Lately several commercial real estate professionals have been talking about getting or improving upon their own personal website. Folks, if you don’t have one — get one! This is not just a wave of the future, it’s the here and now.

Once you make the decision to move forward with a website you will need to determine which type you prefer. There are many types but I will focus on the two basic types, an online brochure, and a lead generation tool.

A website that acts as an online brochure is the most common, but it is the least effective. However, it is easy to make and easy to maintain and this aspect appeals to many commercial real estate professionals.

Basically a website that acts as an online brochure will describe you, your company, and the services you offer. If you get a bit fancy it will have your listings and perhaps an additional feature or two.

On the other hand, a website in which the purpose is to generate leads may be preferable. After all, who doesn’t want leads? Obviously not all leads will be qualified and you may be saying, “Who needs this?” but that’s not the best attitude. A poor lead for you may be the perfect lead for another, and how great would you look if you could regularly refer business to your peers?

There are several major components to a website that generates leads:

1. A Great Homepage
   *Tell a story. Begin with the prospect’s pain, agitate the pain, and write what life could be like without the pain. Offer the solution.

2. A Strong Headline
   *You have 7 seconds to capture the visitor’s attention, and you do this with a strong headline. (See my website for examples: www.commercialREsuccess.com)

3. Something of Value
   *This is where you give stuff away for free. For example maybe you have an assessment that’s great, or a quick start kit you can offer (a quick start kit is a bundle of articles, special reports, etc.)
   *Some people have a page they actually call “FREE STUFF”. The idea here is to get people to stay as long as you can.

4. An Opt-in Box
   *This is key because this is how you capture your visitor’s information. Go to my website and you will see an opt-in box on the home page: www.commercialREsuccess.com
   *You may want to only request name and email — research has shown if you request too much information the visitor will just leave. This way you can at least follow up with an email.

5. Benefits of You — The Broker
   *DON’T list features of you and your company. Instead list the benefits of you (and your company if you think it is relevant).

6. An Easy Way to Contact You in order to get more information.
   *You may even want a way for the visitor to schedule a no obligation phone meeting with you. You can do this with the use of an online appointment-scheduling program.

7. Testimonials – Include a lot.

8. A Page With Your Listings (or Tenant Rep Assignments.)
   * This needs to be maintained and kept current. If you cannot make that commitment then skip this section. It is very unattractive to have outdated information.

9. Done Deals – And . . . of course include them!!!

That’s it; keep it simple and up to date. Search engines prefer simple; it’s easier for the search engine spiders to get through that way.

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