Author Archive

I have recently gotten to know a real estate professional named Michael Pannell that has made a big mark on Dallas real estate through the use of the Internet.  His team generates 220+ deals per year and 97% of it comes from organic search engine clicks.  He has now expanded into San Antonio and Houston and there is no sign of him slowing down as long as he can keep generating solid internet leads.  When I learned about this I became incredibly interested to learn … Read More »

A positive byproduct of my quest to revamp my personal website is that I came in contact with some great companies that will be the innovators of tomorrow’s real estate tech industry.  One website designer and custom IDX provider that caught my eye in a big way was the Dislpet RETS/IDX  and their highly customizable solution that I came to study as a result of the comment thread in my brutally honest case study here on GEB. They are a relatively new company but it’s … Read More »

I have noticed a big increase in agents awareness of the need for a great real estate CRM.  It seems like the industry is no longer satisfied with what has been popular for many years and is now demanding more. I know I’m not, which led me on a long search for a new CRM system that would be great for a residential real estate business. My search led me to Propertybase. In my opinion they are one of the most innovative and smart CRM … Read More »

At a recent real estate marketing conference that I attended, they pushed the idea of building multiple community sites that are laser focused on one area to compliment your big central site.  I thought the idea was interesting and worth consideration but I am not totally sold on it.  There are two schools of thought on this issue. One says that it is smart to build smaller niche community sites that will help to further brand you in neighborhoods you are interested in.  They can … Read More »

For a weeks I have been searching high and low, attending webinars and a two day marketing conference, scouring through forums, spending countless hours on the phone with vendors, and countless more Googling everything and anything I could think of to reinvent my site that targets San Diego real estate.  Finally it occurred to me that I have access here on Geek Estate Blog to the best and brightest minds, and that we could use my site (sandiegohomefinder.com) as a case study of what to … Read More »

When I say the words “real estate auction” what comes to mind?  If you are like most others, you will think of a distressed sale where there may be a deal to be had. It also creates a sense of urgency.  You may feel like you need to pick up the phone and get the details because it may just be the deal your clients have been looking for.  In other words, it generates a great deal of interest. Smart companies like Private Auction Properties, … Read More »

Are you a listing agent?  I sure am not.  Rather, I am a marketing agent.  I don’t list property.  I create strategic marketing plans.  I directly influence the sales process on behalf of sellers. The word “listing” completely devalues the work of an effective real estate professional.  Anyone can list property.  A minimum wage worker can list a home for sale.  My assistant can list a home for sale.  Heck, a computer can most likely list a property for sale through an automated system. A … Read More »

I have been networking with agents over the last few weeks about marketing their business online.  Despite the fact that they all came from different backgrounds, ages, genders, and just about anything else you could think of, there was one commonality amongst them all, which I find problematic.  Each one of them said their primary goal was to rank for the keyword “San Diego real estate”. Why do I see that as a problem?  Because I am concerned that they are about to spend too … Read More »

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Some real estate agents out there have to reread the popular best selling book  “Who Moved My Cheese” because they are just far to stubborn, and, more importantly, are losing market share. Here’s The Background To The Story I recently had a conversation about online lead capture with an agent that left me shaking my head.  This particular agent was once an absolute powerhouse.  In fact, she was at one time a highly celebrated agent that was consistently honored by one company award after another.  … Read More »