Are You a Trusted Advisor or a Salesperson?
In our industry, if you are having success, it's probably a given that you are good at marketing, have some communication and sales skills, and know how to fill out a contract and help clients through the issues that arise as you help them sell or buy a home. You may have tremendous market share and may be making a good or even great living, but do your clients view you as a SALESPERSON or a TRUSTED ADVISOR?
When I worked for Robert Kiyosaki, he was very big on explaining the need for "Power Teams," groups of professionals that include Real Estate Agents, CPA's, Mortgage Brokers, Real Estate, Estate Planning and Asset Protection Attorneys, Home Inspectors, Property Managers and other professionals. He pointed out that if they all worked together as a "Personal Board of Directors," your chances sof success were much higher, because the combined advice that comes from meeting together as a group would be stronger than what they might offer alone.
Of that list of professionals, guess which two are perceived to be the lowest? If you guessed Real Estate Agent, and Attorney you would be right! The public according to NAR perceives the Real Estate Industry somewhere close to Used Car Salesman! This is really a shame, because I know so many agents who go to great lengths to work hard for their clients, enroll in continuing education classes, and really do a great job! However, in the end, regardless of how hard they work, their clients often feel that were over-compensated for work that couldn't be that hard!
Some clients seem to think that an agent's job is to be their tour guide whether they buy a house or not, and if you aren't careful you become their personal concierge. Obviously, great marketing plans, negotiating skills and the ability to sell or present a winning offer aren't enough to overcome the perception that we are sales professionals.
By using BombBomb as a video blog, I've been able to send three to five minute videos highlighting tips, strategies, market trends, explain how to do real estate investing, stage a home, negotiate a contract, price a home and so many other topics. Best of all because I take an educational route, and am not trying to sell them I can take the role of trusted advisor. Best of all, I can tell when they open it, how long they watched it, and whether they interacted with anyof my attached links to social media or my website. Video blogging allows me to enthusiastically be in front of them so that they remember me when they have a housing need. It keeps me Top of Mind so that I am one of the two real estate agents they have in mind. By teaming up with my other "Power Team" members, I'm able to provide great information on a lot of things that benefit and provide value to my clients but aren't directly real estate related. Having these professionals featured on my video blog, get's their message out to my clients, and helps them desire to be recipricol in marketing my business.
Providing this service along with a monthly newsletter that has blogs from these experts and some of my own blogs here in Active Rain helps establish my intent of being a Trusted Advisor, not a Salesperson. I believe it helps my clients understand that I'm a valuable team member who cares about their success, as opposed to looking like a transaction driven sales agent.
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