The coming year will see a lot of changes in the real estate industry. Many reading my blogs today won't be in the industry this time next year. They'll have moved on to seek new opportunities. This may not be such a bad thing. There are too many agents trying to scratch out a living in an industry that's over-populated relative to its current potential.
In all industries a weeding out is necessary from time to time. A separating of the wheat from the chaff. It's good for the industry and it's good for those who evolve with it. Those who remain in real estate during its darkest days and succeed are those who will reep the greatest rewards at the time of recovery.
In these days of uncertainty everything we do is a learning curve. Even the "so called" experts are groping in the dark trying to get a handle on the economy and find new ways of turning it around. Everyone is searching for a formula that works.
It doesn't take much of a crystal ball reading to see what's coming in 2009....but it does take talent to weave yourself through the mine field and carve out a place for yourself within the new paradigm. A good place to start is by asking yourself, "why should anyone come to you to buy a home, rather than your competitor?" What is it that you can offer your customer that no one else can? If your answer is honesty, sincerity, knowledge of the market, years of experience, several letters behind your name etc. etc., it's time to think again. That CV is offered by everyone and his brother.
The correct answer has nothing to do with YOU!! In fact you don't even enter the equation. The correct answer is meeting your customer's specific needs in a way that's meaningful and advantageous to him. Your customer's only interest is in having his special real estate needs serviced. The agent is merely the facilitator of those needs. Your marketing should be directly aimed at meeting customer expectations.....with less emphasis on your own personal CV.
Target marketing, niche marketing, specialization or what ever you choose to call it should be strongly considered. By specializing in a key target market you place yourself in a unique category and eliminate competition from those agents trying to be all things to all people. Choosing your selected target market will take some research and study.
The next step is promotion. Networking within groups in your targeted area. Branding your name. Forming relationships, not just handing out business cards. Making endless contact. Becoming a central figure in your community. No one said real estate was going to be easy.....at least not in the past year and a half.
Subscribe to my blogs just above my photo for news you can use every day.
Thanks. Sincerely, David
Comments(4)