Additionally, connect rates with leads who received an email beforehand showed that the leads were much likelier to be reached by phone.  Conversion rates were much higher as well with the group who received an email before a phone call.

As pointed out in the study, email opens up the door for a conversation, provides a great reference point after the call is complete and is a great follow-up tool for voice mail messages.

Let us know how you use email before and after connecting with home buyers and sellers on the phone.

Now that you know who you are targeting, you need to think:

What will you offer? 

The mind-set of consumers as they enter your website is, “What can you do for me?”  Today’s time-short visitors have a purpose; they are searchers, not surfers.  Will you offer information, testimonials, encouragement, convenience? Allay fears? Save time? Provide solutions, free reports, or special services?  Be prepared to discuss response offers with your web designer that will “Wow!” visitors to your site, keep them there, answer their questions and concerns and earn their trust and start building a relationship.

Now that you have the offer for these consumers:

What do you want visitors to you site to do?  

Calls to action invite viewers to click on customer-centered offers and web forms. The ultimate goal for your website is to provide a steady flow of face-to-face appointments.  To make this possible, your site must attract visitors and hold their interest long enough to harvest contact information for automated e-mail follow-up (discussed in another post to come).

Using the past week’s blog posts as a guide, you and your web designer now have a set of realistic objectives for a makeover or new customer-centered website. 

In real estate, the catch phrase has long been location, location, location.  Today the catch phrase for online marketing success is consumer, consumer, consumer. 

Let us know how you have redesigned or reworked your website to serve home buyers and sellers first and foremost.

How does she generate business? Every day Carole does her “hour of power” and either she or her assistant call their customer database once every six weeks: “Hi Carole here, how are things going, just checking in, let me know how can I help?”

Carole also sends regular just listed eblasts designed to drive traffic to her website where she promotes her newly listed properties.

Also, Carole has learned that an open house featured on her website and Realtor.com brings lots of visitor traffic to the open. “I know they have been on Realtor.com because they bring the printout in their hands. That’s how I know it works.”

That is the dilemma facing Rainmakers in the new market. We’ve all searched for ways to cut costs. Now we are seeing the impact in reduced business. What Rainmakers need today is to market more but find lower-cost and more effective ways . Here are 7 techniques we’ve seen Rainmakers use:

· E-mail marketing. Direct e-mail is cheaper than direct mail. Build an e-mail database by asking contacts for their e-mail addresses.

· Targeted direct mail. Rainmakers who keep mailing report more listings, but some have trimmed their lists, frequency or targeted new groups that are most likely to move to bring their expenses in line with revenue.

· Telephone prospecting. Invest your time into an hour (or two) of power each day calling prospects (leads) and past clients and sphere (contacts). Select your call list from the contacts you have just sent a printed or electronic newsletter. Calling “behind” a mailing will give you a reason to call…and turn your cold calls into warm calls.

· Reduced ad rates. Negotiate with print publishers, such as homes magazine or newspaper ads or radio and TV time slots, for reduced rates for space that is unsold and left over. You may be able to increase your advertising without increasing your budget (see How To Succeed In Today’s Market The Rome Way , May 8).

· Blog and tweet. Use social media from blogs to Twitter and from forums (RealTown.com ) to professional networks (LinkedIn.com ) to build a referral network of other real estate agents. Commenting on blogs like RealEstateRainmaker.com increases your inbound referrer links, which increases your organic (free) search placement.

· Webinars. Host your buyer and seller seminars on the Internet. Record the live webinar and link to your site for prospects that could not make the scheduled presentation. Be sure to include a call-to-action response slide in the beginning and end of the webinar to generate additional at-your-convenience prospects.

· Pay-per-click microsites. PPC is a payment model where the advertiser is only charged for each click-through. You can set a maximum budget and change the ad if it fails to generate results. Local microsites that capture local prospects – not web users located anywhere in the world – are very productive landing pages.

Can you add to these techniques? Please share your experience. Other Rainmakers will thank you!