Three-time tech entrepreneur launches Web service to help real estate professionals strengthen their reputation

For Immediate Release

San Francisco (October 21, 2010)

ReachFactor (www.reachfactor.com) is a unique new Web application that helps real estate professionals strengthen their reputation and close more business by automatically collecting, verifying and promoting reviews from past clients.

Most marketing services for real estate professionals are time consuming, complicated, and require uncommon expertise; however, ReachFactor doesn’t require an Agent to write a sales pitch or produce any content. Instead, ReachFactor leverages an Agent’s listings and past clients to help them save time, money, and sell more.

ReachFactor’s core feature allows Agents to effortlessly connect with clients to collect feedback. Endorsements are verified by ReachFactor and then, at the Agent’s option, promoted across major Web services, the Agent’s website, and social media to encourage more and better consumer interactions.

“Your reputation is absolutely critical to generate a high conversion rate” says Suresh Srinivasan, founder and CEO of ReachFactor. “Consumers have always sought the opinion of others before selecting an Agent but the Web has taken the place of the neighbor.”

Unlike anonymous reviews posted on Yelp and the Surveys that national brands and offices send on behalf of Agents, ReachFactor collects and verifies the authenticity of reviews and provides badges and widgets that make it extremely easy to market endorsements online and off. Best of all the Agent remains 100% in control at all times and can get started absolutely free.

“Agents are already strapped for time and sapped of energy. The last thing they need is something else to do,” continued Srinivasan. “ReachFactor is a ‘set it and leave it’ marketing service that we’ve seen paying for itself in the first month.”

“ReachFactor is invaluable!” exclaims Robert Diamond, Broker with Century 21 Affiliated. “It‘s an excellent tool for networking with present and future clients and offers unlimited potential for new opportunities. I’ve received terrific feedback from past clients and ReachFactor helps me get the word out.”

Real estate professionals can get started for free at www.reachfactor.com.

About ReachFactor

ReachFactor helps real estate Agents, Brokers, and Offices strengthen their reputation and increase conversion rates by collecting and promoting 3^rd party verified reviews from past clients. ReachFactor was started by three-time tech entrepreneur Suresh Srinivasan who previously ran a successful Internet marketing company that had tens of thousands of small business clients.

Contact:
Alan Meadows
ReachFactor
ameadows@reachfactor.com
888-262-6161 ext. 301

The costliest mistake a real estate agent can make

In my previous business we helped over 50,000 small businesses launch websites, from restaurants and plumbers to landscapers, real estate agents, retailers, and travel operators. We've been offering technology to real estate pros for many years now (we power the official Website builder for some of the largest brands in real estate). I've also bought and sold several homes using agents. I've always asked friends/family for a recommendation choosing an agent mostly because I didn't know what else to trust (some of those recommendations were good, some turned out very bad).

I spend a lot of time now thinking about how agents could become more successful. By success I mean how they could save time and sell more.

I believe the costliest mistake most agents make is that they don't collect enough feedback from past clients and they don't properly promote these endorsements. I grew that last business on the back of word of mouth referrals and by promoting the testimonials we’d received. I think Agents can do the same. 

By collecting feedback you can discover your own behavior that customers did not like and change them. More importantly, if you're a great agent the feedback will likely come in the form of a great endorsement. This endorsement is the strongest marketing material you can create because it will sell for you.

An endorsement speaks directly to your best prospects - those who are actively looking for an agent. As long as you are doing marketing that reaches them, and you can get (credible) endorsements in front of them, you can increase your lead volume and your lead-to-close rates. Your cost to acquire a new customer can fall dramatically.

I was talking to an agent who helped me sell my last home. He said that he spends $200,000 per year marketing. He said that in the good old days he used to list and close 150-200 properties per year. Today his marketing budget is the same, yet he’ll close just 60-70. His minimum cost to acquire a customer has gone from $1,300 to $3,333. I asked him if he was planning to pull back on the marketing to bring his costs down and he said no. He feared that if he did he'd lose market share and his flow would drop considerably lower than 60/year. He does not currently collect feedback and hence can't use them in his marketing -- but I bet if he did he'd lower his acquisition costs and he’d be much more profitable.

I asked him why he doesn’t use endorsements in his business. He said:

• It's time consuming. Once he’s completed a sale, he focuses very hard on getting the next one – he can’t afford to lose time. Chasing past clients down for an endorsement can consume a lot of time and he doesn’t want his marketing assistant spending all her time doing this.
• He thought that it might reduce his reputation if it looked like he was begging for a good testimonial.
• He thought endorsements look too 'canned' - they're not credible enough because prospects have no way to verify that they're real.
• He also didn’t know where he’d promote them once he got them.
• He didn’t say this directly, but I also think he feared receiving negative feedback. He talked a little about how things can slip when handling 10-15 escrows at a time – so he didn’t want to take his eye off the ball.

All good thoughts, but I believe real testimonials from real people can help agents and consumers. Honest reviews can help consumers know more about an agent before reaching out to them and it can dramatically reduce the amount of ‘salesmanship’ agents must do to close business.

Have any of you used endorsements to fuel your business? Please share.

Our new application, ReachFactor.com, aims to help great agents enhance their reputation and credibility and make them more discoverable by prospects. We do this a number of ways, but our automated Survey tool is a big part of it. In its current form the Survey tool puts the process of collecting verified endorsements on auto-pilot. We'll add much more around promoting endorsements for you in the coming weeks. If you'd like a little help, our Survey tool for real estate agents is 100% free right now and you don't need to give us a credit card to sign up.

In the meantime, I’m going to give my old agent a call and see if we can help him get more profitable. I'll share results when we get them.

What does your "About Me" page say about You?

Many agent websites have an "About Me" link on it. I think it's a good idea to have one especially because you sell a very personal service. You probably don't need it to be very elaborate if you have an up to date blog on Active Rain, a Facebook or a Twitter profile that gives users a really good idea about your personal motivations. Just be sure to link to those other services where people can read more about you.

From experience I know that most agents leave the About Me page filled with 'canned' text that came preloaded with their website builder software. No one likes to read that boring, monotonous pre-made text that's duplicated on thousands of other websites. Is it really about you if 50,000 other agent sites say the exact same thing? Are you just a drone in an army of robots? Of course not.

If you're guilty of this (and you know who you are!) jump straight into your website right now and re-do your About Me page. A well-written About Me page is a great sales pitch. It's your chance to relate to your website visitor using a very personal tone & point of view. 

There are two kinds of people likely to read your About Me page, a prospective customer or an employer. You need to give them what they're looking for:

• Who am I? (use your name, highlight credentials, education experience)
• Why am I an agent? (personal motivation)
• What do I do? (service types)
• When did I start?
• How do I do it? (your method of delivering great service & marketing)

Before people do business with you they want to know who you are and what motivates you. They also want to know why they should choose you. If you're a listing agent with an MBA and solid marketing background, make sure those facts are screaming off the page. If you are a professionally ranked tennis player and represent professional athletes looking to buy homes - make it known! Your About Me page relates directly to your reputation.

A great About Me page will shorten your sales cycle. Quick, get your new About Me page up and leave everyone else in the dust. Happy selling.