Now more than ever, people rely on the internet for just about everything — from shopping for products to reading reviews and looking for solutions to their problems.

For you as a real estate agent, this means that potential clients are just a click away from finding your website and choosing you to help them buy or sell their homes. 

But here’s the real question: is your website doing its job of converting visitors into clients, or is it pushing them away?

Here, we’re diving into the five most common website mistakes that can hurt your credibility and make it difficult to get those conversions. Plus, we’ll also share some easy fixes that will transform your website into a powerful tool that converts clients on autopilot. 

 

1. Typos and grammatical errors

 

First impressions matter, and nothing undermines your professionalism like typos and grammatical errors on your website. Although no one deliberately leaves errors behind, they can still erode trust with potential clients, leaving them thinking, “This realtor doesn’t pay enough attention to detail. How could I possibly trust them with the biggest investment of my life?”

Quick fix: Luckily, this mistake is easy to avoid. Consider using a tool like Grammarly to scan for errors or have a trusted friend or colleague read your website copy with fresh eyes before you hit publish. 

 

2. Headlines that aren’t optimized

 

Most people have short attention spans, meaning they’re more likely to skim or scan your website instead of reading it in its entirety. This is why headlines are so important. Their job is to capture your readers’ attention and encourage them to delve deeper into your content.

If your website isn’t converting as well as you’d hoped, your headlines might be to blame. Headlines across your site should be descriptive and compelling, giving readers the information they need to decide if your services are right for them.

Quick fix: Visit each page of your website and ensure it’s skimmable — meaning readers know exactly what you do and how you help just by reading your headlines. For example:

“Explore Expert Advice for Buying and Selling in [Insert City]” or

“Maximize the Sale of Your Home in the Least Amount of Time”

 

3. Failing to understand your reader

 

Your website copy should resonate with your target audience — the homebuyers and sellers looking for your expertise. Nothing will make a potential client click away faster than generic language that doesn’t speak to their needs, desires and pain points.

Your ideal client needs to know that you understand their experience and feel confident you have the solution they’re looking for before they move forward. This should be clearly communicated across your website. 

Quick fix: First, ensure you know exactly who your target audience is before crafting your copy. Once you’ve identified your target audience, write as if you’re addressing one specific person. This technique makes your writing more personal and relatable, helping readers feel understood and valued.

Use emotional language to connect with your audience on a deeper level. Address their concerns and aspirations directly. For example, instead of saying something generic like, “We’ll sell your home quickly,” try, “Selling your home can be overwhelming, which is why I promise to make the process as smooth and stress-free as possible.”

 

4. Poor user experience

 

A clunky or confusing website can be frustrating for visitors and drive them to leave the page before they even explore your services. Aesthetics matter, but functionality makes all the difference. Visitors expect intuitive navigation, fast loading times and a seamless experience across devices. 

Quick fix: Simplify your website navigation with clear menus and a logical page hierarchy. Optimize images and videos for fast loading speeds. Ensure your website is responsive across all devices, meaning it looks and functions well on phones and tablets as well as desktops. 

 

5. Neglecting your calls-to-action (CTAs)

 

So your copy sounds great and your reader is sold on your services, but without a clear call-to-action, your client won’t know the next best step to take to work with you. This is why you need CTAs to guide the client journey. 

Whether it’s contacting you for a consultation, signing up for your newsletter or viewing your latest listings, clear and compelling CTAs prompt action and help convert visitors into leads.

Quick fix: Review each page to ensure there’s a CTA that aligns with the page’s purpose. Use action-oriented language in your CTA buttons, such as:

“Contact Us Today,”

“Explore Our Listings” or

“Subscribe for Market Insights.”

 

Long story short: a well-optimized website is like having a member of your sales team available 24/7 to showcase your expertise and help potential clients feel confident in choosing you for their real estate needs. 

Take the time to review your website today for these common mistakes and implement these simple fixes. Doing so will ensure your website works effectively as a powerful tool for your real estate business.

 

As a real estate agent, establishing credibility and attracting new clients hinges on social proof — and nothing showcases your expertise quite like client testimonials. 

Testimonials serve as a valuable asset to your real estate business, providing a powerful differentiator that sets you apart from the competition. They not only validate your skills and professionalism but also offer tangible insights into the client experience you provide.

By proactively seeking feedback and encouraging clients to share their positive experiences, you demonstrate a commitment to excellent service while also creating a sense of trust from your community. Each testimonial is a testament to the satisfaction and enthusiasm of your clients, highlighting the value you bring to the real estate journey. 

Today, we’re sharing our proven process for securing high-quality reviews that give your ideal clients a glimpse into what it’s like to work with you. Plus, you’ll learn a unique approach to showcasing these success stories in your marketing to increase your impact, boost engagement and win over prospects.

 

Understanding that timing is everything

 

Knowing when to request a testimonial is crucial. For real estate agents, this is typically one to two weeks before or after closing. By making your request when your client is feeling positive about their experience with you, you’ll increase the likelihood of receiving glowing feedback. 

 

Providing guidance

 

The biggest obstacle to securing high-quality client testimonials is that individuals are often unsure of what to write in their feedback. The most effective way to combat this is to ask your client specific questions within your request. You can also encourage clients to mention details like the name of their city or particular services you provided to increase searchability on Google. 

 

Crafting the perfect ask

 

When requesting a testimonial, the goal is to ensure client feedback is as detailed and specific as possible (a generalized, one or two-sentence review isn’t likely to create a lasting impression). Be sure to ask your client to provide thorough descriptions of their experience — this helps future prospects visualize what it’s like to work with you.

Here’s a template tailored specifically for real estate professionals, based on what we use in our marketing agency when requesting client reviews:

“Hi [NAME],

We’re almost at/we’ve crossed the finish line!

I’ve loved working with you and I’m so grateful you trusted me to buy/sell your home. We’ve come so far together! It would mean so much if you had a few moments to provide your feedback on our time together and leave a Google review [LINK]. Or, if you’d prefer, you can send your review directly to me. Your words go such a long way. 

To make things easier, I’ve included some questions you can consider answering in your review. The more details you can provide, the better!

1. What initially attracted you to work with me as your realtor?

2. How did I assist you throughout the home buying/selling process?

3. What specific aspects of my service stood out to you the most?

4. If you were recommending my services to a friend/colleague, what would you tell them?

Thank you for your support!”

 

Showcasing your review

 

Once you’ve gathered your feedback, it’s time to share your review in your marketing. But it’s not enough to simply post a graphic and hope your ideal clients take notice. Instead, try swapping the usual client testimonial post for a story that paints a picture of the client’s real estate journey.

For example, you might highlight how you assisted a client in navigating a competitive market to secure their dream home or how you advised a homeowner on strategic renovations that boosted their property’s value, leading to a quick and lucrative sale. The key is to tell the story from the client’s point of view, demonstrating your ability to deliver tangible results and solve real-world challenges for prospects.

 

In a referral-based business like real estate, testimonials from satisfied clients are a highly effective marketing tool. Not to mention, they’re completely free. 

But remember, testimonials aren’t just about getting more clients and closing more deals — they’re about building trust and credibility within your sphere of influence. This means that the best way to land high-quality reviews is by ensuring a shining customer experience is your number one priority. 

By following this framework, you can leverage social proof to strengthen your brand’s credibility, stand out from the crowd and attract more ideal clients with ease.

 

A big thank you to Tamara and Shannon Stone. After our original March feature fell through, the Stone Sisters — who we were going to feature later in the year — agreed to move up their interview and accommodate us at the last minute. That’s why our March feature and Backstage Pass Q&A for March is coming in early April. 

Ultimately, the story of the Stone Sisters in Kelowna is the story of innovation, adaption, trust in family and relentless focus. Tamara and Shannon Stone have turned their business into a Kelowna household name built on the power of relationships. 

Let’s dive into their story.

 

The early days — laying the foundation

 

“29 years. I got my license in 1995,” Tamara reminisced about her start in the industry. Both her mom and dad were already successful realtors. They didn’t want Tamara riding their coattails, so they made her a deal. She could shadow them for six months and then she was on her own.

She started shadowing them and doing what they told her for six months. It went by so fast that she didn’t even realize that six months had already passed. “I showed up as I had for the prior six months, dressed in my business suit, and I said, ‘Okay, so what are we doing today?’ and my dad said, ‘Your mom and I are going golfing. I don’t know what you’re doing but you’re on your own.’ I had no idea what to do. It took me five months to get a deal and I was literally starving.”

She started doing open houses every single weekend. “I would do two on Saturday, two on Sunday. And I did that every weekend, with the odd exception, for two to three years because that’s how you met people.” 

Between her network and open houses, she started to build a nice business for herself. For the first 10 years of her career, Tamara built a business on her own, separate from her parents. That’s when, in 2005, her sister Shannon decided to get licensed.

 

Trial-by-fire

 

Tamara made Shannon the same deal she got from her parents: get trained for six months and then you’re on your own. She’d learn the ins and outs of the business. After the six months though, Tamara wanted to take the month of August off, thinking she could leave her sister in charge of her business during one of the slowest sales months of the year.

As the old cliche goes, “If you want to get busy, book a vacation.” That month, with Tamara gone, Shannon did almost 40 transactions — more than one a day. There was no question that Shannon’s ability to handle a month like that after only six months in the business meant she’d be an invaluable asset.

So, they took a Tamara-led “Stone Team” and formed the “Stone Sisters.”

 

Adapt to thrive

 

From even the early days, the pair has focused on leading when changes are happening.

“The big thing I did when I started that was revolutionary and wild was get a website. It was the first real estate website in town and it was shocking to many, and cutting edge. We still own the original domain name, too,” recalls Tamara. 

With a renewed energy for the business, the sisters continued innovating and adapting. Shannon’s marketing background brought a lot of ideas to both marketing and client engagement.

Spend time talking to the Stone Sisters about the evolution of their business, and you realize quickly they’re proactive about change. They’re looking ahead to see what challenges are coming and they’re getting ready.

 

See change coming, come up with a plan, execute with purpose

 

In British Columbia, you’re no longer allowed to double-end a transaction, a change that was hinted at for a couple of years before it came into effect. If implemented, they realized this would have a massive impact on running a team where you often have a buyer’s agent sell the team’s listings.

They looked at what that might mean and they came up with a plan. Shannon got her broker’s license. When the change happened, they completely shifted their entire model, going from being the Stone Sisters at Re/Max Kelowna to forming their own sub-brokerage, Re/Max Kelowna Stone Sisters. 

Now, instead of a traditional team model, Shannon and Tamara run the brokerage and the agents run their own business, with the Stone Sisters providing services and coaching along the way. This way, they act as the designated agents for their clients.

The sisters were able to completely shift the model and not miss a beat. They don’t sit back and complain when change is coming — instead, they see it coming, come up with a plan and execute with purpose. 

 

Marketing that works

 

Shannon had a background in marketing when she joined and, with that, brought fresh ideas and promotional efforts. With Tamara’s experience and her sister’s background, they came up with regular ideas that brought real business. Things that few others were doing.

For example, in Kelowna, where many properties are sold to people from out of town, the team tracks not only the percentage of properties sold to out-of-town buyers but also where they came from. This informs their next steps when it comes to marketing.

This tactic worked well during a big Alberta oil boom when the pair noticed a lot of business coming from buyers in Fort McMurray. They had some connections there and set up a learning seminar about buying property in the Okanagan. 

They flew into Edmonton, got this little rental car and made the drive up to Fort McMurray. A client that worked up there told them, “Don’t show up in your white suits and be fancy to people. Jeans, beer and pizza.” 

So, they rented the back room of a Boston Pizza, bought pizza, wings and beer for everyone, and started promoting the Okanagan. Little did they know, due to the big boom and undersupply of housing in Fort McMurray, there weren’t even hotel rooms available. They had to make the drive back to Edmonton at 3:00 am.

But it was worth it. The sisters sold a tonne of properties to people there until the downturn in the oil industry.

Today, they go to cities like Vancouver, Calgary and Toronto because that’s where a lot of their buyers come from. They do group seminars and 1:1 consults with potential clients to promote their book on the Okanagan. 

Social media advertising plays a big role in making trips to cities where they don’t have brand recognition a success. The sisters invest in it and see a great return. In a market where almost 50 per cent of buyers come from out of town, the Stone Sisters regularly see over 70 per cent of their buyers come from elsewhere — a testament to the success of their marketing strategies. 

 

What you measure, grows

 

Nothing happens by accident at the Stone Sisters. Much like tracking where buyers come from, the team tracks everything in their business. They look at where leads originate to evaluate the success of each marketing channel they try, and then what percentage turn into clients. They monitor the volume of phone calls, emails, social media messages and every other way that people reach out to the team.

Aside from the volume and nature of inquiries, the number of showings, traffic to and time on the website, social engagement and everything else that helps inform their marketing and get a pulse of what’s happening is tracked.

And no fancy dashboards needed — the team tracks it all across simple Excel spreadsheets. They can tell you at any time exactly what’s happening in their business and where the trends are going.

At the volume of deals the Stone Sisters are doing (300+ annually), their business metrics can say a lot about the greater Kelowna real estate market trends as well. 

 

The white suits

 

Since my earliest days in real estate, I’ve known the Stone Sisters. They were presenting at a conference on negotiation the first time I saw them. At that conference and to this day, they often stand out by wearing white suits. In fact, their entire team wears all white — it’s their uniform.

I asked them about this because they do stand out when you meet them. It went back to a Re/Max conference they attended in Las Vegas. There were so many agents there, they wanted to find a way to stand out from the crowd. A way to make them more memorable.

The sisters went with white suits. Now, the entire team does and it’s become a signature look. If anyone on the team, and now at their sub-brokerage, goes out in the community for their business, they wear white. This has become an integral part of their branding. 

 

The ‘Buyer Book’

 

Early on, Tamara and Shannon created what they call the “Buyer Book” for their business. When they got leads, they’d print out the email, hole punch it and put it into a binder. Any time things were either quiet or they had some downtime, they’d open up the binder to where they left off and “shake the tree.” 

The sisters would call everyone in the book. When they finished, they’d start over, back at the beginning. They made handwritten notes to send by snail mail to people they had good conversations with, a practice they still do to this day. There were people in that book for 3-5 years before they ended up doing a deal with the Stone Sisters — a testament to their consistency.

Today, the team follows a very similar practice, leveraging Follow Up Boss as their CRM. With organic buyer leads coming in, they convert them at a rate of 23.5 per cent. (During our interview, without having asked them ahead of time to be ready with anything, they had all the data at their fingertips. Like I said, they track and monitor their numbers.)

The most impressive stat? They convert 94 per cent of the website contact forms for a home evaluation to in-person appointments. As of our interview on March 20, 2024, the team had received 78 home evaluation requests and had done 74 in-person appointments as a result. 

That’s how strongly they’re seen as experts. Tamara mentioned that early on in her career they tried a series of TV commercials. “They were light and fluffy, like Cinderella, the Stone Sisters. It wasn’t us doing it; it was someone else’s perception of us. It gave the impression of, ‘It’s so cute they dress the same.’ Now, we have a much more serious reputation.” 

 

A little bit ‘hardass’

 

The sisters admit they’re known for being a little bit “hardass” at times, as they put it. They’re serious about the business and they get the job done. They’re not afraid to tell their clients what they don’t want to hear, and they won’t take a listing if the client is unrealistic about the price.

This brand they’ve built since 1995 is a huge factor in their conversation rates. On top of that, they work the phones, send out automated emails and encourage everyone at their brokerage to make as many phone calls as possible.

They find that even young people, who are often derided for not wanting to be on the phone, regularly have great phone conversations with their team. And when things get slow or quiet for a time? Everyone is encouraged to “shake the tree” as they do with the Buyer Book but with people in their Follow Up Boss database.

 

Systemized success

 

Like our previous monthly features this year, Mark Faris and Alex Wilson, it’s no surprise after talking to them why the Stone Sisters are so successful. They’ve built the systems, they follow them and they keep their agents accountable. 

The sisters are looking ahead at what’s coming and getting ready to adapt. They’re closely watching the commission lawsuits with NAR in the U.S. and Canadian equivalents. Despite verdicts likely being a ways out, they’re ready in case of changes. 

No matter what happens, one thing is certain: they won’t be caught unprepared. 

 

Re/Max has emerged as the most reputable real estate company in Canada, according to the recent 2023 Reputation Study conducted by Leger.

The Canadian-owned market research and analytics firm evaluated the reputation of 299 Canadian companies across various sectors based on six core criteria. The six core pillars of corporate reputation measured in the study include financial strength, social responsibility, honesty and transparency, quality, attachment and innovation.

Each company is evaluated by more than 2,000 Canadians, with more than 38,000 Canadians surveyed in total.

Topping the list of Canada’s most reputable companies is Google, followed by Sony, Shoppers Drug Mart, Samsung and Canadian Tire. Re/Max ranked 79.

Re/Max’s reputation ranking also experienced year-over-year growth in 2023, improving by three points compared to Leger’s 2022 Reputation study.

“Behind every successful real estate transaction is a foundation built on trust,” says Christopher Alexander, president of Re/Max Canada. “We’re honoured to be recognized as the most reputable real estate company in Canada, and we look forward to continuing to help buyers and sellers achieve their real estate goals in this ever-changing market.”