What is an internet lead and how do you become one?

So you want to buy a house. You go online and start your search. You find so many web site choices, many of which are advertising portals not brokers, real estate office web sites or lead generation sites buying space at the top, or even like me you happen to be a single REALTOR® up at the top in the results for whatever your search was. Data tells us you are going to visit many of the sites and on multiple occasions. There’s nothing wrong with that, we all do it regardless of what we want or need.  It’s called research.

Somewhere along the way you’ll want to start viewing home information, photos, maps, whatever you need to be able to make informed decisions about which communities to consider.  Then it stops. Your access to future listings is denied unless you give away your anonymity. You can move on to other sites and guess what, same response. Eventually you are forced to give an email address in one or more places and the hail storm begins.

You have just become an internet lead, your email information has been given to a REALTOR® that you don’t know. Now you’ll get emails asking questions, prying into your home buying or selling needs, the hailstorm starts because you left your email in more than one place and all those emails are the same and all those REALTORS® are doing what they have been told, keep following up until they buy or sell a house. It’s like hail, not too painful but you cannot wait for it to stop!

Release your anonymity, only when you are ready.

My web site exists to educate you. I strive to provide information from city, through towns, down to the neighborhood level. It takes work and I give it freely. Those listings you find on some of those portal sites, well they are all here, likely with others you won’t find out there. Why? Simply because they are portals not the MLS. All the listings on this site are fed directly from our MLS. I pay for that as part of my business costs.

You will not need to give me your personal information, just to look at listings.

You can sit and search day in day out, view as many homes as you want to and never have to be anything but anonymous.

You might also read articles, like this one, pour over some of my market reports, even read my bio to get a feel for who I am. My data base is not just a web site full of listings all over Chicagoland. I strive to provide added content you’ll find useful.

Of course I hope that when you are ready to start looking at homes, you’ll fill in one of my forms, or email me, text me or even call me. Even then it would be wrong and rather unprofessional of me to assume you are an instant client. My goodness, I want a phone chat with you first, meet at your home to discuss your sale, or better if possible let’s go for coffee, or tea and a chat, face to face. I am not a door opener, a form writer, and a commission check collector! I am a REALTOR® and a professional one. As a business owner maybe this makes sense to me more than others, but business is a relationship and I am sure you want to know the relationship will be a good one from the start.

If you already have a REALTOR®, I hope you found the information you needed. Of course if you now consider that the service you are getting is lacking, I can be here for you too.

By the way. Have you ever thought why the communication between REALTORS® and clients falls apart very quickly? It’s likely because there is no business foundation. Remember, you were just an internet lead and since then you’ve been treated like nothing more. Yes you get email listings, maybe text messages, but are you getting interaction, service, help; or the sense that you are a just a meal ticket?

Time To Experience a REALTOR® with Professionalism and Passion.

I’ll tell you right now I am not a primadonna. Just because I live and work in a high priced area does not change who I am. So if you expect high heels and fur coats, a Benz or a BMW then likely I am going to disappoint. I am first and foremost a pragmatist. I have steeped in when needed and done things no other REALTORS® would dream of doing.

When I am not out with clients I am working. I am at my laptop in my home office writing posts like this, or networking on social media channels, especially Google +. I am learning, learning, learning in addition to sharing. It’s a business and not a part time job. You won’t find me at the mall shopping for shoes, fur or the next best thing since sliced bread (whatever that may be today). I will be working on my clients transactions as needed, and growing my business. ( The other stuff has it’s place but not interrupting my work hours.)

Have we all gone too tech? Yes emails, text messages and the like can have their place in my business but there are things that should always be done face to face, and others that should always be done by phone. So when something important happens, I’ll be calling you. When contract negotiations are going on, I’ll be calling you. From contract to closing I’ll be touching base with you. You never need to worry that you’ll feel like a dropped ball or that I am a ghost until closing, let alone a meal ticket.

If You’ve Read This Far, I Think You Care!

I’ll assume now that having great representation from a REALTOR® that really works her business, is important to you. If not feel free to go back and be an internet lead.

To me you’ll never be a lead to hound. When the time is right, you’ll decide if you want my time, professionalism and commitment. I’ll leave it to you to let me know when you are ready. Get in touch by email, text or call - 847.363.3686.