The Weekly Boost Ricardo Bueno

At its most basic level hyperlocal marketing is the process of attracting and retaining your best customers by targeting a specific geographic niche, such as an area, city, neighborhood, or zip code.

By creating great local evergreen content, conversion content, and connection content consistently that answers consumers questions about the community, buying or selling, etc. you’ll attract a local audience that builds & grows your business.

This week I’m excited to talk to my long-time friend and realtor, Jason Farris. Founder of FresYes Realty and FresYes.com.

Jason discusses how he grew his hyperlocal website, FresYes.com, from a small local website to a huge lead magnet with over 29,000 subscribers, as well as how he went from a single agent to a team of 20+ agents handling over 100 transactions per year.

Show-notes:

00:00 Introduction
5:51 What’s your strategy for hyperlocal?
13:51 Using your newsletter to build your business
20:28 How to take your newsletter and convert it into business
23:33 The power of segmenting
27:51 Don’t lead your newsletters with real estate related topics
30:11 Are there any objections from buyers about only being hyperlocal
31:25 Don’t convince people to buy a home, convince them that you’re for the job
35:05 Provide nothing but value to your contact list both in your newsletter and in person

Other Ways To Listen:

Subscribe in iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-weekly-boost/id1506520257
Subscribe via Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2nvMtw4gn5qm0Wrv3DqWbM
Subscribe via Email: http://www.ricardobueno.com/boost/

To connect with Jason:

Website: https://www.jasonfarris.me
Web: https://www.fresyes.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JasonJFarris
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/fresyes/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jasonjfarris/

To connect with Ricardo Bueno:

Website: https://www.ricardobueno.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ribeezie/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ribeezie

If you're going to invest in lead generation you'll need a solid lead conversion system in place to ensure that those leads become customers; otherwise, you'll be wasting your money.

How many times have you been so excited about a new lead that you were really confident was going to convert only to find out later that it went nowhere? Or you’re still chasing them after weeks and months?

The process of converting leads into customers is hard. You have to strike a balance between staying persistent but not pestering. And you have to have the patience to follow up long enough to stay top-of-mind, build trust, and convert the sale.

Sometimes that process happens quickly (30 - 60 days) but other times it can take up to 12 - 18 months. Here’s the thing I tell every agent I work with: “Leads are going to be ready when they’re ready, not when you want them to be ready.”

So, do you have an effective process for converting those leads into clients and sales?

This week I’m joined by Daniel Cross, Director of Business Development at Verse.io. Verse’s combination of technology and people is leading the revolution from cold-calling to conversational interaction. Daniel is enthusiastic about assisting businesses (i.e. real estate professionals) in developing a more effective contact and conversion process so that you can get a good return on investment from your lead generation dollars spent. At Verse, they’ve generated and followed up on well over 10 million leads so they know a thing or two about what works.

Let’s jump into the episode!

00:00 Introduction
2:29 The early days of verse.
6:09 Does it hurt my business if I don't utilize AI?
10:14 What experience do you deliver to make sure you're not creating confusion?
17:34 Effective ad examples.
20:18 Qualifying listing leads.
22:55 Buyer leads vs. seller leads.
25:24 Your goal should be to create opportunities to have conversations, not sell a house.
26:33 What is considered a good conversion number?
30:54 Does your response rate go up the more attempts you make?
35:16 The importance of setting the appointment.
41:20 How to audit your lead processing systems.

To connect with Daniel:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-cross-sd
Website: https://verse.io/

To connect with Ricardo Bueno:

Website: https://www.ricardobueno.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ribeezie/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ribeezie

Technology and social media have completely changed the landscape for buyers, sellers, and agents, causing a seismic shift.

On the one hand, younger entrepreneurs are entering the real estate market and bringing their digital expertise with them. Simultaneously, millennials have become the single largest buyer demographic, accounting for nearly 25% of all sellers, and relying on the Internet to get things done. If you, as a real estate agent, aren’t keeping up with this shift, you run the risk of fading to the background and not being seen.

Personal branding and branding in general are now more important than ever. Your competition is moving quickly building out their websites and social media presence and making a name for themselves.

Brian Gardner is co-founder of Agent Engine. They assist real estate agents and other industry professionals in establishing a digital presence, utilising the power of technology and social media to build (and grow) their business. He’s previously the co-founder of StudioPress (sold to WP Engine in 2018) which powers hundreds of thousands of WordPress websites.

Brian joins The Weekly Boost to discuss his personal branding expertise as well as his thoughts on the future of the real estate industry and developing a strong online presence.

00:00 Introduction
2:06 Who is Brain Gardner?
4:56 Why Agent Engine? Why Real Estate?
7:06 Why build a personal brand?
8:50 When you decide to build a brand, where do you start?
10:44 Designing a personal brand and website that works
13:33 Should content come first?
15:51 Choose the medium that works best for you and your consumers
17:15 Be authentic, be consistent
20:03 How does Agent Engine revolutionize the real estate industry
23:48 Advice to people just getting started in to the real estate business
25:32 Mistakes to avoid when building your personal brand
31:02 How do you quantify how your website is performing
35:49 Leverage what you can in the beginning or you run the risk of wasting too much money

Other ways to listen:

Listen on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-weekly-boost/id1506520257
Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2nvMtw4gn5qm0Wrv3DqWbM
Subscribe to the newsletter & get future episodes sent straight to your inbox: http://www.ricardobueno.com/boost/
To learn more about Agent Engine:

Website: https://www.Agentengine.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/agent.engine/

To connect with Brian:

Website: https://www.BrianGardner.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bgardner/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/bgardner
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bgardner/

To connect with Ricardo Bueno:

Website: https://www.ricardobueno.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ribeezie/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ribeezie

Right now we all want more listings. But the question I would turn back around and ask you is, what type of content are you putting out there to attract your ideal customer?

Your content/knowledge needs a place to live if you’re going to be successful. Whether you’re selling real estate, loans, consulting services, or products.

You need a platform.

For my friend Scott Schang (co-founder of Buywise Mortgage & Findmywayhome.com) it’s a blog and in the early days, webinars.

For Jeb Smith & Christian Walsh, both realtors doing 15+ transactions per year, it’s creating content through their YouTube channel. So far this year in 2021, Jeb’s closed close to 6 transactions as a direct result of his video content on YouTube and Christian’s closed 4.

They are creating content that attracts their ideal customer.

Without a platform to attract and communicate with your audience, you’re doomed to failure.

These agents have become leaders in their market by simply creating authoritative content. Telling people you’re the “local market expert” doesn’t have the same effect as showing people that you are.

So in this episode, I share some examples and give you some strategies for building your platform, creating authoritative content, and I tee up the kinds of questions you should be answering in your marketing!

Show-notes:

- The story of Marcus Sheridan and how he turned a struggling swimming pool company into one of the largest companies in the U.S. [1m:25s]
- How Scott Schang created findmywayhome.com and turned it into a website that generates ~10,000 site visitors per month and 100+ leads per month [3m:24s]
- How Jeb Smith and Christian Walsh leverage YouTube videos to attract their ideal customer [5m:35s]
- A simple formula to follow for consistently delivering helpful content that attracts an audience [6m:08s]
- A great definition of Authority Content [7m:10s]
- Show, don’t tell [7m:40s]
- Telling people you’re the local market expert doesn’t have the same effect as showing people that you are [7m:44s]
- Here’s a list of questions I recommend you start answering to demonstrate your local market expertise [8m:13s]
- It’s tough out there for buyers and sellers so they need your expertise now more than ever [11m:04s]
- How to demonstrate or reposition your value prop if you’re trying to attract sellers in today’s market [11m:37s]
- How to reposition your value prop if you’re trying to find inventory for your current list of buyers that you’re working with [12m:55s]

This is probably the single biggest question that I get a lot from my agents on a day-to-day basis.

And if you’ve been in the business for a while I’m sure you’ve jumped back and forth between more than a few options.

But rather than shopping for which CRM has the best features, the more important part is simply to automate your activity or the process of following up with your leads and creating a post-close process for getting more customer reviews and asking for referrals.

I’m all for embracing new apps and technology. However, you’ll never become great at using tools if you’re constantly changing them. So commit to utilizing certain key tools in your business and invest instead on improving your skills within those technologies (i.e. improving your follow up sales process).

With that said, let’s jump into today’s episode!

Show notes:

- You’ll never become great at using tools if you’re constantly changing them [1m:30s]
- If I were to get licensed tomorrow, here are the tools that I’m going all in on [2m:03s]
- Number one: I’m investing in a really good website but more importantly, focused on creating great hyperlocal content that answers consumers most pressing questions [2m:09s]
- To paraphrase Jimmy Mackin, “Take this opportunity to lead from the front by producing timely marketing campaigns that help your customers make more informed decisions” [3m:16s]
- Here’s a great list of questions to answer for your prospects [3m:34s]
- The second thing that I’m going all in on is setting up my “trust profiles” [5m:53s]
- What comes up on the first page of Google is your personal SEO [6m:30s]
- You need to get better at collecting and showcasing your best customer testimonials [8m:36s]
- Here’s an email template to automate the process of gathering customer testimonials [12m:30s]
- The third thing that I’m going all in on if I were to get licensed today is a CRM [16m:53s]
- Why do you need a CRM at all? [17m:07s]
- Shopping for the CRM that has the best features doesn’t matter [18m:11s]
- A CRM is going to help you automate your follow up process [20m:26s]
- The biggest thing a CRM is going to do for you is help you automate your activity [29m:50s]

Video is one of the most powerful tools you have at your disposal to communicate with people online.

It has a very high engagement rate and people are more likely to share videos than they are written content.

Videos also work better for SEO, whether you’re trying to rank on Google or YouTube. You can even use video in your social media marketing. It’s one of the most relevant ways for people to see your product or service and learn about it.

But here are some common questions that keeps us from diving straight into video:

- Why should I bother? Isn’t it a lot of work?
- What makes good video content anyway?
- How do I make the best videos possible?
- Do I have to be a professional film-maker or videographer?
- How much money will it cost me to make a decent video?
- What software and equipment should I use when creating my videos?
- What should I say in my videos?
- What do I do with my videos once I’ve created them?

I asked my good friend, Scott Schang, who he’s knows that can help realtors answer these questions and tell captivating stories that sell through video and he immediately recommended Bob Regnerus and Brandon Boyd of Feedstories.

So I’m excited to have them on the show this week to answer some of these questions and more. Their company, Feedstories, combines the power of direct marketing, creative filmmaking and strategic storytelling to engage & influence your audience.

Show-notes:

[0:00] Introduction

[2:46] Who is Bob Regnerus?

[4:28] Who is Brandon Boyd?

[6:14] Why Facebook and Instagram is focusing on video

[7:49] What is Feedstories?

[9:24] How to form an original message to to help leads choose you over you competitors

[12:39] How to leverage case studies and testimonials

[15:07] When and how will my marketing pay off?

[17:57] How to get over your fear of creating video content

[24:11] How Feedstories creates HD video content remotely

[26:43] You don’t need expensive equipment to create great video content

[27:34] What type of video should you start with?

[33:37] How to use your videos once you’ve created them