or maybe it is better to say a VOW does not bring you good leads!
Every once in a while a client or potential client will ask me why we do not promote VOW technology. (VOW = Virtual Office Website). Many of our competitors push VOW technology as a way to garner leads from their website but I think that it is not an effective lead generator.
Lots of people have hotmail or yahoo email accounts that they use just to get into protected sites. Or there are free services like this one that provide “disposable email” - http://email.bugmenot.com/
A Realtors value is NOT the data, but the interpretation and analysis of the data.
Here is an example of what I’m talking about. Shaun Kimmins, a Vancouver Realtor, had his website with another website provider that promotes the VOW as a way to gain leads. Read Shaun’s email below about his experience with the VOW and the reasons why he moved his web presence over to Ubertor:
To Steve Jagger and Ubertor,
I just wanted to drop you a quick note to say thank you for your service during the recent creation and customization of my new website and to comment on the outstanding product you have created.
For the past 2 years my website resided at a host that features the VOW technology but two factors influenced my decision to move my site to Ubertor. Firstly, the day-to-day workload of maintaining the VOW site simply outweighed the benefits that I had hoped the service would produce and in real estate, time is a scarce and valuable resource. I was initially sold on the idea of VOW’s given their lead generation potential but the reality is that in 2 years I didn’t gain any clients as a direct result of the VOW capability. The other major factor in my decision to switch to Ubertor was that the VOW site was visually complicated, difficult to navigate and would not allow for the level of brand-customization that I wanted in my site.
The astounding level of allowable customization in your system provides for the type of complete brand individuality and implementation that we as realtors value so much. The simple, intuitive functionality of my site’s administrative interface is a pleasure to work with almost immediately after going live with the new site, I received an email from a client commenting on how easy my site was to navigate and how much they liked the visuals. It’s clear that you have done a lot of listening to what realtors want from a website and simply put, I now have the website I have wanted ever since starting in real estate. Thanks and keep up the good work!
Shaun Kimmins
Remax Real Estate Services
We at Ubertor are passionate about our clients success. This is why we do not lock our clients into a Term Agreement but rather choose to earn our clients business, month by month.
We are also seriously passionate about Search Engine Marketing.
My business partner and I travel about 42 days a year all around the world to meet with the industry’s top minds and refine our software. This costs our company hundreds of thousands of dollars. Our clients get exactly what they need from us; as we purpose the hordes of valuable information for them.
I think this is proven by the fact that no other sites rank as effectively out of the gate as an Ubertor Site.
Plus we are also passionate about educating the market:
- blog.ubertor.com is a top Real Estate SEO and SEM blog on the internet
- http://realestateagent.meetup.com/109/ is the largest Real Estate Meetup on the Planet
We do what we preach. We educate to earn clients. All I’m suggesting is that you can do the same. People will always find a way around a VOW. But if you educate them, show your expertise, they will want to contact you.
Some examples of what I referring to:
1. Write a blog about your experience as a landlord. Become the go to site for landlord issues, how to increase rent, how to deal with a bad renter, etc. Keep adding to your blog so that your visitors learn from you and come to trust your opinion.
2. Start a meetup for first time home buyers. Work to educate them on the process of buying a home. What to look for, etc. Bring in mortgage brokers, financial planners, etc to the meetup to speak on their area of expertise. Make yourself known as the helpful agent for newbies.
3. Focus on a specific nieche. Become known as the Realtor for penthouses, or the Realtor that knows everything about float homes.
Feel free to contact us about our system, customization abilities or any other questions that you have.
We are here to help you take full advantage of the internet in your real estate business.
