Do you really know what it costs you to acquire a listing? HomeGain.com does. The site has just developed a new Listing Acquisition Calculator to help agents determine their true costs in marketing and acquiring listings. This first-of-its-kind tool is designed to help real estate agents determine how much money they spend on customer acquisition costs and how much they can save by marketing themselves aggressively online.

Designed with the simplicity of a mortgage calculator, the Listing Acquisition Calculator requires virtually no instruction to use. Agents simply enter information into fields by pointing and clicking their mouses and entering the appropriate numeric data.

Agents can include prospecting expenses, mass mailing costs, advertising, cold calling time, floor time, networking time, and the salaries of any paid assistants hired by the real estate agent. Each agent inputs the hours and number of dollars spent per week on each activity, followed by annual income, average number of listings per year and total hours spent working each week.

Available online only at HomeGain.com, the calculator promises to be an important cost control tool for agents and brokers.

In preparation of HomeGain's launch, developer Bradley Inman conducted studies and surveys which revealed that most agents spend between $1,000 and $4,000 per listing on acquisition costs alone.

"We did a series of industry research focus grousps and usability studies with agents with about 300 different agents particpating," explains Inman. "We worked with agents on the cost of acquiring the customer."

"Referrals are easy - it's half their business, but the other half is random and expensive."

Inman continues, "This is core to our business. Whenever I ask them (agents) what their costs are, I have yet to hear anyone give me the answer. Your marketing efforts should not be random. The idea is to reinforce the importance of understanding your costs. You can acquire a customer more effeciently using technology."

By accounting for both the time and financial expenses spent on prospecting and marketing activities, the Listing Acquisition Calculator generates the true cost a real estate agent will incur per listing.

"Agents work night and day and they are so dedicated to customers," says Inman. "Time is money and "bandwidth" (human hours) is money.

If human hours can be considered bandwidth, as Inman suggests, then HomeGain.com has just given the Realtor a TI line.

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