Crush Your Next Open House with Social Events

Do you still do open houses? I’ve heard mixed reviews lately on their effectiveness, however if promoted the right way they are a great source for buyer leads along with establishing your brand in the neighborhood. It takes more than directional signs and a balloon in the yard to promote an open house.

Have you tried promoting your open houses through your social networks? I’ve got some great tips for you today.

Facebook Events

People spend nearly 7 hours a month on Facebook. Wouldn’t it make sense to promote your open house there?

Facebook Events are a good way to get the word out for your open house. I won’t waste your time explaining how to create a Facebook Event as this article at Mashable has already done an excellent job on that. I will however give you a few tips to help your event be a success.

When you create your event, make sure you do it from your business page. You can share it to your personal network once it’s setup if you like.

Once your event is created, share it! Caution, people are not on Facebook so you can spam them so share your event sparingly. A good rule of thumb is to initially share your event and then send out a reminder when it gets closer to the open house.

If you really want to impress your clients, promote your event with a Facebook ad. This is a less spammy way to get more eyeballs on your open house details.

Google+ Events

Don’t just stop at Facebook, Google+ has event functionality too! They even have tools to help you create beautiful invitations to send out as well.

Good Old Fashioned Check-ins and Updates

Leverage all of your social channels to promote your open house. Send tweets to your followers, send reminders close to the open house on Facebook and Google+ as well.

Pick a central landing page to sent them to. This can be one of your social event pages, Meetup or Eventbrite or the Open House results page on your BoomTown site.

Think outside of the box and try leveraging social media to make your next open house a

5 Ways to Increase Your Drip Email Open Rate

Lead nurturing is an important element in closing more deals from your leads. If you understand the value in lead nurturing and drip marketing, then you probably also know the power of email subject lines. Would you like to increase your open rate? Thought so!

These 5 ideas can really maximize your drip marketing efforts and help you turn more clicks into closings!

1. Monitor your Inbox

One of the best places to find inspiration and see first hand what works is to look at your own inbox. Check your personal and work emails. More than likely you’re marketed to nearly every day.

Pay attention when you’re checking your inbox to what emails you open and why. You can save a lot of time by learning from others. Many of the companies sending you marketing emails have already tested their own subject lines and you can learn from their research.

You’ll notice similarities in the emails you open. There are some time tested methods that are proven to increase email open rates. The trick is to train your mind to take notice of the emails you’re personally opening and why. I’ve found a few genius ideas by doing this!

2. Who’s it From?

It’s no secret that people open emails from trusted sources. Email spam, viruses etc. have subconsciously trained us to only open emails from those we trust.

As a sales professional, you know the importance of building relationships. Lead nurturing is a good opportunity to start the beginning stages of building these vital relationships. One way to do this is to identify yourself in your email subject lines and the From field. Don’t try to hide who you are!

3. Four U’s

Copyblogger does an excellent job going into detail on writing great headlines. One of the fundamentals they focus on is the “Four “U” Approach to headline writing.” You should definitely keep this in mind when writing subject lines for your drip emails.

Useful, Ultra-specific, Unique and Urgent. You want your subject line to quickly tell the reader that your email has value and provide a sense of urgency for opening. This alone can make a big difference in your response rate and help you stand out in a crowded inbox.

4. Short and Sweet

Keep your subject lines short and sweet. Take your ideas and find ways to deliver the same message shorter. Concise and to the point subject lines are powerful.

Want some inspiration? Look no further than Cosmopolitan! Crazy I know, but they’ve mastered headline writing. Learn some of the tricks they use to quickly grab attention. Many of their headlines can be used for anything, you just have to swap out a couple words.

5. Always be Testing

These are all great tips, but don’t try them and stop there. Constant testing will show improvement! BoomTown provides industry leading tools to help you test and fine tune your drip marketing emails.

Following these tips will undoubtedly increase your email open rates. The main takeaway from all this is to make it an ongoing task. Try these ideas, test and tweak, rinse and repeat. Being smart with your drip marketing will set you apart from the rookies and help you convert more leads!

Dialing for Dollars!

Studies show the more persistent you are with lead follow up, the more likely you are to convert your leads.  For a lead that provides valid contact information, agents have a 93% chance of making contact after 6 attempts, versus only 39% with one attempt*.  While this does not seem like rocket science, real estate agents get busy and don’t always make the time to call their leads 6 times.

One way many real estate agents make time for solid prospecting is by holding a call night.  So, what’s a call night?  It’s a night (Thursdays typically are best) where agents set aside a block of time (3 hours is normal) and they call a database of leads.  It’s best to go into the night with a goal for the number of contacts you want to make and the number of appointments you want to set.

Call nights are a common best practice among many of BoomTown’s most successful real estate teams and brokerages.  In hopes that our clients would make this a regular event, we recently hosted our very first BoomTown Call Night.  We invited all of our agents to sign up in a database where they could input their goals for the night.  We also provided suggestions on how to make the most of their call night, which included providing pizza and beer and having a bell to ring anytime an appointment was set.

During BoomTown Call Night our team cheered on our clients through Twitter (#BTCallNight) and on our Facebook communities.  We even gave away prizes for the most creative team photo and best tip/take-away from the night.  One lucky participant won a Flip UltraHD Video Camera through a random drawing!

Once the event was over we asked participants to share their results in the sign up database.  Out of the 50 agents that provided their results, there were 1,704 total calls made.  From these calls the agents set a total of 78 appointments!  That’s a 4.57% call-to-appointment conversion rate.  For a three hour time period, that’s incredibly productive!  Just imagine how much additional business agents could generate if they held these call nights once a month.  This truly shows the power of scheduling solid prospecting time into your schedule.

We’re so proud of our BoomTown Call Night participants and congratulate them on a very successful event!

Ben Kinney’s Home4Investment Team having a great time during call night!

 

The Ryan and Brian Team hanging out by the pool making their calls.

 

The FM Team posing for the camera during their BoomTown call night!

*From the Leads360 study Six Calls Equals Success

You Got It, Flaunt It!

Brand is often stated as one of the most important elements that make up a successful real estate agent. I tend to think of brand as simply as possible… it’s who YOU are. You’re unique and that’s a powerful thing to leverage when it comes to marketing yourself or your team; you risk being lost in the crowd if you’re too generic.

I’ve noticed that many of you, both agents and entire teams, are already successfully going the extra mile which is actually the hardest part. You sponsor local health events with the community center, you gather volunteers for the local housing partnership, you earn Real Estate Agent of the Week from the city paper, you’re a Dave Ramsey Endorsed Local Provider, etc… This is all fantastic PR that can and should be leveraged.

You build relationships with your clients and these facts, news, etc… make a stronger case for why clients should trust you to find the perfect home. Here are five places where you can promote your accomplishments.

1. Your agent profile page — just because you updated your agent page once, doesn’t mean it can’t be a living” page that is updated as needed.  Add relevant and useful information to these pages as you see fit. This is true for your individual agent pages as well as your collective agent page.

2. Your Facebook page, Google+ page, Twitter profile, LinkedIn profile, etc…… yes, this may seem obvious but keep those pages up to date and remember, you can have fun with these channels!

3. Your homepage — this is another instance of set it and forget it when it doesn’t have to be. More isn’t always better, so stuffing your merits on to the homepage is not necessarily recommended but if you have ammo to help gain the trust of potential clients, there’s nothing wrong with tastefully adding it.

4. Your blog — regardless of where this blog “lives,” make sure you use it to your advantage. Your blog should be a mix of content and some of this content can include your recent accomplishments and community outreach events; feel free to include pictures, relevant links to organizations you’re working with, etc…

5. Your Trulia and/or Zillow profiles — Voted Best in Client Satisfaction? Most Innovative Real Estate Professional in your area? These profiles are excellent venues for powerful but easy to digest facts about you or your agency. Make it easy for your potential clients to learn more about you!

Keep in mind that it’s okay to post news across multiple channels but don’t just copy and paste, make sure each post varies and it can vary in content, tone or both. For instance, your agent profile is most likely one of your more serious channels but with Facebook, Twitter, etc… use a more casual tone.

Lastly, if you have any idea of something that may be newsworthy but you’re not sure, just think about it from your clients’ or potential clients point of view.

Click here to learn more about BoomTown.

BoomTown Celebrates National Run at Work Day With An Olympic 5K!

Although the Olympics ended back in August, they only just arrived at BoomTown in the form of our very first company 5K. As part of our growing wellness initiative and in conjunction with National Run at Work Day, on Sept. 21st everyone in the office was encouraged to stop work a little early, dress a little crazy and go for a run in nearby Hampton Park. The Olympic theme allowed each participant (runner, walker or volunteer) to dress up and represent a country of their choosing. We were lucky enough to have representatives from Canada, the United States, Cuba, France, Scotland, Germany, Norway, Turkey, and Djibouti.

Team Norway

William Wallace of Team Scotland

Team Turkey

Team Germany

Each team was asked to complete a short biography about its homeland to allow everyone to learn a little bit more about their heritage. Who knew the national animal of Scotland is a unicorn? During the opening ceremonies, each biography was read while the country’s national theme song played in the background, and that is not to say the country’s national anthem. Canada for example featured ““Baby” by Justin Bieber, which was of course a crowd pleaser. After the bio was read, individual team members were announced first by their BoomTown name and then by their native name. For example, our Director of Operations is known by Rebecca Guthrie at BoomTown, but when she’s playing dominos and drinking rum back home in Cuba she is known simply as Suarez.

To help tie it all together, we added one more caveat to the race. During the opening ceremonies, each participant received two playing cards as they were introduced. Then everybody was awarded another playing card at the one mile marker, two mile marker, and the finish line, so at the end of the race everyone had a poker hand! The ultimate prize for whomever put together the best poker hand with the cards they received would get to decide BoomTown’s monthly charitable donation for September. Our ultimate winner was one of our newest BoomTowners and SEO Content Writer Steven Trice! Steven’s four of a kind beat out the competition, and Steven decided upon The American Red Cross as his charity of choice.

After all countries had crossed the crepe paper finish line, the festivities moved back inside for the closing ceremonies. The “Best Costume” trophy went to Team Scotland which included Ashley Parker a.k.a. William Wallace and Erica Dean a.k.a. Sparkles the Unicorn. Team Turkey took home the trophy for “Most Spirited” with their official country motto of “Gobble like there’s no tomorrow!” The award for “Most Obscure Country” represented went to the pirates of Djibouti. Overall it was a fun way to get some exercise, spread some laughter, and have fun.

Team Djibouti

What Keeps Your Agents Motivated? [Infographic]

Our team at BoomTown has the pleasure of hosting and attending real estate mastermind events on a regular basis. A frequent topic that we come back to is recruitment and team management. Many of the real estate brokers and team leaders that we work with have a different approach to real estate sales from the typical single-agent business model. They are developing teams with specialized roles for Inside Sales, Listing Specialists, Buyer Specialists, Showing Agents, Marketing Managers, Closing Coordinators, etc. Team members are often independent contractors and not employees, however the challenges are the same. How do we truly motivate our team members in today’s work environment? Income is still a leading factor as everyone needs to support themselves and their families, however we’re finding in the mastermind sessions that money is not everything. Recognition and engagement win out over all other factors. The following Infographic from our friends at Rypple does a fantastic job of illustrating the top motivators for today’s employees or as we like to call them, team members.

The key takeaways = Coaching, Relationships, and Dialogue. Start implementing weekly team huddles and regular one-on-ones with your agents. And always celebrate the successes!

Get Results! The Top 5 Rules To Respond By [Infographic]

If you have a website that is generating leads for you you’ve probably asked the same questions that millions of sales professionals are asking. How quickly should I be responding? If I don’t respond immediately, when should I make my follow-up calls? Best day? Best time of day? And how often should I continue trying to reach these leads without looking like a certified stalker?

Earlier this year we shared some key findings from a study conducted by the experts at LeadResponseManagement.org answering these very questions.

1. Wednesdays and Thursdays are the best days for making contact with a lead.
2. 4:00PM – 5:00PM is the best time window to reach leads on the phone.
3. Respond to new leads within 5 minutes to drastically increase your chances of reaching them.
4. Always make at least 6 follow-up call attempts.
5. Check out #5 on the Infographic below for a reality check!

Many of our BoomTown clients found these guidelines extremely helpful in their daily lead follow-up and we wanted to share a helpful Infographic published by the team at InsideSales.com. This graphic breaks down the top 5 rules to respond by. Consider using this as a visual resource when training your agents and keep reinforcing the fundamentals.

 

Making A House A Home

Like any town in a traditional sense, BoomTown developed because of houses, people, and the innate need to improve and grow.  So it was only natural when a suggestion was made to seek volunteering opportunities with the local branch of Habitat for Humanity, that our BoomTown team said, “go for it“.

Our BoomTown Family sticks together! Caulking and painting the exterior.

In line with one of eight BoomTown Core Values, the Habitat for Humanity project exemplifies “do more with less”.  Habitat for Humanity houses are heavily dependent on donations of materials, profits from the consignment ReStores, and volunteer labor. The Charleston Habitat for Humanity Construction Manager, Dan Jones, who has been with the organization for eight years, told us that the particular project we were helping with is his favorite because it involves an existing structure, rather than new construction. As Jones pointed out, not long ago, this section of the city was much too dangerous to do a project on. Now passers-by on the narrow street can see the neighborhood progressing in a positive direction.

Jason and Ed tile a bathroom.

The house, located in downtown Charleston, SC, is only a few blocks from BoomTown’s headquarters. It is a freedman’s cottage- a single story narrow structure that has been lengthened over time to accommodate two bedrooms and two bathrooms. Charleston residents take pride in the architecture and history of the area and this project is no exception. The original two-room structure of the cottage was built in 1919 and boasts charming historic architectural features including original wood ceiling beams and heart pine floors, which are preserved through the project.

Digging in. This was a driveway when we arrived!

On a surprisingly less humid and beautiful August day, BoomTown volunteers worked together to cut and lay the bathroom tile, paint interior trim and exterior wood siding, as well as caulk exterior door frames.  And astonishingly, the driveway was dug up by hand so that a waste line to the home could be installed several feet below. Working side by side with the home owner who has committed to Habitat for Humanity’s requisite 250 hours of sweat equity, we learned new skills and executed tasks with admirable outcome. Teaming up to cover significant ground in a short time, we managed to squeeze in plenty of laughs as well!

Natalie paints interior trim with home owner Sandra Miller.

The friendly and gracious homeowner, Sandra Miller, whose family purchased the property in 1930,  spent her childhood in the house and will be able to move into her home in a few short weeks. In the meantime, BoomTowners hope to come back and contribute some more. This team understands that involvement in the Habitat for Humanity project is more than renovating one house for one person, it’s strengthening the fabric of the community in the town we call home.

BoomTown Is Ranked 8th Fastest Growing Software Company on Inc. 500 | 5000 list

Inc. Magazine posted its 31st Annual 500 | 5000 list on Inc.com today and we are thrilled to announce that BoomTown has made the list for a second consecutive year, moving up the ranks to #8 in the software industry and #96 overall. This placed us at 2nd in the state of South Carolina and 1st in the state’s software industry.

The Inc. 500 is an exclusive ranking of the nation’s fastest-growing private companies. The list represents the most comprehensive look at privately held businesses that are driving our economy, by reviewing overall percentage revenue growth from 2008 to 2011. Our team at BoomTown achieved a three-year growth record of 3,084.8%!

We could not have reached this level of success without the commitment of our team and support of our clients. One of our core values at BoomTown hinges on creating amazing experiences and raving fans. With this focus in mind, our clients continue to be our greatest sources for new business referrals and we wouldn’t have it any other way.

We are truly honored to be recognized for a second consecutive year and look forward to what the future brings.

Recruit for Success

At BoomTown we preach a lot about specific lead management best practices, but these strategies are worthless unless you have the right team in place doing the work.  Some of the most frequently asked questions our clients have revolve around recruiting and growing their team.  And with good reason!  To hire true talent takes a considerable amount of upfront time and money.  When going through this process, the biggest question to ask yourself is “Am I making a conscious effort to hire for long-term success?”

In his book, The Millionaire Real Estate Agent, Gary Keller says “great talent is irreplaceable” and “poor hires can do a lot of damage”.  Think about the last time you made a bad hire.  How much time was spent in the search process and then training the new person?  You’re probably wishing you had that time back.  The good news is, there are systematic ways to recruit for success that will save you these kinds of headaches down the road.

First, it’s important to know when you should hire.  When real estate agents start out in their careers they are usually wearing many hats – from getting leads, showing houses, going on listing appointments, negotiating, writing contracts – the list could go on.  Eventually all of these efforts build your business and you begin to feel overwhelmed with your daily tasks.  You may even begin sacrificing things in your personal life.  Don’t let this go too far without looking for help.  You’re no good to anyone else being in a constant state of stress; and your clients need you.  When you reach a point where you know your time is better spent doing things you can’t get to in the day, then it’s time to look for some help.

So, you’re ready to build a team, but where do you start?  Who will be your first hire?  Gary Keller, again from The Millionaire Real Estate Agent, urges to first hire administrative help.  You need someone to answer phones, maintain your calendar, process transactions, etc.  Look to bring someone on board to take these tasks off your hands and more importantly look for someone that can implement systems and processes in your business.  Setting this up with your first hire will make it much easier to then bring on your first sales-oriented agents.  Let’s be honest, agents have a hard time creating these sets of processes on their own.  So, have these already established when you bring them on board.  This way you have a full set of expectations for your buyers agents, showing assistants, lead managers, and listing agents.

Now that you have the time to focus on lead management you’ll hit a point when you need agents to manage and nurture these leads.  With any internet-based lead generation system there are certain qualities that make agents more successful than others.  Anyone working a system like BoomTown will need to possess all or most of these qualities to reach their full potential:

• They are very detail-oriented.
• They are not afraid of the phone.
• They are motivated by their interest in making money.
• They possess a solid understanding of current technology.
• They are unafraid of technology and willing to adapt to it.
• They have a personable demeanor.
• They have prior experience with nurturing internet leads.

Sounds pretty simple, right?  Be careful, many agents will not dedicate the time necessary to nurturing internet leads, get tired of trying to convert them, and eventually not believe these leads are worth their time.  It’s extremely important to hire people that are a great fit to your processes, company, and culture.  It’s not about hiring a “good” or “bad” person.  You may find the DISC profile to be a good resource for you as you screen candidates.  Just make sure you know what you’re looking for before interviewing potential team members.

Finally, don’t limit yourself to only hiring licensed, experienced agents.  Some of the most eager, driven people will not be agents with years of experience.  Plus, someone new to real estate will be open to learning your systems and buy into your team model.  At BoomTown, we have many clients that have found wonderful team members with backgrounds as school teachers, truck drivers, and one client even hired a former MMA fighter who has turned into a rock star for the company.  Don’t rush just to get someone in the door because there’s work to be done.  Take your time, find the right fit for your company, and you will reap the lucrative rewards.