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Tuesday, July 24, 2007

Referrals first, Internet second

New homes sales marketing consultant Jerry Rouleau asked a single question: "What is your best way to generate leads?" He reports that out of 275 responses, by far the most effective lead generation method is referrals -- with 25 per cent of the respondents selecting that as a significant resource. "Internet" (9 per cent) and "Website (13 per cent) ranked second, with home/trade shows ranking third at 12 per cent.

Other significant categories include model home (8 per cent), seminar/event (5 per cent), trade magazines and newspapers (4 per cent each) and signage and networking (3 per cent each).

In his executive summary he reports that "responses came from275 individuals representing 12 different sectors of the building industry, including builder/dealers, home producers, developers, Realtors, consultants and suppliers.) The results are broken down by sector.

You can download a copy of the survey at http://www.builderradio.com/leadsurvey.html.

I find these results significant on a number of levels. First, there isn't a universal lead generation methodology -- referrals rank number 1, but even if you add "networking" to referrals, you still only have 28 per cent or less than a third using the methodology. Clearly the Internet and websites are becoming increasingly important.

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