I was at the 4REALZ marketing seminar last Thursday in Irvine,CA. Dustin Luther and Jim Marks did a nice job of presenting some very interesting and timely information on website design and Blogging. I left the seminar with a number of ideas that I would like to share.

First of all I loved the analogy that Jim used to describe success: Getting the Car Ride. Jim said that the sequence of events that needs to occur is: Traffic to your site, capture of information from client, conversion, contact, and finally the CAR RIDE. Jim stated that any Realtor worth his weight in salt should be able have a client for life if they can get a 30 minute CAR RIDE.

Jim and Dustin discussed the 3 types of traffic to your site / blog.

1. Referrals ( from links and other sites)




2. Paid (pay per click etc.)




3. Organic (GOOGLE)

It was pointed out that:

80% or more of home buyers start their search online

75% of these people plan to buy in the next 120 days or less.

70% of these people don't have a Realtor!

There was discussion about the print advertising hitting a 45 mile radius and Internet advertising being global.

Jim Marks discussed the importance of being unique and different.

There was discussion about web site design. They talked about the importance of having your site be consumer needs driven. Product vs. brand. Consumers are looking for houses, not Realtors. Make your website what the consumer wants and you will improve your bounce rate. Make your site about properties not you or your dog.

Gen Y wants an agent that will give them information freely and accurately without obligation. (seems simple enough)

They recommended changing information on your site frequently and having favorite properties posted in categories such as: Top 5 lakefront homes, 5 least expensive homes in neighborhood, Top 5 REO / Bank Owned (foreclosures),5 highest price listings, 5 best deals etc.

Many other topics and ideas were shared at this half day event. I don't want to try to tell you everthing that was said at the event, but trust me what I have mentioned here is the tip of the iceberg. Dustin and Jim are also following up daily with training for the people that attended (great information every day).There was plenty of energy and excitement. I felt that it was money well spent and a great value. Click on the 4REALZ link to see details about future events.

Steve Hirschler

Associate, The Tim Wood Group

Coldwell Banker Mountain Gallery

42153 Big Bear Blvd.

P.O. BOX 6820

Big Bear Lake, CA 92315

steve@bigbeargallery.com

909 866-3481 EXT. 217 CELL 909 725-5889

Fax 909 866-3531

http://www.stevesellsbigbear.com/