Have you ever noticed that despite the massive number of Realtors in your area, only a hand full are making a fortune selling real estate? Regardless of who these realtors work for; GMAC, Century 21, REMax, they are extremely successful where others in their office are barely scraping by. What is the secret to their success? First and foremost, it is their approach to marketing themselves and their customers.
So what techniques do they use to attract listings? Well, while the rest of us are placing door hangers and mailing out notepads, these super sales people have perfected marketing techniques that attract motivated buyers and sellers, and motivate them to take action. An example of one of the strategies that the best seller in my city uses is as follows:
1) Specialize: Despite the policy of never turning down a listing or qualified candidate, focus on specializing on the type of property that will best suit your performance goals. For the person in my area, single family attached homes provide the greatest return on investment and are turning over the fastest. This is where she is really making her money.
2) Geographic Specialization: When a person decides to sell his/her house, they will find a realtor either through referral, recognition of a local representative, or through the yellow/white pages and internet. By focusing your promotional efforts on a specific geography, you can increase your market presence so that you are the first phone call if a target client decides to sell their property, as well as first on the list if they ask a neighbor for referral. In addition, if you specialize in a specific area, people will recognize your name and be more inclined to trust you with their listing and to negotiate their deal.
3) Grow and harvest your area of geographic specialization: Focus your marketing message on the area of geographic specialization that you have chosen. If your area has a high rate of property turnover, then you will do very well. The most successful realtor in my area papers my door with her picture every Monday afternoon. In addition, she includes a list of properties in my neighborhood that are listed or for sale. Looking at the sales price of other properties is a good motivator for me to list my own home and take advantage of the capital gains.
4) Create a continual presence: Once you have chosen the type of property to specialize in, and the neighborhoods to cultivate listings, begin promoting. As a marketing manager, I am a big fan of postcards that are sent to target clients on a weekly basis. Generally, it will take about fifteen pieces of promotion before a client will remember your name, but when they decide to list, you will be the first phone call.
The overall goal is to attract as many viable listings as possible. Regardless of who eventually buys the property, as the listing agent, you get to take advantage of the commission. By focusing your time on marketing yourself to your most promising targets, you will save time and increase your listings substantially.
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Barrett Niehus is a Marketing Manager for IP Ware Residential Real Estate Investment Software http://www.realtysoftware.org for Realtors and real estate investors.
