Real Geeks is a website, CRM, and lead generation platform that aims to put real estate agents in the driver’s seat when it comes to controlling their own success. Rather than sitting back and hoping that prospects become leads, leads become clients, and that clients actually close sales, Real Geeks gives you the set of tools you need to push your buyers and sellers down the funnel every step of the way.
There are lots of lead generators out there; Real Geeks is more than that. It’s a self-contained strategy. In this article, we’re going to walk you through exactly what Real Geeks is, how it works, how much it costs, and ultimately reveal whether or not you should consider it for your real estate business.
Let’s get started!
What Does Real Geeks Actually Provide for Real Estate Agents?
While nobody has rolled out a true end-to-end solution for real estate professionals when it comes to managing your entire business, Real Geeks is getting close. Their suite of offerings includes high-converting, IDX-powered websites, a customer relationship management (CRM) tool that integrates with their website to track lead activity, time-saving marketing tools, and lead generation strategies that will fill the top of your funnel.
Though there are a ton of different things that Real Geeks does for real estate agents, here are the five that, for our money, will have the biggest impact on your bottom line:
- Websites featuring IDX integration designed for conversion, putting property search functionality front and center, linking seamlessly with your CRM.
- A CRM that not only will help you follow up with the people you know, but will also automatically track the activity of new prospects on your website, making them easier to convert into clients.
- Property valuation lead magnets that offer instant home value analysis, creating a powerful reason for leads to hand over their contact information.
- A pay-per-click (PPC) ad service called Real Leads, unlocking the power of Google Ads in your real estate marketing scheme.
- Facebook marketing solutions that include a DIY platform for placing your own ads and a concierge service that will manage the entire process for you.
Check out the Real Geeks website to see their in-depth explainer videos about how the system all works together, or schedule a free demo.
Real Geeks Pricing
The price for Real Geeks starts at $299 per month for one or two users, plus $25 per month for each additional user. For this price, you get access to an IDX-enabled website, the Real Geeks CRM, and their vast library of how-to’s and strategy guides for effectively using their tools.
One of our favorite parts of the Real Geeks pricing model is the al a carte availability of extra services that you can add on as your business grows, allowing you to start small and add features as your real estate empire expands. Here’s a breakdown of those features and their costs:
Real Geeks Extended Pricing
Feature | Cost | Great For |
---|---|---|
Home Valuation Landing Pages | FREE w/ your base package purchase | Powering up your lead funnel and increasing your seller lead volume |
Real Leads PPC & Facebook Marketing | $300 / month + ad spend | Real estate agents who want to integrate Google & Facebook Ads into their marketing strategy but don’t have the time to do it themselves |
Curious about where Real Geeks stacks up against similar platforms? Check out the comparison table below:
Real Geeks’ Competitor Pricing Comparison
Platform | Users | Monthly Cost | Additional Cost per User | Setup | Commitment | Advertising |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Real Geeks | 1-2 | $299 (some features are additional) | $25 | $250 | 12 months | Additional |
kvCORE | 1-100 | $499-$1,800 | N/A | $900-$1,800 | 12 months | Additional |
Chime | 1-100 | $299-$899 | $15 | Waived if prepaid | 12 months | Additional |
BoomTown | 1-25 | $1,000-$1,500 | N/A | $750-$1,700 | 12 months | Additional |
Going Deeper: A Closer Look at the Most Important Real Geeks Features
Now that you know the basics of what Real Geeks can do for you and how much it costs, let’s dig into the major features a little bit deeper. Here’s exactly what you need to know about our five favorite features of the Real Geeks platform and how they might help you close more deals.
Real Geeks IDX Websites: The Hub of Your Marketing Wheel
Your real estate website is the hub of your marketing wheel. This is where you direct traffic using other Real Geeks tools like Real Leads and the Facebook Marketing Platform, and ultimately, this is where that traffic turns into leads.
Real Geeks websites have all the features you’d expect, including a blogging tool, limited customization options, and lots of calls to action to convert your traffic into leads. Where Real Geeks stands out is their dynamic mapping functionality, the ability clients and prospects have to seamlessly transition from the desktop experience to a customized mobile app, and, of course, the direct link between the website and the CRM, transferring your leads’ activities straight into their contact profile, making meaningful conversations with them later easier.
For those of you who geek out (see what we did there?) over the details like we do, Real Geeks also offers really solid search engine optimization (SEO), A/B testing options for landing pages, an easy-to-use back-end interface, and a fully integrated IDX, not i-framed in. Not sure what all this means? Don’t stress. There’s a ton of resources on the Real Geeks website to get you in the loop on all your options.
The short version of the story is that the websites are set up for success from a client-facing perspective as well as behind the scenes.
Real Geeks CRM: Your Lead Nurturing Control Center
Your Real Geeks website is where your prospects, leads, and clients interact with the Real Geeks ecosystem, but the CRM is where you, as the agent, spend most of your time. Though the dashboard and interface aren’t anything fancy, the clean design and well-organized profiles are a breath of fresh air. We’ve test-driven a lot of CRMs; it’s easy to overwhelm a user with too much information in too little space. Thankfully, that’s not the case with Real Geeks.
You get standard CRM functionality here like custom email drip sequences, comprehensive lead profiles, and mass communication options. It also has a built-in SMS texting interface that allows you to communicate via text right from your desktop and schedule messages to go out whenever you want or as a part of drip sequences. The open and read rates for text messages can be as high as 98%, making this a powerful strategy, especially for the first contact with new leads from your website.
Speaking of websites, it bears repeating how powerful the linkage is between your Real Geeks website and the CRM. Not only do you have your leads’ website activity right in their CRM profile, but you can also use this information to schedule automated communication flows based on how often website visitors are viewing particular properties, saving searches, or favoriting homes for sale.
Real Geeks Property Valuation Lead Magnet: The Ultimate Conversation Starter
There’s a basic formula in real estate lead generation that just about every strategy uses: Entice leads with something of value, and before actually delivering it to them, require their contact information. When it comes to potential homesellers, there isn’t much they want more than an estimate of the value of their home. This is why, despite being relatively maligned by real estate agents everywhere, the Zestimate remains such a popular feature.
Real Geeks delivers on this desire with their customizable, unlimited home valuation landing pages, offering would-be homesellers an estimate on their home’s value and giving you the lead information you need to start a conversation.
You might be asking yourself, “Why would I need more than one home valuation landing page?”
Well, if you’ve read our article on real estate farming, you know that the more targeted your media and marketing is, the more effective it is. With unlimited options for landing pages, Real Geeks users can create a home valuation landing page for every major area of their market, allowing the ads they create using a Real Geeks service or their own strategy to be more targeted and therefore get higher click-through rates.
Real Geeks Real Leads: Harnessing the Power of Google for Lead Generation
What’s the most powerful website on the internet? No, it’s not Zillow, and no, it’s not your professional website (at least not yet). The most powerful website on the internet is Google; most people use this platform multiple times a day to search for what they need most. Real Geeks’ Real Leads platform lets you harness the power of this search engine and ad platform to show up in relevant search results every time one of your prospects is looking for real estate information.
A lot of real estate agents complain that they don’t have the time to learn Google Ads, and even those who do report the platform confusing and difficult to use, which is why for $574 a month plus your ad budget, the marketing experts at Real Geeks will manage your Google PPC campaigns for you. All you need to do is provide them with the information on who you want to target with the ads, where you want to send them (one of the home valuation landing pages or your website is usually a great start!), then you sit back and rake in the both buyer and seller leads.
We get it—$574 a month seems like a lot to spend on anything other than maybe a mortgage or a car loan, especially if you have to supply the ad budget on top of the monthly fee, but hear us out. A single listing that comes your way as a result of your PPC ads that sells for $200,000 (assuming a 3% commission) will get you a gross commission income (GCI) bump of $6,000. Just about any real estate agent in the country would happily agree to exchange $1,000 for $6,000, so, all you need is a single conversion per month to make this strategy wildly worthwhile.
PPC marketing shouldn’t be your only lead source; Real Leads should fit into your overall strategy for filling your lead funnel. For real estate agents who are looking to up their lead volume and diversify their lead sources, this is a great place to start.
Real Geeks Facebook Marketing Solutions: Turning Real Estate Agents Into Master Social Marketers
Successful social media marketing has two sides: organic and paid.
Examples of organic marketing include creating posts for your business page, going live at open houses and for property walk-throughs, and creating Facebook Groups for neighborhoods and communities.
Paid Facebook marketing is all about creating ads that will extend your reach beyond those who follow you organically and introduce your message to potential new clients. Facebook’s ad platform offers a lot of options for creating custom audiences, ad types, and delivery options. So many options, in fact, that many real estate agents find it overwhelming and difficult to use.
This is why the Real Geeks Facebook Marketing Tools are so helpful. Their self-serve platform streamlines and simplifies the ad creation learning curve, saving you up to 75% of the time you would be spending otherwise. If you want to get all the benefits of Facebook Ads but do none of the work, Real Geeks offers a concierge service similar to the sort of attention you get through their Real Leads platform that will do all the heavy lifting for you.
When leads come in from your Facebook Ads, they’re automatically populated into your CRM, allowing you to create communication drips so that contact is immediate and they’re directed down the lead funnel without you having to make a single click. Again, just like Google PPC ads, these should be a component of your lead generation strategy, not the whole kit and caboodle, but for agents looking to level up their game and become top producers in their market, diversifying their lead funnel with Facebook Ads is a must.
Where Does Real Geeks Come Up Short?
Real Geeks has a lot to offer, and we’ll be honest, we’re fans of their tools and all the ways they work together to create an overall strategy for real estate agents, but Real Geeks isn’t perfect. Here are some of the things we found left us wanting a little more.
Website Customization
Though there are some customization options, the Real Geeks websites are highly templated and there isn’t a lot you can do to create a customized experience for your visitors. For most agents, this isn’t a problem as long as the website is converting visitors into leads. But for real estate agents who have a very strong brand image and are looking for a specific aesthetic, layout, and design, you may run into some problems.
It’s worth mentioning here that most real estate websites struggle with this problem; this isn’t a unique issue for Real Geeks, so don’t discount this platform just because of this. If you feel like you need more customization options, make sure to check out our article on the six best real estate website builders of 2022.
Content Marketing Opportunities
Real Geeks’ websites have built-in blog sections, but the content management system, blogging resources, and strategies for content marketing are limited at best. For many agents, this isn’t a problem, but if you plan on leveling up your Google (and community) authority with an active blog to demonstrate your expertise in the real estate business, you’re not going to get many bells and whistles here.
For ardent content marketers, you’re probably going to be better off going completely custom; a WordPress site or even a site like Squarespace can provide you with the tools you need to get your content front and center.
Limited Agent Options on the Mobile App
Real Geeks offers a customized mobile app for agents to give to their customers and leads. Once logged into the app, the customer’s or lead’s experience is synced with their desktop website activity, importing their saved searches and favorited homes, now on a native mobile experience. This app is helpful, especially for clients who live in metropolitan areas where they may be frequently walking by real estate they want information on immediately.
However, the agent-facing mobile app—the one used to manage your CRM—is a little frustrating in its (lack of) capabilities, most notably the inability to respond to SMS messages in-app. Sure, you can switch over to the texting functionality of your phone for this, but not being able to respond in-app with a customer profile up in front of you is challenging.
Our Managing Editor, Emile L’Eplattenier, put together a list of the 29 Best Real Estate Apps for 2022. If you’re on the hunt for ways to improve your mobile real estate game, that’s a great place to start.
So… Is Real Geeks Worth It?
In short, yes. Real Geeks provides a comprehensive lead generation, website, and CRM strategy for real estate agents looking to break into the business, level up their game, or cement themselves as a top producer. There’s a decent monthly investment required in order to get the most out of Real Geeks, but agents who buy in will be rewarded with consistent positive return on investment (ROI).
That being said, Real Geeks isn’t a magic bullet. In order to get your money’s worth (and then some), you have to follow up relentlessly with your leads, stay top of mind with your current sphere of influence, and be proactive about expanding your reach beyond your organic following. Many agents who wind up frustrated with Real Geeks are so because their follow-up and lead nurturing game isn’t strong enough.
What Are Some Real Geeks Alternatives?
Real Geeks is far from the only provider of lead generation, website, and real estate CRM services. We suggest checking out our buyer’s guide for the Top 6 Real Estate Lead Generation Companies of 2022 as the best place to get started.
Where Can I Get Other Lead Generation Ideas to Use With Real Geeks?
Start by visiting our article, 37 Underrated Real Estate Lead Generation Ideas for 2022. Here, you’re going to get a fantastic overview of a ton of different ideas for real estate lead generation, including some great strategies to use on Real Geeks. After that, visit the popular How to Create a Real Estate Lead Generation Plan (+ Template) from real estate veteran Sean Moudry.
Your Turn
Have you used real estate lead generation platforms like Real Geeks before? Tell us about your experiences in the comments below, and if you’re sold on the platform, visit Real Geeks today to dig in.
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