SAN FRANCISCO–Real estate agents using AgentConnect to glean new home buyer and seller clients from the Web now will have exclusive access to clients referred to them through the service.
Due to increasing feedback from realty agents using online lead generators, the company changed its model so that each inquiry from a home buyer or seller is referred to only one agent or brokerage.
The new model was created to avoid situations where too many agents end up calling the same consumer, according to Reply! Founder and CEO Payam Zamani. AgentConnect is an operating business of Reply! Inc., which also owns and operates RealtyNow, a separate online real estate lead service.
“We are signing up agents and guaranteeing a certain number of leads exclusively on a monthly basis,” Zamani said.
The service differs from similar lead generators that offer exclusive leads by territory in that agents or brokers who sign up aren’t purchasing by ZIP code. In some instances, the agent may be buying all the leads in one ZIP code, Zamani said, but some ZIP codes may be divided among several agents.
AgentConnect guarantees a specific number of leads to agent members per month, based on their area and the number of leads they ask to receive. Agents specify whether they prefer to work with buyers or sellers.
“In almost all cases, we expect to deliver by over 15-20 percent,” Zamani said.
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Agents pay a monthly fee based on the number of leads they agree to receive from AgentConnect. If the company delivers more than they expected, agents do not have to pay extra, he said. If agents don’t receive the full number of leads they paid for, the company will credit them for the following month.
The monthly cost to join is based on the average commission price per transaction in that agent’s market. Leads in San Francisco, for example, would cost more than leads in Oklahoma City, because the average home-sale transaction price is much higher in that market.
“The cost could be as low as $25 per lead or as high as $200 per lead,” Zamani said.
The program requires agents to purchase at least five leads per month to join, he said. Agents have already started signing up and limited space is available in the program.
This fall, the company will offer regional, monthly seminars for its real estate agents and brokers. The educational seminars will focus on how to monetize online leads and will be led by David Greene, Reply!’s VP of client services.
Reply! was launched last month to incorporate all of its business channels into one brand. The brand incorporates iCastle, iMotors.com, OpenAuto.com and CarClub.com into a single Web portal with real estate, autos, loans and home improvement services.
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