Find Your Hottest Leads FAST with LogicScore

ANNOUNCING a NEW SEQUOIA FEATURE: LogicScore!

We've recently launched a great new feature for the Sequoia platform – LogicScore.

Easily Find Your Hottest Leads with LogicScore

If you, like most Sequoia clients, get a large number of leads from your website, one of the biggest challenges you have at the beginning of the day is figuring out who your hottest leads are – who to contact first!

To help you make that process as easy as possible, we’ve created an algorithm to quantify each lead’s likelihood of becoming a customer and closing a deal.

We measure the quality of each activity the lead performs on your website, with actions such as property searches bearing a comparatively low value, but actions like reaching out to you by way of a contact form or a request for a property showing having a higher value. We then tabulate these results and further add to them the factor of their recent activity. A lead who performs a lot of actions on your site is clearly worth contacting, and the ones who have done so more recently are even more likely to become a satisfied customer.

Our algorithm calculates all of this information and produces a LogicScore based on the likelihood that this lead is going to be a good prospect for you to start working with ASAP. You’ll now notice on each table of leads that there is a new LogicScore column, sorted by default in descending order.

the New LogicScore Component

You can also use our Advanced Lead Search tool to find leads with high scores, so you’ll always be able to reach out to your best prospects first. With the Advanced Lead Search, you can also sort your leads based on a variety of criteria, including; the lead type, their current living arrangements, their desired move date, the assigned agent, the creation date, the date of their last activity, and much more!

Use the Advanced Lead Search for More Search Options

We hope this new tool helps to make the process of converting leads into deals even easier than before, and provides even more insight into how your new leads become your best clients thanks to your Sequoia website!

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us to learn more.

New Site Launch and New MLS Service Integrated!

RE/MAX By The Bay needed more than just another website. The leader in sales in their market, their online presence was in need of an update - and rather than simply keep pace with their competitors, they opted to take their real estate website to the next level with a custom design theme for the Sequoia platform!

RE/MAX By The Bay had been through several Web vendors with varying degrees of success, and knew that they needed to work with the best firm in the business in order to get the results they needed. Boston Logic, the clear leader in real estate software and online marketing for the real estate industry, was a natural choice. Working through several rounds of revision, we created a fully customized look and feel for their new website, www.homesinmaine.com.

With easy-to-use navigation and a fresh, clean look, RE/MAX By The Bay's new website is a perfect representation of the new direction of their online presence. In addition, the Sequoia platform offers their agents and brokers more functionality than ever before, simplifying the process of lead management and customer acquisition so that agents can focus on doing their jobs more effectively.

Creating a custom design theme for your real estate website truly lets you stand out among your competitors. Since RE/MAX By The Bay is already at the top of their market, their website needed to reflect this level of commitment to their clients and true competitive edge. A custom design theme on the Sequoia platform gave them all of that and more.

In order to serve RE/MAX By The Bay and other Maine real estate firms, we've recently integrated MREIS, the Maine multiple listing service, with the Sequoia platform. From the southern shores of Rhode Island all the way up to Canada, we've got you covered - serving every major MLS in between!

Another Boston Logic innovation allows RE/MAX By The Bay agents to maintain their own unique and functional websites, previously impossible due to an MREIS rule. We've built a custom search code generator for the Sequoia platform which lets each agent create their own search tool for use on their personal website. This lets individual agents unlock the power of their personal brand on the Web, marketing their exclusive listings as well as giving their customers the power to search for their new home as they see fit.

RE/MAX By The Bay is Maine's top producing real estate brokerage by sales volume. Founded in 1995, they have consistently ranked at the top of all Real Estate companies servicing the Portland Board of Realtors service area.

Contact a member of the Boston Logic sales team today at 617-266-9166 to learn more about how you can invest in the most cutting edge real estate website technology on the market today!

How Do We Decide Which New Features to Add to the Sequoia System?

The other day, the owner of 2 real estate offices which use the Sequoia platform asked me if he could send me a list of ideas that he's compiled from his agents. These are features and ideas they have for the sequoia platform. Here was my response:

We want all of your suggestions. Here's how the Sequoia New Feature Selection Process works:

1) As feature requests come in, we put them into a Feature Request Log. We probably get about 2 per day, on average. Often, they come in 10 at a time, as I'm sure you're about to send me.

Sequoia New Feature Building Process

2) Once per quarter, we sit down and look at the Feature Request Log and see how many times each feature has been requested. We also consider whether or not a feature actually adds value or is just some wacky request from a nut who's paying us (we have more than a handful of those).

3) We also consider whether or not the feature fits into the mission and direction of the product. For example, if someone wanted us to make an automatic newspaper ad generator, it would be unlikely that we'd build it. We don't believe that making it easier to waste money is going to help any of our real estate clients.

4) Lastly, we consider how much work it will take for a feature to be implemented. Small features, even if they'll add limited value, might get done just because they're low-hanging fruit while features that require 150 hours of our time might need to be scheduled further into the future.

5) Then, we order feature requests based on all this evidence and go to work. Depending on how busy we are and which features we choose to take on, we might get to a feature during that quarter or we might not. Then, 90 days or so later, we look at the list again, add any new requests and go through the process again.

It's through this process that our system evolves, largely informed by client input.

It's important to note that when more clients request a new Sequoia real estate website feature, we're more likely to implement that feature. Some ideas are good, but require a lot of work and maybe only 1 client has ever made that request. So, they wind up at the bottom of the list every time we review it. After more then 6 or 12 months and no more requests, we simply remove a feature from the road map.

New Sequoia Feature Launches: 3/7/2011

While the Sequoia real estate website platform already has the best real estate website features available, read up on the latest in Sequoia feature upgrades for your real estate website!

1) MLS rental listings now show in rentals searches. Our RentJuice clients can now show off rental listings from their MLS in rentals searches! Thanks to recent upgrades to the RentJuice API, Sequoia sites with this component enabled will now show users any MLS rentals that match their search criteria in rentals searches. This can be turned on or off at your discretion in your Settings section.

3) Featured Properties Page Company Listings. You can now choose whether your company’s listings automatically show on your Featured Properties page. Controllable in the Settings section of your Sequoia realtor web design, you can now opt to have all of your listings automatically show up here when listed, or not – for those of you who wish to hand-pick only the best listings to feature!

4) XpressDocs Single-Token Login Tool Integration. For those of you who use XpressDocs for your print advertising needs, we’ve integrated their single-token login tool to the back end of your Sequoia realty web design. Simply enter your XpressDocs account info into your Settings section and your brokers and agents will have access to an XpressDocs login button on their Dashboards, allowing them to access this web-based tool without needing to log in twice!

Not a Sequoia client yet, but like what you see? Contact us to get started on your own real estate website design today, and to have access to all the features above and much more!

A "Guarantee" that's Worth it's Weight in Dirt

I'm honestly astounded.

I know that we offer high quality products and services for the real estate vertical and I'm proud to say we're firmly the very best, but I'm astonished at just how low some of our "competitors" set the bar.

" We guarantee 60 visitors within the first two calendar months or it's free! "

This is the "guarantee" that z57 has right on their home page! I'd be embarrassed to put this sentence on this site or on BostonLogic.com. Down right embarrassed!

If you're reading this and you're a real estate website beginner, I'll explain in the next paragraph. If you're an educated web marketer or, really, have spent any time looking at online marketing traffic reports, you've probably already concluded just how poor z57's sites must be.

For the novices out there - nothing to be ashamed of - here's a reality check:

A website that sees just 1 visit/day is almost useless! Most of the real estate websites we launch start seeing 5 or 10 times this traffic within days.

Like selling a car and saying it will run 5 miles

Would You Trust This Guy?

z57 is, in effect, guaranteeing that they'll provide next to nothing. This is like selling a car and guaranteeing that it'll drive 5 miles. No thank you.

Here's what really gets my goat; These folks are praying on the lack of education that most of their potential customers possess. I think that's just plain dishonest. I couldn't do it and I don't think anyone who has ever worked at Boston Logic would ever stoop to this level.

Instead, we have 3 blogs working to educate our current and potential clients. We hold a free LogicClassroom every month. AND we'll honestly answer any question you might have and base those answers on web best practices.

If this blog post reads like a rant, well, it is. I hope it was illuminating, if not entertaining.

Learn the New Sequoia CRM! Sign up for 1/11 LogicClassroom NOW!

Boston Logic will be teaching an in-depth LogicClassroom on the recent upgrades to the LogicLeads component of our Sequoia Real Estate Web Sites.

Join us to learn how to utilize the new features and CRM functionality of LogicLeads to help you convert leads into deals! The LogicLeads system is the most effective way to stay organized, manage your time, and monitor your pipeline- and we've just made it more powerful and even easier to use!

We'll be discussing the new components of the CRM, launched just a few weeks ago - including Task Creation and Management, Lead Management, Event Creation, and more in this 30-minute class.

We recommend any clients currently using the Sequoia system attend this LogicClassroom on Tuesday, January 11th at 5pm.

Don't have a Sequoia real estate website by Boston Logic? This class is your chance to see how easy the Sequoia Dashboard is to navigate and to see a live demo of an exciting component of the software and all of its capabilities!

This LogicClassroom is a great opportunity to learn how to make the most out of your Sequoia website, to more effectively captures and manage leads. Don't miss out, sign up today!

You are welcome to attend at the Boston Logic Office (view map) or participate through an online webinar. The class begins at 5pm on January 11th. Don't be late!

To register for the event, please contact Angela at 617.266.9166 or by email at adavis@bostonlogic.com. Please specify whether you will attend the class at our office or online.

We look forward to seeing you there!

The New EganRealtyGroup.com Real Estate Website Design Launch: 10/12/2010

If you are an agent debating taking the plunge into a real estate agent website design, here's a recent agent site launch to check out! www.eganrealtygroup.com

This agent site is a modified theme real estate website design with a gorgeous Massachusetts home against a soft blue background. The site owner, Steve Egan, is an agent from Rosen Realty and specializes in South Shore MA Real Estate.

Steve Egan's site is also a fantastic example of Sequoia's Town Pages feature, which allows you to create custom content about an area you serve, and then populate the page with MLS listings based on search criteria that you specify using the secure management interface. This content written about cities and towns that you specialize in is useful to potential clients, and helps your website rank in search engine results for applicable search terms.

Visit SequoiaRealEstateSolutions.com to see how you can get started with your very own agent site today!

Real Estate Website Q&A Tuesday: SEO and Sequoia 10/5/2010

For today's installment of Q&A Tuesday, where we discuss Frequently Asked Questions we receive from clients or potential clients regarding our Sequoia real estate website platform, I thought it would be a good idea to talk about website optimization. We are constantly being asked about search engine optimization and how our Sequoia websites can help our clients in their search engine marketing efforts.

Here at Boston Logic, we realize the importance of search engine marketing and optimization for your real estate business. Search engines are the way most people find information and services they want- and if your website is not optimized, it is less likely that potential clients will find you.

Even if you've never heard of Search Engine Optimization, a Sequoia website will make optimizing your web presence easy!

Q: How will switching to a Sequoia website help me with SEO?

A: The Sequoia platform was designed specifically with search engine optimization in mind! Sequoia is a cutting edge website platform that integrates the most advanced real estate website features enabling leading-edge marketing campaigns- and we're constantly improving it! Whenever there is a Sequoia system upgrade, your site is upgraded automatically, so your website will always be using the best technology in the real estate industry.

Q: I don't understand SEO. Will I still be able to benefit from the SEO features of a Sequoia website?

A: Yes! With a Sequoia website, adding important Meta Data (such as Page Titles, Page Descriptions, and Keyword Tags) to your website pages and creating custom URLs (essential elements of a well-optimized page) are as easy as filling out a field on a form! You don't have to be an SEO specialist or know HTML to improve your search engine ranking! Simply fill out the fields provided as you create your pages!

Adding Essential SEO Elements to a Sequoia Website is EASY!

Adding Essential SEO Elements is EASY!

Q: Is there support available if I need help with my SEO?

A: Yes! Your Sequoia website comes with a very informative Users Guide tab you can access from your Admin dashboard. We are constantly adding easy-to-follow demos and step-by-step instructions to the Help Section of this blog, and articles on SEO best practices on our blog at RealEstateSEO1.com.

Here are a few suggested links to help get you started:

Real Estate SEO is a Process

Optimize Your Site to Get More Traffic and Leads

Simple SEO for Your Blog

Q: I heard that using Social Media could help my SEO; how do Sequoia websites integrate with popular social sites?

A: You heard correctly! Utilizing social media sharing and social media websites are integral parts of any good search engine marketing strategy. We are constantly upgrading our system to keep up with social media trends.

Sequoia websites also give you the ability to add Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn icons to your website's footer that link to your profile pages on these social media sites. Setup is easy! Simply copy and paste the URL of your profile page into the 'Social Media' fields on your 'Configuration' tab from your Admin dashboard, click 'Save' and your icon links appear automatically!

The more ways you give potential clients to connect with you, the better! We can also help you set up MLS and rental property searches on your Facebook Fan Page that connect to the property searches on your website, and help you set up an RSS feed from your blog to your social media profiles!

Easily Persuaded?

Sometimes, someone comes along and tells you that they’ve solved all of your problems. It sounds like a great solution, it sounds like a good deal. STOP! Don't jump.

Every once in a while, someone pitches one of our clients and tells them that their solution is the best thing since sliced bread. Our clients are bombarded by advertisers, software companies, real estate website providers, online marketing companies, you name it. They're calling and emailing and calling again.

Most of the clients who buy from Boston Logic take a highly measured approach. They figure out what they need, what it costs, compare solutions, and we come out on top. We're fine with this process. We're happy to go feature for feature with any platform.

Here's what stings: it's when the client gets a call from someone and doesn't do their homework. They make an impulse buy because the pitch over the phone was just that good. We're constantly amazed that business decisions are actually made this way.

Do you really have 2 completely different buying processes? For some expenses, you take weeks to figure out the right solution, document features, develop a budget, and then make an informed decision. For other purchases, you decide to spend thousands of dollars in literally minutes?

Here's a recommendation.

Consider any purchase carefully. Make decisions based on numbers, whenever possible. Real numbers. I'm talking about data. For example, If you're considering a new online marketing media, try to understand a cost/user or cost/lead. If you can't do better than where you are currently investing, don't buy it.

Also, don't get sold on one feature or even one idea. Look at a solution holistically. It's easy for a salesman to tell you about a nice feature in their website product and ask, "Does your real estate website do that?" Indeed, it may not, but there may be 20 features that your site does have that the product he's selling does not. I can't tell you how many clients have chosen other vendors only to come back to Boston Logic telling us that they made a poor decision.

If you need help developing specifications or comparing real estate web site design solutions, we're happy to help. Just contact the real estate website team of Boston Logic. Thanks.

New Sequoia Real Estate Website Feature: Type-Ahead Search Forms 8/27/2010

We've recently introduced another great Sequoia broker web design feature - type-ahead search forms!

Now instead of scrolling through lists of towns and neighborhoods when performing a search, setting up email updates, and creating pages with search forms, all you need to do is start typing the name of the town or neighborhood.

Once you do, the system will automatically provide a list of all towns and neighborhoods that match the characters you have entered- for example, typing B-O-S will give you Boston and all Boston neighborhoods. Keep typing to make the list smaller until you see what you want, or just scroll the list and click on the choice you want to make. If you make a mistake while making a page, or want to remove a town or neighborhood, just click the "x" to the upper right of the place name.

This feature gives Sequoia web sites for realtors two great benefits. First is, of course, the ease and simplicity with which users can perform searches, and agents can set up pages. Second, pages with search forms on them now load much faster, since your browser doesn't have to load the list of towns provided by your MLS. Both of these improvements make the user experience of your Sequoia site that much more enjoyable, and will contribute to increased lead traffic.

This is just one of the many features we have recently introduced for the Sequoia platform - part of our ongoing commitment to maintaining Sequoia's position as the highest-quality real estate website platform in the industry.

Read more of Sequoia's Latest Feature Upgrades available on our Websites for Realtors.

Find Your Hottest Leads FAST with LogicScore

ANNOUNCING a NEW SEQUOIA FEATURE: LogicScore!

Related Links:

New Site Launch and New MLS Service Integrated!

Related Links:

How Do We Decide Which New Features to Add to the Sequoia System?

Related Links:

New Sequoia Feature Launches: 3/7/2011

Related Links:

A "Guarantee" that's Worth it's Weight in Dirt

Related Links:

Learn the New Sequoia CRM! Sign up for 1/11 LogicClassroom NOW!

Related Links:

The New EganRealtyGroup.com Real Estate Website Design Launch: 10/12/2010

Related Links:

Real Estate Website Q&A Tuesday: SEO and Sequoia 10/5/2010

Related Links:

Easily Persuaded?

Related Links:

New Sequoia Real Estate Website Feature: Type-Ahead Search Forms 8/27/2010

Related Links:

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