UPDATED 3-18-16
It’s 2016 and I want to give you one of the best real estate marketing tips that you may come across this year.
Ready….
The best real estate marketing tips are…drum roll please….
Overload any and all prospects with as much content as possible that answers all their questions and concerns. If you want to practice real estate this way, then you must know what content marketing is. Once you do, you can take the principles of content marketing and apply them to virtually everything you do in your real estate business in person and even online.
WHY?
Because people no longer want to be sold and real estate agents should not be in the business of selling anyone anything. They are in the business of helping people with their housing problems. If you want to sell real estate without having to close anybody, then this is how you do it.
What Is Content Marketing?
Content marketing is defined as creating informational content intentionally purposed for consumers who may be seeking that very information. You then use that content to attract potential business to you. Content can be anything that is informational in real estate for consumers. It could be a blog post, the way you give a listing presentation, or even the way you take inbound cold leads. It’s anything you present to an audience or potential client that educates them on your business vs. shoving some kind of sales pitch down someone’s throat.
For example: Someone might want to know how to sell and buy a house at the same time. I wrote an article about that very subject and ended up picking up some leads off of it. The leads found me through the article I wrote and promoted. In this case I was using content to create a blog post and then promote that blog post to the very audience that is seeking that information through Facebook ads. I know that this is a little advanced, but I want you to take the concept of content marketing and apply it to virtually everything you do in your real estate business.
You can find a link to that article here.
7 Steps To Selling & Buying A House At The Same Time
Let me tell you why you want to approach your business with a content based approach.
People hate to be sold. Have you ever enjoyed being sold anything? On the flip side everyone loves to be able to buy things. but as long as they are on their own terms. People like to arrive at their own decisions, not be told what to do. It should be our job to lay out all of their options so they can make their own decisions.
I recall my first year in the business over a a decade ago. I was showing a buyer client a condo and I will never forget the cheesy Realtor that was sitting in the open house of this new development. He was the stereotype of what so many people would think a Realtor is. He had huge teeth and a very creepy smile and he says to my client and I as we are walking out the door, “So should I get the ball rolling on this paperwork and tie this one up for you?”
My client was so annoyed because of the way he said it. It felt slimy and sleazy. At the time I didn’t know any better because I was so new to the game, but looking back at it I see that this incident had an effect to how I approached everything in my business.
I learned right away, because I was young, that I had to approach any potential lead with content overload. I learned to become an educator vs. a salesman. Since I was only 22 years old I had to do something to get people to trust my advice on their housing problems. I came up with a kick ass buyers presentation and invested 45-60 minutes with every client lead I had before I took them out on showings.
I did this for 2 reasons.
- It showed them that I cared what they were looking for. I took time out of the day to help them understand the buying process by educating them. They then had a lot more trust in me and time spent working with someone lessened.
- They became loyal to me and didn’t go behind my back and buy something else. I focused on the relationship aspect which in turn resulted in more referrals.
Approaching real estate with a content based approach allows you to sell without having to actually sell anything.
You don’t have to be an expert blogger to approach your business in a content rich approach. You can just apply this concept to everything you do. Take the salesmanship out of it and learn to sell without actually selling. That’s right sell without selling. Lead by educating or supplying content to others.
People only use Realtors for our advice in the market and the process of buying or selling. So if you want to be a good agent, know your market and perfect the process of buying and selling!
Let’s look at some examples of how to use these real estate marketing tips in practice.
Content Marketing For Cold Lead Generation
Lets go over different types of sellers you can target with a content rich approach from a cold lead generating perspective. When approaching a specific target audience the first question you should always ask yourself is, “How can I provide value to this person?”. Your answer to that question is exactly how you should approach that individual whether you are cold calling them or you are sending them a marketing piece.
FSBO’s- This is an easy one. You know they don’t want to list with an agent hence the FSBO, but how can you provide them value? If they are selling their house then perhaps you can help them out with some of the following advice to begin building a relationship with them. Do not go after the listing. Go after the relationship! We know they have no idea what they are doing and the vast majority of FSBO’s will end up listing anyways. My advice is to start the dating process early! Some of the links below are also blog articles I wrote to send traffic to you can read for in depth examples or use them as a guide to write your own.
- How to sell and buy a house
- How to market a house on their own
- How to get a good deal on a house
- Offer them free staging advice and a buyers consultation
- Offer to give them a CMA on house, especially if they are underpriced
Now create some content and turn it into a marketing piece and send FSBO sellers to. You can use the content in these articles as your script.
Cancelled/Expireds– You know they are most likely scarred by their previous listing not selling. So how can you provide value to them and stand out? I would approach cancelled and expired listings not as a Realtor, but as a marketer. Show them how to position a house for sale by walking them through a marketing plan that involves more than just listing a house on the MLS and putting a sign in yard.(positioning article link below)
Cancelled or expired sellers are looking for more than just another agent. They are looking for someone that can get their house moved. They want to talk to marketers, not Realtors. They hired a Realtor the first time. One of the best ways to explain how to market a house to any seller is to talk about positioning. You can check out this article and see what I mean by it, but I can bet you that not many agents are talking to their potential seller leads like this.
This is my script right here. Check out the article and let me know what you think.
How To Position Your House For Sale
These are two examples of audiences I would target for cold marketing efforts. There are several different ways you can reach these sellers, but that’s a whole other course. The point I want to make here is that you can use this concept as an idea to create a marketing piece or even a script for a cold call.
The other thing I hope you can take away from this is that you will receive a higher client conversion rate by educating than by trying to sell and close someone.
EX: FSBO Phone Script Cold Call
Agent:
Hey Mr. Seller my name is Mike and I’m an agent with Blabla. Look, I’m not calling you to get your listing like the million of other cold calls I’m sure you are getting from my colleagues, but I’m calling to give you this DIY home sales kit that helps people who are selling their homes without an agent do everything on their own. I respect the fact that you are trying to keep as much of your equity as possible so I want to help you try to sell your house for Free. If for some reason you can’t do it on your own then maybe you’ll give me a shot at the listing down the road.
Seller:
Well…ok I guess.
Agent:
I’m sure I’m the first one who is saying this to you because most agents want to get your listing but I do things different. If I am able to help you sell your house then maybe you would let me help you find your next house. As a matter of fact selling and buying at the same time is a very tricky thing to do. Do you know how that process works?
I think you understand where I am going with this. I know what the seller already wants and is more likely to open up with.
Content Marketing Approach With Sellers
We all like to get an easy listing where we don’t really have to do any kind of selling, but that doesn’t mean you should not fully educate everyone you deal with. Let me give you a perfect example:
Your best friend is selling their house. Obviously they are going to use you to list it, but most agents would just get the listing signed and do their thing without much explanation since they know this is a slam dunk. When you are running a business you should never take any kind of shortcut regardless who you are serving. This includes walking your “best friend” through everything involved in selling a house as you would for a 2 million dollar potential listing that was a cold lead.
WHY?
Because your “best friend” is more than likely going to refer you more business when they see you in a professional light. They take you more seriously when you take your whole business more seriously and treat them just like you would treat anyone else you are working with. There’s a time to take care of business and there’s a time to to have fun.
I give every seller the exact same explanation, marketing plan, and over all customer service process because I am running a business based on systems. This is a small detail many agents take for granted. When you can prove to your closest friends and family that you are a kick ass Realtor, they are more likely to endorse your services more frequently. They will brag about you they will be so happy.
They will more likely be happy they hired you because you are good at what you do and not because they felt obligated to. I actually like to provide the best level of service for my close friends because they wouldn’t take me seriously otherwise. Start programming them early on sending you referrals and once they see you are good at what you do, more of them will come.
Best Real Estate Marketing Tips With Buyers
Working with buyers can be very time consuming, but they are always much easier to convert in my experience. However, it’s because they are time consuming that you should do more qualifying to make sure that whoever you work with is going to buy something. You do this by offering to give them a buyer’s consultation. A buyer’s consultation is nothing more than a meeting where you are doing a content overload on your potential client.
While you are educating them on how to buy a house, you are also qualifying how real they are. One of the fastest ways to burn yourself out is by showing a buyer 20+ homes only to find out they can’t even get a loan! The only person to blame in that situation is yourself.
This happens to agents all the time and is the exact reason why it’ so important to have an effective process in place. Meeting with a buyer ahead of time also allows you to listen to what they are searching for. If you listen well enough you are more than likely going to show them properties they want to see, which will also limit the amount of time you must invest with them.
Just in 2014, I can name off 4-5 more buyers I inherited from other agents who didn’t do any of this. Each one of those buyers came to me already frustrated with Realtors in general. After every meeting, they all said the exact same thing. They were very thankful that I was taking time out of my day to go over such important details with them vs. just start taking them out. I earned their business by doing a content overload on them. They all closed and are now referral sources for additional business. Leverage the relationship not the sale!
Be the professor not the student!
The same way I work with sellers, I also work with buyers. When I made first contact with these buyers my script is very simple. I first listen to them and see how I can help them. After a little small talk and unloading some real estate content on them to establish my authority I say something along the lines of this:
“Well let’s do this. I don’t mind spending 30-45 minutes to grab a coffee, have a bite to eat, or even grab a beer and then you can better tell me exactly what you are looking for. I will be able to tell you if it’s realistic or not and also walk you through some very important things to look for. That way I don’t waste your or my own time showing you places you have no desire in seeing. Does that sound like a plan”
Really all I did was set up a face to face education meeting so that I earn their business and further ensure they don’t cheat on me with another Realtor. I don’t care if you are my best friend, I am going to overload you with content about how to buy a house the right way so that I can earn you trust, respect, and future referrals. Many agents do not do this. They jump in and start showing a buyer properties without fully vetting them or really listening to what they want.
It’s well worth your time to invest 30-45 minutes with a new potential buyer client for a buyers presentation regardless of who you are working with. It will help manage your time and create a better initial relationship with your new client.
Best Real Estate Marketing Tips In Conclusion
The real estate business is very simple. It’s about building relationships with people and maintaining those relationships over time. I believe the best way to build a business relationship with any prospect, warm or cold, is to establish an authority position as their Realtor by educating them with the concept of content marketing.
Never assume that people know everything that we know because they don’t. Run your business by serving others in any way possible by supplying them with as much content as possible. If you run your business this way I bet you will see an increase in referrals and client conversions. Supplying the right content to those who seek it is the best real estate marketing tip that I can give you.
Did you like this article? Are you using a content marketing approach in every aspect of your business? If you think others could benefit from this article share it and help us get the word out by clicking the social media icons below or at the top of this post.
How Do You Find More Clients?
Creating a better system to service your listings is one of the things you can be doing to increase referral business, but it’s not everything.
Would you be interested in learning more about adapting a several marketing systems that work simultaneously in your business to create multiple lead sources? Do you want to run a business instead of being run by one? Do you hate cold calling or cold prospecting?
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