Agent Support Center

Wednesday, September 27, 2006

Neighborhood Map Search is Now Available

Due to overwhelming demand for neighborhood-based searches, GraphicalData has developed Neighborhood Maps.

Portland Neighborhood Maps are available and can be added to any page on your website.

But wait there is more! Seattle/King County neighborhoods are also available!

Neighborhood maps are a great way for visitors to your website to search for listings in the diverse communities around our region. Neighborhood Maps are available immediately and can be added to any page on your website via your admin center.

View an example of this great new tool on my demo website found at CommercialKitsap.com.

Enjoy!

Monday, September 18, 2006

A, B, Cs of Web Site Promotion

If you might like more traffic to your website, it takes more than just launching a website, "and they will come"...

It actually takes a little bit of work...I want to share some of the ways you can drive more traffic to your site. Some may seem obvious and easy, while others are less obvious and may take a moment of your time. But, all will benefit you in the promotion of your website.

a). Make sure that your office internet coordinator has added your domain name to the online WRE agent roster;

b). Include your domain name (and email) on your business cards, brochures, flyers and any other promotional materials that you might produce;

c). Ensure you have incorporated these same items into your email signature and any email-driven newsletters that you might send out;

d). Do you advertise in Homes and Land, the local newspaper, or other types of printed medium...then be sure and include your website domain name here as well;

e). Whenever there is a newsworthy event, submit it to the local newspapers for inclusion. Often it will get printed...especially if it is community-worthy. Don't forget to include your domain name!

f). Write articles for online newsletters and the like. Show yourself as an authority. Be sure and include your domain name. You can submit to various online entities such as ezinearticles.com and isnare.com;

The ways to promote your site are limited only by your imagination...just remember, by driving folks to your site will give them most of the information they need. All listings...schools...communities...area links...even what nearby homes have sold for and differing types of featured listings that you might have on your site. And a way to contact you!

And remember...include that domain name on everything!

Wednesday, September 13, 2006

Managing Links in Your GD Website

There are a couple of different ways to add links in your GraphicalData website.

One way is to add them in the normal course of events in the HTML Editor. You can view a previously written article on this method.

Another way is to utilize the built-in link feature found in your site.

Easy to do...go to the "Website" section in your admin center. Then in the left column, select "Manage Your Website Links". From here is is pretty self evident that you can add a link, what the link is named, and even a description of the link if you like. This is, in essence, a master list of all your links.

Then, you will need to create a normal page on your site and "shoot over" the "Link List". Then edit your link list that appears. All you need to do "check" each item you want to show on that page. You can actually set up sections if you like for differing content and use more than one "Link List". Throw in a Title between each one with either the Title tool or the HTML Editor, and you are on your way!

You can view an example of this method on Wayne Paulson's site BigWaterProperties.com.

Monday, September 11, 2006

Drip Marketing System

If you're not on the "Drip Marketing" bandwagon you had better figure out how to get on it and enjoy the ride. The number one mistake most agents make when meeting a new customer whether online or in real life is lack of communication. Most agents are trained to get the clients name and phone number.

So now you have a name and phone number what next. The typical salesperson will try the phone number 3 or 4 times then leave a message and if they don't get a call back the consumer is usually put back into the fish bowl. Now by adding drip marketing to your routine your customer is learning more about the person that is trying to get them to respond to left messages. With "Drip Marketing" you can provide in-depth knowledge about your expertise, your background, or whatever you want to share.

Below are the subject lines for a 10 step open house drip campaign that has been very successful for agents whom have chosen to implement it.

  1. Open House Follow-up
  2. Your Future Home
  3. Open Houses
  4. Dynamic Market
  5. Save Time & Effort with Prescreening
  6. Working with me
  7. Real Estate Financing & You
  8. The 21st Century Home Buyer
  9. Location, Location, Location
  10. Thank You

You get to become the local expert whether you actually get the consumer on the phone or not.

*** Guest Article by Allen Benson***

Wednesday, September 06, 2006

Are Internet Leads Different from Other Leads?

Are Internet leads different from other types of leads, such as referrals or floor calls? Should you handle them as you would sign calls? Or like open-house leads? Are they all the same? Or are they different???

The distinction is VERY IMPORTANT and can make the difference between maturing an internet lead vs scaring them off and losing them. An excellent article on this topic is found here.

Learn the difference and change the profitability in your internet business.

Friday, September 01, 2006

GraphicalData now has Google Mapping


GraphicalData has implemented Google's earth aerial mapping as part of the presentation for each listing pulled up on a GD web site.

What does this mean...well, if you pull up a listing in a GD environment, then select the "map" feature button, you have several options. You can view the default "street" level mapping, or select the "neighborhood" level, or the "city" level, or even the "county" level. The new "aerial" level now maps to real virtual earth...cool!

And for Portland and Seattle, another bonus for selected areas...a "parcel map" shows as well!!! Other areas will be phased in on this one as resources permit...

More information for your visitors...more reasons you can use to promote your website...and why folks need to visit. And ultimately more leads for you...

Stay tuned for even more exciting tools coming online...near you...soon!