Featured Real Estate Agent of the Month

“How to Build a Thriving Real Estate Business”

Andrew Duncan
Keller Williams
Tampa Bay, FL

How did Andrew Duncan of Keller Williams Realty double his business within two months? By doubling his team,
of course!

We are pleased to have Andrew as this month’s featured real
estate agent.

In our exclusive call with Andrew, he tells us what it takes to build a team and make it function effectively and productively. He describes setting up different functions from customer service to transaction coordination, selecting the right management systems, and using marketing strategies like HomeGain, Craigslist and YouTube.

Listen to this month's exclusive story with Andrew Duncan:

Read the full story

Free Event, December 4: "Ask the Experts Live Real Estate Forum". Get advice on foreclosures, blogging, and more. See the speaker line up and register today!

Question of the Month

Q: Dear HomeGain,
I’m part of your BuyerLink program and am getting only a few leads a month for my $50. Any ideas on how I could get more leads for my money?

- Ethel Frank, Kansas City, MO

A: This is a great question that probably has a different answer depending on who you talk to. However, there are two answers I would provide; look at increasing your budget and make sure your site is optimized to receive your traffic. BuyerLink is a cost-per-visit program where you’re paying for people to come to your site and see your brand. It’s really no different than traditional forms of offline advertising in the sense that you’re playing a numbers game. We tell agents that to get one deal, you really need between 900-1100 visitors coming to your page. Out of that 900, you might get 90-110 leads and out of those leads you should get 1-2 transactions. With a $50 budget, you might only be getting 35-40 visits per month and 3-4 leads per month. If you would like to increase your budget, please call us at 888-512-7913.

Whether you can invest additional budget or not, I would also recommend taking a look at your site to make sure it’s set up properly for receiving visitors. As a BuyerLink customer, we help start you off on the right foot by giving you a free landing page. This page asks visitors to register on your website in exchange for information or services. Some agents will tell you it’s wrong to require visitors to register and that they should be able to get to the information without obstacles. While this approach does create a better consumer experience, be prepared to receive less leads, as you are relying on the consumer to be so excited about your content that they will want to contact you directly. Both approaches provide value to the consumer, but produce different results; especially if you base the success of your marketing programs on the number of leads generated.

Read more success tips from Realtors on the HomeGain Real Estate Blog. You can also sign up for free updates.

HomeGain Announces Winner of Best Agent Video 2008

Congratulations to Mitch Ribak of Tropical Realty in Suntree, Florida for submitting the winning video to this year’s Agent Appreciation Campaign video contest in October.

Watch the winning video!

HomeGain Wins WebAward for Website Design

The Web Marketing Association (WMA) has recognized HomeGain.com as a winner of a 2008 WebAward for Outstanding Achievement in Website Development within the real estate industry category.

The 2008 WebAwards names the best Websites in 96 industry categories. Nominations for best web site come from interactive agencies and web site marketing departments in more than 47 countries from around the world.

Visit www.homegain.com to see the new design!

Give Your Listings a Boost! As a HomeGain member, you can upload your home listings for FREE.

HomeGain Clubs

Congratulations to HomeGain's newest AgentEvaluator^® Platinum Club, Gold Club and Silver Club members!

These members represent our top performing real estate professionals nationwide and receive a reduced referral fee rate.

To find out if you may qualify for Silver, Gold or Platinum status, please contact your Regional Manager or send an email to agent@homegain.com.

October New Members

Agents who have closed $125,000 in gross commissions from HomeGain leads

Agents who have closed $75,000 in gross commissions from HomeGain leads

Agents who have closed $50,000 in gross commissions from HomeGain leads

Agent Quote of the Month

“Once again, Doug Haas impresses me with his stellar service. He has helped me with customer service issues, billing issues and addresses my concerns. Doug is a great asset to your team."

- Anthony Solis, John L. Scott Real Estate

Customer Advocate of the Month

Each month, HomeGain recognizes one person who upholds and represents HomeGain’s high standards of customer care.

HomeGain is pleased to announce the Customer Advocate of the Month is Jesse Iniguez.

Since joining HomeGain in September 2007, Jesse has adapted himself to the very dynamic environment in the Website Operations Team. Jesse has grown into a very valuable part of the team and he continues to demonstrate initiative and tenacity as he works on many projects and day to day tasks.

Jesse’s customer service is exemplary, as demonstrated by his willing spirit and smile. Jesse strives to do his best for the customer, listening to their need and understanding their situation.

His “can do” attitude is often noted by his fellow employees with comments such as:

• “You’re the man, Jesse. Thanks so much for being right on top of this.”
• "Jesse, you are the best. I can’t stress enough how much of a headache this will relieve moving forward!”

Please join me in congratulating Jesse for this well deserved recognition.

Get an instant home valuation estimate. Try our
new home values tool.

• Featured Real Estate Agent
• "Ask the Experts" Special Event
• Ask HomeGain
• Video Contest Winner
• HomeGain.com Wins WebAward
• New Club Agents
• Agent Quote
• Customer Advocate

• A Sure-Fire Way to Convert a Lead
• The Ever Evolving Real Estate Website
• Are You Using All Your Tools to be Successful?
• What Home Buyers and Sellers Want in their Proposals
• Lead Generation, Conversion and Closure

SUGGESTION BOX

Win Max, the HomeGain Gorilla, if your suggestion is used!

Questions?
Comments?

Call 888.542.0800 or email us.