Originally coined as an eulogy and obituary of sorts, Mr. Boero was sure to point out the rapidly changing mindset and expectations of online consumers when interacting with internet-marketers and salespeople.  Mr. Boero’s comments were directed at the real estate industry, however one can translate this well-written eulogy to any sales-based industry.

After speaking to and hounding real estate agents for the last few years about this very subject, I thought it best to take a step to the side and let Brian’s post to the 1000 Watt Blog deliver this ever-timely message.

Lead Generation is dead

The following fake press release appeared on my desk this morning:

Tampa, Florida – October 2, 2007

The National Association of Tired Ideas today issued a brief statement noting the death of online real estate Lead Generation. Lead Generation – which emerged on the scene scarcely ten years ago – met its demise on Saturday, September 29th at 2:30 a.m. on a template website belonging to Don “The Deal Maker” Davies, an agent who “goes the extra mile for his clients,” but rarely checks his email. 

“I noticed a glitch in our lead system and found that it was trying to pass along the name ‘Boris Yeltsin’ to Mr. Davies” said Steve Hendstrom, the attending technician. “I tried everything I could to free up the system, but in the end, all I was able to get it to do was belch, make a clanging sound, and utter the word “Rosebud” to absolutely no one in particular … Lead Generation crashed, just like that.” 

Lead Generation was born on March 22, 1994 on the website of Minneapolis agent Dale Montrose, who was able to get trusting consumers to give him their names, contact information, social security numbers and sexual histories in exchange for an offer of “FREE REPORTS”. Recalls Montrose, speaking from his vacation home on Grand Cayman, “Those were the salad days. I stacked leads in my inbox like cordwood. Thank god for my autoresponder.”

Soon, companies emerged that took Lead Generation nationwide, using it to sell thousands of agent and broker websites. In 1996, a website product called “Agent e-Generator Gold: Platinum Edition” set a new standard by using Lead Generation on no less than forty three forms on a single site. Lead Generation was the talk of industry listservs, feted at conventions and touted in real estate offices across America.

In the late nineties, Lead Generation went big time, cutting deals with several high profile internet companies. These firms worked with Lead Generation to scrub, verify, incubate and route leads – which were previously known as “people” — to eager real estate professionals. Thanks to Lead Generation, millions of homebuyers and sellers were successfully captured during this period.

In 2000, Lead Generation partnered with Drip Email to deliver hundreds of millions of holiday greetings, recipes, high school football schedules and inspirational messages to consumers hungry for random information from salespeople. 

But by late 2005 Lead Generation was in trouble. It was stretched across thousands of stealth websites, pop-ups and landing pages; tucked behind millions of “contact me” links and “home search” forms; and, sadly, taken advantage of by lead arbitrage outfits and black market dealers peddling “human free” leads. By early this year, many saw the end coming.

“Nothing will ever replace Lead Generation” said Don “The Deal Maker” Davies. “Some incredibly famous people passed through my inbox over the years: Moses, Louis Pasteur, Gary Coleman, Nancy Reagan, Flava Flav, Dick Cavett … those were just a few of the celebs that took the time to fill out one of my Website forms.”   

Mike Nesbitt, a recent college graduate who purchased a condo in Dallas, Texas in 2004, was not so sentimental. “It took me forever to find a decent Realtor and I had to sift through so much fluff … all those dog pictures — WTF?” Continues Nesbitt, “In spite of Lead Generation, I did end up finding an agent who actually got back to me in a flash and took the time to answer my questions – she was awesome.”

Lead Generation is survived by Customer Engagement, its decidedly more social, open and confident offspring. Some industry observers familiar with Customer Engagement note that it also shows the influence of its grandparents, Conversation and Value. 

– Brian Boero

End of Post…..

If you enjoyed that post as much as I did, I encourage you to visit Brian’s Blog and subscribe while you’re there.  By the way, let both of us know how much you enjoyed his creativity by posting a comment below.

Encore Performance: Lead Generation is Dead!

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The format of the convention was changed from previous years in order to provide two full days dedicated to networking and education after two initial days of Governance meetings and general sessions.  On Wednesday and Thursday, September 10th and 11th over 20 educational sessions were offered to the attendees.  However, an unfortunate major distraction was on the minds of many attendees as meteorologists had defined the predicted path of Ike and preparations for the hurricane’s arrival were underway.  Many of the attendees had to depart back to secure their homes prior to the storm’s landfall on Saturday.

On the last day of the convention, I was privileged to spend two hours instructing a room full of both real estate brokerage managers and agents.  The topic was e-Lead Management.  It was an overview of how to manage the process from lead capture through the hopeful completion of a transaction.  During the session the participants were exposed to several websites that provide a new standard for consumer interaction.  The expectations of consumers have changed and few real estate companies are meeting those expectations. 

The first half of the course concentrates on generational identities, online behavior, significant trends and the current disconnects between what agents and companies offer and what the buyer and seller need.   The last half of the session shared best-practices in real estate web technology.  Some of the sites discussed were: John L. Scott, Weichert, REDFIN, Zip Realty, Real Living and RE/MAX.   Each site having its own strengths and weaknesses. 

After reviewing the sites discussion turned to a nine-step process for lead management and the development of standard practices surrounding lead distribution, follow-up and reporting within a real estate company. 

The course ended with a suggested list of current minimum standards that real estate organizations should be implementing in their online strategy.  In addition we took a quick glance at a proposed future of real estate websites by takings cues from the best practices and emerging solutions in the e-commerce world. 

Here is a list of the current minimum standards for a real estate website:

1.  Immediate search launched off the home page, no clicking to get to a search.  Advanced search with multiple search criteria including schools, street name, address, zip code, city, neighborhood, MLS#, map, price, bedrooms and others.  The message being that consumers should be able to search by the same parameters that agents use.

2.  Interactive mapping tools with multiple views, street view, satellite, etc.  Map should be clickable and offer both active listings, sold listings and comparable data.  All data is active and can be clicked on for additional information.

3.  Detailed property information that includes practically all the property information fields available in the MLS.  Multiple photos, virtual tours, corresponding documents — all the information period!  Agents should post sample purchase contracts, surveys, appraisal (if available), pre-inspections, neighborhood profiles, demographics and any other pertinent information.  If not, they can always link out to Terabitz.  Afterall they are providing great amounts of content direct to the consumer anyway.  Consumers should be able to scroll down through much of this information without having to click off or away from the listing.  RedFin is the best example of this ability.

4.  Website should offer a client or consumer dashboard with the ability for the registerd user to save properties, searches, favorites, notes, communications, documents, share files, alerts, new listing feeds, etc.

5.  Contact management or customer relationship manager functionality for the brokerage to utilize that would be complete with data from user online activity such as time spent on line, last log-in, communication, search patterns, favorites, campaigns, letter library, branded email and much much more.

6.  The admin area of the website should have a marketing module that can create branded flyers, emails, newsletters, campaigns, virtual tours and manage the agent/company listings.

7.  The website should be content rich with information and education on the process of buying or selling a home, community profiles, testimonials, liberal use of video, etc.  It’s not about the agent or the company….it is all about the consumer and their search for practical and useful information during their search.

8.  Listing syndication – Period – Everywhere – No brainer!  Yet so many do not take advantage of this powerful marketing tool.

9.  Customer interaction opportunities or lead attraction opportunities – - in other words, ways for them to raise their hand and ask for help.  Yes, forms.  No, I didn’t say mandatory information exhange or registration.  Here’s the bottom line, if you provide all the items mentioned in this list and you follow up immediately with consumers — you’ll get the business.  It’s about building an online relationship and having great customer service, not pushy sales techniques.

Why I stopped at number nine in this post, I don’t know.  Probably because the proposed list of must-haves is a huge leap for many.  However, I can tell you with certainty that those who are offering this level of online interaction are reaping the benefits.  Sure there are other things such as site architecture, navigation, aesthetics and the user experience, but for now, this should keep many busy trying to catch up with the best players.   If you have some other suggestions or items to add to the list, please feel free to let me know by commenting below.

Note:  Pictured in the photograph above are (from left to right): Jonathan D. Nicholas (Moi), Laura Duggan, CRB, CRS, CLHMS - West Austin Realty, Austin, TX and Danny Steed, CRB – Hirschi REALTORS, Wichita Falls, TX.

E-Lead Management and Texas REALTORS

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