In this post, we’re evaluating and answering the most common questions real estate agents have about Zale Media. Recently, while scrolling my Facebook feed, I came across an ad from a real estate agent in my community.
Since I love to study my competition, I clicked on the ad and found it was being supported through Zale Media.
I hadn’t heard of this company until I saw the ads being served in my community. So, I decided to dive in and learn more about the company and help real estate agents evaluate if this marketing channel is right for them.
In this guide, we’ll cover:
- How Zale Media works
- Is Zale Media legitimate?
- How much does Zale Media cost?
- Zale Media reviews
- And if Zale Media a good idea for generating leads
A quick disclaimer: I have no affiliation with the company. I reached out to Zale Media to learn more directly, but was unable to connect with them. Everything reviewed in this guide is based on what was published on their website at the time of writing, some assumptions are made, and this post reflects my opinion ONLY and should not be take as fact.
If you are considering working with Zale Media, make sure to do your own comprehensive research, validate any questions you have, and the information in this guide.
How Zale Media Works
Zale Media describes itself as a done-with-you marketing system for real estate professionals. The company’s goal is to help agents acquire more clients.
What I can infer from some of the content on their website, is the company helps you generate an automated marketing system through the use of Facebook ads (primarily) or Google ads. Those leads are integrated with their all-in-one customer relationship management software, or CRM software.
Their promise is that “because you out-right own the system, you’ll save money over time not having to pay a monthly service fee or retainer.”
Zale Media states they will help real estate agents target, set up ads, optimize campaigns, system integrations and CRM campaigns.
Is Zale Media Legitimate?
Zale Media appears to be a legitimate company, but that depends on what someone is defining as legitimate. They’re a real business, with real contact information, delivering a real service.
As I mentioned, I initially came across the company because a real estate agent in my market was using them to advertise and generate seller leads from Facebook.
However, I would add that they seem to have 71 complaints in the last 3 years from the Better Business Bureau. You can read more Zale Media reviews about the company by visiting the BBB.
So, if you’re defining legitimate as in “are they able to deliver results?” Then, that’s a different question and difficult to answer.
We can help you think through that question. Read on to learn how to decide if the leads are worth it.
How Much Do They Cost?
From their website, it’s a bit unclear of the exact pricing. Upon reviewing their “terms of service” page, I was able to gain insight into some of the prices you may incur working with Zale Media.
This by no means represents the total cost you will pay Zale Media or third-party providers.
Let’s look at some of the costs:
- Fees directly to Zale Media
- Fees going to third-party companies
On the company’s website, it states that customers shall pay provider fees as described on the checkout page of their site. When I click the link on their terms of service page, it takes me to a checkout page with the following prices (as of March 14th 2023).
At the time of writing, the cost appears to be $2,497.00 or $2,988 if you plan to pay in installments.
In addition to the payment to Zale Media, you can expect to possibly pay third-party fees, such as:
- Email or Phone Fees
- Advertising fees
- Domain Fees
I’m uncertain if there are minimum advertising spend limits with Zale Media. For example, some third-party marketing companies require a $600 per month ad spend on social media platforms.
Reading one review on the Better Business Bureau, they required a $300 minimum monthly spend. However, it’s unclear if that is company policy or only applied to that agent in that market.
Is Zale Media Worth It?
Let’s run through some hypothetical numbers and assumptions to get an idea if Zale Media is worth it for you as a real estate agent.
The various calculations are going to have assumptions that you need to validate and flesh out. For example, a large part of your success with Zale Media is likely to come down to your conversion rate.
In other words, what is your usual conversion rate from lead to customer? This is affected by your follow up systems, lead costs, effort, lead quality, real estate market, and more.
With that said, there are a few principles to keep in mind if we’re sticking to the Millionaire Real Estate Agent budget model.
- Start slow to validate
- Get a 10x return on your marketing dollars
Let’s look at a case where Zale Media is worth it and a case where it isn’t.
In the cases I outlined, your success is dependent on your market lead costs, your conversion rates, average home values, and average commission rates.
Some of this Zale Media offers to help with and a certain percentage is up to you.
Simply put, a certain percentage of your success comes down to you and your market. Run through an example like this to see if it might make sense for you.
Try to get an accurate idea of lead costs and conversion rates.
Who Zale Media Is For?
If you and I were sitting across a table from each other over a cup of coffee and I was consulting you on your real estate business, I would tell you this lead generation strategy is best for real estate agents who are established and have healthy cash flow (i.e. regular money coming in).
Exactly who Zale Media is for is 100 percent my opinion.
Given the high start up cost, I would recommend new agents or agents with erratic cash flow avoid a solution like this.
Let’s take our success case above and determine how many months it could take to break even given normal real estate timelines.
Often when a lead is generated, it takes 90 days or more to convert them to a paid client. You can determine this by looking at your own business.
For illustrative purposes, I’m going to assume 90 days from when a lead is generated to when it converts.
If this was your real estate business and we were reviewing your numbers, I would provide you with two important insights.
First, because of the high start-up cost I would suggest sticking with the program for longer than 12 months. Even after 12 months, our rate of return is only 6x. Remember, we’re looking to reach ten times.
Second, make sure you have the cash for the start up cost and marketing. You can see in the hypothetical example above it would take three months to breakeven.
For most new real estate agents or those with erratic cash flow, I would focus on other marketing channels to generate leads first.
If an agent decides to categorize the one-time CRM payment under “Communication and Technology”, according to the Millionaire Real Estate Agent, then an agent needs a gross commission income of around $100,000 per year.
Final Thoughts On Zale Media
Like any third-party marketing company offering to generate leads, the only real way to know if it works is to test it.
I would recommend real estate agents consider the company as a lead generation strategy if they have sufficient cash flow and funds. AND, they have optimized and squeezed out the juice of their current marketing channels.
When you compare Zale Media to monthly CRM solutions, like Liondesk, FollowUp Boss, or Pipedrive, you could afford a subscription to these CRM solutions for three years or more depending on your pricing plan.
Lastly, when it comes to any lead generation strategy that you don’t know if it will work, you need to take steps in reducing the risks.
Third-party lead generation strategies that require upfront payments and regular month payments represent a higher level of risk than the company that doesn’t charge a fee unless you close on a lead.
