You don't sell houses. Let me say it again, you don't sell houses; especially if you want a successful marketing campaign. Yes, you may have made over $500,000 in GCI this last year, even closed 38 transactions, but you don't sell houses.
You sell your USP or Unique Selling Proposition. There are hundreds of thousands of agents in world today. If all you do is sell houses, then there are at least a few others that are willing to do the same thing. They may even deliver it with the same level of service and for a lower commission. What makes you better than any other? Why should a client hire you and pay you the commission that you are asking?
As an industry, we have been caught without enough distinction from one another which is why we face an ongoing war with "Commission Compression" - and before you get cocky on me and say "I'm not struggling with commissions" wait until the market swings back. If you thought it was bad before...
Here's an example of my point - If I were to buy a new BMW 7i and one dealer had one the car for $80,000 and another dealer could get the exact same car for $72,000 which would I choose? All things being equal, price will become my determining factor. But let's say that I just wanted to buy a car that allows me to get to and from work in a safe comfortable manner. What makes me consider an $80,000 BMW versus an $18,000 Kia? Price no longer becomes the only factor. BMW knows they aren't selling a car or mere transportation; they are selling "The Ultimate Driving Machine."
In fact, they've done quite well getting buyers to buy to satisfy the buyer's own ego needs. And more interestingly, how
many BMW owners would cop to ego being their primary reason for buying the car? With that said - let's not beat up on the BMW crowd too bad, the same could be said about Lexus, Mercedes and others and they don't have the distinction of being the "Ultimate Driving Machine."
What is your USP? Is it that you return phone calls (which is become rare these days), or do you specialize in cash-flow oriented investors, or are you pet-friendly?
What are your strengths? What can and do you do better than anyone else? What are your values and if the truth be known, does your ideal client even know? What do you care about and hold most dear?
Market around those things and you will find yourself in the rare air of those agents who make the rules about how the real estate game is played and who hold the top %1 who dominate the marketplace.
Carpe diem,
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