BiggerPockets Featured Agent

[Kevin Sindorf]

Hello BiggerPockets Real Estate Agents!

Have any of you opted in to be a featured agent on the BiggerPockets site, and what experience did you have from it?  I'm not knocking the site, but the leads seem a bit pricey compared to other sites.  I realize they somewhat vet the leads prior to sending them, but I was hoping to gain some feedback from agents in other markets as to whether or not they found it to be valuable to their business.  Was it just another list of leads, or was there a pretty solid conversion rate?

[Corby Goade]

Quote from @Tiamo Wright:

@Russell Brazil that is not correct. For the Agent Finder the investor sees a list of Agents in their market. The investor then is able to review the agents reviews, and information that the agent provides and the investor then chooses the number of agents they wish to reach out to. We do not send the information to four agents or any set number, that would be a terrible experience for an investor and for agents. We want our investors and agents to find a mutually beneficial relationship so they can both benefit. Our investors are savvy though so they often do reach out to more than one agent in order to interview them and find the best partner for their investing strategy so that might be more of what you experienced.  

 Sorry, but I have to agree with @Russell Brazil on this one. I work a mid sized market and more than one agent on my team pays for these leads AND I personally know most of the other premier agents in my market- we all talk. 

Sure, an investor can select one agent, but they can also select multiple, resulting in a $500 payment or more to BP and five agents who think they are paying for quality leads having to fight over that one paid lead. 

Secondly- you say your investors are savvy- sure, some are, but experienced investors don't typically try to find an agent in this way. 95% of the leads are from very green investors who need lots of coaching. I have no problem with that at all, I love working with newbies, but I would defintley not describe most of the leads my team has secured as "savvy."

BP has been disingenous about how the quality of these leads AND the quality of the agents on the site. There is no qualification for the agents beyong their willingness to pay for the leads, so anyone searching for an "investor friendly" realtor could very well be getting an agent who has never done a deal professionally or personally. There is a series of questions as consumers go through the agent finder tool, which makes them think they are being matched with a realtor who has experience with what they are looking for, but the results are a randomzed list of agents in that market who just happen to be paying for leads, no qualifications on either side of the equation. 

All of that being said, the ROI has been good enough that we continue to pay for those leads, but you defintely have to wade through a lot of people with zero experience, zero resources and no intent to buy. Many of my leads just want free mentorship and have no intention of investing in my market or investing at all in many cases.

I love BP and I truly appreciate the ability to connect with investors through the agent finder, but it could use some fine tuning for sure. Agents need to be vetted in SOME way so that new investors aren't being led astray by someone with no experience. Ii've spoken with leadership for the agent finder program a few times and have been told over and over that they are working on vetting agents and clients more effectively, but I have not seen any progress there, but I do see them regularly soliciting more agents in my market to sign up. 

Investors need to be connected with someone with experience in the strategy that they prefer, rather than a randomized list of agents with active credit cards on file. 

Finally- consumers should not be able to select mulitple agents in multiple markets all at the same time. It's not good for anyone. 

That's been my experience, happy to chat more via DM.