lead generation by point2 agent sites

Point2's "secret weapon" – support person Jennifer Anderson – sent me this information about lead generation tools built into Point2 Agent sites. It may provide you with some insights into getting the most from your Point2 site:

Point2 Agent sites can be some of the best for lead generation, provided the agents take the time to add detailed listings into their sites. Let me start right from the beginning with this explanation.

When Point2 Agent was first developed, we chose not to allow for the direct import of listing data from the MLS. We chose this route to provide the greatest benefit to our Point2 Agent members. The information being supplied by the MLSs was lacking, to say the least. Point2 Agent wanted to be able to provide the richest, most detailed listing data possible, and a direct feed from the MLS just could not accomplish this. Recent research has shown that the three most important reasons for a prospect to visit a real estate Web site are for property photos, a property search and for mapping a property. The rich data available through Point2 Agent's listings accommodates all three of these needs, provided the agent takes the time to enter it.

Direct entry of listing data into the Point2 Agent system also allowed our members to generate additional exposure for each of their listings through Agent Handshake as well as the Point2 Agent Exposure Engine. Agent Handshake is Point2 Agent's private MLS. Basically, we have given each of our members the option to create listing advertising arrangements among one another. This allows increased exposure for our member's listings as well as larger listing inventories.

The Point2 Agent Exposure Engine has been created through established relationships with a number of syndication partners. Point2 Agent has established agreements with a number of real estate marketplaces such as Google Base, Yahoo! Classifieds, Oodle, Trulia, Edgeio, Propsmart, LiveDeal and Point2 Agent's own Point2 Homes to allow listings entered into the Point2 Agent system to be listed free of charge into these searches. Leads generated through these vertical searches go right back to the listing agent. Therefore, the more detailed the listing data, the better the chances for attracting qualified and motivated leads.

In addition, Point2 is proud to be a pioneer in lead capture, profiling and incubation. Point2 Web sites automatically capture the contact information and subsequent actions for a prospect, provided the prospect utilizes one of the registration pages available (home search, home evaluation, IDX registration, Mortgage Calculation results, Feedback, Email a Listing, Email the Agent, request listing attachments, request listing brochure, etc.). All of the actions of a prospect are profiled within the Prospect Area of the Online Office. Information such as the listings viewed by the prospect, number of times the listing was viewed, areas the prospect is interested in, actions performed on the site and many more are all available in the Prospect Profile. As many Web site leads can be 6-12 months away from the actual home purchase, Point2 Agent has built in lead incubation features such as Drip Email, SMS Text Messaging and Hot Prospect functionality to allow the real estate professional to keep in touch with their prospect and be available to contact the prospect at the appropriate time.

If you would like to discuss any of these features or any of the other features available within Point2 Agent, I would be more than happy to do so.

 

 

the halo effect of clean,
professional web site design

Studies of how fast people formed first impressions of Web sites report that "The speed at which users form value judgments of web pages precludes much cognitive thought. The users tested had an emotional reaction to home pages that they could not control. This pre-cognitive 'affective reaction' is a physiological response to what they see on the screen - a gut reaction. This carry-over of first impressions to other attributes of products is sometimes called the 'halo effect,' or cognitive 'confirmation bias' where users search for confirming evidence and ignore evidence contrary to their initial impression. People want to be right, and tend to look for clues that validate their initial hypothesis.

'...the strong impact of the visual appeal of the site seemed to draw attention away from usability problems. This suggests that aesthetics, or visual appeal, factors may be detected first and that these could influence how users judge subsequent experience.... Hence, even if a website is highly usable and provides very useful information presented in a logical arrangement, this may fail to impress a user whose first impression of the site was negative.' - (Lindgaard 2006)"

"There clearly is an interplay between our emotional reaction to a webpage, and our conscious thought process. 'Consumers apply both holistic (emotional) and analytic (cognitive) judgment in the decision to buy a product.' So that feeling you evoke in users through a 'clean, professional design' can have a halo effect on their buying judgments (Fogg 2003)."

"First Impressions Count in Web Design"
WebSiteOptimization.com

© 2006 suzanne stephens