The future of estate agents

Property Pro Summit 2016

Online Property Marketing

Adriaan Grove | CEO, Entegral

adriaanGV [email protected]


In this webinar…

● The (ever) changing role of the estate agent● Property portals, friend or foe?● Where is online real estate headed?● Tips for maximum online exposure

The (ever) changing role of the estate agent


Pre-internetEstate agents were the main source of anything

property related including listings and current plus historic sales data.


Each property had its own listing file!

Pre-internetAgents advertised in local newspapers for a fee.

Buyers scanned the newspapers and phoned agents based on limited property information.


Buyers could only see new properties once a week!

Front page ad? Wow - lots of exposure!

Pre-internetLots of physical viewings to narrow down selections based

on your assumption of what the buyer wanted.


Luckily fuel was cheaper back then!

(and less traffic!)

Post-internetBuyers can find historic sales and other property

data online, in most cases free.


Post-internetAgents advertise in national property portals for a fee and

also invested in own websites. Buyers can search for property 24/7 and narrow their search.


Post-internetLess physical viewings based on pre-selection that buyer

did through your website, portal, virtual tour.


The changing face of the real estate industry


Property Files

Newspapers, TV

Traditional brick and mortar agencies

Bundled services

Agent is thedata keeper

Word of mouth

(Online) Database

Portals, PC, mobile

Hybrid agenciesDiscounted fees, salaried agents, rebates etc,

unbundling of services

Agent is thedata verifier

Online reviews

LISTING

BEFORE NOW

MARKETING

AGENCY

AGENCY

RECOMMEND

The changing face of the real estate industry


Prepared to wait

Once a weekLOCAL

Physical80% search by agent

Valuation

Instant feedbackrequired

24 / 7 on multiple devicesGLOBAL

Virtual80% search by buyer

Validation

COMMUNICATION

BEFORE NOW

MARKETING

VIEWINGS

PRICING


● More pressure to justify commissions due to:

○ easy access of property data online○ ability to narrow down exact properties of interest○ cheap + quick online marketing options○ growing presence of property portals○ growing presence of discount agencies○ FSBO (for sale by owner portals) who discredit you

The changing role of the estate agent


● Today you need to be very tech savvy about:

○ social media presence to build trust○ online marketing knowledge to create leads○ open to explore emerging technologies

● Today you need to prove yourself online

○ as a trustworthy source○ as an expert of your local neighborhood○ as a professional, qualified real estate agent

The changing role of the estate agent


Are you an early adopter of new technology and business models?


“...You can’t look at the competition and say you’re going to do it better.

You have to look at the competition and say you’re going to do it differently...”

~ Steve Jobs

Property PortalsFriend of Foe?



Current view of estate agents on portals

● You are too expensive● You hold us ransom● You are trying to replace us


As a result:

Agency owned and partially owned portals are rising to protect agent market share and profits (does this sound familiar? Hint - print publications)

But is it working? ...Launched to counter the domination of the Zoopla and Rightmove duopoly and online agencies.

How to portals start and operate?


Property portals thrive on the number of listings:

● It helps with better search engine ranking● The more listings, the more leads● Start of internet most portals started as a free

service as agents didn’t see the value● Today most portals are funded by media

companies or investment groups. All large portals in SA funded this way, there are some exceptions:


You’re paying property portals thousands/month to:

● Repackage your property information● Sell it back to you and 3rd party advertisers

● Use your data to generate content that drives traffic to their website that generates advertising revenue & leads, and sell those leads back to you.

● Use this income to market themselves better and drive more leads in the process

Portals are changing dramatically


In the past property portals were:

● Simple advertising platforms for estate agents● Generated leads back for estate agents● Asked flat & cheap advertising fees to list

properties● Had little interest from investors and were

generally self funded● Slowly replaced newspapers



Portals today:

● Providing complex advertising structures that extends to paying per lead or transaction, featuring listings, yourself or your agency

● Ranks properties and agents based on quality but also on paid promotions

● Getting more feedback from end users



Portals today:

● Have huge interest from investors (think News Corp buying Realtor.com for $950 million).

● They need to turn a profit and grow to please investors

● Sorry - Property portals aren’t going to get cheaper



Portal are moving towards:

● Being simple media platforms to getting more involved in the real estate transaction process at every level;

● It has the capacity and investment required to slowly change the real estate industry;

● Are acquiring more info about the buyer, seller and the property. There are getting better at matching buyers with properties, with the greater potential for transactions to occur.



Current focus of portals:

● Get all your listings and marketing knowledge● Build better ranking through neighborhood

profiles● Build more trust through free historic sales

data● Charge you more to increase their marketing

spend (and make investors happy)● In short, monetize every aspect about online

real estate



● Portals want to work with estate agents that see the ROI (return on investment) for their ad spend

● Possibly want to generate more income from less agents. More exclusive.

● A widening in the gap for leads for agents who are willing to spend extra vs those who pay standard rates

● Getting more difficult for the average agent to get maximum exposure.

The Property Portal Landscape in South Africa


Where is online real estate headed?



What new models are we seeing?

Allows sellers to request offers in as little as 3 min. and select their closing date if they like the pricewww.opendoor.com

A platform that provides online buying and selling of real estate and streamlines process, backed by Google

The rise of the online agency

Pioneered easy access to property estimates (zestimates)

http://www.opendoor.com





Uber changed the Taxi Industry...AirBNB changed the Hotel Industry…

____ changed the Real Estate Industry...

My view: Lots of smaller innovations that improve and streamlines the current marketing and sale

processes



● Promoting more instant responses● Virtual Reality Viewing and improved virtual tours

● Lots of startups that focus on how they can make market and sale processes simpler, cheaper and more efficient (small tech disruptions).

● More on demand services● Machine learning. What the buyer wants. Better matching.● Collaborative economy: more companies working together with

the agent the transaction or project coordinator

Tips for maximumonline exposure


Online advertising channels available to estate agents


● Agency and personal websites● Blogs● Property Portals● Social Media (Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest etc)● Search Engines (Organic and Paid advertising)● Banner ads on websites● Email newsletters● Automated Property alerts● Free valuations● Guest posts

Organic Search Engine Ranking


The misconception that web developers can do magic tricks to get your agency website to the #1 position in Google in no time.

Forget about that.

SEO (Search Engine Optimisation)


How to rank naturally high in search engines:

● There is no ‘instant’ recipe, it is a long term commitment and investment.

● You have more control over search engine ranking than ever before.

● Content is king● Write good quality, unique, local content. It is a

long term investment.● Invest in your own website and social media

accounts to create trust.

Organic Search Engine Ranking


Right now with Google:

Quality content, mobile, speed is king.


Paid ranking:

● Reach buyers on the point of search

● It can be expensive, need expert knowledge

● Focus on local

● Constant monitoring

Long Tail Keyword Targeting


The secret in getting better leads for less money - Paid and Organic Ranking

property

Property in Sandton

Property in Bryanston, Sandton

Clusters for sale in Bryanston, Sandton

3 bed clusters for sale in La Vie Estate Bryanston

Conversion

Cos

t

Online Tips


● Content is king. Area articles, tips etc● Build trust: agent reviews & testimonials● Make it personal (and interesting)● In-house vs outsource can help you focus on your

core business.● Create unexpected value e.g. online offers.● Follow up quicker on leads = response time is

critical to capturing lead● Photos sell a home - invest in a good camera or

photographer - stand out from the rest● Qualify your sources & put more focus on real

opportunities and not people who waste your time

Online Tips

Content marketing vs traditional ads


People don’t see and engage with advertising as they used to. Why we are seeing traditional channels such as print failing.

But people do connect with stories - that is how they remember things.Content marketing is about engaging people so you can create a voice of authority.

Lots of education needed in buying and selling a house (or renting). People will have loads of questions and they are using Google to find the answers.

Will they found your website and content?If you can answer their question, you have a much better chance of getting their business.

Many dubious places of information. This created a massive opportunity for estate agents to be a source for accurate and easy to understand information.

Online Tips


● Invest in a professional clean logo● Invest in a office or personal website, it should be responsive (or mobile at least)● Content marketing: creating content at all stages of the sales funnel with the

goal of advancing people to the next phase.○ Create a blog○ News articles on your website○ Social media posts ○ Create useful tools (bond calculator) and guides (e.g. selling tips) - this helps

build trust○ Weekly summary, new listings, prices, events etc○ Local services (e.g plumber, electriction, handyman)○ Free market evaluation○ Ask for reviews○ Answer questions○ Create local (your neighborhood) content○ Use geo-targeted ads

● Create more trust: Unpack your (invisible) services to your client - value the extra level of service. Put in in a blog or a presentation. It helps secure a mandate.

Better (online) time management


● 80% of business comes from 20% of your clients

● Focus your time, energy and marketing on attracting your true clients: those who recognise the value of your service - less time on those whose waste your time

The Pareto principle states that, for many events, roughly 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes


Thank you for your time!

Use “PROSUM16” for 10% discount on any of Entegral’s products valid until end of June 2016

Adriaan Grove | CEO, Entegral

adriaanGV [email protected]