If you have no difficulty attracting many visitors to your Web site, however you rarely see any business from them even though you do receive tons of e-mail, you may be wondering how you can convert more of these virtual prospects into real customers.

There are a lot of agents who would love to have the same problem -- a lot of site visitors, that is! However, in our focus on getting prospects to our site, often little attention is given to how to engage them once they arrive. Low conversion rates could stem from a number of reasons.

One possibility is that your site content may not be highly "targeted". That is, visitors may not feel there is a lot of valuable content for them to inquire further. While this could be another whole topic of discussion, let's assume that is not your situation since you are receiving a significant number of e-mail inquiries. The other possibility is something far more fundamental -- the very "way" you interact with them online...

Rules Of Engagement

Let's remember who we are dealing with here -- the Internet Empowered Consumer (IEC). They are smarter, better informed, can maintain anonymity, and most importantly are in control of the inquiry process. This makes them quite different from the traditional real estate consumer. Previously, I have outlined the Principles Of Working With The IEC, which suggested certain Rules Of Engagement™ when interacting with them.

RULE # 1: Don't "push" the IEC to move faster or reveal themselves sooner than they are ready, otherwise you are likely never to hear from them again

RULE # 2: You build trust by explicitly reassuring the IEC that you will respect their privacy

RULE # 3: Be flexible and ready to tailor your services and fees to meet the needs of the IEC rather than force them into a "one model fits all" situation

RULE # 4: You build relationship by giving the IEC what they want (i.e. information, advice, etc.), without requiring them to reveal themselves and in a way that let's them know you are the expert

Let's take a look at how we can put these rules to practical use to boost your online conversion rate.

A Powerful "First Response" E-mail

Suppose an IEC named "Jane" e-mails you with a request for more information about a particular property and neighborhood she found on your Web site. Now, what would your response be? Perhaps you would thank her for her inquiry, give her the information she requested and then, if you are like most agents, you probably would ask some probing questions like "What's your price range?"; "When do you plan on moving?"; "How large is your family?", and so on. After all, isn't this how many of us were taught to interact with prospects? Unfortunately, what works so well with traditional consumers can literally drive the IEC away!

Keeping in mind the Rules Of Engagement above, there is a very different yet powerful way to respond:

Hi Jane,

Thanks for stopping by. I appreciate your inquiry, and please note that the information you requested is attached to this e-mail.

In the meantime, I would like to take a moment to share with you how I work. I fully understand that you are currently in the information gathering stage, and may not be ready to "open up" about who you are, or what your needs are at this time. Let me tell you ... "I understand" and reassure you that this is perfectly O.K. -- my personal policy is to respect your online privacy and proceed at your pace, not mine.

Therefore, you will only be contacted based upon your requests for information. If and when you are ready to explore your real estate needs further, I will be happy to assist you.

Have a great day, and I look forward to hearing from you.

Lee
"Your Relocation Specialist"

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Lee Legrand	Phn: 999.555.1234
HighPoint Homes	Fax: 999.555.5678
1234 High Street	lee@highpoint.com
Anytown, CA	www.highpoint.com

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Licensed in California
15 Years Helping Families Relocate
NAR e-PRO Certified Internet Professional

Notice how this reply utilizes Rules 1, 2, & 4 above. Now imagine you were "Jane" -- how would you feel if you received this as a first response from a REALTOR®? Ironically, perhaps a little more trusting, more willing to "open up" than if you were asked qualifying questions before you were ready. The beauty of this response is that it will weed out the "lookie-loos" (who would never bother subsequently responding) yet lets a real prospect know that you are serious and cognizant of their need to control the process.

This approach opens a space for "relationship" to blossom that has a good chance to flower into real business. From this point on, an appropriate protocol would be to wait for a response from the prospect -- then let them continue "leading" the process until it becomes clear that trust is no longer an issue. At that point, the course leading to transaction is very straightforward.

There is a big payoff in shifting the way you interact with the IEC. In addition to converting more visitors to customers, you can expect the average time to transaction to be about half of what it typically takes (once they actually meet their online client --as reported by REALTORS® who have experienced this process.)

Consistent success online is all about knowing the "Rules". Play by these rules and you will see your site visitors converting to customers and your customers becoming friends!

Published: September 30, 2003

Use of this article without permission is a violation of federal copyright laws.

Michael J. Russer (a.k.a. Mr. Internet®) is an internationally acclaimed speaker, trainer, author, and strategic consultant to the real estate industry and small business. He is also the exclusive Internet columnist for REALTOR® Magazine, the architect of the revolutionary e-ProductivityTM system and leading voice for the use of Virtual Assistants in small business. You can subscribe to his free monthly leading-edge newsletter ePOWER NEWS by going to ePowerNews.com.