At the midpoint of my RDU to DFW flight I thought I could complete a customer proposal with some information from my office PC. With a quick connection to our VPN and Remote Connection to my office Dell, I am sifting through my desktop files while somewhere above the clouds over Tennessee. And at broadband speed!

This shouldn’t come as a big surprise for a veteran tech savvy traveler like me (remember 9,600 baud?) but I have to admit… the world just got much smaller!

Good-bye InFlight Entertainment

It all starts by determining what you’re trying to attain with the technology. Is lead generation the sole focus? Do you plan to use social marketing to stay connected with your current owners? Are you looking to broadcast special offers as quickly as possible? All of the above?

BrightDoor customer Hampton Lake has a robust Facebook presence.

As a primer to the potential of social marketing, I’ve compiled the following links to help as you build your plan. Although these articles aren’t necessarily real estate focused, they do provide some good background information on social media marketing, tips and best practices.

• From Pragmatic Marketing - Tuned in social media
• From Associated Content - Business: Three Risks and Myths of Social Networking
• From About.com – Reasons to Adopt Social Media Marketing
• From Duct Tape Marketing – Your Social Media Strategy

Once you’re off and running, like any other marketing initative, analyze the results and makes any necessary adjustments. In the digital age, change is just a few keystrokes away.

There are some notable changes from Q1:

• Lack of management experience is a big factor – lots of confusion about what to do next.
• Increased pursuit of any and all types of “efficiencies”. How can I cut cost and still do more.
• Continued financing hurdles for those that want to buy – especially on home sites.
• Buyers perception is that you can get 25% – 40% off at present.  They all want foreclosures or short sales….then it’s tough to get them financed.
• Pre-development communities are stagnant or dead.
• New development ownership and private capital on the rise.
• Interested prospects want completed communities – show me the clubhouse, let me play the golf course, what time is dinner?
• We are using the web and social networking much more. Must be targeted rather than mass media.
• Most prospects are jumpy and just won’t spend cash or go further in debt.
• On site agents have to relearn the art of selling.
• Follow-up is the key! Must be more frequent and more creative.
• Sales consultants have to be just that — consulting on financing, timing, market competition and they better be well versed in the competition too.
• A strong, trusted brand even more relevant than ever before.
• Developers lacking a positive and strong track record are dead in the water in this environment. People will not trust un-proven developers.
• Still watching for signs of positive consumer confidence – starting to see some now!

Add your feedback below….

All good questions. But consider this. If persistance pays off, how do I manage my marketing and sales efforts over the long term? Agencies are invaluable at establishing your brand and developing a plan for targeting your ideal prospects. Most of them understand that an integrated marketing approach (mostly weighted around online) is the best, most cost-effective approach.


Today, unified software systems like BrightBase give you the power and flexibility to take control of the on-going content management process. This now extends to your public website (inventory, site maps, surveys, registration) as well as other sales force automation tools such as information kiosks and sales center presentation. No one expects the “good old days” of 2006 to return anytime soon. As developers consider how to get back in the game, those with a persistant approach are best positioned for long term success. They’ll need technology that gives them full control of their online presence.

• Increasing anxiety about prolonged economic turmoil (domestic and global)
• With staff reductions, new spending hard to justify
• Increased pursuit of any and all types of “efficiencies”
• Financing hurdles for those that do want to buy
• Growing operational limitations imposed by lenders and owner/investors
• Near abandonment of print advertising, collateral and media
• Chapter 7 vs. chapter 11
• Interested prospects want completed communities (no renderings)
• Recognizing need for exceptional service and experience for every single on-site prospect
• Retail buyers are looking for foreclosures, short sales or a “steal”
• Leadership is learning to sell because all sales people have quit or been fired
• Watching for signs of positive consumer confidence
• Progressively more dependent on web-based databases and lead generating tools
• Interested prospects have low levels of interest in home sites
• Research is leading to a fractional explosion over the next 5 years
• Flush developers and lenders (and there are many) have the opportunity/opportunities of a lifetime
• Best location, best product and best price still wins!

Special thanks to these folks for their contribution this month: Linton West, Jason Weaver, Harry Redfearn, Terry Tolbert, Ranie Good, Chris Hill, Jami Mullikin, Terry Weaver, Gary Harmon, Judith She’, David Pisano, Mike Notartomaso, Burt Baine, Johnny Ussery

As our friend Terry Weaver likes to say, “If none of us hold back…All of us can move forward.” In the spirit of that notion, we’d like for you to sound off on any of these real estate sales & marketing topics:

• What source of inbound leads are most effective today?
• What lead generation efforts are you investing in this year?
• What ineffective sales and marketing programs are you eliminating?
• How are you keeping your sales team(s) engaged and motivated?
• What are you doing to ensure future success?

Terry Weaver’s 14th annual Amenity Community Excellence in Selling (ACES) Conference is officially underway at the Marriott Resort in Hilton Head, S.C. Although the economy has affected attendance (no surprise there), the overall mood of the event is positive. ACES attendees are traditionally focused on knowledge sharing and networking – never has this been more relevant than today. The event goes through tomorrow (Feb 4th).

Session topics today include persuasive communication tips, the power of positive leadership and Deven’s upcoming panel discussion on leveraging technology to improve marketing and sales productivity. Tomorrow’s sessions include influence strategies for a tough market, a strategic system for sales success and Terry’s final general session on success in 2009. BrightDoor is pleased to continue our participation with Marketing & Sales Institute (MSI) and this vital industry event.

With iCRM, you can unify your sales and marketing under a common platform. Launch email marketing campaigns. Entice web visitors to register through interactive site plan exploration. Schedule community tours. Provide online follow-up through personal web portals. Track and manage the complete customer experience. All from a single Software as a Service (SaaS) platform. What makes BrightDoor’s iCRM more compelling than ever? The answer is as close as your newspaper or TV.

With the global market in crisis mode, change is undeniable. Real estate buyers will be forever transformed – using the internet as THE key method of analysis and decision-making. They’ll be scrutinizing every purchase. Why would real estate be any different? It won’t be. As a builder or developer, it is imperative that they embrace the change and seek out new tools to restore their ability to effectively market and sell their communities.

We believe BrightDoor iCRM provides a compelling and cost effective way from which to rebuild your sales and marketing approach. I encourage you to learn more at Brightdoor.com and start a conversation with us.

When Deven and I started BrightDoor in 2005, we believed that an integrated approach to real estate sales and marketing was a natural evolution from the analog, fragmented communications that ruled the day. In the early days, developers categorized us as “nice to have” technology that provided a “wow” factor in sales centers. Today, customers view us as an essential solution, enabling lead generation and daily business management. Developers all over the globe are now digesting the reality that CRM is important but only if it’s integrated with all key sales and marketing efforts.

As I write this, I am on the final leg of a return trip from Dubai. I’ve just spent a week with developers of some of the most grand scale commercial and residential projects in the world. Guess what? They are dealing with many of the same challenges as our U.S. customers. At the heart of it all is providing sales efficiency at all levels – from moving web leads into the sale process more quickly to giving agents better tools for matching buyers with ideal products to improving the ability to track and measure sales progress.

Regardless of where I’ve traveled recently, one theme has been clear – the adoption of a fully integrated CRM solution is the most urgent need in optimizing sales efficiency and improving sales velocity.

At BrightDoor, we look forward to servicing the industry during this important transition.