How Can Agents Compete in a Hot Market? Tried and Tested Tips to Get Noticed in a Crowded Marketplace

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?

What Buyers and Sellers Want from their Agent

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:

• Market knowledge
• Engagement
• Honesty
• Accessibility

Your marketing efforts should, therefore, focus on projecting these qualities to your potential audience. What's the best way to achieve that?

Start by Defining Your Audience and Value

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.

Stand Out with Your Listing Presentations

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:

• Analytics on your listings
• Sales stats
• The services you provide
• Number of showings
• The average time your properties spend on the market
• The average time your buyers spend looking
• Knowledge of the local market
• Original, interesting photographs

Stand Out with Content Marketing and Social Media Marketing

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:

• Original research on topics your clients care about
• Links to long-form guides and e-books that offer useful information
• Videos that explain hard-to-understand concepts in simple terms
• Promote 3D virtual tours of the properties you are marketing

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.

What Not to Do to Compete

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:

• Pushing listings too hard: The last thing you want is for your social media or blog to just be about promoting your listings. If so, you're missing out on developing relationships that will lead to new clients. Instead, you seem overly promotional and solely focused on sales.
• Venting or ranting on social media: Don't badmouth other agents or your clients. No one wants to work with someone who will air their worst moments, even if it is justified. Send official complaints about other agents to the proper authorities.
• Posting excessive personal information: You want your clients to connect with you, but on a professional level. You don't want to seem self-absorbed, or like you don't understand the difference between your personal and professional life.

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.