Building Digital Rapport With Your Email Follow-up

by Josh Galvan

in Email Marketing, Featured

Email Follow-up Is The Key

Email lead follow-up is a real estate agents doorway to making money. On the flip side it’s also where agents can miss out and lose money! It is through proper email follow up that will determine your success in converting leads from the internet.

Think about it in terms of when you hold an open house. The basic idea is you get in your car, drive to the home and show it for a couple hours.

The tricky part when you’re there is getting a phone number when you’re face-to-face with a person who you know is interested in getting a new home. Think of email follow-up in this manner.

When you get emails from leads with questions or other inquiries that’s like having a buyer at your open house. You know there is interest if they went out of their way to write to you. Just like you know there is interest when people are attending your open house. However, just like the open house, you have to be skilled in your approach. Say the wrong thing and you’re crossed off their list.

Email is the same. Say the respond incorrectly and you won’t ever get an email from them again. Reply the right way and you are on your way to establishing a relationship and closing a deal.

The question is if can’t see them online what rapport building techniques do you use?

How To Create Rapport Online

Since you can’t physically see your prospect and therefore use your normal techniques of addressing their objections, you must learn to copy their writing style.

To do this if they USE ALL CAPS, you USE ALL CAPS. If they, use emoticons icon smile Building Digital Rapport With Your Email Follow up , you use emoticons icon smile Building Digital Rapport With Your Email Follow up ! You’re essentially copying their writing style when you respond to them.

This creates a subtle psychological connection with the person on the other end on the email (next week I’ll post the reasoning behind why this is so, for you curious cats).

Examples Of Good Email Follow-up Responses

Here are a couple of examples of what successful digital rapport Looks Like. Also, this applies to any online medium where you cannot see the person face-to-face and are trying to build rapport through writing.

Sample 1

sample1 Building Digital Rapport With Your Email Follow up

*Notice the use of capital letters, line spacing, lack of punctuation, no salutation and signature.

Sample 2

sample2 Building Digital Rapport With Your Email Follow up

*Notice the use of line spacing, question marks, exclamation points, periods, and the appearance of the salutation and signature.

In both of the above samples, you can see how to mimic their writing style.

Don’t Hesitate…Do It!

The principle of using these techniques not only apply to email follow up but also in other areas of real estate marketing such as blog responses. It may seem odd or uncomfortable for some but it works so go and do it. It’s digital rapport, it’s real, and it will increase your response rate.

Good luck!

Is It Politically Incorrect To Call A Lead “A Lead”?

by Josh Galvan

in Lead Generation

It’s Just A Word

This will be short and sweet. I’ve run across some people (I teasingly call them bleeding hearts) who don’t like it when we use the word “lead” when referring to, well…a lead. They sometimes tell me “they are people” or “they’re not a number”. The implication being that real estate agents view people as numbers or “leads” as opposed to human beings. Give me a break. Agents know not to treat their clients as numbers; their business depends on it!

A Lead Is A Lead

The word “lead” is an industry term and concept that refers to people who may be interested in doing business sooner or later. They could easily be called a prospect, potential client, or future client. It’s just so much easier to say “lead”–It’s one syllable!

On a serious note, sometimes people are just looking for ways to make real estate agents look bad, this is one of them. It’s just a word get over it.

Am I the only one who’s come across this “lead” thing or are there any agents out there who know what I’m talking about?

Have a great day!

(told you it would be short!)

The Credit Crisis For The Layman

by Josh Galvan

in Blogging

A Blog Post Idea

So I stumbled upon this video last night and thought it would be a great thing for real estate agents, who are blogging, to use as a blog post. You can either make comments about the video or write about the topic itself. For those who are visual learners you’ll definitely be able to appreciate the design and video.

Remember, when you post on your blog you always want to give the reader something that they can use or take in. Use this video as an example to get a conversation started.

Watch it below.


The Crisis of Credit Visualized from Jonathan Jarvis on Vimeo.

Avoid The Craigslist Trap!

by Josh Galvan

in Craigslist

Do Not Let Craigslist Become Your Vice.

Relying solely on posting listings on Craigslist can become a trap if you lose perspective. It sometimes reminds me of the Sirens from Homer’s Epic: The Odyssey.

sirens1 Avoid The Craigslist Trap!

In the Odyssey, there were creatures called Sirens that seduced men with their song and eventually killed them. One of the obstacles the main character Odysseus and his sailors had to conquer included traveling past the Sirens island. To do this successfully Odysseus ordered his men to plug their ears with wax and to tie him to the mast of their ship so that he would not be seduced, yet still be able to listen to the Sirens sing thereby killing them.

How does this relate to Craigslist and you?

Many agents seem to be getting seduced by the easy lead generation from posting listings on craigslist.org to their own disadvantage. In some instances craigslist has become a Siren for real estate agents because it works, it’s easy, and they get immediate results. Results that can lull your overall business to death much like the sirens seduced men to their own.

The Allure of Quick Leads

I know, it can be sooo gratifying to see your efforts pay off quickly. I mean, you post a listing, it gets people to your stealth site or lead generation website and you get a lead. You want more. It’s so easy. Like the Sirens singing their song one cannot help but fall victim to something so pleasant.

Why This Temptation Is Bad

The reasons for relying on Craigslist as your only lead generation source include the following.

1. Tunnel vision. Other sources to find clients are not looked at.
2. You become to dependent on one source. What happens if you don’t have it anymore?
3. You’re missing out on other leads (maybe more) from places like Trulia/voices and others.
4. They are only quick leads (like expireds) it doesn’t add to the overall longevity of your business.
5. Too many eggs in one basket. you may become too reliant on this as THE answer to your business growth (tempting) and you neglect your other avenues (i.e. making calls) thinking “one of these leads will become a sale soon”.

When You Know You’ve Been Seduced

  • If you find yourself posting on Craigslist about 20 or more times per day every single day (yes this happens). You’ve been seduced by the craigslist Siren.
  • If you neglect making phone calls, your sphere of influence, or your other real estate activities–the Craigslist Siren has sung you its lullaby.
  • If you have been blocked by Craigslist (usually happens if you’re suspected of being a spammer). Yup, you have tunnel vision.

If you find yourself constantly doing the above mentioned, take a step back and re-evaluate.

How To Prevent Craigslist Tunnel Vision

Don’t get me wrong, this is not to say that you shouldn’t be posting. Do it, it works.

What I am saying is do not focus on Craigslist as your only source of generating leads from the internet. The best way way to prevent this from happening to you is to think of it as just another tool and not the only tool for generating prospective clients. How?

You need to find your own wax.

This can be achieved in many different ways. If you think you’re relying too much on Craigslist as your online lead source take a break for a few days and take this time to go through the leads you have and filter out those who have given you fake information. You can also post less listings or updates per day. Or you can post every other day or two and vary how many you post per day. These are some ideas I’m sure you can think of more. Got any?

After your comfortable with posting on Craigslist and it’s working for you, then you’re ready to move on to adding another lead generation tool such as blogging or building an email campaign to your current sphere of influence.

Like Odysseus’ sailors make sure your wax is firmly placed so that you’re not seduced by the Craigslist Siren or any other vice.

Have a good one!

Picture source: Women in Classical Mythology at Princeton


Update For Current Tizish Clients

by Josh Galvan

in Announcements

Hi all,

We’ve been getting some phone calls regarding information about the changes to the site. Just want to let you know that we’re currently building all of your accounts so that you’ll have access to the different sections of the website. In the meantime if you have any questions just send us an email.

All the best!

Coverting Your Lead The Easy Way

by Josh Galvan

in Lead Generation

*picture source: The Accidental Salesman by Richard White

Don’t Think, Let Them Tell You

So you have a lead and think they are really motivated. What should you do? To some of you it may sound counter-intuitive but let the buyer tell you they are ready to buy.

Thinking you have a motivated buyer in your midst is exciting and nerve racking. On one hand you think, “this is mine”, on the other, “Oh, I don’t want to scare them away”. In order to convert that lead to work with you, you will have to learn to hold back and wait for their invitation.

An Invitation

I can hear it now, “but if they signed up they are motivated and they left me there phone number, so obviously they want to work with me.” No they don’t, they just want to see homes. Remember, on the internet the buyer wants to be (or at least feel) in control. Even if they left you their phone number that doesn’t mean that you are allowed to call them. You have to wait for their invitation. If they want you to contact them they will say so.

Indirectly Selling Is Key

This is where you bring the lead in. The indirect approach is the process where over a period of time and through email follow-up, you give them what the homebuyer what they want; homes and answered questions, accompanied by drip emails.

During this time you never, ever, ever, ask them to do business with you directly. Your job is to answer their questions and ask them if they would like anything else. YOU ALWAYS ASK FOR PERMISSION. You have to “kill ‘em with kindness” – indirectly building an online relationship and slowly positioning yourself to be their de facto agent.

When the time comes, sometimes a few days to a few months, assuming you have done exactly what you’re supposed to do, they will ask YOU to view a home either by email or if you have a Tizish site, via your IDX appointment feature.

Don’t be “that agent”

Nobody likes a pushy agent, especially an internet homebuyer. No matter how tempting it may be to be aggressive, always opt for the online soft sell.

Have a good one!

*Picture was take from a post by the illustrator simonnelli at http://caricaturelondon.wordpress.com/2008/01/04/cartoons-for-salesmen/

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