Strategies to Implement When Selling Homes Online

Prioritizing online sales is something you as a home builder can't afford to lose out on. But transitioning to selling in this new space is complicated, especially if you have profitability metrics you need to meet. Online sales practices can rapidly speed up the buying process and give prospective buyers the information and assistance they need to make a decision.

If your organization isn't visible in the online space, consumers can't turn to you for guidance, and your homes and developments are much less likely to be on their radar as they make purchase decisions. We recommend employing these online marketing and sales strategies when selling homes online.

Are You Focused on Selling Homes Online?

The modern homebuying environment is online — or at the very least, it's facilitated by online engagement. Shoppers can move across multiple different resources and sources of information on their own schedule and based on their preferences.

For example, home shoppers can look at virtual tours or images, do their own research on market trends, and even ask questions on social media sites. All of this is facilitated by their home computers and, ever more frequently, their mobile devices.

Google calls this the Zero Moment of Truth, a new shopping environment in which there's less of a funnel and more of a web where buyers can make any decision at any time. 

An NAR report highlights where different buyers (organized by age) found their homes. For example, 51% of total home buyers found their home online, with homebuyers from 22 to 55 years old reaching above this average and older shoppers preferring more traditional sources. Only a bit more than a quarter of homes purchased were found through an agent, which is a dramatic change from how the homebuying process used to work.

In fact, displaying your properties online and attracting the attention of prospective home buyers is one of the best ways to trigger buyer behaviors that lead to a sale. As a result of seeing an online posting of the home, 56% of buyers decided to walk through the home, and 26% used that as an impetus to pre-qualify for a mortgage loan. 23% put in an offer, and 9% directly contacted the developer.

These are all steps that you need your prospective clients to take as seamlessly as possible, and the best way to do that is properly training your online sales consultants to effectively manage online leads and encourage them to visit your homes and communities in person. Operating online isn't just a good way to appeal to buyers; it's an excellent way to meaningfully engage them. 

Now that you know more about how the internet can drive buyer actions, consider these strategies to position your own listings as favorably as possible.

Automated CRM Organization

A customer relationship management (CRM) tool is essential for managing sales relationships in any industry, but they're especially vital for managing the long and complex customer journeys in real estate. Good CRMs give your sales and marketing teams the following support:

• Communication: CRMs can aggregate communication so client and client-related communications are linked to their CRM accounts. Some CRMs also facilitate client-facing and internal communications through the platform. The system also provides strategic follow-up tasks and workflows, email and e-marketing tools, and assists the OSC to stay on track with each prospective home buyer so they don't fall through the cracks.
• Client Insight: CRMs should instantly display a client's overview, their journey up to that point, and other key details to help salespeople provide value. 
• Persona Creation Support: Online sales consultants can use collected data to construct detailed buyer personas and create more engaging, personalized relationships.

Drip Campaigns

Email marketing remains one of the most useful ways to market to and communicate with prospective home buyers. There are multiple different email strategies to nurture new leads, reach out to lapsed leads, and more. One email marketing strategy your organization should focus on is drip campaigns. 

A drip campaign sends planned emails to a lead at scheduled intervals after a lead takes an action. For example, one of your leads might input their search criteria for a new home into your site to get personalized results. You can launch an automated drip campaign that reaches out to them one day, three days, seven days, and so on after that initial interaction.

This helps nurture leads, reconnect with leads who got busy in the meantime, or keep your homes top-of-mind during the lead's browsing process.

Lead Nurture Campaigns

Lead nurture campaigns are automated systems that give prospective home buyers the support, resources, and reminders they need as they move further and further into the buying process. You can create a lead-nurturing campaign with many different components ranging from content recommendations, targeted ads on different platforms, follow-ups via automated emails, outreach communications by online sales consultants, and more.

By using multi-channel approaches, you can reach prospective buyers with the media that suits their needs best without overwhelming or irritating them. You can also measure lead engagement on the backend by seeing how many leads are opening emails, engaging with content, and taking action as a result of different points of contact.

Partner With Milesbrand to Sell Homes Online More Strategically

Online sales and marketing practices put your homes and communities where your leads are searching for them. But more than that, online strategies give you more versatility as you try to support and engage with prospective buyers embarking on the complex road to a home purchase.

However, there are a lot of moving parts you and your teams need to engage leads in omnichannel campaigns and ensure you can fully support each stage of their journeys.

Milesbrand can help you create branding campaigns and marketing strategies that suit your unique developments and properties. Contact us today to discuss how we can support your online sales and lead nurturing goals or browse through our resources for marketing strategies and insights that fit your brand.