Ryan Michaelis - Increasing Leads Through Digital Marketing in 2021

The main aim of many marketing agencies is to increase the number of leads they get. Whether it’s to drive more traffic to different platforms, gain awareness, or increase sales of an item or service, it’ll always have its importance. Businesses may be stuck in their marketing strategy ways and find their leads have plateaued. It’s always a good idea to gain new and innovative insight into adapting your plan and increasing leads. 

We had the chance to talk to Ryan Michaelis, who has experienced a lot of success in generating leads for his virtual agency. Although much of the world had to pivot and turn to online resources, Ryan provided a lot of advice on using this to your advantage. Digital marketing is increasingly growing each day and needs to be utilized to the max. 

In today’s Rediscover Marketing, we’ll dive into how an already virtual company can achieve growth through the pandemic due to the increased use of digital marketing. Alongside this, we’ll take a look at how customer retention is essential too and cannot be dismissed. 

Introducing Ryan Michaelis

Ryan Michaelis is the Chief Growth Officer at Worth Clark Realty. He started off being a real estate agent in Maryland for around two years and then moved to Missouri. While there, he got his real estate license in that state and went on to join Worth Clark. He produced a high-functioning team, and they became the number 1 leasing team in the state. 

The agency is a real estate brokerage headquartered in St Louis, Missouri but has expanded into several other markets. By the end of the year, they plan on adding around 4-6 more markets, so they’re growing quickly. 

Worth Clark Realty was already a virtual real estate agency pre-pandemic, so they were well equipped for when lockdown hit. Ryan even added that the pandemic helped the company grow more. In the past year, they managed to get 300 real estate agents to join their brokerage. 

Along his journey, Ryan got an offer to be a managing broker in the St Louis branch, which got him to start working in the office rather than out in the field. He did this for two years and doubles as the Business Development Director and mainly focused on recruiting. In 2018, they started to put a lot more emphasis on recruiting. 

As of last year, Ryan went into more of a full-time position which involved recruiting. The conversion rate was pretty high, and he says it got to the point where he was having 6-8 meetings a day with potential agents. The company has recently hired another full-time recruiter to help oversee the digital marketing department and assist with the expansion into new markets. 

The Impact of the Pandemic on a Virtual Agency 

Since Worth Clark Realty was already mainly online, there weren’t as many drastic changes that needed to be made when the pandemic hit. However, Ryan and his team used this time to reflect and grow. 

The company currently has 625 real estate agents, with a main staff of 10 people who work on the day-to-day operations. This team used to spend their days in the office, but they decided to adopt remote working at the staff level. The change allowed them to change their everyday work outlook, and they found themselves becoming more productive. 

Ryan and his team even received several compliments from agents saying that operations had become faster. He elaborated that being able to adjust as needed for agents on a staff level and maintain excellent support is crucial. This change allowed them to focus on this. 

Alongside better communication, Ryan stated that working remotely allows you to declutter and aim for a more unified goal. You’re able to be more relaxed than going into an office or attending unnecessary meetings. He believes that this strategy allows people to focus on their work and become more engaging. 

Gaining Leads and the Importance of Customer Retention 

Increasing leads is incredibly important for a company to grow, but this isn’t possible if you’re not looking after your customer retention rates as well. Ryan emphasized this and believed that agencies like his should provide as much support as they can. 

You’re already focusing on customer retention from the day you generate a new lead. If you can make them happy and excited as they join, this feeling can reflect the rest of their journey with you. 

Ryan and Worth Clark Realty generate their leads from an online marketing presence and use social media to provide a lot of positivity and support. For example, every time a new agent joins, they’ll promote them on social media with an introductory ‘Welcome to Worth Clark’. They also have awards each year which can generate excitement amongst all agents. 

Facebook and Google Ads are used to target prospective agents. Their approach is focused on the fact they offer 100% commission. However, instead of just stating that, they’ll follow on to why they need it. Doing this can catch the interest of potential newcomers and help with the growth in the long run. 

However, although this has turned out to be successful in generating leads, it doesn’t stop there. Ryan and his team have put more of a focus on customer service and retention than other agencies. They found that agents across the country have the number one complaint of little support from their brokerage. Therefore, Ryan ensures they provide the best of everything and make agent support their top priority. Calling agents every six months to see how they’re doing makes retention good because they live up to what they’re selling. 

Another insight that Ryan provided was that it’s good to have a regular review with your team and make it fun to track progress. When an agent joins the brokerage, the entire team will celebrate at meetings. They’ll usually have two meetings each week and catch up on what’s happening. Having these updates provides a unified approach and leads to a more productive team.