It is a record year for hot climate but no I am not talking about the weather. The real estate industry is blazing hot and you may be making your (re)entry into the wonderful, zany world of real estate sales. But how do you carve out a niche among and what makes you different from literally one million other REALTORS®?
Well, remember how in our grade school days we would play twenty questions to get to know newbies to our squad? The answers almost always revealed interesting and novel details that we could not possibly guess from a superficial view. It is time to turn the tables and honestly ask yourself some probing questions to help create a unique voice (i.e. your unique selling proposition) for you among so many in real estate sales.
1. Identify and record your dominate DISC profile (visit snip.ly/tn7y for a freebie). What are your personality's strengths and weaknesses and how can these impact your sales?
2. What are your top 3-5 capabilities that differentiate you from your local competitors? Hint: Think about your specific client reviews and testimonials to help pinpoint your strengths. If you are not asking clients to review you, you should!
3. Do you have any specific real estate experience, whether selling, property management, investing, etc.? Explain.
4. Do you have a broad or diverse customer base? Describe it (such as what geographic and demographic groups are mostly attracted to you).
5. Do you have any real estate or sales degrees, licenses, accreditations or certifications? Please list them.
6. In what property types and transactions (i.e. senior communities, rentals, luxury, condo, high-rise, HOAs, REO, etc.) are you well-versed?
7. What qualities in your opinion make for an excellent real estate agent and why?
8. How do clients view you in terms of reliability, professionalism, and approachability and how can you improve your position in the eyes of your clients?
9. What type of support and services do you provide to your prospective, current, and past clients?
10. What types of specific marketing tools do you use to sell your listings?
11. In what ways can you differentiate your services from your local competitors? If necessary, visit the websites of your competitors to see what they offer and how you can stand apart from them.
12. How tech savvy are you and can you use social media tools to market yourself and listings? List the social media sites you are on and what sites you want to join in the near future.
13. What necessary training or tools do you currently need in order to work with your desired clientele (i.e. luxury, in-town, etc.)?
14. What can you do to improve your real estate selling, marketing, and transactional management skills (i.e. take classes, hire help, etc.)?
15. Community service can help you stand out from the pack. What activities can you implement to better achieve a profitable triple bottom-line (meaning your business activities positively impact your profits, people, and the planet)?
16. What is the extent of marketing reach, distribution, and awareness of your real estate firm?
17. What industry vendors do you have relationships with (attorneys, bankers, contractors etc.)?
18. What business relationships do you need to develop in order to better your marketing?
19. What segments of your local real estate market are hot right now and what are not?
20. What external economic forces (threats) can impact your sales (i.e. rising interest rates, area layoffs, changing laws, etc.)? Do any of these threats present opportunities for you to offer new services? If so, what and how? If not, what can you do to at least minimize the effect of these threats on your sales (i.e. provide home buying seminars to explain law changes, etc.)? What other difficulties do you face in selling real estate?
Have some questions of your own? I would love to hear from you! Give me a shout on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Google+ or by visiting LearnWithLee.Realtor. And, be sure to tell the real estate agents you know to get a copy of the 5-star rated workbook, Plan to Win, to transform their real estate sales game plan. Here's to your success!
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