Tuesday, June 2, 2009

The Dirty Little Secret About The Do Not Call List

The Do Not Call List has changed the way real estate agents can and will do business forever. After all, 76% of US adults have added their name to the list. The dirty little secret...it does not matter! The Do Not Call List does not mean that you can't still get solid qualified leads. There are a lot of real estate trainers out there claiming to have the answers, a sure fire way to beat The List and the next be all, end all real estate marketing program to have people beating down your doors to do business with you. The ads for these programs usually include a lot of hype and testimonials by agents who have increased their business by 200% and then at the end hit you with the big price tag. But where are the real numbers and hard facts behind the hype? Who really knows if those programs are going to lead you to the path of success? I certainly don't. But here is what I do know.The biggest obstacle to a real estate agents next commission, and their long term success, is finding qualified leads. You know that if you could just get the leads, you could close the deals. But most agents are at a loss once they exhaust their list of family, friends and sphere of influence. And with 3 out of 4 prospects off limits, cold calling becomes more like walking a mine field than trying to drum up business. That is why the turn-over rate for new agents in real estate is over 50% per year So how do the successful 50% find qualified leads? Well for one thing they do not passively look for leads, they actively generate them. Many successful agents have turned to toll free number call capture technology to generate leads without the risk of an $11,000 fine. When you look at the numbers, it is easy to see why it works.83% Of Americans Want Recorded InformationAccording to a Gallup Poll, 83% of Americans would rather call for recorded information before speaking to a salesperson. Give the public what they want. A toll free number call capture system allows real estate agents to offer free recorded information about properties, free reports for buyers and sellers or any other information they would like to make available to their prospects. Once the potential clients call in, their name, address and phone number are captured for the agent to follow up on. Since the prospect called into the toll free number to request information, the agent is free to call them back for up to 3 months (unless the consumer requests not to be called.)32.7% Will Buy or List Within 30-60 DaysA survey of over 25,000 prospects who called for recorded information showed 32.7% of them bought or listed a property within 30-60 days after calling. An additional 42.1% acted within twelve months. I have not heard of any other form of marketing that can tout those kinds of numbers of quality leads. A toll free number call capture system generates quality, actionable leads. And the best part? They called you. Agents who have these kinds of quality leads, calling them 24/7, could care less about the Do Not Call List.74% Will Do Business With YOU.According to NAR, 74% of the people that complete a real estate transaction do so with the FIRST agent they talked to. That being the case, it is in an agent's best interest to make sure they are the first ones to reach the prospect. A call capture system makes this easy to do. Once the potential client calls in, all the information is available to the agent; name, address, phone number, and in the better systems, even what information extension they called in on. With that kind of information at their fingertips, an agent is empowered with everything that they need to get back to the consumer in a timely fashion and with confidence.Everyone in the real estate industry knows that the Do Not Call List has completely changed the way agents do business. But some have found that by using call capture technology, they can generate even more quality leads than they ever did with cold calling. The technology gives consumers what they want by allowing them to call in for free recorded information and generates quality, actionable leads that agents can follow up on quickly and with confidence. And in spite of the Do Not Call List, agents are finding it actually easier to do business using call capture. If you want to know how that is possible, just look at the numbers and then check out call capture technology for yourself.

Brandi Cummings is a leading telecommunications consultant specializing in 800 number call capture technology for real estate professionals. Learn more secrets and tips on how to make a call capture system work for you at www.realtyone800.com.

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