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 From Blair Kuhnen, VP of Marketing at Builder Homesite
Several builders have asked me "What should my online lead conversion rate be?" and it is a perennial favorite when I speak about online sales counselor (OSC) programs. This month I share with you a few guideposts you can use when setting up your initial goals and expectations.
There is not a specific lead conversion rate target for a best practice OSC program. Every builder operates with a different set of variables. Some of the factors that affect your conversion rate include:
- The strength of your market - hot markets get better, more complete leads
- Your calls-to-action - a good offer gets consumers clicking
- The usability of your website - if they can't find the button, don't expect them to use it
- The quality of leads - leads from your own website are always your best leads
- The effectiveness of your lead handling process and your on-site sales force.
Does this mean, there is no answer? Let me share with you a starting point.
Continue reading "Online Lead Conversion Rates: Maximize Your Results" »
 Despite a third-quarter profit that fell 85 percent, Toll Brothers managed to stay profitable and actually beat analyst forecasts. Toll Brothers stock was trading higher in early morning action.
CEO Robert Toll stated that a surplus of homes is curbing demand. He also said that ``Our buyers generally should be able to continue to secure mortgages, due to their typically lower loan-to-value ratios and attractive credit profiles,''
But, analysts predict that these buyers will likely begin to have trouble securing mortages, despite their favorable credit and financial status. This could mean that Toll and other luxury builders may be exposed to more writedowns of land holdings in future quarters.
 Part 1 of our Search Engine Marketing Series will focus on the basics of PPC.
Search Engine Marketing, or SEM, is a form of Internet marketing that seeks to promote a website by increasing it’s visibility in the Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs) when someone enters a keyword phrase that is relevant to that website or business. There are 2 main types of results on a SERP – Sponsored Listings (PPC) and Organic (Natural) Listings (SEO).
The Sponsored Listings are Pay Per Click Advertisements that are created by an Internet Marketer or firm that wants to present an advertisement to those users searching for specific keyword phrases. These Sponsored Listings will show up at the very top of the Search Results Page or on the right hand sidebar. The Internet Marketer responsible for creating the Pay Per Click Advertising Campaigns will assign a maximum bid to each keyword or group of keywords and establish an overall monthly budget that they are willing to spend on those designated keywords.
With each search performed on Google, the ad will post what is called an impression in the Sponsored Listing section. They will only need to pay for that advertisement if someone clicks on the displayed text ad and the user is then redirected to their website. This is referred to as Pay Per Click (PPC) Advertising. Initiating a PPC Campaign is rather simple to get started (you can see your advertisements posted within minutes of setting them up) but maximizing the amount of clicks you get for your money is a daunting process that deserves continuous attention and improvement by a PPC Expert.
Check back next week to learn about SEO - Search Engine Optimization. Yes, it is different than PPC...
 Be sure to read this article on cnn.com about a $3.1M mansion in Washington State that has been re-created in the 3-D online world, Second Life. This is a fascinating and innovative way to market real estate for prospective buyers online. This first attempt has attracted a lot of interest in the virtual community:
"In real life, a house like this might normally attract the attention of 50 to 100 people, but since Wednesday 3,500 people have toured the home in Second Life, according to its broker, Suzanne Lane. Not all of them are prospective buyers of course -- in a virtual world it's easy for anyone who's curious to just stop by.
"I feel comfortable that it will sell within the next couple of months," she said, despite the fact that the Seattle real-estate market has cooled recently."
This gives food for thought on the impact 3-D visualizations have on buyers, and the increasing importance of utilizing advanced visualization tools to attract interest in real estate properties. Consumers will soon expect to see 3-D walkthroughs and video tours of homes they are researching. Pictures and traditional virtual tours are becoming more and more obsolete by the day. As an industry we need to start creating interactive content, such as video and 3-D walkthroughs, that will excite consumers for years to come.
Thanks to Crystal Christopherson from Envision for this post.
Well, 'New vs Used'--with all the current negative press and market conditions...we all talk about this stuff and think we should do something, but Meritage has actually taken action in combating the current market malaise/negative press, by hitting it head on via PR outreach. It is not only about 'buy now' but also about 'new as superior'. (You can link to the interview from Newhomesource.com.) An interviewer from the local media interviewed Steve Hilton (CEO--Meritage) in a news format, resulting in a great scripted interview that can be posted in a variety of places online.
What if the top 50 builders all created video interviews of key execs focusing on these important topics placing this content not only on their own websites but also on 3rd party aggregator sites? The effect is that wherever the consumer goes, he will see a myriad of influential and trusted sources espousing the benefits of new and combating the negative publicity in the current market.
This poses an interesting question for the consortium, both as individual builders as well as a unified body...Can we provide draft scripts, should we help facilitate production, post on our sites, etc...? What are your thoughts? Please post your thoughts and comments. If we want to craft the environment we live in, we need to take action...the question is 'what action'? Meritage has taken a first great step, which I would challenge all builders to follow! (Posted by Melissa for Tim Costello!)
 To paraphrase the cartoon on the left, The greatest technology in the world won't guarantee you better lead conversion. You need to leverage the latest technologies alongside tried and true lead generation techniques to truly maximize conversion. This post is the first in a series that will help you generate and convert more leads. This post comes from Blair Kuhnen, VP of Marketing at BHI.
Simmons Homes is the leading builder in Tulsa. Tulsa, Oklahoma is a small, but good, homebuilding market. Being a smaller market, with limited relocation and easy commutes, lead volume for builders tends to be low. Many home shoppers are reluctant to give up their contact information and prefer to just visit communities without ever becoming a lead. Simmons has no problem generating lots of leads and converting a great many of them into sales. Here's how they do it.
First a little background. Simmons created an OSC program in October of 2005. When Simmons started their OSC program they were generating well under 100 leads per month. Since that time, they have added NewHomeSource.com, Move.com, NewHomeguides.com, and pay-per-click campaigns to drive up their website leads and third party leads. They have improved their monthly lead volume by 491%, plenty for an effective OSC program.
Simmons sees 20-25% of their total sales coming from their Internet leads. I spent some time this month with Mike Lyon, OSC for Simmons Homes, about techniques for converting more of these leads into sales. Mike is a master of online sales. His strength is in setting appointments. You can order his book on the subject here. After reading it, I would consider buying it just for his phone scripts. Continue reading this post. Click on the link to see the rest.
Continue reading "How to Capture AND Convert More Leads" »
 Business Week has a feature article about new home consumer complaint web sites that everyone in the Home Building Industry should read. The article talks about some of the most popular web sites, and tells the stories of the consumers behind them. These are angry consumers that have had serious problems with their new homes, and have decided to strike back. As the Home Building Industry struggles, these sites are getting more and more traffic and mainstream media attention. Take a few minutes to read the article and then, return to BHI Insights and leave you comments on the article.
 The Fed held steady a key short-term rate at 5.25 percent. Ben Bernanke and The Fed calmed financial market fears about a credit crunch and inflation. In its statement, the Fed noted that "financial markets have been volatile in recent weeks, credit conditions have become tighter for some households and businesses, and the housing correction is ongoing."
Fears of a credit crunch have caused stock market volatility in recent weeks as investors appear to be betting that the merger boom may be over.
Many economists and market watchers believe the Fed should not cut rates anytime soon since inflation is still a real threat. Those economists cite near record high oil prices and surging wheat and milk commodity prices.
The Fed also noted that "although the downside risks to growth have increased somewhat, the Committee's predominant policy concern remains the risk that inflation will fail to moderate as expected." and it expects the economy "to continue to expand at a moderate pace over coming quarters, supported by solid growth in employment and incomes and a robust global economy."
Jason Knott, editor of Techhomebuilder Mag, visited Dennis Webb (VP, Ops) at Fulton Homes to talk about their unique approach to their buyers through the use of technology. Fulton has taken an interesting approach to the downturn in the market, as they are investing in technology/systems to ensure they are poised for the new buyer mentality. And you gotta love that ‘box o nails’ comment regarding ROI on Envision! Dennis also has some great advice for his competition—make sure you stay through to the end of the video.
BHI Insights is at SFO heading back to Austin TX. It's been a great week at Inman Real Estate Connect 2007. The Inman conferences attract CEO-level decision makers across the industry, and feature a lot great content. We'll be at the next Real Estate Connect in New York January 9 –11, 2008. To check out all the other bloggers that were covering the conference, go to the feed blog . This blog is automatically updated with blog posts that are about the conference. Very cool use of blogging and feed technology. To see all of our posts in one place, go to the conference page on our blog. BHI Insights thanks all the bloggers out there that participated, and have supported us this week. See you in New York!
 The Inman Innovator Awards were announced just minutes ago, and BHI Insights was there. Here is a list of the winners. Be sure to check out the winner's web sites to get up-to-date on the latest products and services in the Real Estate Technology Industry:
Most Innovative Brokerage: Coldwell Banker
Most Innovative Web Service: vFlyer
 Most Innovative Technology: Altos Research
Most Innovative Blog: Mortgage Fraud Blog
Most Innovative Media Site: Active Rain
Innovator of the Year: The Craigslist Community and Craig Newmark
 Sellsius Real Estate took the long way to Inman Connect 2007. They toured the country in an RV, visiting 30 cities along the way. In each city, they hooked up with local real estate bloggers and documented their travels, culminating on stage at the last day of the conference. Check out their blog and video below for the whole crazy story.
 This afternoon, the conference broke out into smaller, intensive workshops on various topics including lead management, video, blogging, and mapping. BHI Insights attended the blogging and video sessions.
Video: So, why is video gaining so much traction, and becoming so common on the Internet? And why should we care about video when marketing real estate? Video has become ubiquitous on the Web for a number of reasons: The proliferation of broadband access, more efficient compression and streaming technologies, and a new breed of embeddable video players. What can video do for real estate marketing? Well-made video content creates an emotional response, regardless of the subject matter. The video can be about a builder, a community, or a specific floor plan. The goal is to create an emotional response from the consumer. Be on the lookout for some innovative video products from BHI in the near future.
 The Keynote Address just finished up. The speaker was Hugh MacLeod, a person that defies categorization in my opinion. Hugh is a cartoonist (those are his on the right), ad industry veteran, viral marketing specialist, blogger, motivator (the list goes on). He is most famous for his blog, gapingvoid.com and also for putting a small South African wine maker, Stormhoek on the map through an amazing viral marketing campaign that utilized blogging and the power of the Internet. Hugh MacLeod made some excellent points in his hilarious 25 mintue address. The key takeaway was the importance of Social Objects on the Web. Social Objects are anything that encourage social interactions and sharing. This is at the heart of the Web 2.0 movement. Humans love to share themselves and their experiences. The most successful Web 2.0 products empower users to interact and share. The video tells the story of Hugh's most famous cartoon: The Blue Monster. Be sure to watch it.
 Brad Inman (far left) kicked off the Conference by relating the key themes to be explored over the next 3 days. The first is the interplay between the current state of the real estate market and the current explosion of new technology providers in the space. The market is slow with few buyers but, the industry is finally ready to totally embrace the wide array of technologies becoming available. At the same time, we are experiencing a "Web 2.0" explosion of Internet innovation. These new innovations center around Community, User-Generated Content, and Social Media. We are also in the age of 24/7 connectivity with Blogs, video and social networking keeping us connected to the Internet and each other around the clock, instantly.
The first round table discussion was a very lively one with Brad Inman (left) Dale Stinton, CEO of The National Association of Realtors (center) and Rich Barton, CEO of Zillow. Dale Stinton had some very interesting insights and news about the industry:
First, he's predicting the Fed will drop interest rates in the coming months to counteract the effects of the slow market and the sub-prime financing "debacle". He also announced that NAR is investing heavily in the technology business. They plan to create and incubate new technologies to directly help their constituency. Third, the NAR will begin marketing directly to consumers. They want to be a trusted adviser on a national level, and are striving to be the first resource consumers use when they research and search for homes. Over $100 Million will be put towards this effort. Realtor.com will also get a major overhaul that will feature new and innovative features.
Everyone on the panel agreed that Mobile Content will be the next huge thing to hit the industry. The iPhone is expected to be a real game changer. Once the kinks are worked out of the first 2 generations of the iPhone, expect consumer real estate to radically change. Consumers will be able to search and connect with homes and Realtors in real time, on the fly, from anywhere.
 BHI Insights has safely landed in the "City By The Bay" for Real Estate Connect 2007. Greeting us with open arms was Trulia with their loving mascot. The show kicks off in about 1 hour with a welcome address by Brad Inman, followed by the first round of discussions featuring Dale Stinton CEO, National Association of Realtors, Peter Flint Founder & CEO, Trulia and Russ Capper, President, Prudential Real Estate Services. It's shaping up to be a great show. Stay tuned to BHI Insights for recaps on all the events here at Real Estate Connect 2007!
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From Blair Kuhnen, VP of Marketing at Builder Homesite 
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