Today’s consumers are a different breed from the consumers of the past. Potential buyers and sellers are savvier, know more about the real estate market and, thanks to the Internet, have access to a wealth of information. According to the National Association of REALTORS®, 42 percent of home buyers begin their home search online before they contact a real estate agent. Interested buyers and sellers are able to check their credit scores, review their credit histories, and find out their home’s value after a quick search on Google or Bing.
Although consumers are empowered with more information, one thing remains the same: the need for a skilled real estate professional to guide them through the process of buying and selling a home. If you want to succeed in this new era of real estate, you must become a consummate professional.
Promotion: The Key to a Successful Real Estate Business
Leads are the bread and butter of your business; if you don’t generate leads, you don’t have a business. Successful agents generate leads by constantly promoting their businesses. Think about it: The more leads you generate, the more sales you’ll be able to close. More sales mean more income and more money in your wallet.
But, the best part of generating more leads? You’ll have more choice in who you work with. That’s right; you won’t be forced to work with a horrible client because you need the business. When you have more leads, you’re able to weed those people out of your database, and release them to other agents.
Successful promotion is broken into three parts:
1. Conventional promotion includes signs, advertisements, radio spots, bus benches, etc. While most agents invest the majority of their time, money and resources into this area, successful agents should only invest 20 percent of their resources here.
2. Digital promotion includes social media and blogging. Many agents spend hours on social media, promoting their businesses among other things, but the most successful agents only invest 10 percent of their resources here.
3. So, where should agents spend 70 percent of their promotional energy? Relational promotion. In the new era of real estate, building and maintaining relationships with your best clients will help you generate the high quality leads you need to help your business thrive.
Generate Leads on the Strength of Your Relationships
Build your business by acquiring new relationships, maintaining your existing ones and prioritizing the ones you have. How do you know with whom to spend most of your energy? Sort your database. Luckily, Referral Maker CRM makes sorting your database fast, easy and fun.
Simply upload your database, and then select the letter category that best fits that client. Once you’ve sorted your database, you’ll be able to focus your time and energy on building those relationships and getting better leads in the form of referrals.
Build Relationships by Providing Value
One of the best ways to build relationships with your clients is to provide value. Not only does this keep you at the top of their minds, it also helps to position you as the expert in their market. Here are a few ways to provide value to your clients:
1. Mailings: A monthly Marketing Flyer about a relevant topic helps you become a trusted source of information, which is essential in order to reinforce your role as your clients’ trusted advisor. Don’t have time to whip up a flyer every month? The Referral Maker Marketing System does it for you. Each month, you’ll receive professionally written and designed Marketing Flyers, letters and personal notes that are ready to send to your database.
2. Email: A follow-up email, or eReport, provides a connection to your mail campaign and an opportunity for your clients to communicate with you by replying to your message. When you subscribe to the Referral Maker Marketing System, you’ll also have access to each month’s corresponding eReport.
3. Video mailing: Get ready for your close up! Video mailing is a relatively new way to connect with your database. Its unusual nature pierces the defenses of the recipient, which helps to magnify your message.
