Why Salesy Real Estate Marketing Fails with Today’s Sellers

Quick: take a look at these two headlines. Each appears on the front cover of a real estate agent’s local newsletter or publication.

1. “Peter Pumpkin-eater named #1 Producer at Joker Broker Inc!” (by Peter Pumpkin-eater)
2. “Record High Prices for Sunnytown Homes this Season!” (by Berta Experta)

Which article would appeal to you, a homeowner in Sunnytown? How much would you care about Peter Pumpkin-eater’s awards, even if you happened to know him? After getting a newsletter with a cover story like Peter’s, month after month, you’d probably start throwing it right in the recycle bin without so much as a glance.

But what about receiving a newsletter – or publication – with cover stories like Berta’s, month after month? You might begin to anticipate some useful market information when it appears in your mailbox. Instead of pitching it, you might toss it on the counter, and read it the next morning while your coffee brews. This all seems obvious, but yet we see it every day: agents who wouldn’t give two hoots about, for example, their insurance agent “hitting goal” turn around and build huge expensive campaigns about their personal awesomeness.

You’ve probably already made massive changes to your business in the wake of Coronavirus, so what better time to take a good hard look at your marketing messages!

Fact: buying patterns have changed dramatically in the last 10 years.

As more advertising mediums become available, the more consumers are becoming conditioned to tune out to anything that seems “promotional.” Content Plus found that 70% of consumers prefer getting to know a company via articles rather than ads, and a TMG Custom Media study revealed that 78% of consumers believe that organizations that offer custom content are interested in building good relationships with them. While it’s important to communicate the value you offer – and to share real-life success stories about who you’ve helped – building a trust-based connection is the foundation for generating listings and referrals.

Trust is built in the emotional part of the brain, deep in the subconscious.

We don’t decide to trust a person; rather, we one day realize that we trust someone. Add to that the the fact that big decisions – including most major purchase decisions – happen in the part of the brain where emotions are processed. Trust is an emotion. To put it very simply: trust = purchase.

A brain scan study by Mart Lindstrom in 2015 backed up claims that 90% of purchasing decisions are not made consciously, and that brands that are intentional about evoking our emotions always win. Decision-making may be wired to our emotions for very good reasons. For one, it is impossible to consciously tally, process, score, and react to the hundreds of facts and other non-overt pieces of information coming at us. Our emotional subconscious does this for us and outputs a “gut feeling,” without our awareness.

The beautiful thing is that this “gut” is very efficient at making the right call. It’s in no way a shortcut. In fact, relying on a well-honed instinct is indeed more efficient than manually – consciously – wading through a million variables. We’re built to rely on it – in extreme cases, our very survival depends on trusting our gut rather than a painstaking conscious calculation. For most people, the emotional brain is a well-oiled super-computer so it’s no surprise that decision making occurs there.

What does this mean for real estate agents?

The key take-away for real estate agents is this: if two agents are competing for a listing, the one who has taken time to embed themselves in the emotional brain of the homeowner will get the listing, even if they’re younger or less successful.

“Embed themselves in the emotional brain” means marketing and prospecting in a way that resonates at a human level, garners an emotional response, and leaves the prospect feeling that the agent knows and cares about the market, gets great results, and can be trusted.

In order to develop these emotions about the agent, the homeowner needs to repeatedly experience these emotions while at the same time learning about or engaging with the agent’s brand. For this to happen, the agent must truly be trustworthy, get good results, and care – because those are the things he or she need to impart through their marketing. Otherwise, no amount of “messaging” will seed legitimate emotional headspace in prospects.

So, how can you do this?

How to implant yourself as the Real Estate Agent of Choice
in the emotional brain of homeowners in your farm

First, you must show (not just tell) your prospects that you care about them, the community, and ultimately, their home sale. Marketing with information they personally care about accomplishes this much faster than sending information they don’t care about. Against our best advice, we’ve worked with agents over the years who’ve insisted on publishing self-promoting articles on the front covers of their publications. After investing thousands of dollars, they either learn the hard way and begin publishing community-related content, or they quit publishing altogether in frustration (and to be blunt, arrogance). We encourage agents to keep their custom content focused on the community; for example, during the pandemic, we published articles for agents about how Coronavirus was impacting the local housing market. Similarly, we take care to ensure the general articles (the syndicated stories we publish inside each client’s paper) hit home and resonate with homeowners. Whether you publish with us or do your own newsletter, these principals apply.

And here’s the key: make sure your picture and branding is on the header and all throughout your marketing, so that when the reader is engaged with an article or feature, they implant you in their emotional brain as they read and react to it.

Branding remains paramount

When you regularly supply your prospects with interesting, valuable information (such as with your newsletter, publication, emails, social posts, webinars, etc.), you need to be front and center. This doesn’t mean how great you are, but your branding must be prominent. Otherwise, you’ll be cultivating meaningful emotional responses, but the connection to you will be lost.

Additionally, it’s important to layer in messages about what you do and how you can really help. Do this in ways that actually resonate; for example, instead of a dry testimonial, run a short feature called “Sunnytown Success Story” with a photo of a happy couple you helped, and tell the story of how they needed to move quickly, how you helped them with fix-ups and staging, and how you marketed it to your broker network for multiple offers. Or instead of an ad about being #1, present an infograph of exactly how you stack up to other agents (Average Sunnydale Agent: Sells 2 homes per year. Berta Experta: Sold 28 homes last year. / Average Sold Price in Sunnydale: $200k. Average Sold Price for Berta’s Clients: $235k). This communicates to the homeowner that you don’t expect them to hire you just because of a fancy award – that you mean business and get tangible results.

The most important message here is that self-promotion fails as the core of any marketing strategy. Think instead of how to show the area you are a caring, knowledgeable, trusted expert. And make sure they know it’s from you.

The agents who innovate and adapt will dominate the real estate industry of the future.

The real estate industry is rapidly evolving, and top agents are employing new strategies succeed.

We scoured the websites, social media sites, and even the Zillow profiles of 25 “WSJ 200” super-agents, and spoke with some of our most successful real estate clients. Here, we will share what we learned about how to dominate in the real estate industry of the future.

The agents of tomorrow will not be competing with technology itself, but with the people doing the best job coordinating it. The best and brightest are finding ways to outmaneuver the people and business models stealing market share, instead of the impossible task of trying to outperform technology. This article will describe, in detail, exactly how they are doing it.

This dominant agent of 2019 and beyond must be able to offer far more than their click-and-sell counterparts. Their value proposition include:

1. A deep understanding of the nuances of the local market, and a strategy in place to maximize buyer engagement and sale price
2. Strong ties in the local real estate agents industry
3. Extra services that aren’t available at online brokerages (like staging, access to trusted contractors, pre-listing exposure, a moving truck, etc)
4. Extensive, professional, multi-media marketing packages for each listing
5. Commitment to marketing every listing package across every relevant channel
6. Experience and resources to navigate the complexities of each transaction
7. Cutting-edge technology and platforms for each step in the process, from pre-listing to closing
8. The ability to show that they get better results that the industry average; results more valuable than the commission they charge

Additionally, the top agent of the future will consistently and aggressively communicate their value through multiple marketing channels.

Below, we’ll go through the ways the top agents we studied offer and communicate extensive value. But first, we’ll examine what real estate industry of the future might look like.

The Real Estate Industry of the Future

1. Improved Real Estate Transaction Technology

Real estate sales technology is increasing at a rapid pace. Most agents are struggling to keep up.

As we’ll discuss in the second half of this post, embracing new tech is an essential part of staying competitive in the future. We’ve listed some major technology trends shaping the future of real transactions:

Enhanced Transaction Engagement

A new tech buzzword is CX, or “Consumer Experience,” which means using creative digital elements to help people interact with your brand online. Many brokerages are embracing CX “transaction engagement;” shifting their online focus from selling to serving. We are already seeing this play out in some brokerages’ websites, as they strive to make their online presence interactive, engaging, and personal. An example of this is Collections by Compass, which allows buyers to compile their favorite listings and share them “Pinterest style” with their agent, friends, and family.

Virtual Reality

As the “I” (intelligence) in “AI” becomes more and more advanced, it’s becoming increasingly cost effective to augment listing packages with virtual reality. This includes 3D tours like those by Matterport, and, soon, immersive walk-throughs with VR headsets. Another VR application getting attention in real estate is “virtual staging,” where agents can use tools to digitally furnish and decorate photographs of empty homes.

Listing packages with VR augmentation will get more attention than listings with standard 2-d photos, especially from the next generation of buyers.

Predictive Analytics

Predictive Analytics (PA) gives agents the ability to forecast which homeowners are most likely to sell at a given time. PA services like SmartZip currently use basic public information (like the date of the home’s purchase and the area’s market turnover), but the future of PA is much more exciting.

In the coming years, the algorithms used in predictive analytics will factor in things like the owner’s web browsing history, social media activity, and family profile. The next generation of PA will be a powerful companion to neighborhood-wide farming efforts, and will likely not be the sole prospecting tool of successful agents. Showing up at the point of sale, without having built a foundation as the area’s trusted expert, will reduce the odds of getting the listing. Multiple agents will be using the same data, and it’s safe to assume they’ll be courting “likely sellers” at the same time.

Top agents are currently blanketing entire communities with their value proposition, in order stand apart from the competition when it’s time to knock on a door. This strategy will become increasingly important in the coming years, as more agents begin using predictive analytics.

Chatbots

Voice assistants like Alexa and Siri are the fastest growing digital search interfaces worldwide. A recent study by Tracticia estimates that by 2021, 1.8 billion people will be using chatbots regularly. This trend has already started to emerge in real estate.

For example, the new platform AskDoss provides instant, accurate answers when people ask it a real estate query in their normal voice. More and more real estate portals and websites are expected to incorporate chatbot technology into their search functions in the coming year. The top producing agents of the future are learning how to optimize their listings for voice-assisted search engines.

2. Web-based Flat-fee Brokerages

It’s a tough pill to swallow, but online brokerages charging low, flat fees are likely to gain more momentum in the coming years. The sex appeal of these companies is enormous, as they promise seamless transactions for ridiculously low fees. Their efficacy is questionable, but even so, they’re forcing full-service brokerages to up their game.

According to Zillow, 70% of sellers who attempt to sell their own home end up hiring an agent. We may begin to see a similar phenomenon with online flat-fee brokerages, as sellers sign up hoping for a quick, cheap, hassle-free, and top-dollar sale – only to end up with an under-exposed home that languishes. Of course, there will be exceptions, but odds are most sellers will end up getting what they pay for.

Nonetheless, e-brokerages are here, and they are here to stay. As sellers try out these services, agents at the lowest-performing end of the spectrum will be hit the hardest.

Agents selling a few homes a year probably don’t produce online home tours or use drone photography, and they probably don’t have deep ties in the local market. Lacking in experience and resources, they are less likely to have developed effective pre-listing procedures or pricing strategies. Their value proposition is no better than the online alternative, and as a result, they are an endangered species. This means that high-caliber agents have an enormous opportunity to pick up market share from hundreds of thousands of competitors who will leave the industry.

Agents aiming to dominate in the changing industry will need to market more strategically and aggressively than ever before. Sellers – especially those listing a home for the first time – may not be aware of all the marketing, staging, consulting, strategic pricing, and legal, title, and financial legwork a high-quality agent does. Nor may they be aware that the time investment and hard cost of these services are incurred by the agent, regardless of the final commission. Top agents will need to communicate to sellers that an online flat-fee brokerage will not get them the same result as an experienced, top-rated agent.

3. A New Generation of Buyers and Sellers

The industry itself isn’t the only thing changing… people are, too. Millenials currently comprise 36% of buyers, and the largest percentage of sellers are ages 38-52, with a median age of 45 (according to NAR). This means that people born from the mid-90s through today (“Generation Z”) are the up-and-coming home buyers and that the preceding generation, Millenials, are the next wave of sellers.

Gen Z, in particular, has been dependent upon technology since birth. The way these young generations work, socialize, build families, and even the way they eat is different from the Baby Boomers and Gen-Xers agents have been catering to for so long.

According to research from HotPads, the average Gen Z-er will buy a home after 11 years of renting their first apartment. This means they’ll enter the market a year sooner than Millenials, presenting a healthy demand for real estate in the coming decade.

These buyers will be looking for open floor plans, green space for their pets, and walkable streets lined with good restaurants. They will be happy to sacrifice space for amenities, and with most of them delaying children, they won’t be too concerned about school districts. They will be drawn to interactive, multi-media home listings, and will take full advantage of VR, chatbot, and CX technology. These young buyers will expect instant and seamless online lending, bidding, and closing experiences.

By the mid-2020s, many Millenial sellers will be looking to trade up. They will want an outstanding price, and even though (like previous generations) they won’t want to personally work with the buyer, they will want real-time play-by-plays of each negotiation.

With the ever-increasing degree of convenience enjoyed by Millenials, they are likely to expect fast sales with little or no legwork involved. Where previous generations may have been amendable to spending a month on repairs, Millenials may pay a premium to have the work done twice as fast – or even be willing to skip it altogether and take a price-hit.

While online platforms will meet many of the next generation’s needs, they will not “include” a local, experienced professional who is highly incentivized to ensure the best possible price, the fastest sale, and the fewest complications.

Whether it’s taking the time to pin-point the home’s ideal list price (regardless of what the algorithms say), or untangling a messy title issue, there are some things software will never be able to do. With so many demands and so little patience for error, a human advocate coupled with robust technology is exactly what the next generation needs. The problem is, they may not realize this. Tomorrow’s successful agent will need to work hard to communicate why it’s important to hire a real estate “expert advisor.”

Planning Today for Tomorrow’s Real Estate Industry

1. Shift from “Real Estate Salesperson” to “Real Estate Expert”

We talked about how low-volume agents (the ones who operate as transaction managers versus experts) may be brought to extinction in the near future. Serious agents running full-fledged businesses, however, have an opportunity to embrace the changes in the industry and achieve new levels of success.

The hard truth is that today, technically, no one really needs an agent to help them buy or sell a home. The same is true of financial advisors, accountants, secretaries, or for that matter, doctors.

With so much information available online, and software so intelligent it can close out a fiscal year, it’s a wonder anyone needs professionals for anything anymore. Or is it? While technically, nearly everything – even brain surgery – can be done by computers and robots, it isn’t. We want and need experienced, accountable people in the driver’s seat of our most complicated affairs.

The most cutting edge online real estate platforms of the future will be able to do amazing things, but they won’t be able to compel a buyer to come out of pocket when an appraisal comes in low, host a catered broker open, or coordinate an army of trusted contractors to make a home market-ready in three weeks.

For the low price of flat-fee transaction websites, sellers will not be receiving robust listing packages or hyper-local, broker-to-broker exposure.

Traditional commissions make professional photography, video editing, and face-to-face marketing possible, and many sellers won’t want to sacrifice the benefits of these services. Most importantly, with a flat fee, an online broker has no incentive to price the home strategically or negotiate aggressively.

The top agent of the future will not try to compete as a “transaction handler,” because he can’t. In the coming decade, straight-up real estate “salespeople” will seem as irrelevant as the horse and buggy.

Instead, agents who will dominate in 2020 and beyond are branding themselves today as the area’s leading real estate expert and trusted advisor. This means showing prospects, rather than telling, that they are the “experienced, accountable human” prepared to “sit in the driver’s seat” of one of the most complicated affairs of the prospect’s lifetime.

2. Leverage New Real Estate Technologies and Services

The next generation of buyers and sellers will want pretty much every aspect of the sale handled quickly and efficiently. Gen Z, in particular, could get annoyed by paperwork or even a trip to a title office. One major selling point of a virtual broker is online exposure, and the successful agent of the future needs to be able to offer the same level (or higher) of internet marketing for listings.

Similarly, tools like Matterport, drone photography, and virtual reality tours are excellent ways to add value in the new era of real estate. The top agents of tomorrow will enlist professionals to create a high-tech listing presentations. They will have their tech-savvy virtual assistants optimize those listings for the most relevant platforms and chat-bot search engines, and they will be deploying to the most relevant channels.

The value proposition of tomorrow’s successful agent is her ability – and accountability – to get clients’ the best deal in the least amount of time. This doesn’t run counter to the “disruption” of new technology; rather, it is grounded firmly inside new and useful technologies. Obviously, emailing a form for e-signature instead of showing up with a pile of paperwork adds to an agent’s value instead of degrading it.

3. Use “Storybranding” to Communicate your Value

Beginning with his first book, Storybranding, Creating Stand-Out Brands Through the Power of Story, Jim Signorelli started an entire movement in marketing. He’s written a follow up book, Storybranding 2.0, and hosts seminars and workshops on his method. I recently joined Discover Pubs at the Accellerate conference in Nashville, where Dave Ramsey spent a full day teaching Storybranding to 500 of the country’s most successful agents.

Essentially, Storybranding is about making your prospective clients the “hero” of your brand, and positioning yourself as the “guide.”

Here’s an example of what Signorelli means: imagine your market as Middle Earth (the setting of The Lord of the Rings). In this fantasy, your client would be Sam (or perhaps Frodo); the one who is at the center of the story and gets all the credit and glory. You would be the Gandalf, the wise wizard who makes the hero’s victory possible.

This means that in your branding and marketing, your message is about helping the client get what they want, and not about achieving any “big wins” of your own. All too often, agents focus on all the great things they have done and will do, instead of focusing on what the client is hoping to achieve.

In their profiles, marketing publications, emails, and even their social media, the agents planning to succeed in the future will be focused on helping the client get what they want. They are currently publishing market updates, local stories about the community, and helpful information for homeowners. In doing this, top agents are delivering the message: “I’m here for YOU, and I know what I’m doing.” The effective real estate “Gandalf” will emit confidence in her abilities, back up her claims, and “show” a whole lot more than “tell.”

4. Market Strategically, Consistently, and Aggressively

Consider that a prospect’s decision to hire an agent begins with “awareness,” before they are even planning to sell. Most homeowners in a given month aren’t actively seeking an agent, so promotional marketing won’t apply. Content about the housing market and community will.

By engaging with listing prospects early in the buying “funnel,” agents can establish a connection with homeowners long before it’s time to list. According to recent research from Demand Metric, 82% of consumers feel more positive about a company after reading custom content.

As we discussed above in the section on “Storybranding,” trust is earned by showing rather than telling. Content marketing, or marketing with articles and videos about topics important to your prospects, is a great way to convey your expertise.

Research shows that content marketing works – in fact, it generates three times more leads per dollar and costs 31-41% less than paid search (Eloqua 2016). Real estate agents who master, integrate, and publish good content across multiple channels will rise to the top in the years ahead. They will dominate the industry by building trust and getting engagement.

So what are the best channels? Facebook advertising has become crowded, and consumer inboxes have become hyper-sensitive to junk mail. Agents should continue to leverage these channels, but top agents planning for the future are looking for more effective ways to reach prospects. Targeted YouTube advertising, direct mail, chatbot-optimized podcasts, press releases, strategic partnerships with influencers, community events, and local media sponsorships are expected to be some of the best lead generators in the years ahead.

Of particular intrigue is direct mail. It’s often dismissed as irrelevant in today’s “wired world,” but that couldn’t be further from the truth. The DMA’s most recent report shows that direct mail response rates out-perform any form of digital marketing by more than 700%.

Although Millennials are inseparable from their devices, a 2017 USPS consumer survey reports that 87% of Millenials like receiving direct mail and 90% believe it’s reliable. According to this same survey, over 60% of Millenials prefer sifting through print mail versus email. Today’s buyers and the next generation of sellers enjoy and respond to direct mail, perhaps because it isn’t digital. 

Because direct mail works so well, it’s become a core component of top agents’ marketing programs. Many of the nation’s highest producers are farming with custom publications, which are ideal for content marketing and Storybranding. They provide plenty of space for local articles, while also leaving room for success stories and calls to action.

In an interview with Discover Publications, Gary Keller of Keller Williams suggested agents mail custom publications at least quarterly. Our recent survey data backs up his advice: agents mailing custom publications to farms of 3,000+ homes report 150-400%+ ROI with consistent use (Discover 2017).

Dominate the Real Estate Industry of the Future

A recent Oxford Study predicts that the traditional role of today’s transaction-focused Real Estate Agent will become obsolete within a decade. But just like in the legal, accounting, medical, and financial service industries, no amount of technology can replace the expertise of a true real estate fiduciary.

By adjusting your business become the leading, end-to-end home sale expert (versus a sales rep who places homes on an MLS), you too will be a dominant force in real estate industry of the future.

Episode 3: “Eminem Headlines! Is It The Real Slim Shady?”

It’s Party Time! In this installment of “War Stories” we meet a big-time agent who SHOWS big-time  customer appreciation. This successful agent throws an elaborate party to thank all of the clients who helped get him to the top. This agent has a trick up his sleeve to make the event quite memorable indeed.

The takeaway here is simple: you cannot be a successful real estate agent without clients who want to buy and sell homes. You can never go wrong showing appreciation to those people who have helped you achieve success.Enjoy our latest video, and be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel and Facebook page for the latest news, content, and updates. Happy marketing!

It’s here! We know through our own marketing efforts how important it is to stay up on your digital channels. It’s likely you need lots of fresh digital content for your blog, Facebook, Twitter, marketing/content emails, and LinkedIn – perhaps you need content to post to even more places.

Successful agents consistently post content across multiple digital channels. We have many clients with staff dedicated to this very task. A strong, active web presence helps agents stay fresh in their networks and drive up their SEO. The information tends to be: new listings, recently sold homes, events they are attending or hosting, positive client feedback, and helpful info for homeowners (which is usually purchased through a service or shared from another website).

We’d like to assist with this effort. One of the reasons you might be mailing a 12-page Discover publication is because it breaks through the clutter, setting you apart. The content inside your paper can work for you in the same way on your digital and social channels. We are already producing custom, stand-out content for you – two stories about your neighborhood, a featured listing, and call-to-action imagery – so we are now breaking out and packaging these items together in multiple formats for you. You will receive several pieces per issue plus additional pieces with your first mailing, and we will show you exactly how to use them optimally.

This service, included with every publication at no additional charge, includes everything on the list below. Images will be provided in one format: low resolution, which is the ideal resolution for online channels.

• Modified title bar (“header”) in a social-media-friendly shape
• Home Value Report call-out box (if you have one)
• One each of all your additional call-out boxes
• Flip-book URL of entire paper for web use (with working links)
• Thumbnail of the top of your paper where the headline is visible, or of the full front page if you prefer
• Word doc of each article
• Image of Featured Listing
• Image of Sold Stats or “Market Update” box

We’ll help you use these items effectively. Our friendly Discover staff will spend as much time as it takes  to ensure you are getting the most out of your digital content package. These are our suggestions:

• Use on your blog or website (5 posts per month):
  • Articles – post full articles
  • E-Edition – post the modified header image and underlay the flip-book link, which will take them to your whole 12-page publication. Include a paragraph about how you publish a community paper and what to check out this month
  • Featured Listing – post the featured listing spread, discuss the listing, and include a link to the listing itself
  • Sold Stats image – post this diagram and talk briefly about what that data means for the community
• Use on marketing emails (4 emails per month):
  • Articles – use these as stand-alone content emails (2 per month). TIP: include the community name in the subject line so recipients don’t think it’s generic content, and be sure to include a link to the corresponding blog post to help SEO
  • E-Edition – use this in your e-newsletter (with the title bar image as what to click to get to it) or as part of an existing email. We advise not sending this as stand-alone email due to the redundancy with other content
  • Featured Listing – use this as stand-alone email. Include the Featured Listing picture and link it to the blog post about the listing
  • Sold Stats – use this as a stand-alone email with the image, brief market update, and a link to the blog post you created
  • We advise a maximum of 6 emails per month, so keep this in mind when considering other emails you plan to send out
• Use on social media (5+ posts per month):
  • Each item – post all of the above on all platforms by using the image, writing a short description, and linking to corresponding blog posts, other webpage, online form
  • Call-out boxes – use these images, especially the Home Value Report, as images for Facebook advertising or posting. Because it’s pretty promotional, we recommend restrained use of these as organic posts; they are better suited as paid ads. Use your home value report URL, online form, or other URL as the link for the image
  • We recommend at least one Facebook and at least three Tweets post per day. In general, more is better, as long as your content doesn’t suffer too much. Don’t be afraid to post the same article and market update a few times in a month, and be sure to continue to your regular posting

We hope you’re as excited about your digital package as we are! As the season slows, now is the time learn how to take full advantage of all these wonderful digital resources. Yes, there is a learning curve, but we promise it is worth the investment, and that it will soon take little time and become second nature. Please let us know your feedback, and… Happy Marketing!

Exclusivity, why is it important? Did anyone ever give you a check that bounced and the bank mailed it to you with rubber stamped stigmata on it like “Insufficient Funds” or “Dishonored”? Do you remember who gave you this infamous check? Think hard.

Of course you do, and you didn’t need to think hard about it! Well, let’s hope you haven’t got many of those, but they make a striking point. Good or bad surprises have one thing in common – you remember them. And that’s the ultimate goal of your marketing, getting your prospects to remember you (in a positive way, of course), because you are the brand. You are what they will buy. You win because people have become familiar with you. This is not to say that your campaigns have to be spectacular or filled with dramatic surprises. Simply put, what your campaigns need is something your competitors don’t have, and that will position you as an expert.

Conferences underscore this better than anything we know of. Just browse through the rows of exhibitors at the shows such as NAR, RE/MAX, Keller-Williams, Century 21, ERA, Better Homes & Gardens, Howard Hannah, on and on. Vendors know that real estate agents are always in search of the next big thing that will differentiate them from the crowd. Most of the offerings are uncannily reminiscent of the television commercial in the early days of the Internet: A young web designer is enthusiastically showing off his creation to the business client. “Look, look, music plays, it spins wildly, and then fire comes out of the top!” The client looks very disenchanted and says, “But does it update our inventory?” Alas, where’s the beef?

Successful Innovation is a very tough commodity and we don’t intend to short-sell ideas that don’t quite hit the mark. Many of these ideas are wonderful and can really help you stand apart from your competitors, even to the point of exclusivity in some cases. However, we’d like to offer a short litmus test to increase the odds that your marketing campaigns hit the mark, get you remembered, and build your listing inventory:

1. Is the product unique? Have your prospects received anything like it from competing agents?
2. Is the product of high quality in craftsmanship, composition, and other important elements?
3. Does the product have a real value, not just perceived value?
4. Does the vendor give you the right of exclusivity to a marketing area under agreeable terms?
5. Can other competing agents reproduce your product easily?
6. Is the product used by other successful real estate agents?
7. Do past and current users vouch for claims of achieving substantial ROI?
8. Does the product endure over time and can you use it repeatedly with similar strong impact?

We have found that product exclusivity is perhaps the most important aspect of any successful campaign, but be sure to apply all reasonable criteria to the final selection.

We hope you found this information useful, and Happy Marketing!

Episode 1: “The Real Estate Man with No Marketing Plan”

Tune in to Discover Publication’s founder Leo Zupan’s “War Story.” In this debut episode he talks about a big-ticket client with a haphazard marketing approach. Our takeaway from the story? Consistency is key to a successful marketing program, especially B2C, especially in real estate, and most especially with direct mail.

The challenging thing about marketing in the real estate industry is that homeowners are only ready to sell their homes every 3, 5, maybe 15 years, depending on turnover in the area. And to make matters worse, when that magical time comes, an agent has about five minutes to win the listing before it’s gone. The most successful agents we’ve encountered understand that they need to be in that prospect’s head months, perhaps years, before they are ready to sell if they have a fighting chance of getting a contract. That’s why they mail consistently to their farm month after month, and why they tend to get more leads in the later years than in the early month.

Enjoy our latest video, and be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel and Facebook page for the latest news, content, and updates. Happy marketing!