Tech& You POwER PROsPEcTIng Duncan credits HomeGain, an online leadgeneration and marketing tool, with not only helping him land at least one closing a month, but also making it possible for him to achieve a career milestone: his rst million-dollar listing. It happened like this: Luxury property owners visited HomeGain.com and entered a short description of the property they wanted to sell. HomeGain then sent their anonymous query to real estate sales associates in their area. The sales associates, including Duncan, were all HomeGain subscribers, who for a monthly fee, get the leads via e-mail or text message and then submit their proposals. The [luxury home] owners liked my proposal and contacted me, says Duncan, a sales associate with Keller Williams Realty in Tampa. Not only have I listed their home but I ve also listed some of their family members homes and generated a couple of additional transactions through my relationship with them. It s probably my biggest win with HomeGain so far, and I m hoping to turn it into a sale so I can use it as leverage to go after more luxury business. HomeGain got me [a customer] that I probably wouldn t have gotten with my own advertising. It s not the only way I get business, but it s one of the tools in my repertoire. 14 FLORIDA REALTOR February 2009 Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower. Steve Jobs, Apple co-founder Capture Leads Online An online lead-generation tool delivers business to this sales associate via e-mail and text messaging. A ndrew Here s how Duncan uses the service: Quickly Take Action Statistics show that most people interview only one or two agents, says Duncan. If you don t respond within an hour or two, they ve probably already selected someone else. Within minutes of receiving an e-mail or text message notifying him of a new lead, Duncan logs in to HomeGain.com and prepares his response. When he s out of the o ce, the leads are e-mailed to his assistant, who handles them for him. Online lead generation is a very e ective lead-generation tool that has given me a great return on my investment. Andrew Duncan, a sales associate with Keller Williams Realty in Tampa, shes for leads using an online service.