Changing Buyer Behavior to Convert More Web Leads: A Q&A with San Diego broker Jesse Zagorsky

A dynamic leader who started his career in 2003, San Diego real estate broker Jesse Zagorsky is a self-proclaimed, unabashed geek when it comes to digital marketing and lead generation. In this brief interview, he shared how he has churned through various lead sources to find the one that works best for him, and how his team works to change web lead behavior starting on the very first call.

If you were to go back and look at customers you have met online – when did it first come onto your radar? Were you an early adopter of online marketing?

I was an early adopter – I was focusing on online marketing since I got into my real estate career in 2003. That was pretty much the beginning of online marketing. I have worked with every provider in the real estate space. Some were referral models and others were pay for lead programs. At this point, I must have tried every provider of online leads.

You were an early adopter, but I imagine you have a lot of competition now! According to NAR's 2016 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, 51 percent of last year's home buyers found their future property online and brought it to the attention of a real estate professional. Does this seem possible to you?

Absolutely. I actually think 51 percent may be low. Even though we have instant access to properties as agents, so do our clients, and the reality is that buyers are looking at houses often before a REALTOR® has had a chance to look that day.

I actually think this is a good thing. The value proposition has changed; our role as an agent is not just to find the house, as it is in executing all of the other elements of the process.

If you aren't personally tee-ing up the listings for your buyers, do you ask that they use a specific search portal so you can keep them in one corner of the web?

I've noticed that once a buyer starts a pattern of search, they prefer to go back and look on their own again on the first site they tried.

And they might even come back to us with a listing from their preferred search site — even when we have sent that same listing to them in an MLS alert. They still like to find it themselves.

So we've decided to stop trying to change the psychology of their search pattern. We tell them to stick with the original place they searched. It's best to embrace it and to change the pattern of what happens after they find a listing they like.

That's interesting, and it's in line with a study that was run by realtor.com® and NAR. They found the average consumer finds at least five properties online and inquires individually about each before they land on the one they purchase.

If you tell your buyer leads to search wherever they please, how do you prevent them from engaging other agents in the process?

It's all about buyer education and behavior modification. Most consumers don't want multiple contacts with different agents. The average consumer doesn't realize that they will get a new agent contacting them every time they ask for information with a lead form. Once someone explains, "If you find a property you like, tell me so you won't be bombarded by other agents," that's usually all they need to hear to change their behavior.

So the behavior modification is to get them to send you the property they like, not to ask them to use your search portal or to change their search habits. We say, "Send or text me the address or send me the search details and I'll help you make the next move. If you let me take the next step on your behalf, we'll keep you protected from other agents bugging you."

That sounds like a fantastic strategy, but it would require high-quality leads who are truly ready to work with an agent. You recently invested into more web leads from realtor.com®. Did you see a change in the willingness of the customers to engage?

Absolutely. Realtor.com® is the best lead you can buy online. Hands down. If you ask any of the agents on my team, they'll agree it's the closest thing to a sign call and they are the furthest down the buying cycle.

Typically, the average customer is 14 months out from making a move. You'll see this with Google leads—they are just starting out on the process of thinking about buying a home. This can be good news; you'll be the first agent they have made contact with. But the bad news is you have to incubate them for over a year until they're ready to buy.

Realtor.com® usually catches people when they're pretty much ready to look at houses and ready to buy. A number of them have already been in contact with other REALTORS, which I think is fascinating. NAR says that 7 in 10 consumers* will work with the first agent they interview, but some people mistake that for the first agent they come into contact with.

In reality, at least half the people we end up working with say that they are receiving impersonal email volleys or automated touch points from another agent who they never signed on with. To me, that shows the other agent didn't provide value or the right experience. Many agents think that conversion is just about getting that first contact, but it's really about providing what the buyer wants and giving them a reason to trust and remember you.

*Source: NAR 2016 Profile of Buyers and Sellers

You mentioned that your realtor.com® leads seem closer to a transaction. What do you attribute this to?

It must be the marketing and the way realtor.com® is designed. Because it is called realtor.com® and is associated with REALTORS, the perception is that the site will have the best and most updated information. Realtor.com® seems to be a site that has a true representation of what is actually available online and I have heard from my own customers that they were frustrated with sites that showed properties that were either no longer for sale or never for sale at all.

So while some sites may have bogus information that drives leads, realtor.com® shows you houses you can actually buy. I've found that the clients I get from realtor.com® leads are not only ready to buy, they're searching there because they trust that the site has the most accurate information and they won't get burned if they fall for a property.

We never talk to a lead conversion expert without talking to them about lead response timing. Before we go, what is your philosophy on the "five-minute response rule," given your understanding about how buyers keep searching even after they are in contact with an agent?

I believe in delivering on the instant gratification expectation of our leads. It started with Millennials, but now everyone wants an instant response. I don't think it can be five minutes anymore. I think you need to respond in 30 seconds.

When you call them that quickly, you set the expectation that you are amazing at what you do. It sets you up in a really good light — they assume you'll be as good at everything else as you are at the initial response.

For more information on realtor.com conversion best practices, please visit www.realtor.com/convert.