FEATURE ARTICLE, OCTOBER 2005

BROKERS' SECRET WEAPON
Armed with InvestorTrack, brokers capture investors.
Michael Mockus

Mockus

The InvestorTrack Weapon

In the past, when brokers were awarded listings, they hurriedly compiled all of the specifics on the property: financials, historical performance, market conditions and more. Equipped with all the property information, the broker marketed the property to his or her database of investors and contacts through direct mail, call campaigns, newspaper ads, and other printed materials or specialized packages. When all was said and done, the broker spent countless hours and oodles of money in design, printing, delivery and administrative fees just to get the word out about the new for-sale opportunity.

The alternative to this traditional marketing method and the weapon of choice for many brokers is InvestorTrack. To load the weapon, the broker must first invest in a professionally designed Web site equipped with all of the property information that would have been included in the printed offering package. The site may be a stand-alone, single property or part of a larger company or team Web site.

The Web site must be designed to require first-time visitors to enter their contact information in order to view listing details. Cookie-based login technology then can recall users on subsequent visits without requiring them to register or login again. Once the property marketing Web site is armed, InvestorTrack does its work to hunt and capture investors.

Capturing Investors

Once investors are registered with the site, they are assigned unique identifiers that recognize them and track their future visits. In return, investors get detailed property information 24/7. Listing brokers can use this information to pinpoint investors who are genuinely interested in the property by monitoring their number of visits to the site, which listing details they view and what information they download. The brokers literally track and analyze prospects' activity on the site — perhaps even directing them to specific property data on the site during a phone conversation. Now brokers don't need to speak with every single prospect, they can focus their efforts on contacting only prospective buyers whose online patterns indicate a strong interest in the property.

Brokers are sent real-time tracking reports, which make the data collection process efficient. For instance, the reports can identify all visitors and sort them according to when and how often they have visited the site. The information also can be grouped to identify visitors' various activities, such as repeated visits to a listing's financial information.

Not only does InvestorTrack give brokers a valuable edge when following up with prospects, but the technology also offers brokers the chance to assess the appeal of a property in real time, rather than waiting for postcards to arrive in people's mailboxes.

Investors' online reaction to properties (as measured by pages visited, length of visit, frequency of visits and other Web statistics) can help brokers evaluate pricing, a decision that relies on art as much as science.

Perhaps a greater benefit than the investor information InvestorTrack provides is that it also keeps clients engaged and in the loop about the sales process. “Web sites are a given; clients expect a property site to be an integral part of the marketing mix to ensure the property is exposed to buyers locally and around the country. But, InvestorTrack simply knocks clients' socks off,” states David Oelfke, president of multifamily brokerage firm Apartment Realty Advisors. “The seller sees tremendous value in the ability to view the results of InvestorTrack so they too can see how the investment process is working and the level of interest in their property.”

As mentioned, this technology also helps brokers garner more interest in the property, a factor that no doubt helps the sales price. “Marketing properties through professionally designed Web sites ensures a property is being exposed to the broadest audience. This increases the competition between buyers, which in turn results in a greater price,” Oelfke says. “But, it is through the technology of investor tracking that you get the level of insight needed about the buyer's motivations to entice them to act.”

InvestorTrack also can provide brokers with a significant advantage during the negotiation process. By analyzing an investor's download patterns on the property Web site, the broker is better prepared to handle potential negotiations appropriately. With traditional marketing, there is no other feedback than what a potential buyer decides to share, so often times brokers never know how seriously the buyer considered the offering.

The Secret Weapon: E-mail

E-mail marketing equipped with this InvestorTrack technology is becoming increasingly popular with brokers, too. Brokers can send a customized e-mail blast to their database about the for-sale property and find out instantly when it was opened and by whom. And if the recipient clicked on a link within the e-mail or made any downloads, the broker knows that, too.

The tracking reports are Web-based and real-time, so information that may take days or weeks to determine with traditional marketing is ready immediately, meaning brokers work quicker and smarter with targeted follow-up to investors. Like the InvestorTrack capabilities via a property Web site, tracking investors through e-mail marketing tactics arms brokers with instantaneous, powerful knowledge about a prospect's interest before they call on them.

Obtaining the Ammunition

Creating a simple Web site with tracking can be developed for less than $500. That might include a registration screen, property photos, broker contact information and files available for download. An alternative to file-downloads is to turn additional content about the listing into actual Web pages; the cost to do this will vary depending on the online design firm, but a typical cost is about $200 per page. A private e-mail blast account with custom-designed HTML e-mail stationary and advanced reporting can be setup at a true onetime cost of $300 plus 3 cents per email sent using the system.

While InvestorTrack certainly serves as a powerful weapon to close deals, brokers can't expect this technology to win the war. Commercial real estate still relies heavily on personal interaction and relationships. InvestorTrack certainly does not make everyone a broker — but it makes a good broker even better.

Michael Mockus is managing partner of Reaction Web, an online marketing group and multimedia design firm that specializes in the commercial real estate industry.

©2005 France Publications, Inc. Duplication or reproduction of this article not permitted without authorization from France Publications, Inc. For information on reprints of this article contact Barbara Sherer at (630) 554-6054.