All Forum Posts by: Tison Velez

@ Cynthia Corder I called to increase my market share back in October but unfortunately the market was full. I have maintained my current budget of 1K per month. Over the last three months I have acquired 2 buyers that I am actively working with, have on listing on the market from a lead and close on a new home purchase with a live lead call that was assigned. My experience over the last 6 month has been amazing and the returns have far exceeded my investment.

@

Alex Jr it has been great! I have closed one deal from a live call, listed one home from a direct profile click and am currently working with a buyer that called about one of my listings. I have found that the more listings you have the more people will reach out to you. If you have a listing you are the only agent that is promoted for that home and people reach out to you directly for additional information. This is great because you are connected to a buyer that most likely does not have an agent and is obviously actively looking. Even if the home is not for them I have found that being persistent, helpful and quick to respond you can easily become their agent.  

I have invested a little over $3k in the last three months but I should total about 10K in commission from that investment, not a bad ROI if you ask me! I am going to increase my monthly budget and see what the additional money spent will do for me. I promise to keep you updated in the months to come! 

@Sam Shueh

Yeah I did find that most of the market shares in good areas were owned by agents that ran a team and assigned the leads. These teams are paying 10K plus a month, but are getting multiple contracts from them, I did go with the month to month. 

@Russell Brazil

Zillow has actually changed the their platform on how calls are assigned and how many you get. You no longer have to answer every call. Each agent is given calls based on the amount of market share they own. If they are in line to get the call and do not answer you would remain next in line. I would agree that it is tough to answer every call, especially when you are not a full time agent! Thanks for the insight, I am being careful not to be over sold on the product...  

Update- I have decided to go through and give the premier agent program a try. The cost was 1K per month for 16% of the leads in my zip code. I will keep everyone updated and let you know how it is going. Hopefully I can generate some sales and lock in a contract or two here shortly. 

@ Natalie Schanne You nailed it on the head when talking about the referrals. I just set a past client up with a vetted agent in Hawaii and was able to get the referral fee. I like the idea of giving client the option of choosing between a few different agents. There is a good probability that I would changes to a new location within the next few years, part of the reason I am really trying to maximize my time here. I did look into the Veteran United referral program, but felt that 30% was too much to give up... I would have to really analyze how many deals I would get with Zillow and break down how much they are costing me. 

@Tom Parris

That is what I found the first time I talked with them. The zip codes that I normally work in were over saturated and extremely expensive. I am not willing to pay a $1000 a month to have 20% of the leads. 

@Lindsay Favazza

I did briefly speak to them, the broker I am with is a minimal assistance broker that does not really assign leads. In return my commission split is amazing, but I do not get leads. Thanks for the suggestion though! 

@ ,

Thank you for the reply, it was extremely insightful and got me to think a little more out of the box. I love the idea of being more active with my past client, but the issue I have is most of them are only here for a few years. Unlike a normal client (non military) they do not spend much time in one location. And unfortunately they often do not have time to develop a ton of outside relationships which in return would generate leads for me.

I have received a few referrals from member that bought here in Tampa, but unfortunately on the selling side they are usually relocating out of state so I do not get to help with the buying process. I do agree that I could invest a little more time in building these relationships while they are here and in return hopefully that will generate the trust and future leads. I am going to dig into the Zillow stuff and little more before I pull the trigger.

One thing I am trying to find out is when is the best time to try it. Would this be at the begging of the year or second half of the year. I would love to find out when most sales are converted through the website.

Tison

Good morning BP friends,

I have been doing real estate in Tampa for about three years now and am looking to increase my sales. I did 20 sales last year and I am trying to hit 30 for this year. I am also active military and work with a ton with other military members throughout the first part of the year. I have lots of clients from January to August when members are transferring to new duty stations, but after that sales really drop off. I have been mulling over the idea of paying to be a premier agent for some time now and was curious what everyone's thoughts were.

I did find a few old threads about this subject, but nothing new since Zillow has changed the way they assign/ handle leads. Having talked with a Zillow sales member I would be bound by a contract for 6 months and the cost associated with this would be $800- $1000 per month. Any suggestions or input from any agents that are currently using the platform would be greatly appreciated. TIA 

Tison

@ This is the firs time I have heard someone mention using the LLC account to pay out using monthly installments. I currently have a LLC for my real estate transactions, but being that I want to get into investing this may be a great tool!