| Why do you have a real estate website? | | | | not going to help you create a relationship with your |
| For what reason are you directing your money, time | | | | visitor. |
| and attention to a bunch of electrons living out there | | | | But telling your story IS powerful and it is well worth |
| on the internet somewhere? | | | | the effort to put it together. |
| Is it because everyone else is? Is it because you've | | | | To illustrate, let's look at the example of Schlitz Beer |
| been told that you HAVE to be "on the internet?" | | | | in the early 1900s. |
| Is the reason to: | | | | Yes, we're looking at the beer industry to learn |
| - Get more listings? | | | | something about real estate. |
| - Collect more leads? | | | | Back then, Schlitz beer was in trouble and its sales |
| - Create some leverage so you don't have to work | | | | were down. In those days, all beers were advertised |
| so hard? | | | | as "Pure." The beer companies spent a lot of money |
| - Make more sales? | | | | and time getting that concept in front of as many |
| - Deliver quality information to your prospects? | | | | people as possible. |
| While each of the items in the list above IS a worthy | | | | So many of them said "PURE" so much that it pretty |
| business goal, I would argue that they are all | | | | much lost all of its meaning. |
| byproducts of a successful real estate website, NOT | | | | In an effort to turn around their fortune, Schlitz hired |
| the primary purpose of one. | | | | famous copywriter Claude Hopkins to create an ad |
| The primary purpose of your real estate website is | | | | campaign for them. |
| to TELL YOUR STORY to the people that want to | | | | You know what the ad campaign was? |
| hear it. This is simple, but it is not easy. Because | | | | A story. A story about: |
| getting YOUR story into words takes thought. | | | | - How Schlitz filtered their water with white wood |
| It takes answering questions like: | | | | pulp until it was completely clear. |
| - "What makes my real estate business different?" | | | | - How they dug 4,000 feet into the ground to find |
| - "What do I offer that no other real estate | | | | the purest water. |
| professional can offer or is willing to offer?" | | | | - How they ran 1,018 experiments to refine the |
| - "Why should buyers and sellers do business with me | | | | yeast to give the beer just the right flavor. |
| over any and every option available to them? | | | | The funny thing is, almost every beer maker in the |
| These are tough questions. And for that reason, | | | | country was doing the exact same thing in their |
| they usually get skipped in the process of putting a | | | | brewing process. |
| real estate website together. | | | | But Schlitz was telling the story. And the results of |
| Instead, most real estate website visitors are | | | | the campaign confirmed its power: Schlitz vaulted |
| greeted with something like: | | | | from 5th in the marketplace into a tie for 1st... in just |
| "Mr. John Doe, Your Number One Source for Chicago | | | | a few months. |
| Real Estate" | | | | That's the power of a compelling story. |
| Considering there are tens of thousands of real | | | | And that is what your real estate website is for. To |
| estate professionals in the Chicago area, an opening | | | | get that story, YOUR unique story out to the people |
| statement like that on your website tells your visitors | | | | that need to hear it. Tell a compelling story about |
| one of two things: | | | | how your services will BENEFIT your prospects (along |
| - You say things that aren't true. | | | | with reasons WHY) and there will be no stopping the |
| - You think the world revolves around you. | | | | leads, listings, sales and all of the other good things |
| And having them think either of those two things is | | | | that will be produced. |
