Thursday, 29 December 2016

WHY SHOULD YOU CARE ABOUT REAL ESTATE PREDICTIVE ANALYTICS?

If you’re a realtor, you know how much being the first in the door can impact your likelihood of getting a seller listing. Predictive analytics when applied to real estate marketing and utilized correctly can significantly affect how you generate seller leads for real estate.
Four years ago, when Mark Dickson co-founded Offrs.com with Rich Swier, Jr., they realized quickly there was a gap in the real estate industry that didn’t account for the full potential of the digital age. “There was no technology or systems in place to help realtors identify actual seller listings,” says Dickson. After identifying a need, Dickson and Swier assembled a team of Ph.Ds to crunch numbers and create a solution using smart data for real estate to project who will likely sell in a 12-month period.
The premise of their business model is based on Dickson’s previous real estate experience and the use of predictive analytics - a new approach to real estate marketing for seller leads.
So, what exactly is predictive analytics and why should realtors care about this term? Predictive analytics takes past behavior and uses this information to predict what will happen in the future. And when it comes to smart data real estate, it’s a game changer.
According to Swier, using this tool in your marketing strategy allows you “to start with prospects that are more likely to sell than not.” Dickson adds that it’s a way of “being smart with your time and money.” But let’s get into exactly how and why predictive analytics is a proven successful approach to generating seller leads.
Dickson talks about how the realtors use six different touch types (phone, email, text message, digital advertising, handwritten notes, and hosting events) to form relationships. The Offrs.com platform incorporates each of these touch types into a systemic approach to real estate marketing using predictive analytics to determine who realtors should focus their efforts on reaching out to.
Swier makes a good point that 70% of sellers select the first realtor that reaches out to them if they didn’t already have someone in mind or they weren’t referred to someone by word of mouth. Predictive analytics is about knowing who is likely to sell and reaching out to them in a way that appeals to their specific communication style before a fellow realtor does. The other advantage to implementing predictive analytics into your real estate marketing strategy is the ability to scale your business with this model.
“Technology is changing this business,” Dickson mentions in his conversation with Swier. To create a scalable business model, you need to have the right tools, systems, and processes in place. “That’s what Offrs.com and R.O.O.F. bring to the table,” says Dickson.

Tuesday, 27 December 2016

HOW TO RUN A SUCCESSFUL FIRST TOUCH CAMPAIGN

Experienced realtors know better than anyone that first impressions are everything. Finding a way to stand out from the crowd and establish your professional brand from the get-go needs to be an important part of your marketing strategy. Offrs.com reviews several pieces of demographic information found via web searches to give you the most comprehensive portrait of your prospects. So when you go to introduce yourself to a new client, you can do so with confidence, and most importantly, a personal touch.
When it comes to first touch campaigns, most realtors make the mistake of spending their funds on mass outreach. Industry trends show that it’s more a quality over quantity strategy that turns the right prospects into leads and eventually closed sales.
Potential sellers want someone who knows their surrounding area and how to bring out the best in their property to get them a higher sale price. Creating a personalized first touch campaign helps realtors and agents earn trust and establish rapport sooner than sending a mass mailer for the simple sake of getting your name out there.
A successful first touch campaign involves three key factors: the medium, the message, and the follow-up. Choosing an effective medium that caters to the way your individual prospects best receive information is the first step to setting your campaign up for success. The majority of people who get direct mailers that are generic and impersonal throw them directly into the trash. Emails are effective when personalized but also run you the risk of ending up in someone’s Spam folder. Cold calls can be scary but they also show that you have confidence and that you are willing to make the effort to really connect with your prospective seller. Knowing the best way to capture and engage your desired sellers may take some research, but will likely return on your investment by saving you time and money in the long run.
Deciding how to introduce yourself and your services is the next step to finding success with a first touch campaign. Telling your potential clients about your experience is all well and good as long as it comes across as a genuine way for them to get to know you and not just a brag sheet. Thoughtful and helpful messages convey a sense of warmth and humility that appeals to many homeowners, even the ones that are not currently thinking about selling but might be interested in the future. Letting them know you’re the neighborhood expert will go miles further than a corporate branded postcard addressed to “Current Resident.”
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Monday, 26 December 2016

OFFRS.COM ANNOUNCES R.O.O.F. - REAL ESTATE OFFICE OF THE FUTURE

offrs.com, the leader in Smart Data and Marketing for real estate, today announced the launch of their artificial intelligence driven system for real estate brokerages. The official launch event takes place at the historic Ritz Theater in Austin, TX, during the annual Keller Williams Mega Camp. This launch party will also unveil, “Raia,” an artificial intelligence assistant that provides marketing automation for real estate brokerages and agents they serve helping them create the real estate office of the future.
"The genesis of ROOF started with predictive analytics and our ability to marry big data with marketing for real estate agents, but today we are excited to launch the first artificially intelligent real estate assistant for brokers - RAIA. She will help brokerages own the future of Real Estate,” said offrs.com Co-founder, Rich Swier.
Artificial Intelligence has begun to surface in applications in many industries, but this will be the first artificially intelligent assistant for real estate agents and brokers that will help them execute important tasks required to grow their business. RAIA will help increase production, improve marketing and be the primary driver for the real estate office of the future.
“We believe we’re solving an enormous business challenge for brokerages by providing data and metric driven business solutions specifically designed to transform our clients into real estate offices of the future. The bleeding edge of technology is where offrs.com is positioned and the opportunity is here for brokerages, now,” said offrs.com Co-founder, Mark Dickson.
The ROOF program combines predictive analytics, artificial intelligence and machine learning algorithms to help brokerages identify, target and touch prospective sellers. In addition to providing Smart Data and a robust prospecting platform, the ROOF program also provides automated services that create a systematic approach to lead generation. “Imagine having a digital assistant leveraging artificial intelligence to enhance fully automated outreach each and every day for a brokerage. We are not just predicting the future, we will be building the future for our customers. The ROOF program is going to ‘wow’ brokerage owners,” said offrs.com VP National Business Development, Frank Chimento.

Sunday, 25 December 2016

OFFRS.COM LAUNCHES FIRST TEN REAL ESTATE OFFICES OF THE FUTURE

Today offrs.com announced the launch of the first ten Real Estate Offices of the Future (a.k.a. R.O.O.F.). Each R.O.O.F. is provided exclusive access to the offrs.com smart data platform and marketing platform. R.O.O.F. clients also benefit from offrs.com’s patent-pending algorithm that predicts future listings and automates lead generation.
"The primary reason we have so much interest in ROOF is because we have automated lead generation for real estate agents and brokers. We leverage big data, machine learning algorithms and automated prospecting to identify home owners looking to sell. " stated Mark Dickson, CEO of offrs.com.
offrs.com has already deployed a ROOF in multiple major markets including Seattle, Los Angeles, New York, Washington, D.C., Tampa and Miami. The first Real Estate Offices of the Future include industry leaders from REMAX, Keller Williams, Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices and members of the Leading Real Estate Companies of the World network.
During the first month of the ROOF program, offrs.com identified more than 1,000 potential listings with a combined market value of over $600,000,000 (and $18,000,000 in gross commission income) for R.O.O.F. clients.
"We see the ROOF program transforming how every real estate office will do lead generation in the future. By combining the power of artificial intelligence and a proven marketing program we will enable our brokerages to be first in line for every listing," claims Rich Swier, Chief Visionary of ROOF.
Search portals like Zillow.com and Realtor.com are the market leaders in buyer lead generation, but until now, no other company has provided a solution for systematically generating seller leads. Currently, 80% of seller leads are created through referrals and existing relationships but recently research has suggested that over 50% of seller leads in the next five years will be driven by predictive analytics and artificial intelligence.

Friday, 23 December 2016

THE REALTOR'S GUIDE TO SUCCESSFUL ONLINE ADVERTISING

Raise your hand if you’ve found yourself believing that a failed real estate online advertising campaign means online advertising doesn’t actually work for realtors.
Raise your hand if you’re not marketing or advertising expert.
Now, if you have both hands in the air, please put them back on your device so you can scroll and read the rest of this article, because it was written specifically for you.
Marketing budgets are a point of contention for many real estate professionals, mainly because if a campaign effort fails, the channel used is usually where the blame lands. Higher conversion rates are one metric used to identify the success of a campaign and typically those conversions take place on the landing page.
Ah, but half the battle is getting your landing page to appear in search results by using appropriate keywords or pay-per-click advertising such as Google Ads or sponsored links.
Let’s talk about the first step to effective real estate online advertising, which involves understanding how to take your brand to the property owners you want to target. In this case, you want to reach property owners who are likely to sell in the next year. Keywords in your landing page and online copy for your website will get your page to show up in their search, but once they click on the link and arrive at your site, are the correct tools in place to convert them into a prospect?
One common mistake real estate professionals make include using keywords that are too generic to get their page to show up in more searches. While that approach may get your page to show up in a search result, it may also increase your page’s bounce rate when a visitor isn’t converted into a lead. This typically happens because a) their specific needs vary from your services or b) your call to action for conversion wasn’t clear or present upon their arrival to your site. According to Offrs.com co-founders Mark Dickson and Rich Swier, Jr., many realtors give up on Google rather than tweaking things in their advertising approach.
“Success requires realtors to become comfortable with these marketing channels,” says Dickson. Advertising venues like Google and Facebook allow you to use smart data to create custom audiences for your ads. Smart data is the new direction of real estate online advertising and it gives realtors a competitive edge when trying to obtain prospects outside of their sphere.
Another advantage to using these channels is the concept of multiple impressions. Swier mentions that a discerning prospect won’t likely click on your advertisement the first time they see it. They want to analyze and process before they commit and that’s when you’ll see them convert. This is also the reason why smart data and targeting these specific leads repeatedly is so crucial to a successful campaign and higher conversion rate.
Swier also warns realtors about receiving what he calls “false positives” when using beautiful ads that warrant click but don’t necessarily convert. Ads that are well-designed and pleasing to the eye but may not convey the correct message for converting your target demographic are risky business and may drain your marketing budget while leading you to wonder why you’re getting clicks but no leads.
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DATA-DRIVEN DECISIONS IN REAL ESTATE MARKETING

Remember when the idea of robots doing all of the work for us seemed like a futuristic concept? Well, the future of real estate marketing is here and believe it or not, artificial intelligence is already in place. It’s just a matter of whether you are leveraging it to help your business or not.
Realtors who are utilizing the smart data real estate strategy know firsthand how implementing automation and artificial intelligence can help you scale your business. The use of smart data allows realtors to make data-driven decisions when they obtain statistics from campaigns. They are able to then create automated campaigns and approaches where robots and AI make the calls, texts, and emails that specifically target their ideal clientele. This idea of “work smarter, not harder” gives realtors the opportunity to get leads and prospects while they’re working on developing relationships and closing sales. The smart data services and exclusive licensing to select territories provided by Offrs.com empowers realtors to do just that.
Of course, data isn’t free. In fact, big data companies pour billions of dollars into developing algorithms for smart data and these costs trickle down to the consumer level as well. Co-founder of Offrs.com Rich Swier, Jr. makes a great point about the dilemma this creates for many realtors: costs for leads. Data should drive your business decisions but how do you validate the cost for acquiring data? And when customer acquisition costs will be high in certain areas, how can you ensure that the investment costs correspond with the return on investment?
“If you want to make scalable decisions and if you want to repeat what works, you have to invest in the data,” says Swier. Using a system for your smart data like Offrs.com allows realtors to measure their campaign against other realtors to get a true read on their performance and the success of the campaign in the different territories where they are marketing.
Many times people will share extreme experiences of top performing agents and try to pass those isolated instances off as the success standard. This inconsistent data can lead realtors down the wrong path with their targeted marketing approach. When you have the marketing performance data at your fingertips, you can compare campaigns more easily and scale your business accordingly.
Waiting for word of mouth referrals from previous clients, friends or family puts a lot of realtors at a disadvantage when it comes to new customer acquisition. Using smart data for real estate marketing also helps realtors to break out of their spheres by using digital advertising to customize their audiences and gain new prospects.
Don’t be fooled though. While automation of smart data can help you get the leads, it’s still up to the agents and realtors to make the effort and nurture the relationships necessary to get the listings and close the deals.
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GO FOR BROKER!

Real estate brokers and brokerage firms have a lot to offer agents and realtors who come on board in terms of an established name or brand. But what about providing dependable help for the time-consuming yet necessary tasks involved in real estate lead generation?
Being able to automate and delegate these tasks not only provides brokers with a higher value proposition to potential agents – it gives agents a head start for success.
We know brokers have certain goals when it comes to running a successful team, including but not limited to recruitment, revenue, and retention. Getting the top talent on your team, helping them succeed, and keeping them with your brokerage can be a challenge in a competitive market share. Artificial intelligence can help real estate brokers bolster their recruits by monitoring their success, identifying effective strategies, and incentivizing their best performers to stay. An example of AI in real estate is R.O.O.F., the newest program from Offrs.com.
Real Estate Office of the Future (R.O.O.F.) features your own virtual assistant to automate daily tasks involved in lead generation and tasks that you would typically assign to an inside sales assistant. Through the use of artificial intelligence, R.O.O.F. collects consumer data and processes it through the algorithm. Then RAIA (your virtual ISA) puts this information into action.
RAIA is a realtor’s dream employee. She places calls, sends emails, and prospects neighborhoods so all you have to do is focus on building relationships with the leads she generates to get your listings. With RAIA’s simple, user-friendly interface, agents and realtors can interact quickly and effectively to get their daily tasks accomplished and get back to the most important part of their job – building relationships to close deals.
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