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Owner of Blue Gypsy Inc. and National Online Sales Counselor Trainer, Leah Fellows, is in the studio for today’s episode of Atlanta Real Estate Forum Radio. Joined by co-hosts Carol Morgan and Todd Schnick the group discusses Fellows’ company, as well as the highly anticipated results of the 2020 Online Homebuyer Mystery Shop Report conducted by Blue Gypsy Inc., Denim Marketing and Melinda Brody & Company.

Fellows has been working in the real estate industry for 14 years. Prior to joining the trade in 2006, she was a sailboat captain, a dive instructor and a backpacker for 13 years. By accident, Fellows joined the real estate track and hasn’t looked back since! In 2007, Fellows became an online sales counselor for a builder. After three years, she left and started her own company.

Blue Gypsy Inc. started as a remote sales counselor business that specialized in social media, newsletters and other online marketing strategies. After a few years, Fellows started traveling to builders in the area to train workers to become online sales counselors themselves.

“That perfect client is someone that really knows they need to change,” said Fellows. “They know they need to change and they’re willing to make a commitment from the top down. They understand that online sales is important, it’s the very top of the lead generation funnel.”

Fellows’ online sales program creates a way to track and hold individuals accountable for the various leads brought in by marketing efforts. Lead generation is key, but the follow-up process is just as important. To help prove the impact follow up has on lead conversions, Fellows created an interactive mystery shop survey.

In conjunction with Denim Marketing and Melinda Brody & Company, Fellows helped create the 2020 Online Homebuyer Mystery Shop Report. This report compares the follow-up efforts of 50 different home builders over the span of 30 days. The report showed that 58% of builders had online sales counselors (OSC), while 42% did not. Of the group that had OSCs, 97% were responsive to online inquiries and leads. Over 50% of the builders without OSCs were less responsive.

“When you don’t funnel all your leads to one source first, and you scatter them across, you’re not seeing how the entire process is being handled and working,” said Fellows.

The report also found that time between lead generation and follow up was significantly longer in builders without OSCs. The longest wait time for a follow-up email was 11 days, while the longest wait time for a follow-up phone call was seven days. The report outlines how inefficient waiting is and the devastating results it has on sales.

To learn more about the findings of the 2020 Online Homebuyer Mystery Shop Report, download the report here. Also, be sure to listen to the full interview below.

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Georgia Residential Mortgage Licensee, License #22564. NMLS ID #6606. Subject to borrower and property qualifications. Not all applicants will qualify. New American Funding and Blue Gypsy Inc. are not associated. Click here to view the terms and conditions of products mentioned during the show. Corporate office 14511 Myford Rd., Suite 100, Tustin, CA 92780. Phone: (800) 450-2010. (September/2020)

New American Funding is a family-owned mortgage lender with a servicing portfolio of over 123,000 loans for $30.4 billion, 198 branches, and about 3,100 employees. The company offers several niche loan products and has made Inc. 5000’s list of Fastest-Growing Companies in America six times. It has a state-of-the-art career training facility and develops innovative technology, including the GoGo LO mobile application. For more information, visit www.branch.newamericanfunding.com/Atlanta.

The Atlanta Real Estate Forum Radio “All About Real Estate” segment, presented by Denim Marketing, highlights the movers and shakers in the Atlanta real estate industry – the home builders, developers, Realtors and suppliers working to provide the American dream for Atlantans. For more information on how you can be featured as a guest, contact Denim Marketing at 770-383-3360 or fill out the Atlanta Real Estate Forum contact form. Subscribe to the Atlanta Real Estate Forum Radio podcast on iTunes, and if you like this week’s show, be sure to rate it.