The First Three Questions work, but for some reason, it’s especially hard when a residential real estate agent asks me for help. Here's why.
In The First Three Questions, we talked about consumer insights, source of volume, and positioning statements. The formula works for every marketing situation I’ve ever encountered. But for some reason, it’s especially hard when a residential real estate agent asks me for help.
The realty dilemmaLeaf through a few Biznik profiles for real estate agents and you’ll find very similar statements. Here are a few samples:
I'm a Wharton MBA, a classically trained senior marketer, and someone who loves his work. I specialize in marketing strategy and communications. I have a full-time job and help Bizniks from time to time. Visit me at http://joehageonline.com.
Learn more about the author, Joe Hage.
Joe,
I like your article. It is all true. I would like to add, that just because you focus on a specialty dosen't mean you can't help others outside of that specialty. Just because you say you can help people with bad credit doesn't mean people with good credit will call someone else. I know you know this...I just wanted to add it :)
Yes, Tonya, absolutely.
In the example for credit, people with good credit may simply place less emphasis on that particular benefit.
At the same time, if you keep your message consistent and focus on people with poor credit, you may find yourself looking in different places for that target (recommendation #2, above).
Thanks for the feedback.
Joe: Even though I'm a lender, I like your article. Obviously, the more a real estate professional can answer the question of "how are you different?", the more the client will identify with that person if they need something specific. Good job! Well written.
Joe, great article. I agree if we want to stand out we have to be specific about what makes us better or different from someone else in the same industry. I will certainly take some of the things you said to heart when revising my advertising. By the way, your article probably also is helpful for financial planners, mortgage brokers and attorneys - basically all those professions where there is a lot of competition to choose from for consumers. Have a great day. Kerstin.
Joe you hit the nail on the head. It is not easy being a realtor for everything you described. And it can be very costly.
And the question still remains.....how do you differentiate yourself from the crowd?
For me it's all about relationships. Unless a client were referred to me, spouting off "extraordinary service" means nothing. My preferred marketing method is face to face communication.
I am not going to work with someone I have not established a repore and I don't expect anyone to work with me without a glimpse into my soul.
Sure I send out mailings to a farm and over time it lets people know a little about me which then prompts them to give me a call.
I would love to be able to have a very narrow focus and stick to it and one day I will.....but for now I must be versatile and flexible in order to survive.
My point is just as you stated above....real estate marketing is a biatch!
Dear Joe, thank you for inviting me to read this article. To chime in with Kerstin and Tonya, I agree with all your points. Having a specialty target market is also a good way to focus the leads you want to attract from the web. In fact, mirror sites usually boost traffic even more.
My specialty is condominiums since I have background in managing condominiums, construction defect discovery, repair and litigation/mediation and currently provide warranty management of condominiums such as the Lumen and Queen Anne High School Condominiums in Seattle. These are the people I target, but again if someone wants to sell a home, well then I certainly won't say no.
I am a big fan of sending business to other realtors as I would not list a home in Marysville, Federal Way or Sammamish. Just yesterday, I was able to refer business to a realtor in Pennsylvania from a Pittsburg business person introducing their bad indie self.
Thank you for taking an interest and trying your best to help Realtors create market share.
Cheers!
Helen
I was a realtor for 10+ years (which by the way is a special designation aside from being a real estate agent so using the term realtor does not play across the board).
I have a few comments not meant to incite a riot so please don't take them personally Helen and Mark and Kerstin and Paul and Tonya and all of you other hard working agents.
Real estate marketing is challenging for a myriad of reasons. This applies to MANY BUT NOT ALL..:
Agents can be lazy and in the past relied on outside sources to market for them. Title and escrow companies used to do marketing for agents realtively free of charge but now RESPA laws prevent that and agents are left to their own devises.
Agents can be unimaginative. They have the same product in essence to sell over and over again. Four walls and a floor. They have to capture that on a piece of paper and company web site with photos. If the four walls and floor will sell for a lot of money then they might go the extra mile and spend some money to advertise it properly. Otherwise it is a few color flyers and basic photos.
Agents can be under-educated. They take continuing ed. classes which required for license renewal but are limited in scope. If brokers required their agents to take classes in client relations and advanced marketing skills instead of the usual Appraisal Valuation classes perhaps agents would step up their skills.
Agents get into business for the wrong reasons and do not get out when they should. The licensing test is simple and Joe Shmoo thinks he is going to sell his own house. So he gets a license and lists his house and voila another agent is born. The field is full of agents that have no business competing for clients.
One of the contributing factors to the housing crisis is the glut of real estate agents. As with any industry, too many agents waters down the quality of the service by offering reduced commission brokerages etc. can of worms.
I believe whole-heartedly that you should specialize in a niche. That does not mean that you cannot sell another type of property but focus is good and specialization shows expertise. You have to do what you love. If you love houseboats sell houseboats. If you love mid-century brick then do that. People buy integrity.
Thanks Joe for a great article.
Thank you Elizabeth for your comments. I think eveyone has something special to offer here. Way to go Joe :)
Joe,
Great article, and great discussion. I agree with some of the threads, specifically Mark and Elizabeth. The 1.3 million real estate agents that are members of the National Associaton of Realtors (NAR) are just the agents who pay to be apart of the association. There are another approximately 1.3 million agents who are NOT associated with the NAR. The real estate agent 'bubble' has caused a ton of problems in the industry. Some agents in the past have been lazy and have gotten into the business for the 'easy money.' For better or for worse, those days are gone, and they will be gone for quite a while.
In terms of marketing, I have to agree with Mark. I don't expect to have a stranger run across my Biznik profile or personal website and call me to do business with me. Sure, it happens from time to time (we can all get lucky), but it is not a reliable source of new leads. For me, it is all about the relationships. So, when I have a relationship with somebody and they go to my website and read testimonials, or read about how I 'provide outstanding service,' it lends some more credibility. I quit trying to solicit business from strangers a long time ago when I realized that the vast majority of the biz came from people that I already knew. I think that is the key to real estate marketing, and the key to most business to consumer businesses. It's about building personal trust with your relationships and conveying that you know what you are doing on a professional level.
All in all, a great discussion!
-Dan
Very interesting to hear this perspective about the glut of real estate agents. I hadn't considered that when I wrote the article.
I would think the "probably shouldn't even be in the business" competitors could actually help "serious" real estate agents -- because you collectively look like the Harlem Globetrotters compared to the hapless Washington Senators who don't know how to approach the business.
That lends to your credibility and diminishes theirs, yes?
Dear Elizabeth:
I agree with your comments and I think seasoned agents like Mark, Tonya, Kerstin, Dan and I (who I believe are all REALTORS (paying members of the National Association of Realtors) and uphold the SCKAR Code of Ethics definitely want those lazy real estate agents looking to make a quick buck to certainly leave the industry.
I like house boats too; it does take a certain type of person looking for the house boat lifestyle to appreciate them.
As for you, it is nice to see that there is life after real estate. I've been in the real estate industry since I was 18 so I haven't really thought of another career other than pursuing philanthropy.
Cheers!
Helen
So, Helen, you're saying that the "lazy" diminish the whole category and:
Yes?
Joe, if I understand this correctly then I agree. Unfortunately, they can do a lot of damage, which makes it hard for the rest of us who do care a lot for our clients and their needs. A lot of "for sale by owners" stem from not trusting realtors. I have a client in my network that has used 3 agents in his lifetime and he states that I am the only agent he would use again and recommend.
Thank you again for your article; I passed it along to our team leader and coach for our Bellevue office.
Helen. Actually for me my life continues in real estate as my husband has been an agent for 8 years and as a professional organizer I work with real estate agents to help them and their clients maximize the sale of a property by de-cluttering.
I think that the industry has taken a hard hit over the past year but I believe that the best agents will rise to the top and those that do not belong in the industry will drop out because they do not have the staying power.
My approach is quite simple. The work speaks for itself and is entirely based on sphere satisfaction and market domination. Avenues such as BizNik are fantastic but at the end of the day, clients hear about me before the other way around. It's about what I can do for your business before you can do anything for mine.
There isn't anything a Realtor can say until the work is seen or felt in a marketplace. Just my opinion but being a NAR member is simply one little tool in a very, very large box of toys.
Joe, I loved your article! Great ideas! I agree that we need to ask ourselves what value added services we provide to our clients and market on that. Obviously everybody expects “Great Service” and we, as realtors should deliver that. Even though we had that real estate agent bubble and the negatives that came with it, I think that it’s been a good learning experience for all of us. For one thing, now more and more we are dealing with the agents that actually have experience, knowledge and passion for what we do, loving our profession helps us differentiate ourselves form other agents in the way that we are not chasing the paycheck, we actually look for ways to better ourselves and our services. Being a Realtor sets us apart in many ways like Helen mentioned, not only are we being held to higher standards and a strict code of ethics but it also shows our commitment to our own education. Unfortunately most of the public is not aware of these differences. This article it’s a great eye opener for us agents I think. Thank you very much for your article and to everybody else’s comments.
Claudia
I am not a realtor, but an ASP home stager and I read this whole discussion with keen interest. Especially the selling four walls and a floor and doing a few photos for a color flyer. Watching the Seattle market deteriorate over the last couple of years has been a real education for me and for the realtors I work for. Working with a realtor who really cares that the property is inviting and well cared for, photographs beautifully (seeing as everyone shops from the web these days) and that they will present with pride really makes my job a pleasure. It is also the kind of realtor I want when I sell or buy a house. But I too often run across people, I have no idea why they are in the business. They offer very little in the way of service to their clients and seem to play to the lowest common denominator. My business too has been over run by newbies, with no credentials who think they will "have a go" at staging, work with very little knowledge and less integrity as they try to underbid every project. I think we all believe they will fall by the wayside, but it is a shame when the reputation of a whole profession rests on the worst practitioners. Thank you all for sharing this insight into the business, I for one, found it fascinating. Susan E. Gold ASP IAHSP.
I think that in any marketing areana there can be fear to commit to a particular identity. However, the marketplace is chock-a-block with people who market that they do it all.
Everyone already knows what a real estate agent generally can and can't do. But if you actually take the leap, and commit to a target audience, you wind up getting more business.
Great examples I've seen locally, are the realtors I actually remember from their marketing:
James Tibbetts - he's the top West Seattle listing agent. Now, whether he is or not by the numbers is another matter. But because he's been on the back page of the West Seattle Herald for at least over a decade, that's what I think. He shows you almost entirely sold houses, and 1 or 2 new listings.
Jace Sells Land - If you ever drive up to Port Angeles, you'll see his signs. Now, I don't know who the heck he is, but of the hundreds of agents in Port Angeles, he's the only one who has a real identity to me.
Ava & Ava - They're the king and queen of town homes I'd never buy in West Seattle. Simply because that's what they've been building all over the place.
My point being, when you do target an audience, you actually get a hundred times further than the Swiss-Army-Knife-I-Can-Do-Everything method. People will remember you AND you'll still get a lot of business that's the other kind you don't target as well.
Great article.
Thanks, Dietrich, and great current examples.
Thanks for the input! Joe
The problem with real estate agents started a long time ago when the bar was set very low. Basically you had to have a pulse and the ability to pass a test that any competent sixth grader could master. Having any skill at marketing wasn't even a consideration after all you were in a private club and as a member you were the keeper of the gate. If the public wanted any information at all they had to go through you. Real estate brokerages should be run a lot more like advertising agencies. After all the job description is primarily marketing. Walking in to the typical agency is like walking into an ad agency with no creative directors, no graphic designers, no photographers, no experts in product developement or packaging just a bunch of account executives and a receptionist. It's no wonder discount brokerages are making such a dent in the industry.
"Just a bunch of account executives and a receptionist."
Very colorful. Thanks, Susan.
I'm curious now: Many of you lament the state of the industry -- thanks to those who don't really belong.
Is there anything that can be done about it? Or, to use an overused expression, "It is what it is."
Great article and great comments!
I work 100% by referral and have been blessed to not have to market myself to strangers at all, but rather to focus on deepening my relationships with a core number of clients. With a small database of relationships there is more authentic sharing, more congruence, and more time to truly be an exceptional service provider and LESS time trying to look successful by placing big ads. No disrespect meant to the agents that DO run ads, but the payback on an ad or a farm is miniscule in comparison to the payback on the deep investment into serving one's clients and continuing to stay in touch so that you may then serve the good people they know.
I joined Biznik to meet cool service providers that I can REFER TO, not looking for referrals. My ecstatic clients are able to endorse my business to their friends and family in a way that simply seems false coming from the horse's mouth.
Each year for me (this is my seventh year) has been better than the last and this year seems to be on track to be the best so far, even in this market. People will always need to buy and sell and when you become the trusted advisor to someone and show integrity by continuing to follow up, I think it really resonates with people that you truly care. In regards to specializing... I specialize in service GOOD people in the Seattle Metro area and that seems to be focus enough.
Nice discussion, thank you for inviting me to chime in!
Setting yourself apart from the competition is always a challenge no matter what business you're in. I got into real estate after being in yellow page advertising sales. That was a great background as I had spent my career convincing people that they had to spend money to make money. I took that message with me as I started my career with targeted marketing.
Entering into the business I realized that it's important to differentiate yourself from others. In my case, I got involved in the community that I lived in. We have given back to our city with not only our volunteer efforts but our money invested in sponsoring events. To top it off my husband (who works with me) became mayor of our city.
We went one step further and created a niche marketing plan that caters to the senior sector...after all that's where us baby boomers are all headed. This way we have covered our bases both on a local level and much broader geographic area.
These past few years it seemed that everyone was becoming a realtor. Now that there has been a 20% decline of real estate agents, we are getting more business than ever. I think in difficult times people are coming back to experienced agents in hope that they hold the key to getting their house sold.
I believe that consumer confidence is the key to us turning our market back in the right direction. I'd like to figure out what marketing plan will convince our marketplace that we are economically sound here in the Northwest and get back to business as usual.
Lastly, I'd like to point out that how an agent markets themselves is likely a reflection on how they will market their listings. Creativity and thinking out of the box is a requirement to being successful in this "tricky" market.
Julie, I'm intrigued.
You wrote, "I'd like to figure out what marketing plan will convince our marketplace that we are economically sound here in the Northwest and get back to business as usual."
I didn't spend a lot of time on this, but are you saying:
Would the primary benefit be that "you can be confident to invest in"? If so, what supporting statement could we make to convince your target?
And is your target "baby boomers," or baby boomers in the market for investment purposes, or baby boomers who want to downsize...
You can see where I'm going with this. If we can crack it here, the whole Biznik community could benefit through our work and see how iterative it can be to find the "perfect" positioning statement, and how flexible the "five blanks" are.
Thanks for the live example to work through! Joe
Samantha has perfectly described what the business is and what it is not. Kudos!
As for having to do anything about less qualified agents, time is on the side of truth. And the truth shall set them free! Only the most commited will continue to maintain their MLS, NAR (if they are with a member agency), SKAR memberships and the fees that go along with it. Only the persistent, courageous, fearless, connected, balanced and focused agents will see each day as an opportunity to excel. These are the agents who will continue to represent this industry for what it is....an exciting, Can Do and forward thinking group.
Until the playing field is cleared of debris, Realtors have a great weapon against sloppy associates; filing for hearings regarding MLS violations and complaints. The rules are simple. If they can't be followed, file!
Joe, I need to clarify that I work two different business plans. One is the mainstream real estate that encompasses my geographic area, sphere & referrals and the other is the niche market of resizing seniors/baby boomers. It's a tough pill to swallow, but baby boomers are now entering into seniorhood.
As for my comment of the wish that we could send the message that our housing market is a safe place to invest... it would be backed up by data that would reflect a lower foreclosure rate than most of the country. I believe that our healthy job market helps support this. Although we were subject to some of the bad loans that were being made, most of the recipients can still pay their mortgages.
The longer buyers stay "waiting in the wings", the more harm is done. Kind of like shooting yourself in the foot. The biggest problem is that so many of our buyers are also sellers. It's all about the dominos falling. Many of my sellers are chomping at the bit wishing they could be buyers. They've even identified the homes they want but dare to make the purchase without first selling.
So the challenge is convincing buyers that they aren't going to lose money the day they close on their new home. Lenders are ready to get back to lending so let's get on with it!
I didn't answer your points directly but I bet you could create your statement from some of the points I've made, after all, that's YOUR job!! I'm just a real estate agent:)
Joe, thank you for inviting me to chim in.
I am a realtor & love what I do! It is important to distinguish yourself. Let people know who you are & what you do. Referals are the best compliment for us doing business and to have our name stand out. It is important to me that each of my clients receive that outstanding service with integrety, hard work and trust.
In the market today, there are still people buying and selling for whatever reasons. Marketing is just one way to get the word out, but who likes to cold call when this is one of the biggest purchases or sale that one makes? Most people want to be referred to someone who will get it done. Handing out business cards is a great opportunity. Who did you meet today? I once gave my card to an old friend at a red light going the opposite way. The next person wanted my card too. Have you lost contact with someone in the past year, 2 years or 5 years? Send them a note or email. Volunteering shows that we (in real estate) are not just after the money. Although that is what we want. Volunteering gives back.
Alot of wonderful people posted great comments on your aticle. With marketing, do you re-invent the wheel? I think one should clean it up and make it shine. Work with the basics and make it better. Someone said "It's Great in 08"
Julie, you present a tough challenge. The statement you're making would:
Here's why.
Assuage fear. In Investment Psychology Explained (another one of my favorites) author Martin Pring writes, "The sight of sharply declining prices … reinforces the fear that 'this time it will be different' and that the decline will never end." He continues, "Once you have had a bad experience in the market, you will always fear a similar recurrence, whether consciously or subconsciously, or both."
In layman's terms, you're fighting an uphill battle here, girlfriend.
The psychology to overcome fear from having been burned may be well beyond the reach of your humble servant and marketing strategist. P.S. I heartily recommend Pring's book to anyone who's gotten this far down this conversational string and/or Edwin Lefèvre's Reminiscences of a Stock Operator for a book that reads more like fiction (but likely isn't).
Require significant analysis. And historical perspective. Back when the Dow lost 22 percent in a single day, market analytics drew parallels to The Great Depression. And if you read RealMoney (subscription required), Jim Cramer's team does this all the time.
Assuming you're right about the real estate market in Western Washington, you'd still need a ton of evidence to convince to appeal to objective investors (if you can find them).
Need a respected/credible authority. Perhaps, perhaps, if Warren Buffett said he was buying up real estate in Western Washington, that would help. Perhaps Ben Bernanke's 325-basis-point reduction in the lending rate will shore up investor confidence.
Me? I subscribe to the maxim "never catch a falling knife." Zachary's first permanent tooth came in all crooked. I've got braces and two college educations ahead of me.
If I invest, I'll wait for the "all clear." I don't need to be a hero and call the bottom. Besides, Beth would kill me if I were wrong. ;-)
Joe,
Can I say "BRILLIANT"? What an insightful article, and so well-crafted, with solid examples and clear benefits for specializing and honing in on a niche.
I coach real estate agents, and this issue you so eloquently address is the biggest hurdle for agents (and most entrepreneurs). It appears counter-intuitive, and yet, NOT specializing is in fact the slow route to success.
Who wouldn't -- once they "get" this concept -- want to leverage their money and their effort, as opposed to breaking their back night and day for minimal results?
Thank you for an absolutely awesome, practical article -- not just for the real estate agents I coach, but also for me.
May I reprint -- with attribution, of course -- your two related articles on my blog?
-- Tshombe
By the way, I also received tremendous value from all of the thoughtful comments and your responses to them! Thank you!
This is a terrific discussion, very interesting even for someone not in the business.
I'm wondering what realtors/real estate agents think about real estate video/photo tours. Have you found them to be helpful? The NAR put out a press release (below) about their new strategic partner in making these tours available. I would think they would be a great way to focus a buyer's search and avoid wasting time and fuel driving around to unsuitable properties, but I wondered if realtors find them to be worth the expense.
http://www.realtor.org/pressroom/newsreleases/2008/narstrategicalliancebringsrealestatevideo.html
Tshombe, with a compliment like THAT, how could I possibly refuse?
Yes, any/all are welcome to post this -- or any content on my website elsewhere.
Joe
Mary, Virtual tours have been around for a long time. They are constantly being improved. Personally, I prefer a slide show of pictures as the traditional VT can be difficult to watch (somewhat nauseating).
The access to photos and tours on the internet has changed the way people look at homes. Often the buyer has chosen the properties they want to see. It's critical to have good photography to make the property appealing. In many areas the day of brokers or offices going out to tour homes is gone. I believe it's due to the fact that they feel like they can view the home online.
This is an excellent discussion that's raised many relevant points about the state of the real estate industry, and what this means for agents. In a market the size of the Seattle metro area, there are myriad opportunities to develop a niche following. I for one have chosen to pursue do-it-yourself home sellers in the Seattle core and have structured a handful of flat-rate packages to appeal especially to that market. My marketing plan/dollars focus exclusively on reaching that audience. When people say "but don't sellers want someone to hand hold them through the process?" or "but don't sellers want someone else to show their home?" I respond that yes, some sellers want that. But that's not my target; there are enough sellers that don't care about those things for me to work with. I think conventional agents have lots of opportunities to differentiate themselves. For example, despite the fact that I target the do-it-yourself market (and empathize with their disdain for agents in my marketing materials), I myself work with an agent for personal investment properties. She specializes in the field and provides tremendous value to me. Point is that there are dozens if not hundreds of niche markets in real estate. The key is to clearly define your market, really understand what they VALUE and why, and then develop your service (ALL aspects of it) in ways that fully exceed their expectations. It's actually quite liberating! You don't get sidetracked by other opportunities. Of course, as with anything, once you determine your niche, you have to really commit to it, and then be patient. The results will come!
Christine, interesting! So you're kind of the agent for people who don't like agents.
Nice concept. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for the info Joe. Although I am not in real estate I am always happy to help seniors from the tough transisition of moving from a larger home to a smaller condo or assisted living by having an estate or moving sale. In addition to seniors we also do other types of sales from one item to a house full. We also do insurance appraisals and much much more. I work directly with real estate agents and thus far all the ones I have worked with are in it for "the long haul" and not out to make a fast buck.
Hi Elizabeth,
Good article. I remember when I first got into business I worked with a real estate agent who actually started crying when I told her she needed to niche herself. Couldn't get it through her head.
Personally, I think one of the biggest problems in the real estate market is that most agents have no frikking idea how to actually SELL a house. (Hint: Putting it up on the MLS and dropping the price every few weeks isn't a sales strategy.)
I just figured to chime in- focus, focus, focus. Even in my niche of helping with search engine marketing with real estate, there are more and more reasons to have very fine tuned niches online.
Selling a home actually has very little to do with houses.
Barry, share with the folks at home what you taught at your event on Tuesday:
How places like John L. Scott use agents' names to bolster their own SEO results.
-AND-
How the title we choose on Biznik is the most valuable real estate and how not to squander it on something like "realtor" because that won't help a whit on Google searches.
What would be some good examples for title lines?
In consultative or relationship based sales models (like real estate) many companies use employees, affiliates, and contractors to drive traffic to a site.
For many real estate agents, they receive a good portion of referrals utilizing a personal name. A brother, co-worker, of friend refers you to Tonya Kirkland... but you don't know her website so you search online.
When you do that search on Google for "Tonya Kirkland" you get Biznik as a #2 result and John L Scott as a #3 result.
In Biznik's model (or John L Scott) can take 5000 community members and multiply the search results of 2-3 people per month looking for "John Doe real estate agent" and turn that into 30,000 unique visitors to you site.
Right now Biznik is at 10k+ and John L Scott is at 4k+ members on the site. Sites like Linkedin produce massive amounts of traffic with this technique with 22 million users, but smaller sites can produce some great results by focusing on 10 to 100 like-minded professionals/businesses.
I am so googling my name right now :)
This is an interesting article, much of which rings true. However, there are some additional points to be made.
I've been engaged in recent industry dialogues around this very subject with other real estate professionals. Recent studies show the most important factor the public looks for in selecting real estate agent representation is trust. The second is integrity.
Washington did have approx. 26,000 MLS member agents at the beginning of the year and has now dropped to just above 20,000. That's a fairly significant delcline. Those numbers are expected to continue their decrease.
As well, in this declining market, it seems a real estate agent's value has definitely increased, especially with those attempting to sell their homes.
From my vantage point, since the vast majority of my business stems from my existing relationships or referrals, personal connections are the most important aspect of running a real estate business.
Joe, love this conversation. I think the art of listening is a major contributor to success.
Your article inspired me to write this reply because I think realtors, agents, and brokers (in general) could benefit.
It's my first Biznik article!
Ted
Hey, saw your article! Nice job.
I added a comment about how listening could be part of your positioning statement.
Great article Joe! For anyone interested in a daily e-newsletter about residential real estate news and trends RIS Media puts out a good one. It provides “pertinent news, research and market analysis on trends and issues affecting residential real estate.” You can sign up free at rismedia.com
I stumbled upon Aaron Janus' promotion and think it's great. This could potentially break through the clutter:
"If your home has been languishing on the market and your ready to give up…don't! Call me. I'll have it sold in 90 days, or I'll do it for free."
Professional web site, too.
First of all, great conversation! Thanks for making me a part of it. I am very new to the biznik community, and have been very impressed so far.
As for the promotion, It's about putting my money where my mouth is. I can tell you all day long that I'll do this, that, and the other... that I'll get you "results". Well, if I'm that confident with the results that I'm going to get you, why not?
That being said, there are restrictions.
I don't work with every prospect that I meet. If there is not some sort of good rapport, a basic level of trust and mutual respect - forget it - life is too short!
If you are confident in that "zestimate", and it does not jibe with my analysis... Testing the market disqualifies you from this promo. This is for serious sellers only.
If we're on the market and I stop by to check up, and there is a post-it note on the keybox stating "no showings today", well, we may need to talk. You can't inhibit me from, well, selling your home.
The bottom line is that the seller is going to really want to sell their house. If I'm going all in - we're all going all in! So far this year, I have had success in different areas at different price points:
Green Lake - $750K - 36 days (to STI)
Renton - $120K - 3 days
Phinney Ridge - $575K - 17 days
Kirkland - $220K - 27 days
Issaquah - $499K - 36 days
Thanks again for a great conversation!
Joe, This NY Times article is excellent and is one of the most popular ones being circulated.
Give it a read! Ted
Wow, Ted, thanks.
The bidder makes good, but painful to swallow, points. I'm impressed with the way the seller turns it around.
It would be interesting to see how that hypothetical conversation would play out in real life.
Thanks. I think I'm going to print off a few copies for my real estate marketing workshop this week.
Joe
I have a little fun with my selling proposition in limerick form:
There once was a man with no money, who wanted a home for his honey.
His income was good, paid bills like he should, but the lenders still looked at him funny.
He picked up his phone and called Caroline, with down payment assistance in mind.
She showed him the way to $35K, now they are living real fine!
I wrote a letter to help mortgage brokers secure new business. Email me for a copy.
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