In every market there are new real estate agents getting into the market and agents that want to change their marketing to generate more business. For most agents that means starting off with a strategy that is based around them and their “image”. After all, people are “buying into you” when they are buying a home right?
Abandoning Image-Centric Marketing
While personal branding can have some beneficial impacts, it should not be the central focus of real estate agent marketing. Instead, agents should prioritize lead generation and emphasize value to potential clients. By shifting the focus away from branding, agents can optimize their marketing budgets by investing in strategies that yield a higher number of leads and, consequently, more closed transactions.
The misconception that your brand is all about you is what leads people to create postcards, magazine ads, and websites with huge pictures of themselves. Sadly as home buyers and sellers rush to the market in cities all across the country, they aren’t saying “Wow, I hope I can find an agent with a huge picture who is honest and has integrity”. It doesn’t happen!
To generate phone calls, emails, and text messages of eager buyers and sellers real estate agents should focus on lead generation efforts that meet the needs of their potential customers. . A focus on the number of leads that you can generate from each marketing piece will keep your costs low and allow you to cut your budget should one of your campaigns not result in new business.
Now that you understand that personal branding is a form of marketing that won’t be driving people to your door, where should one focus to get results? The first step to getting more leads that turn into transactions comes in deciding on your marketing message.
A Marketing Message Generates Calls Monthly
A marketing message is NOT a slogan. A slogan is something like “Everything I Touch Turns To Sold” or “Honest Service for 22 years”. These messages aren’t compelling and certainly won’t get anyone to pick up the phone. No one is out there looking for a dishonest real estate professional, so stating that you are “honest” isn’t making a statement at all!
A marketing message is a statement that saves someone time or money (sometimes both). It is best to have buyer messages and seller messages as they have different needs. These messages can be included on any real estate agent marketing and should be prominent to compel a total stranger to pick up the phone and want to get more information.
Take the following seller marketing message:
I Sell Homes 21 Days Faster And For 2.1% More Money Than The Average Agent
That marketing message saves someone time and money! Put this on a postcard and watch your phone ring. This message is specific and will work in any market because it saves someone money (2.1% more in the seller’s pocket) and it saves someone time (21 days faster). You could easily test this postcard and your traditional “slogan” card by sending them both out to the same group of people and see which one generates more phone calls. Keep the card that generates the most calls and keep running it.
Effective real estate agent marketing generates calls every month. Every six months the needs of the market can change (sometimes even faster. Take time to track the number of calls and the transactions you are closing from each of your marketing pieces. If homes are selling fast without much effort with agents, then think of different challenges seller’s are running into (i.e. maybe they want to save on commissions, secure a larger home with greater ease, etc.)
By ensuring your focus on your real estate marketing is one that drives interested prospects to your phone, website, or social presence you’ll be able to hold your dollars accountable. Keep the focus on tracking your efforts and ensuring your message stands within the current market conditions.
