September 09 2020
In a hot market, competition among real estate agents is fierce. Now more than ever, home buyers and sellers expect agents to be omnipresent, both online and in-person. Competition brings out the best in your fellow agents and can make it even more challenging to stand out.
Making the first connection with a seller or buyer is, thus, critical. According to the 2019 National Association of Realtors Report, 75% of buyers only interview one real estate agent, and the same percentage of sellers only contact one agent. How do you stand out so that you can be that first point of contact for sellers and buyers?
Real Estate Webmasters did some interesting research and found that buyers and sellers primarily find their real estate agent through referral or "their own network," meaning they knew the agent they chose. When selecting their real estate agent, people care most about:
Your marketing efforts should, therefore, focus on projecting these qualities to your potential audience. What's the best way to achieve that?
Which clients currently make you the most money? Those are the clients that you should be targeting. Do you know why those clients choose you? That is your value proposition—or what you offer. Having a firm grasp on these two elements of your business should help inform your marketing decisions.
Many real estate agents got into the industry because they could connect with people. So your listing presentations should be about connecting and offering the client what they are interested in. Here is essential information you must include to make your listing presentations stand out:
When you're focused on content marketing, you typically make your own content, as opposed to simply posting other people's content, as some people do for their social media marketing. Original content that is valuable and targeted at your ideal clients can truly enrich your social media efforts. Use it to demonstrate your market knowledge, skill and honesty, as clients want to work with people who appear to lead the field and share their concerns.
To truly stand out with your content marketing, consider these options:
What would your clients find most useful? That depends on exactly who they are. That's why having a good handle on your target audience is so important. If you focus on selling to young families, they may want to know about the best school districts. If you've been selling to people in a carpentry club, talk about the kind of woodworking projects that add the most value to a home. Be as specific and informative as you can.
That same research from Real Estate Webmasters found that the biggest deal-breakers for buyers and sellers were communication issues and lack of urgency. Failing to respond promptly, even on social media, may discourage clients from working with you. Being hard to understand and having typos may do the same.
You should also avoid these potential marketing tactics that reflect poorly on agents:
Standing out to clients is all about going that extra mile for them. If you stay focused on what they need and what would enrich them, instead of just on your business, you are sure to have more success.
To view the original article, visit the iGuide blog.