When you get face to face with sellers, you can get the listing. When you have a buyer, you're able to establish an instant rapport and guide them smoothly through finding and buying the perfect home.
So why do you have such trouble finding those buyers and sellers? Why does your written marketing fail?
You may be using the same tired formula that all agents use: The "here I am" block ads, and prospecting letters that basically say "I'm a Realtor and I'd like to list your house."
This formula doesn't give your prospect even one reason to think that you might be the agent they need and want.
Why would you use that formula?
The short list of reasons has to be headed by your natural reluctance to toot your own horn. If you were raised as I was - to be quiet, never brag, never be pushy - it isn't easy. Even though you know you must do it, your attempts can be ineffective. Wimpy, because you haven't got the courage to step out of your comfort zone and show people what you can do for them.
Before you can write an effective letter, you have to think about your prospects' concerns. Is it that their house didn't sell the first time around? Is it their fear of choosing an agent who will ignore them? Is it their desire to find an agent who can lead them through the selling process and protect their interests? For every bad experience that a prospect has had with a Realtor, there's a concern, if not a downright fear. And it doesn't have to be their own experience - it could be something that's happened to a friend or relative.
You can't pretend that those things don't happen, but you can address them head-on and give assurance that you are the solution to their problems.
Next is the mistaken belief that a marketing letter needs to sound formal. Your English teacher might approve, but prospective clients aren't impressed. Face it, formal writing is boring, and no one reads "boring" unless they have to. They don't have to read your letter.
A good sales letter is conversational - it sounds like you're talking to an individual person about a subject that interests them. And what interests them is how you can solve their problems, not that your sentences are grammatically acceptable in an English class.
Third is the fact that a marketing letter is nothing more than a cold call - but without the feedback that allows you to feel the prospect's response and respond appropriately. And how many people are really good at cold calling? Most real estate agents - most people in any kind of sales - hate it and will do almost anything to get out of doing it.
The "Advertising Police" might scare you a bit as well. Between the ADA and the Fair Housing regulations, Realtors must be careful about what they say. You may want to specialize in helping people in your own ethnic group, young families with children, or "swinging singles," but you'd darn well better not come right out and say so. If you haven't learned how to weave that focus into your marketing without also excluding others, you may be afraid to mention it at all.
Finally, and what I see as the biggest obstacle most agents face in creating their own marketing is not understanding the value of the service they bring to their customers and clients.
When I start to write for a Realtor client, I either spend a lot of time talking with them, or ask them to give me written answers to the list of questions I have posted at www.copybymarte.com/questions.html.The questions help both of us zero in on both the target market and the benefits that particular Realtor brings to their market.
he truth is, since you're the kind of Realtor who reads articles and makes an effort to continually improve your service, you're more valuable to customers and clients than 80% of your competitors.
Many of the things you do seem routine to you, but to consumers who have had dealings with agents in that "lower 80%" those routine tasks are something special.
If you're getting ready to write a prospecting letter, do use those questions, and pay special attention to the writing exercise at the end. Using what you'll discover about yourself will help your prospects connect with the agent they need: You.
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