“A pie sliced too thin.”
That’s a good summation of the property market right now, isn’t it? Rising interest rates are putting pressure on an already-saturated market and essentially diluting revenue opportunities through restrictive financing. And when sales are hard to come by due to a lack of demand and increased supply, the industry suffers as a whole. This is compounded by the time constraints a realtor faces. You’re aware of what needs to be done to stay ahead of the curve, but you just can’t seem to find an effective method to attend to the tasks.
So what steps can you take to nurture a healthy sales pipeline in a strained market?
Choose a custom IDX real estate website
Your website is the hub of all things you. And because social media and third-party content platforms funnel prospective leads to this central location, it needs to grab their attention and show them why you’re their realtor of choice.
With regards to design, simplicity is better. No one wants to scroll through needless text and marketing spam to get to the meat of your listings. Rather, emphasize your catalog of sales and prospects through clear, sharp imagery, while making the user experience as pleasant as possible with an intuitive, accurate search bar. A good example of this strategy is Berkshire Hathaway’s Home Services website.
Speaking of search functionality, you’re selling yourself short if your website does not have Internet Data Exchange (IDX). Defined as such: _‘IDX is what enables members of a multiple listing service (MLS) to integrate real estate listings from the MLS database into their own websites.’ _It’s an effective way to funnel leads into your sales pipeline, as it invites users to return to reference the properties you have on offer. To further bolster your website, consider these SEO tips for traffic:
- Create valuable, informative content that contains relevant keywords. For example, ‘Greenville real estate agent’.
- Audit your website by testing links to make sure none of them are broken or take users to defunct pages.
- Link your social media channels to your website.
- Make sure that it’s responsive (mobile-friendly), as smartphones are where most traffic is being generated nowadays.
- Speed is of the essence! Slow page-loading times contribute to a higher user bounce rate, which is the percentage of people who visit your site and leave without viewing other pages.
- To make sure your site is fast, intuitive, and keeps people interested, chat to your website administrator or take a look at these 20 ways to up website conversion rates.
Use hyper-local content to best your nemesis platforms
Zillow and Trulia are the juggernaut platforms of real estate at the moment. These major portal websites excel because they cater to the market in the broadest sense, with simple interfaces that buyers and sellers love to use. But the wider the proverbial net is flung, the less specific the property information becomes. It’s here that you can use your local insight and charm to great advantage, hooking leads who are after a realtor with personal knowledge of their community.
And where Zillow only provides basic information (price range, bedrooms, bathrooms, etc.), you can guide leads along the sales pipeline with these tips:
- Use neighborhood specifics to offer value to prospects, such as an interview with a community leader or a piece on the historical significance of a landmark or building.
- Housing organic content — such as MLS listings — on your website will help you rank higher on search engines and attract new clients.
- Craft blog posts and articles that showcase the community through beautiful visuals and professional videos. Points of interest could include schools, shopping centers, popular restaurants, and neighborhood video walkthroughs.
Offload repetitive, time-consuming tasks to a virtual assistant
You know what you need to do to stay ahead of competitors and remain relevant. You just don’t have the times or resources to do it yourself.
The time it takes to update, create, and curate website content can seriously hamper the growth of your portfolio. When you combine this with the added pressure of rising interest rates and a slow market, it becomes clear that realtors are stretched to their breaking points. Thankfully, a Virtual Assistant (VA) can help you with all of the above.
Increasingly, realtors are turning to VAs with a background in property to take on the micro-tasks that hamper their ability to make sales. VAs have a deeper skillset than general assistants and understand the complexities and challenges of the real estate market. They are also adept at lead management, blog editorializing, and content posting on your website. By shifting the important administration to an experienced assistant, you can gain a competitive edge, more clients, and greater sales.
Make sure the long hours you put in on a daily basis aren’t going to waste. A Virtual Assistant can pick up the tasks that you don’t have the time for. Learn how by downloading our free eBook for overwhelmed realtors:
