The “Contractor Bailed on Me” Deal w/ Keith Sant | Behind the Deal
Keith Sant is a long-time friend of Carrot, a five-time Carrot Camper, and returning guest here on the Carrotcast.
Recently, he closed a deal that was plagued with difficulties from beginning to end. He will walk us through how he dealt with the contractors disappearing and his buyer bailing out at the last minute.
After all was said and done, Keith even walked away with a higher profit than what he was expecting. Here’s an inside look at how he did it!
Read the Full Show Notes Below…
Frequently you will hear about a deal’s numbers, but you won’t hear about all of the pitfalls, surprises, or how the investor got the lead.
As our friend Keith Sant puts it, we’re not in the business of real estate; we are in the business of problem-solving. It is only when we solve the big problems that we get paid big money.
Behind The Deal
The seller called Keith after finding his phone number via a Google search, and they were able to meet right away. The house needed some work and wasn’t in any condition for the MLS. The seller was moving and needed a fast closing.
Because they were asking about $450k, there was an inspection and a 60-day close. While the price was steep, the home had a conservative ARV of $650k.
The Hurdle
Keith faced multiple hurdles throughout this transaction. His contractors skipped out and, at the last minute and his original buyer fell through.
With only a couple of days before the promised closing date, Keith had to call the seller and let him know about the situation and that there would be a delay. It wasn’t an easy call.
The Solution
Instead of backing out on the deal, which he could have quickly done, Keith powered through. He reached out to another potential buyer and was able to push the deal through just 3 days late.
While the seller was not happy with the delay, Keith kept his word on the deal. He knew that he had promised to solve this seller’s problem, and finding a solution was the right thing to do.
He took a smaller assignment fee to get the property sold. However, his original buyer had put down earnest money, which allowed Keith to walk away ahead.
Spending Your Marking Dollars Wisely
When we first met Keith, he was doing a lot of bandit signs and ringless voicemails – hundreds of thousands of them.
Today, over 80% of his deals come from Carrot.
He is doing more business and spending less time because his organic leads have grown year after year.
Additionally, Keith sets up tracking phone numbers for each marketing channel. This tells him exactly where his leads are coming from, allowing him to focus on his marketing budget better. The saying goes… Half of your marketing doesn’t work, but most people don’t know which half!
A great benefit of your Carrot site is the ability to create campaign links. You can use these links on your Facebook ads, retargeting ads, Google My Business page, and anywhere that links to your website. Then, you will be able to track your leads to know precisely where they came from.
Sellers Setting Appointments
A great tip Keith shared with us was his use of the Calendly app. Adding this feature to his website allows potential sellers to easily schedule their own appointment time right there on his website.
They don’t have to wait for a callback, making them less likely to jump to the next website when looking for a buyer. You can also put a link to your Calendly app in your auto-responder emails and texts.
Since implementing this feature on his website 6 months ago – he has closed 8 deals. The people scheduling appointments are ready to sell. They are usually much more motivated than people you are cold calling.
Tips That Work – Citations
A citation is like a business card that you put around the web. Think business directories, Google My Business, Apple Maps, and social media sites. You’ll want to fill out your business information, adding photos where applicable.
You can spend a few hours/days setting these up, you can utilize software to help you through it, or you can hire a pro. No matter how you do it, these backlinks will help you build credibility with your potential clients and with Google – thus helping you rank higher in organic search results.
Join Us Live!
Join us every other Thursday on Facebook Live. We’ll be taking you behind the deal with some of the top guys and gals in the industry. Get answers to your questions live on air while learning the fundamentals of the business.
I want to educate my sellers. Just like on Amazon, people are going to research before making decisions.
– Beau Hollis
The “Free Car” Deal w/ Beau Hollis | Behind the Deal 1
Back on September 16th, we did an awesome Livestream with our good friend Beau Hollis. As a long-time Carrot customer, wholesaler, investor, and occasional flipper, Beau is going to take us behind the scenes, showing us every aspect of the deal.
Its part of a new Livestream we are doing that takes you inside a real-life deal, from start to finish. We answered questions live on air and offered some tips that really work. Catch up on this exciting new series here, and join us every other Thursday, live on Facebook!
Read the Full Show Notes Below…
Beau always brings one thing with him, and that’s positive energy. He’s a generous, straightforward, all-around good dude, and we are thrilled he is taking us behind one of his most recent deals.
Today we’re looking at a deal he did with a woman named Brenda. He made her a fair offer, closed at lightning speed, solved her car problem, and walked away with about $12k. Here’s how he did it.
How the Deal Began
Brenda called Beau’s office around 3 o’clock on a Tuesday afternoon. He asked when he could see the property and she let him know that she was ready right away. Within an hour he was viewing the property and making her an offer.
Brenda had let him know that she had other interested parties coming to see the house, so he knew he’d need to act quickly to lock this property down.
Solving Multiple Problems
While touring the house, Beau noticed there was an old car parked in the driveway. He know this wasn’t Brenda’s car and that it must have belonged to the previous owner of the house as the property was in a probate situation.
Without any intention or motive, Beau asked him what she planned to do with the car. When she told him it didn’t run and she needed to sell it, he offered to buy it too, writing it into the contract then and there.
Just like that, he was able to solve two major problems Brenda was dealing with. Because he solved more than one problem, offered a fair price, and was able to close quickly, Beau was able to get Brenda to sign a contract right then and there.
Everyone Comes Out Ahead
Brenda wanted $185k for the house and Beau offered $170k. They went back and forth, meeting in the middle at $178. Beau got a great property, and a car out of the deal, while Breda got a fair price and was able t close by Friday of that same week!
Beau’s team pulled together and was able to close on the property in just three business days. Speed and convenience were what were important to Brenda and Beau delivered. After all, was said and done, Beau walked away with about $12k in profit on the deal. Not too bad for a couple of days of work!
Giving Back
At first, Beau thought we would sell the car. Maybe make a small profit after fixing it up. But then he thought to himself, why not give it away. For someone just getting started, it would be a great car to drive for dollars.
The idea evolved, and now he is also giving away $1,000 in addition to the car, and we are including 3 free months of Carrot service! All you have to do is visit Beau’s Youtube channel for more!
Tips That Actually Work: Credibility Bars
Credibility is one of the most important things for an investor, wholesaler, or any business owner really. A few years ago, Beau didn’t have any video on his site, but today, he makes sure to document everything.
When you visit his site, one of the first things you see are videos, featuring real people, with real stories. Other Carrot members opt to use a credibility bar, with direct links to their Google, Facebook, or BBB page.
If creating videos seems intimidating or you’re not sure where to start, we offer an excellent video marketing playbook and carrot.com/video. If you have questions about this or have ideas for future Behind the Deal episodes, reach out to Brady directly at brady@carrot.com.
As a real estate professional, you know that effective real estate lead generation is a fundamental aspect of business success. The process of acquiring new leads directly translates to cultivating a broader client base, ultimately contributing to increased revenue for your real estate endeavors.
Demo Carrot: How many deals are you losing to your competitor’s website?
65% of businesses say generating traffic and leads is their biggest marketing challenge. The real estate industry is saturated, and competition is high. Whether it’s agents looking for buyers or investors looking for sellers, the struggle is the same.
How can you beat the competition and get new leads through the door? Lead generation might seem monumental, but with the right strategies, patience, and hard work, you can raise your number of clients through effective lead generation.
This article discusses 43 of the best real estate lead generation strategies.
In fact, these are the same lead generation strategies that many of our Carrot members have used to generate millions of leads (not counting 1000s of phone call leads):
Experts say 20% of real estate professionals pull in 80% of the sales.
And despite how exact those percentages are, there’s a merit of truth to the 80/20 rule. We’ve all met, for instance, the person who out-profits every other real estate professional in their location. More often, though, we meet the real estate professional who generates 80% of leads annually.
The reality is that some people are better at generating leads than others — but only because they implement the right strategies.
Over that time, we’ve learned a thing or two about lead generation in the real estate space… and so have our members.
We want to give you these real estate lead generation strategies that will change your business.
43 Real Estate Lead Generation Strategies for Agents, Brokers, Realtors, and Investors
1. Treat your properties as a storefront… kind of
Our first idea comes from mobile home flipper Paul doCampo, who responded to an inquiry I made on Facebook asking for real estate lead generation strategies.
Here’s what he said.
“Treat your house flips like a storefront almost. Especially in places that have a lot of traffic. Banners, signs, take-home boxes during construction, contractors with a stack of your business cards, and trained what to say. Make your message/USP known to everyone who walks by and make it as easy as possible for them to contact you.”
For real estate agents, that’s par for the course. Most agents wouldn’t try to sell a house without putting a sign in the property’s front yard.
For home flippers, house-front signage and banners often miss real estate lead generation opportunities. While you own the property, you might as well use it as free advertising for your real estate business, “especially in places that have a lot of traffic.”
Here’s the thing about real estate lead generation: you never know where your next deal will come from. If you’re like most real estate professionals, you’ve landed deals in unexpected ways — coffee shop conversations and everyday run-ins.
That is just one more advertising method that allows you to get your message in front of more people. And who knows? Maybe you’ll make $25,000 extra this year just because you put a sign in a yard.
2. Create amazing website content
Your real estate agent or investor website can greatly impact your overall revenue.
And at Carrot, we talk about content marketing on your website.
But that’s intentional. We only do it because content marketing is often an undervalued lead generation strategy — especially in real estate.
Part of that is because some of the benefits of content marketing are evergreen or long-term.
Usually, you won’t see many SEO results for at least six months. Still, content marketing has some short-term benefits — such as immediate promotional opportunities.
If you don’t have great website content to promote, then talking about your website and what you do can come off a bit trite (to put it lightly).
Content marketing lets you subtly talk about your business and what you do without being too heavy-handed.
This is why Nexus Home Buyers creates blog content like this regularly.
Matt had to say when I asked him about real estate lead generation strategies.
“One of the lead sources that we like is writing a short guide or shooting a quick video about how to do something or a guide about your city. For example, in real estate, writing a guide about “How To Winterize Your Home” or a YouTube video about “Winterizing Your Home” will target multiple potential clients in your area.
You create a guide based on your local market. You could even create a guide about the best restaurants you’ve been to in your city.
People love learning about their city or how-to guides. If you are genuinely trying to provide helpful information instead of selling to them, people will visit your site, engage with your content, and potentially become a client.”
Well, the verdict is in, and the stats back him up, whether we’re talking B2B or B2C.
B2B companies that blog 11 or more times every month receive three times the traffic of companies that blog zero to one time per month.
Similarly, B2C businesses that blog 11 or more times every month receive four times as many leads as companies that only blog four or five times a month.
As it turns out, create more content if you want to drive more traffic and pull more leads.
It doesn’t have to be complicated. Check out the video below for a dead-simple content creation strategy we use here at Carrot. With this strategy, you can create a fantastic piece of content in 20 to 30 minutes for about $5.
The ideation phase is one of the most complex parts of creating massive content. How do you know what to talk about? What will interest your audience?
Well, here’s the answer: Go to the FAQ page of your website and create content that answers those questions.
That’s what people are asking, and if you answer, they might work with you in the future.
Hootsuite reports that the top brands on Instagram post 4.9 times per week.
That’s about one post for every business day.
But maybe you’ve never considered using Instagram as a real estate professional. That’s okay – but it’s time to consider it because Instagram is the most visual social media platform with three prominent industries: food, clothing, and real estate.
This is probably precisely why some savvy real estate agents and investors have already flocked to the platform with their hashtags ready and their cameras clicking.
Of course, your Instagram content doesn’t need to be complicated. Just consider RealEstateKirby’s post about how he loves the entryway to a home he’s selling.
Perhaps the biggest secret behind Aaron and Krista Farr’s success has been their consistent and creative activity on social media and their website.
On Instagram and Facebook, they post 2-3 times per day.
Krista claims that consistency, day in and day out, helps them build trust with their market.
Real estate lead generation is all about being in the right place at the right time. You never know when someone will see your Instagram post, call you, and make you $15,000. It could come from anywhere — including Instagram.
Try posting one photo of a property daily for six months and see what happens.
Unlock Your Instagram Marketing Knowledge
Learn everything that Real Estate Agents need to know to get started with Instagram marketing.
Real estate professionals are something of community advocates.
When entering the real estate industry, you probably tried to relocate to an area you thought would be particularly ripe for sales and profitability. Because you know as well as I do that you don’t just sell a home — you sell the neighborhood, the coffee shop across the street, and the city as a whole.
And if a prospect thinks you don’t love the city you’re operating in even for one second, they won’t give you the time of day.
After all, who wants to live somewhere that the local real estate experts don’t even love?
That’s right. No one.
Perhaps there’s no more sure-fire way to build meaningful relationships, establish local expertise, and show people that you love your town than by supporting community efforts.
Maybe your city is cleaning up its parks or helping to remove graffiti from local buildings. Whatever the case, make time to attend at least some community service events.
You’ll build relationships with local people who might eventually become customers and show people you’re worth working with.
One source reports that consumers value a company’s reputation more than its products.
In other words, the house you’re buying or selling matters, but your reputation matters more.
And if you’re going to build a long-term sustainable business, then maintaining your reputation is non-negotiable.
5. Create a consistent newsletter
There’s no talking about real estate lead generation strategies without discussing email.
Still, email is one of the best opportunities for real estate agents and investors to reach their prospects and valuable connections. For instance, according to Constant Contact, for every $1 you spend on email marketing, you can expect an average return of $38.
This is probably also why 80% of professionals claim email marketing drives customer acquisition and retention.
Of course, running a consistent newsletter is easier said than done.
Because you still have this daunting question: What should you talk about?
Well, the answer to that question lies in two more questions.
Who are you emailing?
What do you want them to do?
If you are emailing all your connections and want to keep in touch regularly, you might consider sending something fun, as Corinne Bernard does in her email newsletter.
In this case, there’s not anything that you’re asking people to do. You’re simply staying in touch with them so they’ll think of you when they are ready to buy or sell their house.
That illustrates the primary benefit of running a consistent newsletter — when you’re regularly in touch with people, they’ll think of you first when they’re ready to take action.
I also love this email newsletter by Charity Adams. She offers several pieces of content for various audiences and then finishes with a friendly reminder that she’s there to help if people need her.
To start your newsletter as soon as possible, add a form like this to your real estate agent website or your real estate investor website that allows people to sign up.
MailChimp lets you do this easily for free, with up to 2,000 subscribers and 12,000 monthly emails.
Then, send your list of valuable content, relevant offers, and exciting updates. They’ll appreciate it, and you’ll generate more leads.
6. Ask for referrals
This tactic is dead simple, so I won’t belabor it: ask your past customers for referrals.
While people are going through the buying process, focus on them. But once they’re taken care of, gently ask them if anyone they know might be interested in your services.
It’s no secret that word-of-mouth is still the most powerful marketing tactic for generating leads — and referrals exploit that fact.
While 83% of consumers are willing to refer someone after a positive experience, only 29% do.
Why?
Because the salesperson rarely asks.
But the salesperson that does ask reaps massive benefits. For instance, people that a friend refers to are four times more likely to buy, and a referred customer’s average lifetime value is 16% higher than non-referrals.
You can say the same thing if you’re asking over the phone. Either way, ask for a referral, whether over the phone, via social media, or by email.
Your past customers represent a goldmine of potential for your business.
7. Record “live” open houses
Technology is changing the way that real estate investors and agents market themselves.
And live video changes how you can do open houses (for agents) or house walkthroughs (for investors). With a smartphone and a Facebook or Instagram account, you can double, triple, or even quadruple the number of people you reach when showing off a house.
How?
Live video.
Plus, people love live video.
Consumers spend almost 83 minutes per day consuming digital video.
While there are many ways to use live video to your advantage as a real estate expert, perhaps showing off properties is the easiest and most effective strategy for your business.
Here’s an example of Zac McHardy running a live video while he manages an open house.
So, how does this generate leads?
Simple. When more people see your properties, there’s a higher chance that one of those people will show interest and buy.
8. Wear a company-branded T-shirt
Founder, Beau Hollis – “The House Buying Guy”
What if people randomly started talking about your real estate business without knowing your profession?
That’d be pretty cool, huh?
By wearing branded clothing, you might be able to make that happen. Not everyone will ask you about the logo on your T-shirt or what your business does, but some will.
And when they do, that gives you an easy way to talk about your real estate company. Some people you speak to might even be interested in working with you.
Again, you never know where a lead or deal will come from. Wearing business-branded clothing is another simple avenue for generating this year’s unexpected revenue.
As GrowthHouse says,
An often overlooked way to generate leads is to wear your name badge or company wear such as a hat or polo shirt. When people ask, ‘Oh, in you’re in real estate—how’s the market?’ Be prepared with a concise answer about how much inventory is on the market, how much prices are increasing or declining, and offer to send them a free report on their property. Agents can use RPR to gather this data quickly and of course, you need their contact information to send them the report. One woman who worked for Coldwell Banker got a CB t-shirt for her dog.
And in today’s digital world, creating a t-shirt with your logo or brand name is pretty easy. You can create a logo for free using Canva. And you can design a custom t-shirt using Custom Ink.
9. Launch an email campaign
Nurturing relationships should be part of your real estate marketing strategy. Email marketing is a great way to do just that!
Emails can help you save, sort, and segment contacts to control the list fully.
Automated email campaigns automatically deliver messages tailored for each person while you’re busy finding new homeowners in the beautiful properties available on the market today.
10. Bandit signs
Bandit signs can be essential for many investors in a real estate marketing system. This is because they create the point-of-contact necessary to initiate transactions and have unmatched exposure, even compared with newer techniques that might seem more sophisticated at first glance.
A bandit sign can go a long way in generating brand awareness for all levels of investors or business owners when placed strategically on public property near their target audience’s destination, even if some may dismiss them as primitive methods compared to contemporary advertising tools on social media networks.
11. Launch a Google Ads account
Google Ads is one of real estate professionals’ most popular online advertising platforms. Google Ads has an excellent track record and can provide quick results with minimal investment on your part, making it an excellent tool to utilize if you want to gain exposure quickly in today’s competitive market.
You can rank #1 in organic search results, but it takes months or years, and there’s no guarantee you’ll achieve high-ranking page positioning. Google Ads instantly lets you compete with other advertisers competing for real estate keywords.
12. Start a podcast
This idea isn’t for everyone — it won’t help you generate leads immediately.
But over time, and with enough consistency, running a real estate podcast can increase brand awareness, establish credibility, and even attract motivated buyers and sellers to call you.
However, this depends on where you operate.
If you invest in a small market, starting a local podcast probably won’t offer much traction.. If you’re in a large market, starting a local podcast might pay off!
13. Interview local businesses for your blog
Interviewing businesses in your local community presents an exceptional opportunity to grow your credibility and authority. This will help expand the reach of your business with a broader audience who is likely interested in what you have to say or offer them.
Shemika Fox, a Real Estate Agent in Santa Cruz, has had major success using this method. Here is an example of one of her interviews.
Interviewing local businesses also:
Allows you to tell your story
Expands your networking
Increases word of mouth around your business
You can repurpose the content into YouTube videos, paid ads, and blog posts
It provides the opportunity to share with your email list
It gives you the perfect content to share on social media
14. Take advantage of Craigslist
Craigslist is a powerful — and easy-to-use — platform for generating leads.
Investors can use Craigslist to find motivated sellers (look for FSBO listings posted a while ago and still haven’t sold or created posts in the house listings section advertising your services) and find cash buyers (create posts in the house listings section advertising your deals).
Agents can use Craigslist as an additional place to list homes or even as an outlet for finding potential sellers (look for people who seem to be having trouble selling their homes as FSBO).
Ensure you post multiple times, refresh as often as possible, and replace posts when they expire. We highly recommend hiring a VA to help manage your Craigslist lead-generation strategy since it’s a little tedious but easy.
15. Create virtual tours
Virtual tours are a great way for real estate agents to find buyers — investors can also use them to promote deals to cash buyers.
Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook are probably the best places to post your virtual tours — you can even do it LIVE if the platform allows it.
What’s even cooler is that technology now allows you to create 3D virtual tours where people can go through the homes at their own pace from the comfort of their sofa. Here’s a video that explains how to do that…
16. Submit press releases
When you launch your business — whether you’re an investor or an agent — why not try to garner local attention?
Your local newspapers and radio stations are always looking for news-worthy stories — can you spin an exciting story about your business to make it “newsworthy”?
If you can, then you’ll get free publicity!
Which is always good for business.
Just reach out to local media outlets and tell them an interesting story about how your business started and see if they bite. The more community members who know about your business, the better!
17. Start a partnership
Rome wasn’t built in a day. And it sure as heck wasn’t built by a single person.
You’re not trying to build an empire, of course… you’re trying to build a business — but building a company is also very rarely a one-person job. It requires expertise from many different people as well as partnerships with lots of various experts.
So whether you’re an agent or investor, start looking for partnerships — you can partner with other investors or agents, title companies, hard money lenders, private money lenders, property management companies, and more!
Opportunities are everywhere when you keep your eyes open!
18. Attend foreclosure auctions
If you’re a wholesaler, your business model depends on finding high-quality cash buyers who’ll pay a fair price for your deals and do so quickly and without too much fuss.
Foreclosure auctions are probably the single best place to find these people.
Think about it — people who go to a foreclosure auction have cash on hand to buy a distressed property sight-unseen… doesn’t that sound like exactly the type of person you want on your buyer’s list?
Here’s a great video that goes into more detail on this strategy…
19. Drive for dollars
Driving for dollars is a tactic real estate investors can use to find off-market distressed properties and motivated sellers.
It’s straightforward.
You drive around neighborhoods, write down the addresses of distressed properties, research the homeowners back at base, and add those people to your marketing cycle.
It’s a great way to find deals your competitors are unaware of.
If you want to make this process less time-consuming, contact mail carriers in the area and offer them a little money for every deal they send.
20. Make DIY videos
The real estate space is filled with DIYers who want to learn how to repair and/or renovate their property.
Some want to learn about the first-time home buying process — how to find a mortgage lender, what to expect at house showings, and how to find a trustworthy real estate agent.
In other words, all that real estate knowledge you’ve got in your head would make GREAT content for Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, or YouTube. Get in the habit of pulling out your phone to record videos and offer DIY advice — it’ll build brand awareness and make you the go-to expert that people want to work with.
21. Partner with local contractors
Here’s an idea for investors looking for motivated sellers.
Contractors in your area are constantly fixing up distressed properties… or, at the very least, meeting homeowners and offering quotes for fixing those properties.
Some of those homeowners quickly learn that they can’t afford the contractor’s services and thus decline — and the contractor loses time and money.
What if you partnered with contractors in your area and offered them a commission for every deal they bring your way? Then, the next time, a seller tells them, “Well, I can’t afford that.” They can say, “I understand. If you’d rather sell the property, I do know someone who can pay cash and will buy it as-is.”
Win-win.
22. Advertise in the local newspapers
Advertising in the local newspaper is easy to build brand awareness and generate leads for real estate agents or investors.
However, it is also a little bit pricey.
So you’ll want to weigh the pros and cons of putting money toward it.
If you’ve got a big budget and are looking for more outlets to spread the word, then it’s probably a great thing to try (we recommend using a unique phone number to see how many phone calls it generates).
If you have a small budget, every dollar you spend counts. Then, we recommend trying more direct lead-generation methods like Facebook ads and direct mail.
23. Speak at an event
Do you live in a big city with various conferences and events where you could share your expertise? By doing so, you can build partnerships with other real estate professionals in the area and maybe even find some new sources of leads!
24. Advertise on the radio
Local radio stations consistently reach a lot of homeowners.
So if you’ve got the money for it, why not try and advertise on the radio? We recommend using a unique phone number to see how many phone calls the radio ads generate for your business.
25. Start a direct mail campaign
Direct mail is one of the most influential and effective strategies for generating a consistent flow of leads for your real estate business — for investors and agents.
Tax Delinquent List – criteria: 2 years behind, are still the homeowner
Code Violation List – no criteria
Equity List – Absentee Owner, Owner Occupied, and Global (all) – criteria: over 45 years old owner, last sale date between 1990 and 3 years ago.
Inheritance List – USLeadList
Evictions – no criteria
Yard Sale/Garage Sale List – tenants sell before they move
Probate – Recommends getting the course from Rick Ginn
Arrest Record List – list of people recently arrested
If you’re a real estate agent, we recommend sending direct mail by zip code to increase brand awareness.
Also, set out with accurate estimates of how much you expect to spend to acquire each deal — between $2,000 and $4,000 is typical when using direct mail.
26. Follow up on old leads
Generating a flow of steady leads is critical for growing your real estate business, but so is nurturing the leads you already have.
I spoke with Ryan Dossey — a real estate investor in Indiana — before about this, and he told me that 90% of his deals happen during the follow-up process… not during the first phone call.
The same is true for real estate agents. People might not be ready to buy or sell right now, but in 6 or 12 months, when they are prepared to sell… you want to be top of mind.
So, you might consider periodically sending email newsletters like this to the people on your email list.
That’ll increase brand awareness and keep you top-of-mind so that when people are ready to sell, you’ll be the person they come to.
Create a follow-up machine and start
27. Use leaflet drops or inserts
Full leaflets or inserts are another great way to generate real estate leads (similar to direct mail or door hangers).
28. Use your business cards
Business cards might seem a little outdated… but for real estate agents and investors, they’re a great way to build brand awareness and generate leads.
Business cards are effective specifically for local businesses — and even more so for companies that require the client/customer to contact a salesperson.
So yeah… real estate counts.
We recommend printing a few hundred business cards and carrying a few around.
You never know when you will meet someone interested in your services. Hand them out whenever possible; many people will get to know your business over time.
29. Door hangers
Door hangers can also be a great way to build brand awareness and generate leads.
If you’re an investor looking for motivated sellers, consider making door hangers a part of your driving-for-dollars process. After writing down the address for further research, put a hanger on the door so the owner can contact you if they want to sell their home.
If you’re a real estate agent, choose a neighborhood where you’d like to work and put door hangers on the homes — you might also seek out FSBO listings and put door hangers on those properties to offer your services.
30. Attend REIA meetings
REIA meetings provide an excellent opportunity to discover lead-generating methods.
Attending these gatherings is free and open to anyone interested in learning more about real estate investing.
31. Cold call expired listing owners
Cold calling is the most uncomfortable lead generation strategy for real estate investors and agents.
But here’s the thing…
Since it’s uncomfortable, many of your competitors aren’t doing it.
This means that there are deals you could get by cold calling that your competitors will never have access to.
But you don’t have to take our word for it.
Check out this case study of how Max Maxwell used cold calling to grow a $900k real estate investing business. It’s pretty mind-boggling.
32. Share your testimonial stories
How do you convince someone to work with you?
Do you tell them how many homeowners you’ve helped? Do you tell them how long you’ve been working in real estate? Do you tell them you’ve got a trustworthy track record?
All of those tactics can work.
But you know what’s even more powerful?
Stories.
Specifically, true stories about real people you’ve helped buy or sell homes and the beautiful things they’ve had to say about you.
Home Builder Association offers networking events, allowing builders, trades, and industry-related companies to come together to discuss best practices and learn from each other.
This presents an opportunity for your business to get its name out in the community while spreading positivity.
Many local chapters are also involved in making their communities better places to live, supporting and organizing community outreach programs like Habitat for Humanity and Home Aid, and providing homes and support services for the homeless.
This is a great chance to spread positive messages about your company at events that contribute to helping others!
34. Crash garage sales
Garage and yard sales are a great way to find people thinking about selling or at least being willing to chat with you because they’re looking for something better.
Even if the person isn’t moving yet, maybe give them your card so when they plan on leaving, it’s easier to contact you when they are ready!
35. Send postcards to expired listings
Sending postcards to expired listings is a great way to help sellers who may be worried and discouraged. These postcards encourage them that you’re the right agent or investor by asking the right questions and letting them know there is nothing more important than finding someone they can trust with this sale.
Expired listings often have many motivated sellers, making direct response postcard campaigns effective since these anxious buyers want answers fast!
36. Attend local networking events
Most communities have local meetups where entrepreneurs, business owners, and investors gather.
Why not join?
Who knows what opportunities those meetups will present if you attend them consistently.
You’ll likely discover partnerships, additional lead generation strategies, and marketing tactics you wouldn’t have thought of if you hadn’t joined!
37. Contact “For Sale By Owner” listings
FSBO listings can be a great place for real estate agents and investors to find leads.
Investors can contact these sellers and offer their services. For example…
“Hey. I know the home selling process can be a headache. And that’s why we buy people’s homes as-is for cash. We can make you a fair cash offer in just 48 hours, and you can pick the closing date. We’ll even pay all closing costs!”
And agents can do something similar…
“Hey. How is the home selling process going? I know how much of a headache it can be… so I thought I’d offer my services. I have a track record of selling homes quickly and for higher than market prices. Plus, my commission is negotiable! Give me a call if you want to chat.”
Ensure you target a specific zip code so you’re not running ads to people outside your market.
You might consider using “retargeting” via the Facebook pixel. This allows you to show ads to people who visited your website but left without giving you their contact information.
For inspiration, here’s an example of a Facebook ad being run by an investor…
And here’s an example of an advertisement run by a real estate agent…
39. Join a local landlord association
Finding and becoming active in a local landlord association is a great way to build relationships with other real estate experts in your area.
And as we all know… those relationships often lead to business growth down the road.
You’ll learn new business strategies and lead-gen tactics and even have opportunities to collaborate with other real estate professionals.
It’s definitely worth your time!
40. Guest post on a local blog
If you live in a decent-sized city, online blogs will discuss various topics specific to your market — food recommendations, current events, market updates, etc.
And writing for those blogs is an excellent opportunity to drive traffic to your website and build brand awareness.
To find those blogs, search for topics specific to your market.
For instance…
Best restaurants in
What to do in
Real estate updates in
Then, reach out and pitch the owner of the site an idea!
Maximize your real estate marketing efforts by focusing on LinkedIn to generate leads and referrals. To do this, optimize your profile with photos and a summary of your experience, including valuable content that will help you connect better to other contacts in the industry through mutual connections.
Be sure to create a complete profile:
Your company page is where you can share your company’s history, mission statement, and interests—and it should be filled with every detail about what makes your business unique. We encourage our partners to use the About section of their pages to tell others who they are and why people might want to do business with them.
Make your company page stand out from other agents. Fill it with interesting posts and many photos.
42. Implement text message marketing
Direct mail, advertising, and cold calling used to be the primary marketing options available to real estate agents and investors.
64% of consumers think businesses should contact them via SMS more often.
About 61% of marketers still don’t use SMS. If you start now, you’ll be on the cutting edge.
It takes the average person 90 seconds to respond to a text message.
29% of SMS marketing recipients click on links in SMS messages.
Crazy, right?
We recommend adding SMS to your follow-up and lead-generation processes — you can use a tool like SimpleTexting to get started.
43. Generate buyer leads by becoming a Zillow Premier Agent
Zillow is the most frequently visited real estate website, and buyers spend a lot of time there.
With 186 homes viewed per second, they’re coming here to get information about their next home.
The Zillow Premier Agent program puts you in the spotlight along with your prospects’ viewing activity and gives access to great perks like featured placement in the agent finder and live connections programs.
Conclusion
You don’t want to fall into most real estate professionals making only 20% of the sales. Instead, you want to be one of the 20% that generate 80% of the revenue.
What differentiates the many who don’t and the few who do?
At least in part, using the right real estate lead generation tactics.
And while these 43 real estate lead generation strategies won’t solve all your lead generation woes, they offer a great place to start.
How do we know? Because we’ve tested them and published the results in our Market Harvest Report.
What are your best lead generation strategies? Let us know in the comments below!
Social media for real estate agents is now an essential part of the marketing strategy.
The 21st century has brought a lot of surprises with it — not least of all self-driving cars and monkeys playing pong with their minds (thanks, Musk) — including how real estate agents find clients and grow their businesses.
A few decades ago, business cards and direct mail were all the rage. That was just about all an agent could do to find clients.
The internet has changed that.
Social media, in particular, has created a massive opportunity for real estate agents to build trust, display their expertise, and find clients… all without leaving the comfort of their sofa.
How?
That’s what we’re talking about here — why you should use social media, which platforms are best, what to post, how often to post, and how to optimize your profiles to attract clients.
First things first!
Why Should Real Estate Agents Use Social Media?
So you’re looking for a way to find clients consistently.
Maybe you’ve seen other real estate agents use social media successfully… or maybe you just got the idea without any prompting.
SocialMediaToday published stats revealing how impactful social media has been for real estate agents. In 2020, 44% of agents said they found clients through social media…
Additionally, 82% of real estate agents said they would focus on improving their social media presence to grow their business…
So there should be no doubt.
Done right, social media marketing (both organic and paid) can be an extremely effective strategy for growing your real estate business.
You can increase brand awareness, showcase your expertise and years of experience, build authentic relationships, and, most importantly, find clients.
Now, let’s talk about which platform you should use.
Which Social Media Platform is Best For Real Estate Agents?
The bad news is that there are hundreds of social media platforms.
The good news is that the vast majority — for our purposes, all but four — are obsolete.
Most of them have too few users to be worth your time. And we can even eliminate many of the platforms that do have millions of users because they’re not very localized — Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn, etc.
Every platform has a vibe.
And what we’re really looking for is social media platforms where people expect to connect with other people in the same city. Because, as a real estate agent, local relationships will be the most valuable relationships.
So, we’ve narrowed it down to three platforms: Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.
1. Facebook
Facebook is an excellent platform for real estate agents because people expect to connect with people in their city — with “friends.” So both close friends and acquaintances won’t hesitate to accept your friend request.
Here are some interesting stats about Facebook.
Facebook usage is high among U.S. adults, earning over $70k annually.
70% of U.S. adults use the Facebook platform every day.
69% of Americans use Facebook.
Examples
Here are some examples of Facebook posts from other real estate agents!
Listing post…
Case study post…
Behind-the-scenes post…
How Often To Post
The experts at Hootsuite recommend posting 1-2 times daily on Facebook. This should help you stay present in the minds of your audience but not overwhelm them.
Other Facebook Tips
Here are some other tips when you’re posting on Facebook…
Be Authentic — Facebook users love authenticity. They want to get to know the real you… not necessarily the business. So don’t be afraid to discuss yourself or share your thoughts and opinions!
Don’t Oversell — On Facebook, you shouldn’t try to sell people with every post. You should also entertain people, give them free value, and offer free advice. Make sure you balance your listing posts with other, more personal, value-driven posts.
Stay Top-Of-Mind — The goal of Facebook is to stay top-of-mind and to build trust. It’s more about consistency, value sharing, and brand awareness and less about mindlessly posting all of your listings.
2. Instagram
Instagram is similar to Facebook in that people are open to following people they know locally. If it’s better than Facebook, that would be because it’s a highly visual platform. And obviously, real estate is highly visual.
Beautiful house listings and before-and-after pictures do really well on Instagram. Let’s look at some examples…
Hootsuite recommends posting 3-5 times per week on Instagram.
Other Instagram Tips
Focus On Visuals — Instagram is a highly visual platform. So, focus on making the visuals eye-catching and beautiful. This should be easy if you already get professional photos for your listings!
Use Hashtags — On every Instagram post, use as many hashtags as you can. That will increase the post’s visibility. Here’s a screenshot of all the Hashtags the Farr Group uses on one of their Instagram posts…
Create a Vibe — Your Instagram profile should have a “vibe” across all the posts. That is, they should use similar colors and have a similar “feel.” Check out the screenshot below to see what I mean…
3. TikTok for Real Estate
TikTok is a relatively new social media platform with tons of potential for real estate agents. Like Instagram, it’s very visual. But instead of every post being an image or graphic, every post is a short, user-made video.
The best TikTok videos are value-driven, authentic, funny, and entertaining. The best part is that TikTok localizes the content that people see — so if you live in Roseburg, Oregon, you’ll see content from people in Roseburg, Oregon.
It also means that people in your city will see your content more than people outside your city — that’s good for business!
Examples
Here are some examples of content from real estate agents on TikTok.
Be Entertaining — Posts that perform well on TikTok are fast-paced and entertaining. So try to mimic what you see doing well. Be funny, provide tons of value, show interesting behind-the-scenes anecdotes, or tell a crazy story to keep people engaged.
Hop on Trends — TikTok is jam-packed with different trends. People doing the same dance, mimicking the same movie lines, or something else. While these trends are a little silly, they’re a great way to get more eyes on your content.
Post Often — On TikTok, you should post at least once daily. But more often is pretty much always better.
Optimizing Your Social Media Profiles To Attract Clients
Remember why you — a real estate agent — want to start using social media.
It’s not to gain fame, to scroll your way into oblivion, or to connect with tons of random people…
It’s to grow your business.
One thing we’ve got to think about when it comes to growing your business through social media is what people will see when they visit your profile.
After all, that’s the goal — that people will see your content, get curious, click on your profile, learn about you, and maybe, at some point, become a client.
But people can’t just be impressed by your content; they must also be impressed by your profile! Or at least not unimpressed.
There’s a baseline that you need to hit — so let’s look at great profiles on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok and then muse about what makes those profiles great.
Here’s the Farr Group profile on Instagram…
Here’s Shannon McCaffrey’s Facebook profile…
And here’s Zamira Lalji’s TikTok profile…
Okay — so what do these profiles have in common?
First, they don’t have to include custom logos and super amazing graphics… they can be pretty basic. The things that these profiles all have — and that YOU should include! — is…
Bio — Who are you? All of the above profiles answer that question quickly and clearly. Tell people that you’re a real estate agent, and tell them where you operate!
Credibility — The above profiles also build credibility. Are you a top 1% real estate agent? Have you won awards? How many people have you helped sell their homes? Try to build some credibility by using those stats in your bio!
Links — Finally, these profiles tell people where to go (via links) if they want to learn more. So don’t forget to include a link to your website.
P.S. Don’t Forget Your Website!
Let’s imagine someone clicks through to your profile because they are currently looking for a real estate agent — crazier things have happened!
They are impressed by your profile and recent social media posts, so they click through to your website (via the link on your profile). Then what happens?
Well, that entirely depends on how effective your website is at converting visitors into leads.
So far in this guide, we’ve talked almost entirely about organic social media marketing — posting content, building connections, and garnering a following.
But it’d be a disservice to not briefly mention social media advertising, which can also be an effective (and more direct) way to generate real estate leads.
So here’s a quick overview with links to learn more…
The Paid Strategy
Facebook and Instagram are probably the best places to advertise your services as a real estate agent — and since you’re paying to reach people, these posts can be much more direct.
Here’s an example.
And what’s really cool is that Facebook allows you to target people by zip code… so you’ll only reach people within your target market!
Another helpful strategy is called “retargeting” — the Facebook Pixel allows you to track website visitors and then run advertisements to people who visited your website but who didn’t provide you with their contact information.
Cool, right?
Of course, ads cost money.
You’ll want to track results to see if your spending gives you the needed ROI.
To learn more about Facebook advertising, check out our interview with Josh Schoenly, where he shares his proven Facebook advertising framework!
The Organic Strategy
Organic social media marketing is what we’ve been talking about throughout most of this article.
This means seeking out authentic connections, posting organic (non-paid) content, and perhaps most of all… being consistent. Getting followers, building trust, and becoming the go-to expert in your market via social media isn’t an overnight venture… it’s something that will take a lot of time and persistence.
The more that people see your content and the more they like your content, the better.
The best thing you can do is create a content publishing schedule and stick to it for at least the next 6 months — see what happens!
52 Real Estate Content Ideas For ANY Social Media Platform
Okay — now the rubber meets the road.
You know you want to start using social media to grow your business. And you even know what platform you’re going to use and how often you’re going to post…
But what are you going to post ABOUT?
Normally, that’s the hardest part of social media marketing — knowing what to talk about.
But we’ve made this super easy for you.
We created this playbook with 52 marketing ideas for real estate agents— and you can easily turn each of these ideas into a social media post instead of a blog post. So click that link and bookmark the guide for when you’ve run out of ideas.
As always, we’ve got you covered. ;-)
Final Thoughts
Social media is a powerful tool with tons of potential for real estate agents.
And now you know where to start!
Choose a platform — Facebook, Instagram, or TikTok — create a publishing calendar, stick to it, and bookmark this page to get inspiration and examples when you can’t think of something to share.
Over time, you’ll increase your brand awareness, build trust, and find new clients. Don’t be tempted to automate this, the risks aren’t worth the reward!
You’ll also have a competitive advantage over other real estate agents in your market — real estate agents who aren’t using social media.
So it’s well worth your time.
All that’s left now is action and consistency — off you go!
“Geez, this looks like every other Carrot website design in my market – how can I make myself look different from the others while still maintaining the awesome conversion rate that Carrot websites provide?”
Demo Carrot: How many deals are you losing to your competitor’s website?
Then, you’ve come to the right place! We have 1000’s of members, many of whom are in competitive markets and generate hundreds of leads monthly. They close multiple, multiple deals each month, as well.
To the lead-converting glee of Carrot members, we prioritize conversion optimization over aesthetics. To some, that might seem like a bad idea.
After all, don’t the two always go hand in hand?
Not necessarily.
Carter Steph is proof. Carter switched from an $8k “pretty” custom website to Carrot and saw his closing rate go from 7% to 20% within a few months. Read his story here.
We have been in business for years and have always had a web presence. We switched to Carrot this month and have already seen a huge improvement in our click-through rate, but more importantly we have more leads being generated by form fills then we have ever received. And we’ve only had our new website up for 7 days!!
– Carter Steph, 1-800-2 Sell Homes
Even conversion testing giant, Crazy Egg, claims that “ugly” websites often convert better than their prettied-up counterparts. That’s not to say that we’ll provide you with an ugly website that converts well; it’s simply to illustrate that conversion optimization should trump website aesthetics when choosing a website design platform.
Here’s a basic, nothing-fancy website with an “at-time” 25% conversion rate:
But if tomorrow someone forced us to choose between giving our customers high conversion rates or designing beautiful websites, we’d immediately choose performance.
Often, people choose a website based only on how it looks rather than how it converts, and we think that’s a massive mistake. You’re in business to make money, not just to look pretty, and, for our members, that’s what we help them do – build a sustainable and predictable business.
We’re not Wix, WordPress.com, or SquareSpace—and our members, as well as we, are proud of that differentiation.
We ran a test a few years ago and we had double the conversion on Carrot verses LeadPropeller and our custom site.
– Jason Bible, Houston House Buyers
“I blew $40k unfocused and doing all kinds of marketing in my first year… then I focused on Carrot and Evergreen marketing and after a year of focused work did my first $100k month.”
– Adam Mitchell – Dallas, TX “Home Buying Guys”
There are 100’s if not 1000’s of different ways to make your website stand out from others.
We wanted to give you the top changes you can make (whether you’re an agent or investor) in about 10 minutes that will differentiate your business from the others in your market without sacrificing a high conversion rate. Check out our tutorial video or keep reading to learn more:
Note: This article is for real estate investors and agents. The differentiation recommendations below can be made to an Agent or Investor’s website.
Website Design Changes
1. Choose a Website Theme 2 Minutes
We have eight different website themes (or designs) for our members.
All of these convert to our standards (we’ve tested each and every one thoroughly), and the one you choose should be a matter of preference.
Here are your options. It takes less than 2 minutes to choose a new website theme.
Stand out without losing the performance. Our latest Premium Design Mahogany features clean, modern lines, big, bold, easy-to-read text, and space to emphasize all of your content. Instantly separate yourself from others in your area with a few clicks.
We’re officially introducing a new, full-featured design for those of you who crave a distinguished, modern (and, yes, still high-converting) website.
Hemlock (For Grow members) accounts for 11.31% of Carrot member websites
A more modern “angle” on our highest-performing designs. Test this one to see if it inches your performance up and gives you that differentiation you’re looking for. To learn more about changing your website theme, go here.
Oak – Accounts for 3.49% of Carrot member websites
It is a design with a striking image and a clear CTA area, and it is amazing on mobile. It’s the default design for Agent websites.
Juniper – Accounts for 12.81% of Carrot member websites
Cedar – Accounts for 7.55% of Carrot member websites
Large and striking hero image with our right-aligned CTA area, with the navigation below the hero. Ideal for people with a white, transparent background logo.
Douglas – Accounts for 54.26% of Carrot member websites
This is the default style for all investor websites, but it takes a few seconds to switch to one of the other ones on this page.
Madrone – Accounts for 5.34% of Carrot member websites
A different take on our Douglas design, just with a reimagined header design to freshen things up on mobile and desktop.
Branding Changes
2. Upload a Logo 4 Minutes
Creating a clean and reputable logo can help differentiate your website from other Carrot members and add loads of credibility. As it stands, only 36% of Carrot customers have uploaded a logo to their website.
This means that uploading a logo to your Carrot website design will help you stand out even more.
The more unique and reputable your logo is, the more it will differentiate your website and build credibility.
Here are a few examples of Carrot members who use a logo to build credibility and differentiate their website.
Ashley Buys HousesGTeamHome Offer Kansas CitySell Now HomeBuyers…
Here’s a gif showing how easy adding a logo to your website is.
To learn more about adding a logo to your website, go here.
3. Adjust Website Colors < 2 Minutes
Colors have a deceptively significant impact on differentiating websites that – at their foundation – look similar. Just consider how different these Carrot websites look with the same theme but different colors.
The Carrot members that differentiate their website the most don’t only change the color, but they match the color of their logo to the color of their website. In other words, they create their brand colors and then add them to their Carrot website design.
We Buy Homes in TucsonHouston House BuyersCoachella Valley HomeBuyers
And here’s a gif showing how simple it is to change the base colors of your website.
To learn more about changing the colors of your Carrot website, go here.
4. Use A Branding Icon 3 Minutes
If you don’t have the time or finances to create a custom logo for your website, no worries—you can simply use our pre-made branding icons to differentiate your website.
Plus, only 8.5% of Carrot’s websites use branding icons, so you’ll stand out from the competition quite well.
Here’s an example of what it can look like.
Here’s a GIF showing how you can add a branding icon to your Carrot website design in just a few minutes.
5. Change Button Color < 2 Minutes
Similar to the overall branding colors of your Carrot website, the button color can help differentiate your business and even increase the chance of conversions.
We found, for instance, that changing the color of the button on one of our member’s websites from black to orange increased conversions by 29.55%.
The trick isn’t to change your button color to orange but to a color that stands out relative to the other colors on your homepage. Choose a color for your button that is either sparse or nowhere else on your homepage.
Something like this from House Heroes…
Or Krista Buys Houses…
And here’s a gif showing you how you can change the button color of your CTA.
To learn more about how to change the color of your CTA button, go here.
Imagery Changes
6. Update Hero Section 5 Minutes
The hero section image is the quickest and most significant visual update you can make. As a Carrot member, you can also quickly and easily customize the hero image on your website.
We recommend avoiding stock photos if you want to stand out from other Carrot members. Try using a photo directly from your market – something your market will recognize and think, Okay, I’m in the right place.
Consider the look and feel of these personalized hero photos on Carrot member websites.
Townsend Realty Group
Learn how Townsend Realty Group is achieving predictable business growth with Carrot at a 25% conversion rate.
Example in Baltimore – Juniper Design Template
Example in Louisville – Aspen Design Template
Example in Dallas, Texas – Hemlock Design Template
And here’s a gif that shows how easy it is to add your local image to your Carrot website design.
To learn more about changing your hero image, go here.
7. Add Local Images 10 Minutes
Like the hero section on your website, avoid stock photos and generic images throughout the rest of your website unless you are adding local or USA maps. To build trust and credibility with your target market, try using real photos of houses in your market. Place them throughout the website to make it clear to visitors that they’re in the right spot and that you’re the person to help them. To enhance the visual appeal of these images, consider using a photo editor like Picsart to optimize and polish the photos before uploading them to your website.
Consider how these Carrot members sprinkle personalized photos throughout their
websites.
The Beckham Group
We Buy Homes In Tucson
Sell Now Homebuyers
To learn more about adding images to your website pages, go here.
8. Adjust Your Hero Form Layout 3 Minutes
As a Carrot member, you can customize your form section with two clicks of a button (literally). You can easily change to three styles, regardless of your selected website style.
Column / Stacked / Inline
Simply choose the one that best fits your brand image. Each will convert well (we’ve tested them), so the choice is yours.
Go here to learn more about changing your form layout with a few clicks.
Credibility Improvements
9. Add a Credibility Bar 10 Minutes
Adding credibility to your website, whether you’re a Carrot member or not, is critical for your conversion rate. This is especially true in the real estate industry, where consumers try to work with someone they can trust who won’t deceive them.
Our credibility bar option is the perfect way to add a differentiating and trust-building flair to your website. You can use the credibility bar in several different ways on your Carrot website.
7DaysCash
Halo Home Buyers
Go here to learn more about adding a custom credibility bar to your website.
10. Add Testimonials 10 Minutes
The Credibility bar isn’t the only place to add a past customer testimonial to your website – and it’s not the only place you should.
You can also add testimonials to these spots on your website to build even more trust with visitors.
Here are a few different looks, including using video testimonials.
Ocean City Development
GuaranteedCashOffer
Sell Now Homebuyers – Video testimonial
Frank Jr Buys Houses – Video testimonials
If possible, your testimonials should have some, if not all, of these elements:
Full name of the person.
Professional title of the person.
Image or video of the person.
To learn more about adding testimonials to your Carrot website, go here.
11. Personalize the “About” Page 10 Minutes
When people visit a real estate website, our research shows that the “About” page is the third-most visited tab. You can further differentiate your website from the competition by writing up something personal, adding biographies and pics for team members, and casting company vision.
For inspiration, consider how these Carrot members have customized their About Page.
Triple C Properties
CR of Maryland
12. Add Badges 10 Minutes
Website badges that show what makes your company unique and different from the competition can be a great way to stand out online. For example, a website badge that says “Veteran Owned” or “100+ 5-Star Ratings.”
Here are a few examples.
Nextwave HomebuyersWarrior Property SolutionsKind House Buyers
Consider your unique selling proposition for your business and create a badge that expresses that on your website.
With this, you’ll sell or buy stronger and faster than the competition and quickly differentiate yourself from other clutter online.
Easy Editing
13. Visual Block Editor
Like anything in life, there are trade-offs. The “big” low-cost website builders (think Wix, Squarespace, and WordPress themes) chose to go all-in on ease of use and sacrifice performance for their clients. You would save a bit of time, but it could cost you tens of thousands of dollars (or more) from underperformance.
Performance and results and easy editing At Carrot, we have been all-in on performance since the beginning. We created the easy drag-and-drop Visual editing experience on our websites so that users can enjoy both benefits without sacrificing either.
What the Visual Editor helps you do
A few benefits you’ll enjoy with this powerful Visual Editor include…
No more switching back and forth from editor to page – now see all your edits in real-time, including your hero section, forms, and more!
Use Drag and Drop tools to easily create and edit pages with movable and reusable block patterns!
Make your website stand out visually without having to use any fancy code.
Enjoy the new “Full-Screen Mode” to have the most beautiful, clean, and simple editing experience possible… without the distractions (try this mode, you’ll love it!)
SEO Grader updates: 1) Your SEO grade for the page will update in real-time without you having to save the page, and 2) Now get SEO grades for multiple keywords for the same page! (this is huge)
No loss of page speed
… and more
Here are some examples of designs you can easily create with the visual editor…
Your website’s blog represents a phenomenal opportunity to differentiate your business from the competition.
Our Grow Carrot plans provide monthly content for your website, but sometimes it’s worth tweaking these blog posts to fit your market and business positioning better.
Here are a few ways to quickly tweak them to fit your target market better.
Localize the tips and advice.
Add a bit of your advice.
Add your tone of voice to the article.
Consider Fox Realty Group – a Carrot member – and how they’ve customized their blog content without getting too complicated.
Fox Realty
So if you have more money than time, another way to differentiate your Carrot blog is by upgrading your plan.
Conclusion
We’re not going to sugarcoat this… Customizing your website takes work. Unless you outsource your website customization, you’ll need to invest time.
You now know how to customize your Carrot website design without sacrificing aesthetics or conversion rate. Use these 14 ways to differentiate your website and stand out from the competition – even if that competition consists of other Carrot members.
Many people don’t customize their website with the above simple changes, so if you do, you have a far better chance of standing apart and cutting through the online clutter – to be seen by your target market faster and more often.
If you don’t have the time to make these changes, check out our Concierge Setup Service, where we’ll do it for you.
Either way, happy customizing and happy converting.
Master communication and networking and you will master anything you put your mind to.
– Brett Iwanowicz
3 Costly Mistakes Newer Investors Need to Understand w/ Brett Iwanowicz
Brett Iwanowicz is closing just under two deals per month on average, but it wasn’t always this way. Brett struggled with anxiety, feelings of inadequacy, and low-self esteem. It took him a long time to decide what he wanted in life and find the momentum to get him there.
Today, Brett is living life on his terms. By surrounding himself with the right people, building credibility through video, and figuring out exactly what he wants his life to look like, Brett is carving out the life of his dreams. Today, he is sharing his early mistakes so you can learn how to avoid them.
Read the Full Show Notes Below…
Brett Iwanowicz is a property wholesaler in upstate New York. His journey is not unlike many others in that he has battled insecurities, fear, and a lack of direction.
While it took him a few years to get where he wanted to be, he used his pain to propel him into new directions that gave him the ability to carve out his dream lifestyle.
Today Brett is sharing 3 of his greatest rookie mistakes and how they led him to where he is today.
1. Understanding Your Budget
When Brett started his wholesaling business, he knew it was important to set a budget. What he didn’t know, is that when it comes to marketing, you’ll want to budget for at least a year of implementing the same technique.
Let’s say you choose direct mail, don’t dive in, feel dissatisfied with the results, and put the rest of your time, money, and energy into something else. Stay the course. Create a sustainable budget that will help you build that initial momentum.
2. Understanding the Mind of a Seller
Successful people aren’t always the smartest, but they are always the friendliest. Once Brett realized that he didn’t need to be “smart” to get into real estate, everything changed.
What he realized, is that in order to be successful, he needed to be the nicest one. He changed his mindset and went full-steam ahead!
3. Understanding Your Strengths and Weaknesses
Brett has always struggled with numbers, which stopped him from really getting out there sooner. His fear of talking numbers kept him away from the closing table more times than he would like to admit.
He conquered this by surrounding himself with the right people, His peers taught him and put him in connection with people who can help. Once he had a little money to his name, Brett hired a coach and focused on personal development. His coach taught him how to plan and set goals.
Finding Your Mission
Back when Carrot was first getting started, I set a lot of goals for myself and wasn’t hitting any of them. I felt defeated so put the goals away until we moved a few years later. Once I read them over, I laughed
I had hit all of those goals that had seemed too far-fetched at the time. For Brett, it took him several years to live his life by design. But he never gave up. He knew what he wanted, created a plan, and did the work. You can too.
Carrot Websites Hold More #1 Search Rankings Then Any Other Real Estate Websites
Carrot sites are built to perform. We’ve found that Carrot leads not only convert 7x higher than other lead sources, they also bring in 2.5x more profit per deal.
Take our free interactive demo to get a full walkthrough of what Carrot can do for you.
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Don’t settle for a website that’s just a “glorified business card.” Leverage Carrot’s Lead Generation Hub to attract, convert, and close more deals!
Getting your real estate business online is the easy part. But what happens next? Most website providers will get your site up and running, but then leave all the real hard work up to you. Without understanding what it takes to elevate your real estate investor website to the next level, you might as well be handing potential customers a glorified business card that has little chance of generating high-quality leads.
With Carrot’s real estate marketing platform you’ll never be left to handle all the ins and outs on your own. As you’ll see in our interactive demo, we’ve simplified the web building process with Visual Editor technology so even novices can create their own high-converting website that acts as a Lead Generation Hub. Utilizing Evergreen marketing strategies combined with effective SEO tools like Keyword Explorer and Content Packs, watch your Google ranking skyrocket as you gain the competitive edge. Tie in some world-class support and professional services, and soon you’ll see why Carrot is the industry leader for attracting the right site traffic, converting highly-motivated leads, and closing more deals than ever before.
One lost deal from an under-performing website can cost you upwards of $10,000. So the question is: How many deals can you afford to lose?
Ready to amplify your online lead generation with Carrot?
Start with a high-performing website
Carrot websites are built with performance and conversion in mind. With site templates pre-built with SEO-friendly content to help you attract a specific type of lead and designs optimized for desktop and mobile, Carrot makes it easy to build a high-performing website that actively works to attract and convert leads for you, whether you’re an experienced online marketer or just getting started.
Build online authority and credibility
To break out the cycle of hamster wheel marketing and chasing down leads, you need a solid online marketing strategy. But not everyone has the tools, time, and expertise to do what it takes to build online authority with content marketing and get their website on the first page of Google search results. Carrot makes it easy with an entire suite of tools aimed at doing just that — improving your SEO ranking with automated blogs, keyword tracking, and other time-saving online marketing tools and done-for-you services.
Backed by a team dedicated to your success
Whether you’re just getting started or are a real estate marketing pro, we know everyone could use a little — or a lot — of help now and then. That’s why we have an entire team of product and real estate experts ready to help you with all of your questions. From troubleshooting to strategy building, Carrot has your back.
The tools you need, nothing you don’t.
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Carrot isn’t just a website — it’s a Lead Generation Hub.
How hard is your website working for you? It may be pretty, but is it helping you stand out in your market and build online authority to generate consistent — and qualified — leads?
Other website providers:
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Backed by a team dedicated to your site’s performance
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Supports many types of real estate and local business providers
Provides training and support from our team of product and marketing experts
Real estate negotiation is a hot topic. Every month, according to Google, there are 700 searches for phrases similar to “how to negotiate the house price.”
Couple that with 63.3% of businesses with no formal negotiation process having decreased net income… you have a MAJOR opportunity.
How to negotiate house price Google Search trends
Join Our 30 Day Authority Building Challenge: Dominate your market, build a consistent and predictable lead flow, and earn more income.
When it comes to negotiations, specific tactics work overtime. So we’ve compiled a list of some common real estate negotiation strategies.
But we all know the price is not set before diving in. And neither is a seller’s immediate inclination to work with or not with you, the real estate agent or investor.
They could call you ready to sell but a few days later lose interest. Or they could call skeptically and leave the call prepared to sign.
How you negotiate with sellers and buyers determines these outcomes: what you say, what questions you ask… even how you talk.
We spoke with some experienced real estate investors and agents and asked them how they negotiate with sellers to close more (and more profitable) deals. We threw in some of our advice from decades of combined experience.
Keep reading to get real estate negotiation tips!
Or you can download our real estate sales negotiation playbook by clicking below — it’s got proven-to-work scripts, six questions to ask on every call, and a fool-proof seller scoring system.
The Pre-Negotiation: Base-Setting For The Verbal Negotiations
The first thing we’d like to mention is the pre-negotiation before diving into the 20 real estate negotiation tips our three experts offered.
Before you get on a call with a seller for the first time, they have some preconceived notions about who you are, what you do, and what your business is like. They’ve unknowingly gathered this information through your offline marketing materials (direct mail, bandit signs, etc.) and online marketing materials (your website and digital advertisements) and perhaps through referrals from a friend or family member.
Maybe, they come in thinking that you’re desperate for deals. Maybe, they come in thinking that you’re trustworthy and level-headed. Maybe they come in having no idea about what you do but are curious about how you might be able to help them.
Whatever they believe, for better or worse, it’s a direct result of the brand you’ve created.
That’s why building a well-respected brand in your community is so important. It makes sellers more likely to trust your opinions, value your input, and answer your questions honestly, making your job as a salesperson much easier.
But how do you set the stage for effective and profitable negotiations?
Here are some quick tips…
Add Credibility To Your Website — When someone visits your website, you want to build as much credibility as possible… as fast as possible.
This means including testimonials from past happy sellers, emphasizing that you’re a local real estate investor, showing your online reviews, being honest about your process, and sharing your company’s vision and mission.
Video testimonials are particularly effective. Here’s an example from a Carrot member (Carrot websites provide a lot of space for adding credibility and, for that reason, are the highest-converting websites in the industry!)…
Set The Tone — With the colors, words, and font you choose for your offline and online marketing materials; you’re creating a tone of voice for your brand. Maybe it’s stoic and professional.
Or maybe it’s casual and fun. Or maybe it’s kind and lighthearted. Or maybe it’s hasty and irreverent. Whatever the case, beware of the tone you create… because callers will expect that same tone when speaking with you on the phone.
Be Honest — One of the best ways to differentiate yourself from the competition is to be upfront and honest. Being dishonest will almost always backfire. It’s better to tell people who you help and how you can help them so that the right people dial your number in the first place.
20 Real Estate Negotiation Tips from 3 Negotiation Experts
1. Don’t Ask For a Price Right Away
This first tip comes from John Martinez, the founder of REI Sales Academy.
To avoid spending too much time talking to tire-kickers, many real estate investors will ask the seller for their lowest price within the first five minutes of the call.
John recommends not doing that. He suggests that investors focus on price only after you’ve sold the seller on yourself and your business (more on that in the next tip).
Why?
First, once you’ve spoken to the seller about your process and built some trust, the number they gave you will probably change… so why use it at all?
Second, hearing a seller request a high price will usually make the salesperson (you or someone on your team) feel unmotivated to continue the call. They likely won’t operate at the same level of salesmanship.
So while it might sound counterintuitive, it’s best to leave the price for last.
2. Sell Them Before You Make an Offer
This tip also comes from John Martinez, and it’s similar to the first tip… but about your offer.
You don’t want to hear the seller’s number until a little bit later in the call (as mentioned above) to build trust before discussing the price.
The other side of this coin is that you don’t want to make an offer until you’ve built trust and sold them on yourself and your business.
The real lesson of these two tips is that you don’t want to talk about price until the seller trusts you — a discussion of price is virtually useless, and negotiations even more so if the seller doesn’t trust you.
Additionally, holding back the price discussion will give you more time to gather valuable information on why the seller is selling, what motivates them, and why they’re selling to you. That information, in turn, will give you “ammunition” for the price discussion…
“I know that price is lower than you were hoping for. But do you think getting out of your tough situation is worth it?”
3. Be Open & Honest
The more honest you can make the discussion between yourself and the seller — the more open they are to share pertinent information with you — the easier it’ll be to negotiate.
Period.
Have you ever negotiated with someone, for example, where it felt like there was no way you would agree… but you didn’t know why?
Like there was some big unseen brick wall between the two of you?
That’s usually because the seller hasn’t told you something — maybe they’re not the real decision-maker, maybe they need a certain amount of money to pay off additional debt, maybe they’re going through something that they haven’t shared, or maybe they’re too emotionally connected to the home.
Whatever the case, most of those hurdles can be overcome if they’re out in the open… if you can discuss them honestly and with empathy for their situation with the seller.
Here are some of the questions John recommends asking to pull out important (potentially hidden) information…
Ask the homeowner if they can hold the house for another 5+ years and what that will mean for them.
Can they make the repairs themselves to resell at a higher price? And what will that look like for them?
You’ll also want to address any concerns influencers bring up, including the seller’s family, CPA, attorney, etc.
4. Allow The Seller To Squeeze Every Dollar Out Of You
The seller wants to get as much money for their home as possible. And you want to pay as little for their home as possible.
So it might sound counter-intuitive — and again, this is advice from John Martinez — to allow the seller to squeeze every last dollar out of the deal.
But there’s a difference between getting hustled and allowing the seller to get as much money for their home as possible.
After all, the seller wants to feel like they’re getting an excellent deal — like they’ve negotiated as far as possible and gotten the best home offer.
For that reason, starting with your max offer is a bad idea.
Instead, start by offering $20,000 or $30,000 lower than (depending on the value of the home) your max offer. Then if the seller balks, offer ways for them to increase their offer — maybe you give better deals to veterans, or maybe they get a better deal if they move out faster or if they sign papers within 24 hours, or maybe they get a better deal if they clean out the home before moving.
“I can offer you an extra $10,000 if you sign the papers within 24 hours.”
“I can offer you an extra $5,000 if you clean out the home before you leave.”
This will give the seller room to feel like they’re negotiating with you and squeezing every last penny out of the deal when, in reality, you’re in control of negotiations the whole time.
5. Don’t Provide Options; Give Your Expert Recommendation
Maybe I’m alone in this, but I love when I go to a nice restaurant and ask for recommendations, and the waiter or waitress tells me what I should order.
Better yet, when I go to restaurants with tastings menus, I don’t have to decide what to eat.
I get to trust the food experts.
Just like the seller gets to trust you, the real estate expert.
Maybe you have a “menu” of real estate services that you offer — buying for cash, selling on the MLS, listing homes, etc. But just because you offer all of those services doesn’t mean you should offer all of them to everyone.
You shouldn’t.
There is such a thing as having too many choices (think of the last time you and your significant other were trying to decide where to eat for dinner), and you don’t want to put the seller in that position, giving them “analysis paralysis.”
Instead, determine the service that would benefit the seller and only offer it to them (unless it later becomes clear that some other service would be more fitting).
You’re the expert, after all.
And they want your opinion about what they should “order.” Tell them your recommendation and leave your other services on the bench.
6. Extract Information
This next tip comes from Steve Trang, real estate investor, agent, and creator of “The Perfect Seller Appointment Scoring System“ (which you can access inside our free guide!).
In the last tip, we discussed offering the seller something that fits their situation.
But that’s not something you’ll be able to do until you’ve asked questions and extracted pertinent information.
This is your first goal on any call — to learn about the seller, why they called you, why they want to sell their home, what problems they’re facing, and how they think you can help.
The more you know about the situation, the easier it’ll be to work with them.
So ask a lot of questions.
Top-performing salespeople ask questions more than they try to pitch or convince…
Here are some top questions you should ask sellers (you can get a complete list in our free sales playbook!)…
How are you hoping I can help you?
This is a great home. Why would you consider selling to an investor like me?
Who else has input on the sale of your home?
Who will be impacted by the sale of your home?
7. Set Rules
So far, we’ve talked a lot about building trust with the seller, being honest and transparent, and asking questions to understand where the seller is coming from.
But before any of that happens, Steve Trang recommends setting some “ground rules” for the discussion before the discussion begins — this will allow you to maintain control of the conversation and keep it progressing in a productive direction.
What does he mean by “ground rules”?
First, Steve will let the person know how the conversation will go and what they can expect. He’ll ask for their consent to continue the conversation and that they’re transparent.
Here are a few of his rules…
If I make you an offer, I ask that you’re comfortable with telling me “no” if the price doesn’t make sense.
If you like my offer, you agree that you’ll put it in writing.
Saying you need “time to think about it” is against the rules. Instead, you can tell me “no”.
Additionally, if the client gets off-topic during the conversation, Steve will ask them to pause and to write down everything they were going to say. Then he’ll ask a new question to progress the conversation.
This might seem intense.
But it’s an effective way to progress the conversation and build respect. And if done right — with empathy and kindness — it can be highly effective for closing deals.
8. Look For “No”
It probably sounds a little odd to try and get the seller to say “No” to you, but according to Jim Camp, the author of Start With No, that’s precisely what you should do.
Here’s how he explains it…
“‘no’ gets you past emotional and trivial issues to essential issues. We want decision-based negotiation, not the emotion-based waste of time known as win-win.”
And again…
“Embrace ‘no’ at every opportunity in a negotiation. Don’t fear the word; invite it. You do not take it as a personal rejection because you are not needy. You understand that every ‘no’ is reversible.”
When you allow the person to tell you “no”… when you try and get them to say “no,” you create opportunities to address their largest objections, to discuss the real worries and concerns that are stopping them from working with you.
You allow for progress to be made in the negotiations.
Price anchoring is just one example of this.
That’s when you intentionally make the seller a massively low-ball offer to find their bottom price — for a home you’re willing to pay $100,000 for, you might start by offering $40,000 or $50,000 to see how they react…
“Oh, heck no. I wouldn’t take a penny less than $80,000.”
Works like a charm.
9. Nail Your Branding
Branding is an essential part of any marketing strategy.
86% of consumers say authenticity is crucial when deciding what brands they like and support.
81% of consumers said they need to be able to trust the brand to buy from them.
Using a signature color can increase brand recognition by 80%
It takes about .05 seconds for people to form an opinion about your website.
The consistent brand presentation has been seen to increase revenue by 33%.
Now those stats are mainly referring to the e-commerce industry.
But if people care so much about working with authentic and trustworthy brands when buying a pair of sneakers online, how much more do they care about it when buying or selling a home?
Real estate amplifies the need for branding.
HOWEVER…
That doesn’t mean you have to build a super professional and formal website so that people will think you’re the bee’s knees — remember that authenticity is one of the key things people care about.
One of our favorite examples of authentic (and practical) branding comes from a Carrot member, Brian Rockwell — he’s an investor in Dallas and Fort Worth…
His homepage is clean, to the point, and semi-casual…
And his “Our Company” page takes authenticity and personability to a whole new level, with a picture of him and his family and the company’s core values…
This might not be a direct negotiation tip, per se — but your online branding sets the tone for negotiations. It helps determine how much people trust you and see you as the expert before you speak with them. That’s super important.
10. Use Scripts
If you’re an expert salesperson who knows your target market extremely well and you’ve been doing this for a long time, then maybe you don’t feel the need to use scripts.
That’s fine.
But maybe you’re not a total expert yet… or you’re leading a team of salespeople who still have some stuff to learn.
Either way, scripts can help.
We’re not saying that you should stick to scripts even when the conversation takes some unexpected turns — as a salesperson, you need to be adaptable — but it’s good to have a script in front of you. That will help keep the conversation moving in the right direction if it gets off the rails.
And you can click below to get your free negotiation playbook & scripts — stolen straight from the desks of expert investors and agents ;-)
When negotiating with a seller whose home is in distress, you might think that pointing out the problems you’ll have to fix — smoke stains, broken windows, trashed lawn, etc. — will help the seller understand why your offer is what it is.
And to some degree, that’s true.
You want to be honest with the seller about your costs so that they have more realistic expectations for what you can offer them.
However, it’s essential to be careful about bringing those things up.
The homeowner is likely attached to their property — maybe they inherited it from now-deceased parents, or they used to live there themselves.
Either way, there are emotions involved.
So instead of saying, “Look — your home is in terrible condition” or something similar, stick to the facts and avoid emotion: “We estimate that we’re going to spend about $XX,XXX to fix up the home. That’s why our offer is what it is.”
12. Trust The Follow-Up
As a salesperson, people are going to tell you “no.”
It’s bound to happen, so it’s best to become comfortable with that word.
The good news is that most deals happen during the follow-up process, especially when you’re making lowball offers.
People will say “no” initially because they’re surprised and upset. But then they’ll think about it. Maybe you send them a text message and an email or give them a phone call.
After a few months, they still haven’t sold their house on the MLS.
Now they’re ready to sell to you.
And if you’ve followed up consistently (say, a couple of times a month), they know how to reach you.
Ryan Dossey once told us that he closes 90% of his deals during the follow-up process, not during the first phone call.
So follow up consistently and trust in the process — most of your deals are yet to come.
13. Learn to Blank Slate
This tip comes from Jim Camp’s great sales book: Start With No
In that book, Camp suggests that every salesperson should have a “blank slate before entering into a negotiation.”
Take a deep breath and let go of all opinions, biases, emotions, and preconceived notions about how the negotiations should go.
He said…
“Your ability to blank slate is directly related to your ability to rid yourself of expectations and assumptions, two very bad words in my negotiation system.”
Why?
Because expectations and emotions add an unnecessary wild card to the negotiation table — if you’re too emotional, you might make a bad deal… if you’re frustrated from something that happened earlier, you might lose your patience… if you’re too opinionated and outspoken, you might miss out on getting vital information from the buyer or seller.
So before you negotiate, take a deep breath and remind yourself that you don’t need this deal and will just see how things go.
There’ll be many more deals in the future.
14. Understand The Numbers
Of course, “blank slating” doesn’t equate to being unprepared.
Before you negotiate with a buyer or seller, you should know the details of the deal as well as possible — how long the person has owned the home, how much equity they have, why they want to sell, your max offer, how much it’ll cost to fix up, etc.
Those numbers are critical for real estate negotiation because they’ll help you negotiate.
If, for example, the seller asks for an explanation of why your offer is so low, you can explain the math to them.
Knowing why they want to sell and/or how much equity they have can give you insight into their behavior if they shy away from your initial offer.
So yes, you want to blank slate.
But you also want to be as prepared as possible.
15. Include an Escalation Clause
As a buyer’s agent, it’s important to be as efficient and effective as possible. Your clients don’t want to spend the next 6 months looking for a home…
They want to find one that fits their desires, put an offer down, and close the deal.
To keep your clients happy, it’s in your interest to help give every offer they make a good chance of being accepted.
And that’s why you might consider including an escalation clause when the market is competitive — this says that if someone else offers more than your client’s offer, they’ll make a new offer that’s $5,000 or $10,000 more than the counter-offer.
Of course, you’ll want to clear this with your client first.
But it can be an effective way to help your clients secure a home.
16. Try To Meet in Person
Technology has made it super easy to “meet” with sellers.
You can text them, email them, or call them.
Heck — virtual wholesaling is now possible as well!
But still, nothing is quite as meaningful or powerful for negotiations as meeting in person — that is (and will always be) the quickest way to build rapport and show buyers or sellers that you value their time and respect them.
If you invest in a state where you don’t live, it might even be worth hiring a salesperson in that area to meet with sellers or buyers for you.
There’s a lot of power in face-to-face interactions.
So whenever possible, do negotiations in person.
17. Leverage Closing Costs
For real estate investors and agents, closing costs can be a helpful asset during negotiations.
Since closing costs are immediate and relatively expensive, many buyers and sellers would like to avoid them.
As an investor, reminding people that you will pay all closing costs can help push them over the edge. For example…
“I know that the offer is a little bit lower than you want, but keep in mind that I’m going to pay all closing costs for you — that would usually be somewhere around $10,000 — also keep in mind that I’m going to buy your house as-is and close in just a couple of weeks. Real estate agents aren’t able to do that.”
As a real estate agent, closing costs can be used during the negotiation phase between buyers and sellers to increase or decrease the home’s total price.
Buyers might offer to pay closing costs for a slight discount on the price of the home, and sellers might offer to pay closing costs for a slight increase in the price of the home.
It’s a vital real estate negotiation tactic to keep in mind.
18. Use an Expiration Date
Expiration dates are an effective negotiation strategy for agents and investors to keep in their back pocket.
Agents can add expiration dates to offers or counter-offers to increase the buyer or seller’s response speed. And investors can use expiration dates to increase urgency around their cash offers…
“If you sign the papers within a week, I will offer you $10,000 more. But you have to sign by Friday.”
For humans, urgency is a powerful motivator.
And offers without urgency result in people procrastinating on making a decision — or being wishy-washy with what they say.
That’s why expiration dates are so helpful.
19. Use Affirmative Language
Salespeople with a positive outlook and attitude often achieve better results — so stick to the bright side as much as possible.
InPower Coaching offers the following examples of “affirming language”…
“I appreciate everything you have offered, especially [example concession they’ve made], and I’m glad you like [example concession I’ve made]. Would you be willing to include [request]?”
“I understand you’re wanting X, Y, Z, correct? If this is true, I’m happy we can give you X and Y, but unfortunately, we cannot do Z for [reason].”
Notice how those statements keep things optimistic?
That’s because when you stay optimistic — and treat problems, concerns, or objections as though they’re overshadowed by more important benefits (in attitude, not in words) — the person listening to you will often follow suit.
They’ll be more optimistic and start seeing the value of what you’re offering.
So practice staying positive.
20. Use Storytelling
When someone has an objection, what do you say?
Imagine, for instance, someone saying, “Well, how do I know that you’ll be able to close in two weeks?”
You could look them in the eye and say, “Trust me. I will.”
Maybe that’s persuasive enough.
Maybe it isn’t.
Another option is to get in the habit of telling stories to overcome objections.
Here’s an example.
If the seller says, “Well, how do I know you’ll be able to close in two weeks?” I could respond to that by telling a story…
“Funny you say that. I was working with a homeowner last week who was in a real bind to sell. If he didn’t sell within two weeks, he risked getting his home repossessed by the bank. It was a huge mess. And reasonably, he asked me the same question. He said, ‘How do I know you’ll close in time so I don’t lose my home?’ — I’ll tell you what I told him.
I’ve worked in this market for a long time- I’ve helped buy and sell hundreds of homes — and never once have I missed a deadline. The service I offer sellers like yourself IS selling fast… and if I can’t do that… well, I don’t have much of a business, do I?“
That’s a lot more convincing than just asking someone to trust you.
So get in the habit of telling stories, and your negotiations will be far more effective and lucrative.
Final Thoughts
At least part of your success as a real estate agent or investor depends on your ability to negotiate, which means communicating clearly, listening well, building trust, and even knowing when to walk away.
You can use the 20 real estate negotiation tips above to become a better negotiator. For more resources and real estate marketing materials, click on the link!
Get Your FREE Sales Negotiation Playbook & Scripts!
By now, you’ve probably heard about Google’s upcoming Core Web Vitals update and are wondering what it means for your site, where you should be looking to learn more, and what you should be doing to prepare.
Back in June, we provided a brief overview of the Google update (officially titled the “Page Experience Update”) and an introduction to Core Web Vitals – the metrics playing the most prominent role in the update.
Recap:
The Page Experience Update is introducing Core Web Vitals to Google’s search ranking algorithm for the first time. Core Web Vitals are a series of pagespeed scores relating to how quickly a page loads, how quickly that page is interactive, and how stable that page is visually. Google started introducing elements of this update to their algorithm in mid-June, with the goal for it to play a full role by the end of August 2021.
Over the past several months, our Carrot Engineering Team has been identifying, optimizing, and improving features and elements that directly contribute to better user experience and site speed metrics.
As that work continues to make our sites faster and better than ever, we’ve compiled some of the most common questions, issues, and misconceptions we’ve seen as a resource for you to be ahead of the game on your end.
DO Understand Testing Tools
We get this question a lot: how do you test your site speed and Core Web Vitals and what tool should you use? At Carrot, we recommend using Google’s PageSpeed Insights Tool because – regardless of which tool you choose – the most important consideration is that you be consistent.
To us, using Google’s own tool makes the most sense. If you’re using the Chrome Browser, the Lighthouse Tool in the Developer Tools is another great option.
That said, we always want to be sure that our members understand the differences and caveats between those snapshot scores provided by tools and the scores that are actually being used in Google’s algorithm. Google differentiates them into two categories: lab data and field data.
Lab Data – Provided By Testing Tools
Lab data is exactly what it sounds like – data collected in a lab, or in this case, a single snapshot report performed by Google’s PageSpeed Insights Tool or any other third-party testing tool.
It uses your own browser or another emulated device to load your website in a simulated environment and capture the key metrics that contribute to Core Web Vitals and Page Experience. These scores are meant to be consistent baselines and are not necessarily reflective of actual user experience.
Just like in a real lab, you want to control for all variables when running experiments and tests on your website. Google’s page speed tool (and most other tools) do this by loading your site on a simulated older generation smartphone with only a 3G connection to determine mobile “site speed” scores.
This is meant to represent the absolute baseline and used as a tool for debugging any performance issues with your site. It’s useful for looking at where you can improve your scores, but it’s not useful for understanding real user experience. Most users are on newer mobile devices with better connections and WiFi.
Their experience is better than in the simulated snapshot and contributes to field data – the real scores used by Google’s search ranking algorithm.
Field Data – Provided By Real User Experience
Like we said above – field data is what Google is actually introducing to their search algorithm. It represents the actual user experiences collected by the Chrome User Experience Report (or CrUX) when users visit your site. Google then looks at the 75th percentile of those scores, and that’s your actual “score” used by their algorithm.
Just like with Google’s more commonly-known ranking indicators, we lose visibility and transparency the closer we get to the algorithm. So while snapshot lab data scores can be accessed whenever we feel like running a tool, user experience field data is more ambiguous and inaccessible.
There are two primary areas where you can gain insights about your real user experience scores if your site has sufficient traffic/data for Google to generate reports. That’s in the Core Web Vitals tab of Google Search Console or at the top of reports in the PageSpeed Insights Tool.
For individual URLs, you may see an error – “Field Data — The Chrome User Experience Report does not have sufficient real-world speed data for this page.” This means that there is not enough CrUX data available to generate a representative anonymous view of your performance.
If you find this to be the case, no sweat – you just need more visitors, and the best way to do that is by focusing on generating great content first.
This leads us into our next section…
DON’T Stop Focusing On Content
Under no circumstance should you stop what you’re doing to generate great content and drop everything to focus on Core Web Vitals.
Here’s some guidance directly from the source – Google…
“While page experience is important, Google still seeks to rank pages with the best information overall, even if the page experience is subpar. Great page experience doesn’t override having great page content.” – Understanding page experience in Google Search results
In other words, page experience and site speed scores are just other ingredients in the complex recipe Google uses to produce search results and rankings.
Relevant, useful, informative, and high-quality content will continue to outperform competitors and other websites – because, at the end of the day, a visitor is seeking content first. Page speed is just another supplemental measurement.
At Carrot, we have always excelled on the content side of things. That’s our bread and butter! So while Google’s Page Experience Update is certainly something to keep an eye on now and in the future, we highly recommend that you continue leveraging our tools and investing your time, resources, and creative efforts to produce high-quality, relevant content above all else.
Another note: Core Web Vitals will only apply to mobile search results. Across our network, we see that nearly 40% of inbound traffic (and leads!) to Carrot sites still occur on desktop. Those desktop search results will not be impacted by this update at all. That’s why content is still so important.
DO Take A Minimalist (And Mobile First!) Approach To Design
Because this update applies solely to mobile search, it underscores the importance of taking a mobile-first approach when looking at your website content and design. Let’s face it – mobile has taken over.
As we mentioned, 60% of traffic across our Carrot network occurs on a mobile device. Keep that in mind when thinking about how to layout and implement content on your site. Sometimes, less is more.
We recently did a series of conversion tests that reiterates this point. We found that simply reducing the amount of content in a website’s main hero section and form, could increase conversion rates by up to 50%!
This test confirmed our theory that by reducing the clutter that a visitor sees, they will be more likely to engage with the lead form.
The same principle applies to site speed and performance. Each additional element that you include on a page requires additional resources to process, render, and place that element on the page. That results in additional time that it takes the page to load.
In the left image, the form is prominent and the page isn’t blocked from loading by resource-heavy elements. In the right image, there are more elements to load, and the form is pushed “below the fold.”
The most common abuses of this also often incorporate some of the most resource-heavy elements – like pictures and videos placed all around the page, or high up near the top of the page.
While we encourage you to continue creating great content to highlight your credibility and experience, we also encourage you to be mindful of how, and where, you deploy that on your site. Run snapshots before and after adding it and see how it impacts your scores.
At the end of the day, the goal of your site is to generate leads. With so many users now browsing on their phones, it increases the importance of improving user experience in more ways than just site speed.
By taking a step back and considering how some of your content elements might be drawing attention away from conversion elements or impacting a visitor’s experience on your site, you’ll also be guaranteed to improve your site speed metrics at the same time.
DO Take Image Optimization Seriously
While we are on the content note, we understand that there are naturally going to be images and graphics you want to include to help highlight your experience and improve your site aesthetic.
We highly recommend being cognizant of the various ways to ensure you aren’t overburdening your site’s speed and performance when adding images.
Just like with content elements, too many unnecessary tracking scripts and third-party codes can also overburden your site and negatively impact your Core Web Vitals scores.
The same concept applies: each script or code snippet you add requires more resources to execute.
We get it – some tracking scripts like Google Analytics, Google Ads, and the Facebook pixel might be necessary for your marketing if you’re making ad-buying decisions based on those metrics. In this case, you have to consider it a trade-off.
In exchange for gaining visibility into those tracking metrics and insights, you’re negatively impacting your site speed marginally. Which is more important to you? In most cases, those tracking analytics will outweigh site speed.
If you aren’t heavily and consistently using these tracking tools, perhaps consider what you really need and what you can get rid of. Over time, the addition of individual scripts and code snippets can naturally bloat if not routinely audited for only the most necessary scripts. This is one of the most common variables we see when reviewing customer site speed report results.
Note: This also applies to any additional third-party scripts and services like chatbots, call tracking, etc.
Finally, DON’T Freak Out…
Core Web Vitals and Google’s Page Experience Update are certainly complicated, but by taking the time to understand the basics and paired with our Engineering Team’s work to optimize your site, you’ll be ahead of most site owners.
Screaming Frog analyzed 20,000 URLs last year, and only 12% of mobile sites and 13% of desktop sites passed the Core Web Vitals assessment. There is a lot of work for everyone to do, and we’re committed to continuing to provide you with the resources and updates you need.
We’re thankful for a great community of members who are really supporting what we’re doing here at Carrot to help transform the way high-achieving real estate agents and investors use the internet to grow their real estate business.
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