoo Search – 3.35%

4. Trulia – 3.29%

A small broker in South Carolina see the results of their website traffic explode by using the principal of the online marketing funnel too.

1. Craigslist (Listings-to-Leads) – 47.7%

2. Yahoo! Real Estate – 29.4%

3. Trulia – 8.3%

Brokers that utilize an online marketing funnel vs. a sieve can expect similar results!

Marketing Funnels and Sellers

The more online leads that you funnel to you by providing the listing information they are searching for along with the other tools and information they want, means the more people you communicate with and talk to.

And the more buyers you talk to, the more buyers you get to talk to about your listings!! If you are not the one talking to the online consumer, then you are obviously not going to be able to talk to them about your listings.

This directly impacts the seller and the ability for them to get their property sold!!

First, educate the seller about the fact that it is their property, the listing, that buyers are searching for online. Then show the seller how you are going to surround their listing with links to the tools and information at your website that will not only generate leads to you from people who want more information about real estate in general, but also allow you the ability to talk to more people about the sellers property!

View a video presentation on how to use this principle in your next listing presentation here.

So remember it is your listings that people are searching for on the Internet! Put the tools and information around them that people also want that link back to YOUR website and create an online marketing machine that will help you get more leads and more closings this year!

Listings-to-Leads

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I must say….Smarter Agent has something going here with their mobile MLS listing application which gives agents the ability to give away a branded mobile app for their consumers!  What does this app do and why is it so cool?  Imagine how impressed your clients are going to be when you give them your own iPhone or Blackberry app for them to search listings!!  Actually, this slick device works across almost all mobile phone platforms so the Tech Savvy Agent can give a branded mobile search to almost anyone.  Watch the video below to get more information!

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I had the pleasure of meeting Jonathan Washburn, who is the CEO of ActiveRain, at the 2010 Keller Williams Family Reunion in New Orleans this week.  Jon shared some of his thoughts on how an agent can ease into blogging if they aren’t now.  We also discussed how to feel comfortable within their great community and what agents can expect who attend RainCamp, which is a live event that is coming soon to Denver, after having sold out and received a ton of praise in Seattle, Dallas, San Fransisco and New York City so far.  Enjoy and as always feel free to leave comments or questions below.

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Top Producer drops a bomb on Tech Savvy Agent and gives us an exclusive peek of it’s new features including social media integration within it’s 8i application!  We interviewed Richard McDonald, a Regional manager, to get the scoop on what’s in the pipeline for 8i to keep up with the latest technology trends.  Top Producer 8i already includes the listings and the sold homes around each one of your client’s property within the contact record (see our video on that topic here) and soon you will be able to have direct access to their online life as well!

You can expect Tech Savvy to keep you updated before anyone else, with the latest news from a big player in the Real Estate technology game!  Check out Steve Pacinelli get a few minutes with Richard McDonald before day 3 of the Keller Williams Family Reunion.

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Dot Loop is a brand new paperless management service that allows a busy yet tech savvy real estate agent to keep any and all of their online documents in the cloud behind one domain. Check out my interview with the CEO of this new start up, Austin Allison, as he explains why this makes sense for an agent looking to stay tech savvy and streamline their business! Enjoy.

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Trulia is one of the most visited websites in real estate month in and month out.  Many agents are unsure of the options available to them through Trulia that can help them gain exposure and thus new business.  Check out Darin from the team at Tech Savvy Agent interviewing Rudy Bachraty who is the head of social media for Trulia.  Enjoy.

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The Roman Pavlik group in Miami, Florida are crushing it by leveraging technology to stream line their business and creating work-flows for their clients that make the buying or selling process less stressful. As one of the top teams at Keller Williams, Roman shared with Tech Savvy Agent how he is using Showings.com as well as Top Producer’s Market Snapshot. Enjoy.

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If your email looks boring and isn’t driving traffic to your Real Estate website, then you need to see the stationery designs done by the guys at www.emailstationery.com. Let me just tell you, we were highly impressed. They offer fantastic design options at a reasonable cost (one time FEE!) and it works on virtually any email system from Outlook, Gmail, Yahoo and right back to Top Producer. Email is the most common first point of contact we make with a potential client. What does your current email say about you?  Check out some of our samples below and be sure to watch our interview with Ken to learn more about their product.

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