Andy Waldo Real Estate Agent - Real Estate Agent Website of the Month

"45 Transactions in 2 Years!"

This month we have a truly outstanding client of the month. Back in 2001 Andy Waldo was told by his Realtor that he would be good at being a real estate agent and should try it - little did he realize just how good he would actually become. He took the plunge and has blossomed into a seasoned Internet savvy real estate agent.

Andy, based in Winchester, VA, switched to Z57 nearly two years ago after being disillusioned with his previous real estate website provider. By making aggressive use of Z57's services (particularly BuyerLink) he has generated an amazing 45 transactions for his team in 2 years, and has already generated over $108,000 in commission this year already. His Personal Marketing Coach, Mike Bowen, is very proud of his achievements - "He is one of my best clients - he really shows great dedication to maximizing his website's potential. I am not surprised at all to hear of his great successes".

We asked Andy to reveal how he achieved his great success:

Z57: How did you want to grow your business? Andy: Because of the trends that I saw with technology and the internet in the real estate industry in 2002, I wanted to have a powerful tool to capture internet leads and take them to close. My website provider was not user friendly and I felt like I was getting a lack of leads and had little control over my website. I switched to Z57® and they have proven to have the foresight to expand and develop with the changes in technology. With the recent competitive market shifts I have continued to be successful when so many have failed.

Z57: What were challenges existing in your business that you wanted to overcome? Andy: I was new to the area and needed another source of leads since my database was fairly small - I also wanted to stay ahead of the curve in the Winchester, VA area. Z57®'s web services and customer service was so far ahead of everyone else I was able to immediately start closing business from my website.

Z57: What specific results have you experienced? Andy: In 2005 my team and I closed over 35% of our business from website leads - which was about $87,500 in income. This year we have received over 2,700 leads to date and we will close over 35% of our total business from our website leads. With Z57®'s system of text messaging our cell phone within seconds of a lead coming in and their BuyerLink lead program we are the poster children for how to use their website services.

Since acquiring a website from Z57®, I have averaged about six hundred unique visitors per month, and now with the SEO Optimization I am seeing a dramatic increase in visitors per day.

Fumi also hooked me up with BuyerLink and created an awesome landing page that buyers would use to search homes from. Well the marketing worked! I sold my first home in my second month of using Z57 and have had 12 successful closings and four sales currently under contract since March 2006 and all from my website.

Z57: What role did your Personal Marketing Coach play in your success? Andy: Whenever I called to talk with our representative at Z57® (Mike Bowen) we either got him immediately or he always called or emailed back very promptly - he has taught us so much about marketing a website for search engine placement, as well as how to understand and track where our leads come from. We have been able to capture much better placement with many of the website search engines as a result of Mike's help.

Z57: What advice can you give to other Realtors with similar goals or challenges? Andy: Simple - In 2001 the National Association of Realtors survey showed that only 7% of the people who purchased a home first saw it on the web and 55% saw it with a Realtor. In 2005 these numbers changed to 26% first found their home on the web and only 36% first found their home with a Realtor - common sense says if you don't have a great website and it isn't working for you then you are missing out on a lot of business!