INTERNET GUIDE
Communicating in a wired world
E-mail lays the foundation for building online relationships.
BY MICHAEL ANTONIAK
Carol Pease is a big believer in the power of online communications to make sales.
One buyer decided on a home after the Rockford, Ill.-based Pease e-mailed a virtual tour of the property to the buyer’s wife in Malaysia.
Another buyer e-mailed his offer to Pease’s pager while the Whitehead, REALTORS®, salesperson was meeting with the seller. She obtained the final offer the same way and closed the deal--all within minutes.
As more people go online to investigate properties, e-mail is often their initial means of contact with you. If you understand how to use it to cultivate relationships, you’ll profit. Regard it as little more than the electronic version of a canvassing letter, and others will get the business.
“Everything you’ve been taught about building successful relationships with the traditional buyer can actually work against you online,” says REALTOR® Magazine Online and print columnist Michael Russer, an industry consultant and speaker about the Internet.
Internet-empowered consumers control the relationship because they’re immune to the power of personality and subliminal cues, which do so much to shape the off-line relationship. “These online customers maintain an invis-
ible shield that nothing you do can penetrate until you’ve gained their trust, demonstrated you have the skills they need, and shown that you have their best interest at heart,” Russer says.
“Only then, when you’ve proved yourself, may they choose to reveal themselves,” he adds, “and that decision is entirely theirs.”
Rule: instant gratification
Answer e-mail as soon as possible. “Answering e-mail within eight hours is critical,” says Mary Bills, managing broker and vice president, Woods Bros. Realty, Lincoln, Neb. “After that, the contact’s interest in hearing from you diminishes quickly.”
Clark Anderson, vice president of information technology for Coldwell Banker Hunneman, Boston, believes the window of opportunity may be even shorter. “Responding within a couple of hours is the most important thing you can offer, at least when you’re just starting to deal with someone,” he says.
Russer says e-mail correspondence in the early stages of a relationship shouldn’t pressure contacts to reveal more than they want to about themselves.
“Every e-mail should be short and to the point and should contain a full signature with all your contact information so that prospects know how to reach you when they’re ready,” he says. (For more on signatures, search “e-mail signatures” in the archives at www.realtormag.com.)
Targeted sites=prospects
But before you wean online prospects into an off-line relationship, you have to find them. That’s where your Web sites--note the plural--come in. “To get the best response and build rapport early, you need more than one site,” says Bryan Guentner, a practitioner with RE/MAX Properties, Sarasota, Fla. He maintains one for the average buyer interested in Florida and another for buyers of high-priced waterfront property. The second site draws the most e-mail.
Forms are another way many online-savvy salespeople encourage buyers to contact them. Visitors to the Web site of Maury King, an associate broker with Windermere Real Estate NW in Seattle, complete a form describing their property interests. The forms are relayed to him by e-mail.
His MLS software searches for and lists properties fitting the buyers’ criteria. Then he e-mails contacts a URL and password so that they can view information on those properties right on the Web.
Anyone who fills out a form at Guentner’s site can check off a box to receive an electronic newsletter each month. That way, Guentner isn’t spamming anyone.
Each month Guentner e-mails a note and the newsletter’s URL to hundreds of prospects.
It’s an important marketing tool for keeping his name in front of potential buyers. “Because of our Web sites, people tend to contact us by e-mail much earlier in the homebuying process” than they normally would, he says. “But it may be as long as six months before they’re ready to buy, so we have to keep our name before them and develop a relationship over a longer period.”
When the wooing is done
Although e-mail plays an important role in communications right up to the sale, at some point consumers will need to place a call to you. “I try to provide enough information by e-mail to get them confident in making that call,” says King. (See “Take online relationships off-line,” on this page.”) Then you can begin transforming anonymous contacts into fruitful relationships.
Take online relationships off-line
One of the advantages of developing a business relationship online is that your worth is entirely dependent on your ability to provide useful information in a timely manner. The challenge is to make the transition to off-line without undermining all the credibility you’ve established over the Internet. Salespeople who successfully mine online leads repeatedly outline the same basic strategies:
Don’t initiate the first call unless or until you’re invited. But do offer to call when there’s confusion about information or when a buyer seems especially rushed to find a home.
Make sure that when prospects are ready to reach you, they can do so. Include contact info in the signature portion of every e-mail.
Be thorough. Answer questions and direct contacts to helpful resources. People who are considering an area often want more than property information. Your site should offer links to info about the local school system, city or county government, and local chamber of commerce--or tell them where to find that information.
Be as timely off-line as online. People who are impressed with how quickly you respond to e-mail will expect the same level of service off-line.
Be open-minded. Cyberspace negates body language, appearance, and pretense. Don’t be surprised when a person’s face or form doesn’t match any preconceived notions. Similarly, you may not match their image of you. Luckily, through e-mail, you’ve already gained their trust. And that’s the most critical component in any business relationship.
Become a netiquette master
E-mail is a fast and informal way to communicate that carries its own code of behavior. Know the rules for online relationships.
Read and answer your mail--always. Ignoring messages or not responding in a timely manner will surely point people to other practitioners. Mary Bills, broker and vice president, Woods Bros. Realty, Lincoln, Neb., routinely tests her salespeople’s response time. She randomly sends them a contest e-mail. Those who get back to her within eight hours get a prize.
If you can’t respond quickly, consider automatic, generic e-mail responses. So-called autoresponders let contacts know their e-mail has been received. But nothing replaces a personalized response.
Keep it brief. Less is always more, especially in e-mail.
Don’t put in writing anything you don’t want repeated. E-mail gets passed around beyond your control.
Make your point. Review your messages before sending to ensure that you’ve been concise and direct so that your meaning can’t be misconstrued. And remember to choose your words carefully. Sarcasm or jokes often don’t come across in e-mail.
Don’t SHOUT. Writing in all caps is the equivalent of shouting in cyberspace. It’s RUDE.
Don’t spam. Unsolicited e-mail is the quickest way to lose anyone’s interest online. And it’s taboo. Salesperson Deborah Gordon, Coldwell Banker Hunneman, Boston, mails RSVP cards to her market. Prospects who want to receive information from her return a card with their e-mail address. Once prospects subscribe to your e-mail service, make sure it’s easy for them to stop.
