Dennis O'Neil - Speaker & Author on Internet Sales, Marketing, and Social Media for Home Builders » Online Behavior

The Sales & Marketing Pulse 2012 Report and Video

dennisoneil — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 03:40:34 +0000

In early January, Jeff Shore and I began an ambitious project to survey nearly 300 new home sales and marketing leaders about what’s hot, what’s not, and what’s really happening in the marketplace. This in-depth survey asked leaders specific questions about topics including negotiating frequency, salesperson turnover, social media use, and online leads.

Because of the comprehensive survey and participation, we were able to do much more than just share the results. The responses told several clear stories about what leaders are experiencing, exposing key opportunities for 2012. We presented these results during the International Builders Show in Orlando to a sold out crowd and rave reviews.

Visit the Sales & Marketing Pulse website to download the 48 page report and watch the full video of the event.

I’ve written about the importance of mobile websites for builders a number of times, and the Pulse 2012 report provided some interesting insight into the topic. We included the popular Builder Web Apps infographic detailing the average home builder website statisitcs in the report and you’ll see the infographic demonstrates a clear trend upwards on the percentage of users accessing home builder websites from a mobile device; up 121% in 2011.

To get more insight about what this infographic means, click here to visit the Sales & Marketing Pulse 2012 website to get your copy of the report and watch nearly an hour of video content about the results.

Home Builder Website Performance Statistics

Sorting Out the Hype. Putting it into a Plan.

dennisoneil — Thu, 16 Sep 2010 14:33:17 +0000

The huge number of online marketing options available creates a virtual cosmos of possible entry points. Builders are bombarded with messages about everything they have to start doing “right now!”

Get a new website. Invest in search engine optimization. Spend money with Google AdWords. Do lots of follow-up with email marketing. Everyone’s on facebook. You should be blogging. You have to be a part of this directory, that directory, etc, etc…

Its difficult for many marketers and builders to know exactly where it all fits into a strategy. This means that some are just too confused to start at all, or they enter a try-anything mode where they find themselves with a disjointed approach; a lot of things going on, but none of its working together.

Recently, I wrote about what must be causing builders’ inaction on the web. In response to my own advice, I’ve created a bit of a map to help builders prioritize what to focus on first – what’s the foundation, what’s the framing, and what’s the finish work.

The guide shows where Lead Curation fits, and introduces the concepts of Lead Direction (getting in front of those actively seeking what you’re selling) and Lead Ignition (sparking the registration, phone call, or site visit from the website visitor).

I expect the guide will evolve over time, but I’m ready for your suggestions and feedback right now. Take a look at the Home Builder’s Quick Guide to Internet Marketing. Click on the image to go to a full page view.

The Home Builder’s Quick Guide to Internet Marketing

“90% of Home Shoppers, Blah, Blah, Blah…” Moving On.

dennisoneil — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 14:42:20 +0000

“More home shoppers start their search online than ever before.”
“Over 90% of buyers use the Internet.”

This is not news. This is not new information.

The number of home shoppers who start their home search online has been above 80% for years. This is not news. Even early numbers in 2000 showed that 40% of home buyers were using the web. The only way a headline about home shoppers using the Internet will EVER be newsworthy in the future is if the percentage goes DOWN.

Those people who have failed to act on this shift in consumer behavior have not failed to act because they were trying to “time” their entry just right. No builder has been sitting back and saying “Its not time. As soon as usage gets to 92%, we’re full steam ahead.” No one needs more statistics.

A favorite book, titled Fierce Conversations, encourages business owners, executives, and managers to question their viewpoint and address the proverbial ‘elephant in the room.’ It invites everyone to ask themselves the question, “What are you pretending not to know?” Builders who have not been focusing their marketing efforts online are pretending not to know this shift in buyer behavior should have caused a change in strategy a long time ago. Its time to acknowledge it, and then do something.

The only reasonable explanation for inaction is uncertainty and/or lack of knowledge. Not a lack of knowledge that the Internet is where the marketing should be focused, but a lack of knowledge about where to start.

This means what the industry needs is more specific substance and direction, not statistics… Moving past the generic “non-bombs” and delivering actionable information of real value so builders can act with confidence. There is no longer a real need to address the issue of why a builder’s marketing efforts should be focused online. In fact, there hasn’t been for some time now. If someone still needs convincing, I can’t help. Its time to move and dedicate effort to answering the how, where, and what. I’m looking forward to publishing more of just that.

What Makes Start-up’s Different from Traditional Business and Why You Should Think Like One.

dennisoneil — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 15:18:00 +0000

I am regularly amazed at how difficult some companies make it to business with them, or simply get a taste of their product or service. Traditional businesses are terrified a potential customer/client will find a way to take advantage of them; a way to skirt their beloved system and get something for free. They setup rules and policies to prevent any circumvention – making sure no one uses their product or service in a way they didn’t intend. This is a problem.

Who operates differently?

While no longer a start-up, consider how Google operates. Is Google afraid you’re going to get something for free or take advantage of their work without paying anything? Of course not. They want you to take it for free. Outside of advertising, most of the products they sell are upgraded versions of a free product – after millions of users have provided them with feedback about what they’d be willing to pay for.

Does Facebook care that I’ve never clicked on an ad? Maybe they want me to click, but they’re not going to kick me out if I don’t. They’re not going make it harder for me to use their platform until I start clicking. They recognize that they need to fit their revenue model to my behavior, not attempt to twist my behavior to fit their revenue model.

Does Twitter try and stop people from using their service in unconventional ways? The founders of Twitter admit that they never realized the service would end up supporting so many uses. When these new users took advantage of the Twitter system and benefited for free, did Twitter try and squash this use? Absolutely not. It watched and learned how people were using what they built. They didn’t care how, but they wanted people to use their service.

Start-up’s are about identifying new revenue models. Traditional businesses are about clinging to the ones they already have.

Start-up’s don’t care how customers use their product, they just want them to use it. Those users help define the value of the service and identify the revenue model.

What can you do?

Clearly a currently operating business cannot start giving away its product just to learn about its users, but it can let down its guard a bit. Instead of directing is customers and stifling creative uses with regulation, it can see what happens with less system. You could learn a lot. Enough to see new opportunities.

There are businesses clinging to old models that are simply unsustainable in the long term – too rigid, too closed, too cold. Take the risk and let people take advantage of you. Let those people help you determine what your next revenue stream should be.

Instead of an environment of defensiveness, create an atmosphere of welcome. Otherwise, some start-up may do it for you.

Effective Communication with Social Media

dennisoneil — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 06:30:29 +0000

On March 9th, I had the pleasure of speaking to over 200 new home sales and real estate professionals at SMC SalesCamp. My assigned topic was “Effective Communication with Social Media.”

The videos below contain my full presentation.

In this presentation, I was able to introduce the concept of Lead Curation – Creating an environment conducive to growing connections into prospects. I’m looking forward to digging deeper into this in the coming days/months.

I’ve also included my presentation, and the handouts made available to the attendees below. Please feel free to share this with anyone you think may benefit.

Part One Video:

Click here if you can’t see the videos, presentation, or handout

Part Two Video:

Effective Communication with Social Media on Prezi

SMC SalesCamp Spring 2010 Handout

Are you Sharing Enough? Presentations, Video, Content, etc

dennisoneil — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 13:50:53 +0000

Upon reviewing 2009, and planning for 2010, I realized I want to be sharing more content than I have in the past. I rarely get the opportunity to write as much as I like (and that’s a goal, too), but mainly I thought about the volume of media I’ve produced over the last year – videos, dozens of PowerPoints, reports, etc. Most of these would hold some value online in one way or another.

So I’ve decided to take a serious dose of my own advice and go through 2009 to share what’s still relevant, and continue to share more throughout 2010.

Have anything in your digital archives to share? Here’s a few good places to start:

Video: YouTube will almost always be (one of) the right place(s), but also consider Vimeo from non-commerical high quality video, UStream for live streaming video, and Qik for brief video updates. Find my new profile on YouTube.

Presentations (PowerPoint/Keynote): Slideshare is the place for this. You can also add an audio track to turn your slides into an all out presentation. Great to share a recorded webinar. Find my new profile on Slideshare.

Papers: Scribd is my preference for this. I uploaded my “Intro to Social Media for Business” paper there early in 2009 and it quickly racked up over 3000 readers. Find me on Scribd.

Look for upcoming posts to include some of 2009′s media.

Its all the Newspapers’ Fault!

dennisoneil — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 18:30:34 +0000

I’ve used this video in more than one presentation, as I find it to be a great reminder of how far the Internet has come in a very short time. This video from 1981 shows some very early methods of transferring data, unbelievably, launched by the major newspapers! One wonders whether the papers would have been embracing the technology so enthusiastically had they known the eventual impacts to the industry.

While I’ll argue that the Internet was coming with or without the newspapers, its a shame that more of them couldn’t have used this early enthusiasm to better plan their new business models.

As you watch, listen closely to the reporters last sentence – it’s a classic.

So what will the next 28 years bring us?