AU2013101073A4 - Method and System for Real Estate Lead Generation - Google Patents

Abstract

A system and method for generating and sending direct, standardized, personalized and dynamic real estate marketing leads through email, electronic means and software to agents by matching the attributes provided by both the vendor and agent. The primary attributes include the listing type, days for financial transaction, suburb and postcode to provide a personalized service to both the vendor and the agent. By providing a platform for the communication of messages, decisions and proposals, financial transactions are incurred on successful matches within a timeframe provided on the vendor's form. The platform also provides a standardized table view for the display of real estate proposals for the vendor to decide on the vendor's best option. The transaction is then tracked using an algorithm that can be automatically activated on a predetermined basis to perform numerous operations such as messaging, warnings, emailing, issuing invoices and contacting debt collection agencies.

Description

1 TITLE Method and System for Real Estate Lead Generation 2 TECHNICAL FIELD This invention relates to a method and system for real estate lead generation. This system is used as an automated, personalized, standardized and dynamic lead generation and marketing system for the agent. This invention also acts as a service for the vendor. This invention is a business process achieved through the use of IT technologies. To simplify the description, system and business process are to be used interchangeably.

3 BACKGROUND The following invention relates to a real estate lead generation system for both the vendor (person or company utilizing real estate service) and the agent (person or company providing real estate service). This invention solves a number of issues with the real estate industry. The methods utilized by the real estate industry have remained largely unchanged. There have been minor changes to the way that prospective vendors search to buy or rent real estate but there has not been changes in the way vendors sell or lease their real estate. Currently, if the vendor wants to sell or lease their real estate, they need to approach each individual real estate agent to obtain a quote for their service, marketing proposal, services offered, terms of the agreement and also the advertising provided. This is a very time consuming and inefficient method in today's society. To get the best product, the vendor will need to contact multiple real estate agents, request an appraisal; which could take weeks and then undertake the tedious process in trying to decipher the package and compare them side by-side. This lack of standard has made it very difficult for vendors to find the best package that suit their needs. This lack of standard also puts the vendor in a disadvantaged position whilst they analyse the different marketing proposals such as price, services offered and also the experience of the agent.

4 There is a need for a computerised system that automatically provides the agent with personalized and direct marketing leads for the sale or rental of real estate in a standardized and efficient manner. The integrated system shall also provide the vendor with the marketing proposal required for the sale or rental of real estate in a standardised, easy to understand and efficient method. Whilst there is software that allows vendors to find agents based on certain attributes in a form, there is nothing that delivers customized and personalized leads to suit the needs of the agent and the vendor. Lead generation is a process of generating consumer interest or to inquire into a businesses product or services. This can be through various means such as e-brochures, mailing lists, Internet and print media such as magazines, letter drops and newspapers. The problem with these media is the inefficiency and significant trade off in targeted marketing compared to mass-market reach. For example, targeted marketing would mean getting the message across to everyone who may be interested in the real estate service; this could be investor's from across the country, people moving interstate, etc. These people would not necessarily be on the agent's mailing list so to reach this audience is almost impossible. By reaching a wide audience such as TV and Radio, it is also almost impossible to determine the conversion rate from utilizing these expensive and inefficient methods for a small geographic specific market. This invention solves this problem. Rather than providing wide scale advertising, the vendor and the agent will be provided with targeted, personalized and dynamic real estate leads through a system as they occur in real time to reduce their marketing costs and also to provide a higher conversion ratio.

5 Recent changes to technology and the introduction of IT infrastructure such as social media, personalized websites and Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) has introduced a new market for IT professionals to help promote businesses and provide marketing leads; however, with the limited geographic scope of the individual real estate offices, social media lacks the ability to specifically target audience that require a real estate service within the agents prospecting area. For example, social media experts can assist an agent in obtaining a Twitter or Facebook account and obtain followers; however, the followers may come from across the country or around the world and as such, does not provide the targeted lead for future real estate transactions. This is due to the agent's limited geographic reach. As a result, a majority of the time, this type of marketing is only suitable for organisations/companies that have a wide market reach compared to real estate agencies focused on a few suburbs/postcodes. This invention solves this problem by providing direct and personalized leads based on the agents prospecting area. Transaction tracking has traditionally been an extremely difficult process in lead generation. Marketing leads have traditionally utilized a fixed cost regime for the service, but this lacks the ability for the service provider to cash in on the results of a commission-based campaign. Traditionally, this meant using a person to manually track these transactions or relying on the agent to act honestly and to alert the service provider a transaction has occurred. This is inefficient and expensive to maintain. This invention solves this problem through an autonomous system which tracks various public, private and government databases to determine whether a transaction has taken place and automatically alerts the service provider with the details of the transaction.

6 OBJECT OF INVENTION The objective of this invention is to provide a real estate lead generation system or method that generates standardized, personalized and dynamic user focused marketing leads using attributes provided by both the vendor and the agent. Through the systems standardized views, the agent's proposals are ranked according to their feedback to assist the vendor in selecting the best agent for the job. The holistic system shall also provide a means for the automatic tracking of marketing leads throughout the process to ensure all transactions are accounted for in a timely and efficient manner.

7 SUMMARY OF INVENTION For the purpose of this invention, vendor herein refers to a person, company or organisation utilizing a real estate service For the purpose of this invention, agent herein refers to a person, company or organisation providing a real estate service. For the purpose of this invention, user herein refers to a person, company or organisation utilizing or providing a real estate service. The invention could be said to reside in a system for real estate lead generation, the system including Attribute obtaining means for obtaining the attributes from the vendor and agent requiring/providing a real estate service; the attributes are used as the requirements for the storage, processor, message and transaction of real estate services Storage means for storing the attributes for matching within a database, preferably a database software, Processor means the microprocessor-based system with software used for matching and tracking the attributes from the vendor and the agent; the software processes the data from storage and messages, Message means for the generation of a message for the vendor and/or agent whereby the attributes match the user's requirement; this is used for providing details of the lead and/or communicating any changes to the agent or vendor requirement, Profile means the default agent details that the agent has provided the system for storage to simplify and reduce the time required to fill in attributes, Account meaning the dashboard on the users account allowing the user to view the standardized messages, change attributes and view reports, Proposal means to message the vendor and/or agent with details of a real estate transaction to the account and/or user directly, 8 Transaction means for a real estate service that has been provided and/or utilized; this can be for either the agent and/or the vendor, Timeframe for financial transaction meaning the period of time attribute the vendor has selected for a real estate transaction to occur, Feedback obtaining means for obtaining feedback from a vendor whereby the feedback herein is used for ranking the agent on the vendor's account/dashboard, Transaction tracking means the algorithm used to automatically check the users attributes and profile against public, private and government databases for real estate transactions and for generating the messages. Using the invention, the system may generate personalized, standardized and dynamic leads for both the vendor and the agent. The leads are generated based on the user's attributes and sent out to the agent as a message. For example, the agent may receive marketing leads when the vendor and agent's listing type, suburb, postcode and timeframe for financial transaction attributes match. In one form, the agent may set up a profile with their preferred attributes and may be saved within storage. These attributes are selected and adjusted such that only when the attributes meet the threshold, a message is sent to the agent. In another form, the vendor may enter their real estate attributes into the system and stored in the database for the processor. Once the attribute matching software processes the attributes, a message will be sent to the agent either immediately or at a predetermined time. The vendor's form may have different attributes dependent on the attributes selected, for example, if the listing type is set to for lease, only attributes applicable to for lease will be visible, this includes rental period and expected rental price. This is to provide specific and targeted attributes for the system to process. All vendors will have the same form to fill in, but the attributes required are dependent on other attributes selected.

9 In a preferred form, a message is sent to the user with a link to the users account via email. This is to maximise time on the system and to provide details on the standardized table view for consistency. In a preferred form, the agents profile is automatically filled into the agent's proposal to the vendor. The prefilled form is used to increase the efficiency of the system. Individual vendor specific marketing plans, services offered, commission and real estate transaction specific details are required for every proposal submitted. The message will provide the vendor with the details of the proposal via email link to the vendor's account. All agents have the same form to fill in, but the attributes selected are personalized to suit the requirements of the agent. The vendor and the agent will have different dashboards with the users relevant messages and attributes. The user's account is dynamically updated with entries from storage and the processor prior to being displayed on the user's standard table view. The table can be viewed side-by-side and rearranged by simply dragging and dropping. A person skilled in the art will be able to replicate this feature. Only relevant real estate details as specified through the attributes shall be shown on the user's dashboard. The agent's account shows all the real estate that has been submitted by the vendor and matches the agent's attributes. This message shall only be visible for a predetermined period of time and will then be archived for simplicity and speed. The agent has the ability to select the real estate that they would like to submit a proposal for. The vendor's account shows all the proposals that have been submitted by the agents in a standardized table view. The proposals shall be sorted based on the agent's ranking. The agent's ranking is based off feedback provided from previous real estate transactions.

10 The agent feedback is obtained from the vendor with all completed transactions. The feedback obtained includes a 1-5 scale and a cumulative average is used to generate a score out of 5, this is used for ranking the agent. The vendor has the option of selecting the most appropriate proposal. By selecting the proposal, a message shall be sent to the agent alerting them of the transaction. The processor sends messages directly to the user's account and email using data from storage. In a preferred form, this is automated. The vendor's form shall form the basis for transaction tracking. This shall be achieved using the listing type and expected timeframe for financial transaction. The transaction tracking system shall utilize public, private and government databases to provide the data for the transaction tracking system. In the preferred form, the system shall be autonomous, however, may also be manually activated. A person skilled in the art shall be able to obtain the relevant real estate listing and real estate transaction date from these databases. In a preferred form, the algorithm checks the real estate's address attribute against the public databases for listing date and compares it against the agent's initial proposal date. If the list date occurs within the vendor's timeframe for financial transaction and the agent on the database matches the proposal submitted, it is assumed a transaction has occurred. If a real estate has been listed and the listing agent matches a proposal submitted, the system will then check the government databases to determine whether the real estate transaction has completed within the vendor's timeframe for financial transaction, if it has occurred within this period of time, a real estate transaction is assumed to be completed.

11 In it's preferred form; the transaction tracking system shall automatically perform various operations if a match is found. In the automatic form, the system may be programmed to operate at a fixed or variable time period. The system will utilize an algorithm to determine the operation at a specific point in time. Operations may include sending reminder messages, sending invoice, conduct automated financial transactions, and or contacting relevant debt collectors. These operations will contact the user alerting them an operation has occurred.

12 DESCRIPTION OF DIAGRAMS For a better understanding the invention will be described with references to an illustrated embodiment. The drawings describe an illustrated embodiment where in, Figure 1 Algorithm for Transaction Tracking, Figure 2 Description of the variables in the algorithm, Figure 3 Block Diagram for Invention, Figure 4 Flowchart for invention, Figure 5 Standard Vendor Form, Figure 6 Vendor form with For Lease selected, Figure 7 Vendor form with For Sale selected, Figure 8 Standardized Table View on the agent's account/dashboard, Figure 9 Standardized Table view for the vendor's account/dashboard, 13 DESCRIPTION Figure 1 Algorithm for Transaction Tracking, Figure 2 Description of the variables in the algorithm, Figure 3 shows the block diagram for the real estate lead generation and transaction tracking system. Each of the individual processes is numbered between 1 and 12. The individual numbers in the block diagram will be referenced using the #. For example, 1 within Figure 1 Algorithm for Transaction Tracking, Figure 2 Description of the variables in the algorithm, [1] Figure 3 will be referred to as #1. Figure 1 Algorithm for Transaction Tracking, Figure 2 Description of the variables in the algorithm, Figure 3 Block Diagram for Invention, [2] Figure 4 shows the flow diagram for the messages between the vendor and the agent. Each of the individual processes is numbered between A to I. The letters will be referenced using the #. For example, A within will be referred to as #A. The system provides a means for obtaining the attributes from both the vendor and the agent. The forms #1 and #2 are both web based registration form as shown in Figure 1 Algorithm for Transaction Tracking, Figure 2 Description of the variables in the algorithm, Figure 3 Block Diagram for Invention, Figure 4 Flowchart for invention, Figure 5 Standard Vendor Form, 14 Figure 6 and Figure 1 Algorithm for Transaction Tracking, Figure 2 Description of the variables in the algorithm, Figure 3 Block Diagram for Invention, Figure 4 Flowchart for invention, Figure 5 Standard Vendor Form, Figure 6 Vendor form with For Lease selected, [3] Figure 7 respectively. The web-based form is dynamic and will change dependent on the listing type attribute selected. Personal details and attributes are saved in storage #4. [4] The vendor form #1 includes attributes such as real estate details, personal details and estimated timeframe to transaction. The required attributes for attributes matching #5 include suburb, postcode, listing type and estimated timeframe to transaction. Figure 5 or similar shows the possible attributes, however, may be varied to suit the vendor's requirement. [5] The estimated time frame to transaction in the vendor's form is used by the transaction tracking system. This is the time limit where commission may be collected on a real estate transaction. For example, if a real estate transaction occurs after a proposal has been submitted and the sold date or the list date occurs within the timeline to sell, commission may be required. If the sold transaction occurs outside this range, no payment shall be received. The estimated time frame shall be in the form of a drop down box with the following range, up to 1 month, up to 3 months, up to 6 months, up to 12 months and 15 testing the market. Testing the market does not incur any commission if sold outside the 12 months range. [6] In its preferred form, SPAM prevention technologies such as CAPTCHA and geolocation may be used to limit a fixed number of real estate per 24-hour period per Internet Protocol (IP) address. This is used to ensure that all leads provided are true leads for the agent and to maintain the reputation of the system. Geolocation may also be used to restrict access only to IP's located within Australia. A restriction shall also be in place for repeat address attributes per time period. This shall be implemented on the vendor's address attribute. A person skilled in the art shall be capable of implementing these industry standard tools using PHP and SQL scripting. [7] The agent profile form #2 allows the agent to set up their generic profile page. This data will be saved in storage #4 and can automatically fill in an agent's proposal to the vendor if selected. This is to increase the efficiency of the system as details such as ABN, address, contact details, and years of experience seldom changes and would represent a significant distraction from the core system. This system however does not allow all fields to be automated to ensure a personalized marketing proposal is delivered to the vendor. This includes mandatory updates to the commission, advertising campaign, marketing proposal and property specific proposals to the vendor prior to any submissions. [8] The storage system #4 is a data storage system, and in it's preferred form; a database software running on a microprocessor computer system. In this case, a SQL database running on the LAMP environment. The database tables are used to hold the data within the database system. A person skilled in the art shall be familiar with this environment and storage mechanism.

16 [9] The processor #12 is a microprocessor device running some form of software and Input and Output (1/O) capabilities to interact with the data from storage and to generate an output or data. The software shall preferably be programmed in PHP scripting on the LAMP environment. [10] A lead is preferably any real estate detail provided by the vendor for the purpose of obtaining a real estate service. Preferably, even limited details provided, such as the real estate's address, vendor's name/contact detail, or suburb/postcode shall also be defined as a lead. [11] All leads shall preferably be processed by the transaction tracking software #8. Leads shall preferably incur a commission should a real estate transaction occur, whether provided by the agent or by public, private or government databases. [12] The attributes matching system #5, is a data matching software running on a processor and can be used to periodically or in real time interrogate the database automatically (as soon as the lead provided by the vendor) to match the vendor's real estate attributes to that of the agent's attributes. In its preferred form, as soon as the vendor's form is submitted and saved to the database; the software will automatically match the postcode, suburb and listing type attributes to that of the agent. [13] The messages #5 may be tailored to limit the number of marketing leads received per day. [14] The message includes the processes as seen in Figure 3. This includes sending the lead #A which is sent directly to the agent's account in the standardized table view #7. The agent reviews the leads and submits a proposal #B which is sent directly to the vendor's table view #7. The vendor will then review the proposals which have been ranked using the feedback provided by previous transactions #C. Once 17 the vendor has reviewed the proposals, the vendor can then decide to accept the agent's proposal #D and all details are provided to the agent. The agent will then list the real estate for the real estate transaction #E. The agent will then close the transaction, once the transaction has completed and this is achieved automatically by checking the various databases. The vendor will then be given the ability to provide the agent with feedback on the service. [15] In the preferred form, the proposal submitted #B is a personalized message including marketing plan, commission, advertising provided, and tailored to the individual needs of the vendor and the agent. The proposal #B shall have the business details prefilled automatically to increase efficiency. [16] In the preferred form, a completed transaction #F may refer to a real estate that is publicly advertised. In another form, a completed transaction #F may refer to a real estate that has been sold and or rented. [17] The vendor can complete the feedback form #3 once the real estate transaction is completed #F. [18] In the preferred form, the feedback form #3 has 5 different parameters which need to be rated between 1 to 5 where 1 is the worst and 5 is the best. A text-based comment shall also be requested for the purpose of providing qualitative feedback. [19] In another form, the feedback rank may be calculated by taking the cumulative average. This allows the 5 different parameters to be ranked based on its importance. For example Parameter Cumulative Score Total Communication 0.3 5 1.5 18 Achievement 0.2 4 0.8 Experience 0.3 3 0.9 Ease to work with 0.1 2 0.2 Would use again 0.1 1 0.1 TOTAL 1 15 3.5 [20] In the preferred form, the cumulative average feedback score is the default sorting algorithm for the standardized table view #7. The table will display the agent score from highest to lowest to assist the vendor's selection. The vendor can then click on the agent to see more details. An agent with no prior transaction will start off with a zero score. [21] In a preferred form, agents have the option of exporting the feedback to allow them to develop their customer service procedures. This will assist the agent in developing their professional image and capabilities as a business [22] In another preferred form, the agent has the option of requesting the completion of a survey from previous vendors for the purpose of analysing their real estate performance. The agent may tailor the survey to obtain the relevant survey data. The standardized table view #7 can only be seen within the user's account and dashboard. The agent's standardized table view is shown in Figure 1 Algorithm for Transaction Tracking, Figure 2 Description of the variables in the algorithm, Figure 3 Block Diagram for Invention, Figure 4 Flowchart for invention, Figure 5 Standard Vendor Form, 19 Figure 6 Vendor form with For Lease selected, Figure 7 Vendor form with For Sale selected, Figure 8 and the vendor's standardized table view is shown in Figure 1 Algorithm for Transaction Tracking, Figure 2 Description of the variables in the algorithm, Figure 3 Block Diagram for Invention, Figure 4 Flowchart for invention, Figure 5 Standard Vendor Form, Figure 6 Vendor form with For Lease selected, Figure 7 Vendor form with For Sale selected, Figure 8 Standardized Table View on the agent's account/dashboard, [23] Figure 9. The agent and the vendor shall have different dashboards and will only show the details that are relevant to the specific party. [24] The standardized table view #7 will tailor the output specific to the users to provide dynamic and personalized messages to a particular user's needs. [25] In the standardized table view #7, the agent has the option of submitting a proposal by clicking on a button that brings up the automatically prefilled proposal form to increase efficiency and to allow the agent to fill in the personalized details to complete the proposal.

20 In the vendor's account, the standardized table view #7 will have the option to review the individual agreements in a standardized view as seen in Figure 1 Algorithm for Transaction Tracking, Figure 2 Description of the variables in the algorithm, Figure 3 Block Diagram for Invention, Figure 4 Flowchart for invention, Figure 5 Standard Vendor Form, Figure 6 Vendor form with For Lease selected, Figure 7 Vendor form with For Sale selected, Figure 8 Standardized Table View on the agent's account/dashboard, [26] Figure 9. The system shall also have a sorting option that allows the user to sort the proposals by experience, cost of commission and feedback. By ranking them from the highest to lowest, or lowest to highest, this will allow the vendor to easily select the best option to suit the vendor's need. Once the vendor is satisfied, they can appoint an agent on the spot and more messages #6 will be generated alerting the agent that a proposal has been accepted. [27] The technology used for the standardized table view #7 in its preferred form is jQuery. This framework allows for standard tools such as drag and drop, table sorting without refreshing the page and dynamic data updates. This is used to allow users to move the data around and to seek the best comparison suitable to their requirements. This option also allows a user to hide specific messages so that they review only the relevant ones. However, alternative technologies may also be used.

21 [28] In one form, the standardized table view #7 will also recommend to the vendor the "best values", which is preferably based on the lowest commission value, and "most experienced", based on the agent's profile and experiences on the system. [29] In the preferred form, the standardized table view #7 does not show any vendor contact details until an agent's proposal has been submitted. This increases the level of privacy and ensures the vendor's best interests are maintained. This is unless the vendor has specified in the form that they prefer the details to be provided immediately. [30] The message #5 process is preferably in the form of an email or PHP Mail. However, in one form, the message #6 may also be sent through a GSM service and delivered as an SMS (Short Messaging Service) or to an Apple Device via the proprietary technology iMessage. [31] In one form, after the initial message and proposal has occurred, vendor and agent contact details are now visible on the standardized table view #7. This may then allow for alternative communication methods such as face-to-face, over the phone, or direct email. The agent is still required to update the system and alert of any changes to the real estate transaction. [32] In one form, the messages sent to the user will provide the option for an opt-out. The messaging system shall preferably have the ability to respond to an "STOP" reply to prevent any future correspondence from coming through. [33] The feed encoder and decoder #10 is pivotal to the cross database transfer of information across the Internet. In its preferred form, the transaction tracking software #8 will provide a list of properties that needs to be analysed by the external databases. This list will then be converted to XML using the feed encoder and decoder process #10 to facilitate the cross database transfer. #11 is a web service using inbuilt 22 PHP functions. The XML file will then be sent to the remote database via the data provider's platform. This is proprietary to the data provider. A person skilled in the art will understand the coding requirements. [34] The data from the external databases utilize proprietary software that will parse the XML file and will return the following details back to the transaction tracking software #8 and storage #4 through the decoder #10 and then stored back to storage #4. The following attributes requested will be the last listing date, last sold date and agent/salesperson responsible for the last sale. The external databases may include providers such as the titles office, residential tenancy authorities and REA. [35] The Message process #9 is specific to the transaction tracking software #8. The messages generated include sending out emails from the system to the users alerting them of changes. This may include transaction found, transaction completed, invoicing, requests to update the platform and the notification of debt collectors. The messages provide the users with a link to the system so that the changes required are made and that communication is made where required. The messages are dynamic and specific to the agent's transaction position. Messages are sent out via email and invoices are sent out using FPDF, a free PHP PDF generator. [36] The transaction tracking software #8 will automatically complete the last stage of the real estate transaction. Where the vendor has appointed the agent, the system will track the transaction against the external databases to determine whether a transaction has occurred using the algorithm in Figure 1. This is the final stage of the system. [37] The commission shall be in the form of a fixed percentage of the selling price, but a fixed price or equation based system may also be used.

23 [38] The invention is a platform for generating and providing targeted leads with the ability to track the entire lead generation process down to the transaction.

Claims (5)

1. A system for real estate lead generation, the system including attributes obtaining means for obtaining real estate attributes from a vendor seeking a real estate service, attributes obtaining means for obtaining real estate attributes from an agent providing a real estate service, feedback obtaining means for obtaining feedback from a vendor whereby the feedback being used for ranking the agent on the vendor's account/dashboard, survey obtaining means for obtaining feedback from the vendor whereby the data received may be provided to the agent for analysis, attribute matching means for a software running on a microprocessor that matches the attributes provided by the user, message means for the generation of a message for the user whereby the attributes match the user's requirement, this is used for providing details of the lead, decisions and communicating any changes to the vendor or agent requirement, proposal means to message the vendor and/or agent with details of a real estate transaction to the account and/or user directly, standardized table view means the dashboard allowing users to view, edit, send and accept real estate proposals, personalized meaning that the message is generated for only that specific agent or vendor, transaction means for a real estate service that has been provided and/or utilized; this can be for either the agent and/or the vendor, and transaction tracking means the algorithm used to automatically check the users attributes and profile against public, private and government databases for real estate transactions and for generating the messages. 25

2. A real estate lead generation system wherein claim 1 whereby attributes matching is achieved by matching the vendor's and agent's listing type, suburb and post code attributes

3. A real estate lead generation system wherein claim 1 and claim 2 whereby the marketing leads are delivered to the vendor's and agent's account in an standardized and personalized table view

4. A real estate lead generation system wherein claim 1, 2 and 3 whereby the vendor can leave the agent feedback for the purpose of ranking the agent's proposal on the vendor's table view.

5. A real estate lead generation system wherein claim 1 and 2, whereby an algorithm automatically checks government, public and private databases to issues messages, invoices, transactions and contacting debt collection agencies.