Since the real estate market has exploded, sellers are selling their homes in minutes, the millennials are in full force buying homes and let’s not forget the insurgence of HGTV into our living rooms which all told has made real estate sales seem very sexy, very popular and seemingly very easy to obtain.
The truth of the matter is that because the Realtor population has grown to an all- time high of over 1.3 million, it has made getting clients more competitive than ever!
If you are new to the business and struggling to get sales, you may have noticed that it is much harder to get rich than what was portrayed on HGTV. Buyers and sellers aren’t just waiting on the sidewalks for you to drive by and pick them up.
Maybe you thought Zillow and REaltor.com were where all the leads came from, and so you immediately signed up for a few hundred dollars a month to get them. To your dismay you quickly discovered that you are actually competing with hundreds of other agents fighting over the same lead. Another quick observation might be that you learned in real estate school that doing open houses was the way to get buyers and sellers and so by doing what every other Realtor was told to do as a standard practice, isn’t working either..
Frustrated at this point, you might be thinking, then how will I ever be able to compete with all these other agents and make a living? How will I find motivated Buyers and Sellers? And how will I get them to pick ME over everyone else?
Answer: PROVIDE VALUE!
Compete with Other Real Estate Agents by Providing Value
Before we begin out journey down the provide value road, I want to clarify that a lot of Realtors give a lot of lip service to the promise of providing value for their client” and then under deliver on that promise.
What Great Customer Service Really Means
The same thought using different words is “I give great customer service.” This is a statement I see all over some agents websites and on email signatures and much to my surprise they end up being the worst agents to coop with in the business.
Providing value and giving good service is an all-encompassing practice. Are you giving your seller client good service when you don’t return a phone call from a coop agent with an interested buyer?
You can’t just state “ I give great customer service!” You must stand behind your words and really provide a value through words and deeds that is outstanding like no other. It is pretty easy if you just DO what you say you are going to DO!
Years ago when we promised our buying and selling public that “I really care”, they believed us because people were more trusting back then and it was a fresh approach. But Frankly no one is buying that anymore. They have seen and heard these words and pie crust promises too many times and they have become cliché and over used.
Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely believe that most of us care about our fellow humans and are well meaning, but how many of you know how to back up your words on a consistent and without fail system?
Consistent Value as a Realtor
Provide value and give excellent service on a consistent basis, using a system.
Remember earlier when I wrote, “hundreds of agents are competing for the same lead”. I am going to tie this all together I promise.
Are you one of the agents I mentioned earlier that are fighting for the same lead, paying Zillow thousands of dollars? It might seem like you are on a gravy train for now with an easy lead coming to you here and there.
Zillow Replacing Realtors – How to Compete
Consider this: Have you read about Zillow and their Seller and iBuyer programs where agents are really not needed to do help a seller sell their home or a buyer can access a property without an agent?
What happens when Zillow takes over your customer data base that they provided for you through the leads you received from them. They are a large conglomerate with a lot of money and can offer your/their client huge discounts to work with them and not you! Buying leads is not a solution to growing an outstanding business, just an easy fix to get a customer here and there and continue to fight with other agents.
You are much better off to Build amazing long lasting relationships with your clients so they come to you and only you to buy or sell!
You can fend off other agents, build relationships and provide value all at the same time by being different!
Look for ideas to sell your services differently and sell your listings differently. Think outside the box, pay attention to the latest real estate trends and if they have value. Notice what cutting edge realtors that are NOT in your market are doing. You can copy and tweak those ideas to make them fit into your market.
I don’t mean you have to entirely reinvent the wheel. Some of the strategies that worked in the past will still work today. It just depends. I will clarify that statement by saying that most advertising is now done online via Facebook, Google and Websites.
Using New, Modern, and Non-traditional Realtor Marketing Strategies
That does not mean that in some markets newspaper ads and magazines no longer work. Small towns folks still read local papers and boat, tennis and golf enthusiasts still subscribe to magazines. That is a place that might be optimum for you to advertise, especially if you are involved in these activities locally as well.
Do some research before you spend the money. Look at the perspective ROI.
What is the circulation of a magazine and what kind of innovative ad will get that segment of the populations attention? Going to where your potential clients are first, instead of trying to get them to come to you first is a much better way to generate business. A lot of real estate deals happen on a golf course for instance.
Another suggestion would be that your ad would be a philanthropic one letting fellow golfers know you are sponsoring a charity on behalf of your local golf club. This hits many points, provides value, build relationships and help others!
Make your marketing about how to help the struggles of the consumer and what’s in it for them.
The old style ads talking about how ‘Great” you are, are gone with the wind. Everyone wants to know what is in it for them and what you can provide to help them with their problems with regards to buying or selling homes. That attracts attention.
One exception would be if you are stating your sales statistics (how many homes you sold this year and how fast) while at the same time telling the potential client how those statistics will help them negotiate a sweet deal. That would cause a person to look at the ad in a different light. Especially if they had a bad experience with a non- professional realtor that did not know the first thing about how to negotiate a great deal for their client.
Another idea that you might consider for luxury properties is to let the potential client know you can connect them with a network of affluent people through your affiliation with a club or organization of people who can afford to buy your expensive home.
Summary
That is thinking outside the box.
We all want to attract people to work with us now and for years to come. We can beat out the competition. Start out doing it right: Provide value, live up to your promises and build wonderful long-lasting relationships using a tried and true system of consistent contacts with your sphere.
Build a dream business and they will come.