I recently wrote a blog to one of my clients that I have the house listed entitled,
"Dear Mr. & Mrs. Seller Your 
House Hasn't Sold". The purpose of the letter was to let my clients know that the listing agent is ultimately responsible for the sale of the home but the seller also plays a role in making this happen as well. Even the best intentions won't pan out if the seller doesn't go along with the marketing plan. Thankfully, with the help of a post where I solicited advice from Activerainers called Need Listing Advice from opinionated AR Listing Agents-Are you one of them?, I shared the feedback with my client and their willing response to the feedback ultimately allowed me to sell this listing in less than 45 days. If you read the blog you would probably notice that this home sat on the market for over a year before I took over the listing.
I asked my client why he chose me to sell his home and he had indicated that he was incredibly impressed with my ability to get the word out through the internet. He wanted to know how I successfully continue to be listed at the top of the rankings in my area and have such high search results on the major search engines - Google, Yahoo, and MSN to name a few.
That said, I read a post by Brian Block's recent post "Preemptive Blogging.....Impress your Sellers with your SEO" and post by Broker Bryant entitled, If you really are "The Expert".....then show them. Push the juice. which has lead me to write my own blog where I show you how internet marketing and search engine optimization has helped me with my business and also pleased my clients. The bottom line - All agents are not created equal and it's an agents job to make sure that the home that your marketing doesn't blend in with all of the rest. You have to make sure your clients home gets the exposure and rises above the other homes in your market.
In addition, I've decided to write another letter that I will use with my sellers in my Fonville Morisey Listing Presentations that will demonstrate how successful my strategy has been. The results are out there - it would be CRAZY for me not to demonstrate my talents and marketing abilities.
Dear Mr. and Mrs. Need T. Sell,
It was a pleasure speaking with you earlier today and I am looking forward to meeting with you tomorrow to get your property on the market. I will send over a preliminary Market Analysis later but thought it would be helpful to you if you did a little research on me first. I just know that you're the type that does your homework. Here are some links that will give you a great idea of who I am and how I handle my business. They will also give you a sampling of how your property will be displayed on the Internet. So click away and enjoy. OK here goes:
My web site:
My blog sites:
A little personal info on me:
Top Searches in the Cary real estate market:
- Google Results for Cary NC Real Estate - The most searched term in real estate in the Triangle - I am currently listed on Page 1 and Page 2 with my webite addresses and on Page 3 with Activerain.
- MSN Results for Cary NC Real Estate - Bottom of Page 1 with my personal website.
Top Searches for Cary NC Real Estate Agent:
- Cary NC Real Estate Agent - I am generally on the top 3 pages here which is critical to capturing the buyer audience. My Activerain profile is 3rd on Page 1 ahead of Zillow!! Localism profile on Page 2, and my website at the top of Page 3.
- Yahoo! Cary NC Real Estate Agent - I am on Page 1 of this search.
- Fonville Morisey Realtor - Top of Page 2 in search of over 700 Agents
Fonville Morisey searches and comparisons:
- Google Results for Fonville Morisey Buyers Agent -The results are powerful. I have 5 listings on the first 3 pages of Google
- Google Results for Fonville Morisey Listing Agent - These results show you the power of an agent with area wide exposure. Again: 3 Entries on Page 1 of Google
- Google Results for Cary NC Listing Agent - These results show you the power of an agent with a strong online presence. Top of Page 2 in a top notch group of agents
Top Bloggers in Cary:
- Bing Results for Cary NC Real Estate Blog - 5 of the top 10 entries
- Yahoo Results for Cary NC Real Estate Blog - I also have 3 entries on the 1st page at Yahoo!
- Google Results for Cary NC Real Estate Blog - Page 1, #1 + 2 of the top 10 entries
- Google results for "Santrock" - Ok, my dad John Santrock (a well published author) is right ahead of me but we are neck and neck.
Internet Ads:
- Example of Vflyer by Tracy Santrock
- The Listing Widget - Unique URL + syndication to all area agents
- Craigslist
Realtor.com Enhanced Listings
- Only agents that buy an "Enhanced Listing" package are able to write descriptive information on their properties. I have the ability to Enhance My Listings, Ad Banners, and customize the content readers see online. More pictures. More content. More exposure. Realtor.com is the #1 site for Homebuyers. Why go with an agent that doesn't offer this service? To that end, I received the Realtor.com Marketing Award of Excellence for the online Marketing and sale of my listings.
- Trulia.com is one of the Top 10 websites for real estate in the country. I'm considered to be a Trulia.com pro so all of my home listings are featured at the top of the Cary, NC listings. This provides homesellers with better exposure to buyers searching online. ,
Why Fonville Morisey?
If you are thinking about selling your house in the Triangle area in 2010 keep this in mind: Just think about the fact that over 95% of prospective buyers start their home search on the internet. If you sell your home with me you will receive maximum exposure on all the major search engines, Craigslist, and other mediums. In addition, I will make sure that all of the Marketing that I do on your home online will be syndicated to other content providers like oodle, vast, hotproperties, and others sen below. Your property will receive the exposure needed to sell your home in record time.
If you area an Activerain Member keep this in mind: In 2010 you will want to use the tools that you have learned through Activerain, ePro, and others to let others know the good news about you and your business.
Related Posts:
Multiple offers in a Buyers Market & the New North Carolina Rules
Why choose Fonville Morisey for your next Realtor® in the Triangle Area?
BLOG UPDATED 1/3/2010
Great Tracy! I'm just starting to use Google Analytics to verify what my ringing phone is telling me - that I AM getting a little more exposure than the average broker Jane. I'm very impressed with your links and need to spend some time compiling my own. Just when I think I'm getting it, someone like you comes along to raise the bar. And boy am I glad you do!
Great post girlie!
Great outline for your clients, I'm going to come back and make sure I didn't miss anything, don't have the time right now. I'm busy taking my dog MAGGIE to the vet for a boo boo she has.
Tracy: I just learned a great deal from your post and I've read the others that you mentioned before but I think it's time for me to do a review. Great information and thank you so much for sharing it.
Tracy, I agree with Donna. Thankyou for sharing this information with all of us! If you weren't so far away, I would ask you to be my mentor for the Active Rain Reality challenge! You seem to have it all under control:)
I love how you offer a comprehensive overview of your Interent presence. Great job and great post!
Tracy - I like what you have done it lets people know how web oriented you are. It also shows that your web marketing will work in exposing your listings to potential purchasers.
Tracy - Thanks for passing along the valuable information. You've obviously done your homework and have taken full advantage of the opportunities that the web provides to set yourself apart from the competition. Good job.
Nothing like have great referrals to back up what you do to help those feel more comfortable to have you help them list their home for sale.
Kathy - your the best - thanks for the kudos!
Lynn - It's a unique approach to showing, not telling, your clients how you get the job done.
Susan- As always- thanks for the feedback.
Great job Tracy! The internet empowered agent is a great asset for consumers, especially those lookingto sell their home!
Tracy! This is great information! We all use different "key" words and it's nice to know which ones are helping you! I think the other GREAT point you make with this is that you actually have an internet STRATEGY. So many of the agents I speak with have "a couple of sites..." When I asked a team last week what they planned to do with the 38 domain names they purchased - it inspired an entire conversation about STRATEGY (turns out theirs is not fully developed...)
Tracy.... I think this is another great marketing strategy. I like sending the client your letter to the seller. I just wrote an open letter to the consumer. And I was prompted to write this letter because of a specific client, who I am sending the letter to. Hey, it can't hurt. The worst that could happen is that they send me a nasty e-mail. Would love to know your thoughts on it.... in any case, you are supplying some good links here, in educating the consumer and being ahead of so many realtors. And I think it's a good way for the consumer to see who you really are, in regards to these letters.
Jeff,
This letter is heartfelt and took many, many hours to write. I hope my clients appreciate the effort and passion for the area!
Listing sold and closing on 6/6th! Yeah!!
Tracy, great blog, good information. I do alot of stuff on the internet...so anything I can learn helps. Thanks for sharing.
Dave
Dave - I really work hard to target areas that I feel I have strengths in and then Market them appropriately. Clients that come to me have done their homework and they know I have the skillset to market their property.
Tracy,
I can see that you spent alot of time on this post and you have some amazing information. THANK YOU for taking the time and sharing it. I can't wait to implement some of these details into my next listing presentation! There is not denying that if I was in Cary I would choose you to be my listing agent ... awesome! pippa
Pippa - Having a strong presence on the internet and understanding your market are key to an every evolving business.
Tracy, I hope things are going well for you. Per your advisement I am trying Enhanced Realtor.com
Suzi - it's a great choice and great for your listing presentations