What's a SME you ask? it's not more NAR related alphabet soup to add to your signature and advertising, but Subject Matter Expert is the answer,
When a consumer contacts us, they're expecting whoever answers the phone to be a SME when it comes to real estate matters. If they didn't think we were the SME for the particular topic or location that concerns them, they'd never reach out.
To be a SME, you have to know stuff. That doesn't mean you have to spend years in college getting an advanced degree, instead practical knowledge and critical thinking can trump a certificate.
But for that practical knowledge to matter, you have to get people to find you, and IMO that's where blogging and IDX pages really come in handy.
And frankly, it's easier to be a SME if you have a niche than trying to know all things real estate about an entire metro area or two.
Over the years I've created a fair number of blog posts and IDX pages that feed the long tail search results.
If someone calls me about "Lexington Park" like they did yesterday, I know that's a community in Mason of single family homes, approximate age and priced lower to mid point for the area, and that there are few opportunities for purchase in a given year.
The conversation is easy because the caller has already found and read our information about the community, and there's a level of trust established before I've ever spoken a single word.
To me, that's an ideal situation to start a potential relationship.
Do they all turn into clients? Nope! Often it's a call like yesterday, the caller already has an agent, but in a frustrating market for buyers where paying $60k over asking means losing to someone who paid $80k over asking, they're seeking information that they haven't found with their agent. Just maybe you know of a Coming Soon?
Providing information that helps the consumer find what they're seeking is a great way to establish yourself as a SME (and with luck, Google sees you as one too and your posts move up the rankings). Some of those calls won't have an agent, so your blogging and webpages have done their job, it's up to you to convert them to clients once initial contact has been made.
Until next Tuesday, just Ask an Ambassador if you need help,
Bill & Liz aka BLiz
The only SMEE I know how to be.
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