Is there a const effective competitor for TP's Market Snapshot?

[Stephanie Crawford]

I like the idea of an automated specific market info going out via e-mail. I tend to work more with buyers but Market Snapshot seems like it has the possibility of being an effective drip campaign to cultivate future sellers. At $99 per month it is a little more money than I want to dedicate long-term right now. Any recommendations?

p.s. Do you think "lead follow-up" is the right category for this topic? I could decide where to start the conversation.

[Stephanie Crawford]

Oops. Not sure how I posted this three times???

[RESteve]

Oops. Not sure how I posted this three times???

Don't worry - gotcha covered.

I like market snapshot - it's a bit pricey but it does constitute a touch to your past clients (and future ones) that in the long run can pay for itself multiple times.

Think if you substituted the monthly touch Market Snapshot can provide with a postcard. If you mailed it out to 10 clients, then yes, that would be cheaper. However, we all know we're in a lead generation business, and the strength of that lead generating is in the numbers.

If you're mailing out to hundreds of clients just to keep in touch monthly with a "hello" card, then market snapshot could save you some money in the long run. Do the calculations yourself and see which is more affordable.

Cons: 12 month commitment. I hate commitments and I think they're a cheap way of keeping me tied to a service I may eventually not want.

You'll need a client who is apt with using email. Yes, that should be everyone now-a-days, but you may get in touch with some niche clients easier with direct mail.

Note: You may want to wait until Top Producer has a booth at one of your broker conventions. They usually offer the market snapshot product at a cheaper monthly price.

[Stephanie Crawford]

I had forgotten about the 12 month contract. That makes me even more wary.

[Stephanie Crawford]

The website currently says $99 per month with no setup. Still WAY TOO HIGH!!! I'm still very interested in finding a more affordable alternative. Any new ideas?

[jamesww]

Stephanie - I have looked and looked for an alternative to market snapshot and to no prevail. They are the only place in town right now. I wish someone like REW would put something together that we could have customized and even tied to a personal website.

I use market snapshot and have done so for more than a year now. It has on its own in that 1 year period led to 3 closed transactions. This makes it a profit center.

[OCTeam]

The most affordable alternative is the one that works and give a ROI. If initial cost was the criteria, not many would be using a custom IDX and, if used properly, it may be one of the best investments one can make for their business. The trick is to learn to use whatever you pay for in the most effective manner.

Kudos to you jamesww for getting 3 closed deals for a $1200 investment. Sounds like you made a wise investment to me.

Many of the agents in may area who only look at initial cost seem to be the ones doing no business. Most businesses need to invest to become profitable.

[Stephanie Crawford]

I know you're right about ROI, I'm going to consider the investment.

James, are you farming with the TP postcards or just signing up those in your sphere?

[Scott.Hack]

I'm not really a fan of TP's product -- but I like the concept.

[jamesww]

I know you're right about ROI, I'm going to consider the investment.

James, are you farming with the TP postcards or just signing up those in your sphere?

I have not done the post card thing but would like to do so minus the outrageous pricing. I don't personally sign many people up, but I do have several pages ranked on different sites for "city home value" or "values" and I post a fairly detailed explaination of market statistics for my market place and at the end use a call to action of get regular updayes of this weeks local market conditions for your neighborhood. Then link to one of those pages with an explaination of what you get and a iframe of the text widget. In addition to this I also put the sidebar website widgets in a number of my WordPress blogs.

I have had a number of instances where I had someone call me or email me saying that a friend has a report and they were real impressed, to the point of wanting one of their own.

I also use my IDX and market snapshot to help start conversations with people. If I recieve an IDX registration I see if I can spark conversation by offering the market snapshot. If I get a registration thanks to the market snapshot I offer access to the IDX to try and start a conversation.