Attention Real Estate Agents! Third-Party Lead Generation Companies Are Threating Your Livelihood!

I happened to be reading a terrific book the other day…The Champion Real Estate Agent by Dirk Zeller... and was pleasantly surprised to learn that ‘great minds think alike!’

In chapter 9 dealing with the Internet, Dirk had a section devoted to Third-Party Lead Generation Companies and goes on to say, and I quote:

“Third-Party lead generation companies are the biggest threat to agents. We need to drive them out of business. These interlopers are, in effect, marketing for your customers and selling them back to you or another agent in the marketplace. The approach of these ‘lead terrorists’ is to cybersquat in the key areas on the Web- whether that’s through search engine optimization techniques, pay-per-click advertising, or strategic links. If you go to any highly used search phrase like ‘Portland, Oregon, Real Estate’ or ‘Denver, Colorado, Real Estate’, you will see these third-party companies taking four, five, or even six of the top 10 positions in the search engines. In effect, we have allowed these interlopers to hold us hostage far too long. The major real estate brands… have recognized how these lead kidnappers are affecting our business and we are starting to address the issue to take back the Internet leads. These lead-generation companies may seem to be our friends, but they are really our foes. By working with these people, we are giving them credibility.” And may I add, Laying the groundwork for our own demise!"

By the way, the copyright on Dirk’s Zeller's book is 2007!

Since the book’s publication over 17 years ago, what else has happened? The rapid-rise of Zillow…the T-Rex of the ‘lead kidnappers’... a.k.a ‘Big Foot!’

In one of my earlier blogs this year entitled: Agents…Stop Feeding Big Foot! Someone Is ‘Moving Your Cheese’, I warned NAR, real estate franchises, brokers and agents of the possibility of being replaced by Zillow in the near-future, unless things change…and change fast! In my blog, I strongly recommended that NAR, leading franchises, leading independent brokerages and ALL real estate agents to push hard to renegotiate our relationship with Zillow! I will go on record suggesting that failure to do so quickly will jeopardize the real estate brokerage business as we currently know it!

If you agree, let your voice be heard! Let your concerns be known before it’s too late! Protect your livelihood!

Recommended Reading: The Champion Real Estate Agent…Dirk Zeller