Social media is NOT Craig’s list. If you are looking for what kind of real estate social media content you should post, it’s very simple. Stop telling people you’re in real estate and start reminding them you’re in real estate.
What is real estate content? Why is everyone talking about real estate content and how does it apply to my business?
My goal of this article is to explain how to create real estate social media content that leads to clients in this post.
Let me be blunt. If you want to attract business, especially online, you must create real estate content.
Let’s go through the steps of exactly how it works.
Stop Creating Real Estate Social Media Content That Tells People You’re In Real Estate
You don’t need to tell people you’re in real estate, you need to remind them. Creating real estate social media content consistently allows you to sell without selling by constantly reminding others that you’re in real estate. What would you rather do, beg people for referrals or attract them?
“Hey do you know anyone who wants to buy a house”
“Hey do you know anyone who wants to sell a house”
When you are always selling, it’s hard to attract business.
You are told you must make x amount of calls a day, 5 days a week.
This is the old school train of thought when it comes to real estate marketing. I believe it’s these hard core sales tactics are a major reason why 87% of newly licensed agents do not make it 5 years in the business.
Especially in light of the NAR commission dispute, it’s never been more important to build a personal brand.
When you create consistent real estate social media content you take a different approach. It allows you to share your expertise and become the expert without having to say it because content over time builds authority.
The 2 Benefits Of Consistently Creating Real Estate Social Media Content
Creating real estate content helps you in two ways. First, is that it allows you to keep your brand in front of your largest source of business, your database of relationships. Over 60% of all agent business comes from referrals and repeat clients. It allows you to keep your brand at the forefront without having to always come off as a slick salesman.
Creating real estate content is a way to consistently nurture your relationships.
The second way you can use real estate content is to attract new potential clients. Let’s take this article you are reading right now. Maybe you found me on Facebook, Instagram, or Google. I want you to read this article so I can build a relationship with you and down the road you may become one of our members of Referral Sweet (that’s my soft sales pitch).
I’m not hard core selling you anything, but I am teaching you about creating real estate content. I’m talking about doing the same thing for your real estate business.
I’m not sure what kind of real estate content to create?
There are two types of content to create. First is educational. This is content that you share your expertise on various real estate topics. It should be focused around the questions that typical buyers and sellers have in real estate. I can list a many different topics for your to create content on.
The second kind of content to create is more for branding and staying on top of mind. It can be holiday videos, neighborhood tours, or just sold case studies to give you a few examples. This kind of content allows you to share your daily real estate story. You don’t create this kind of content to pick up leads, but more for nurturing your relationships and remaining on top of mind amongst your database, prospects who are not ready to make a move yet.
Start Creating Content, Start Attracting Clients
When you consistently remain on top of mind with the people you know, referrals and repeat business occurs. This is a visual on how simple the process really is.
10-15% of the people you know this year are moving, but 100% of them have a referral for you. When you’re thought of first for a real estate referral, you’ll begin attracting business.
However at the same time, 100% of people that you know have the ability to refer you one deal this year. The more referable you become the more business you’ll attract. Real estate is one giant popularity contest.
Heres my question to you. Would you rather spend 4-5 hours a week cold calling, prospecting, and being one of 50 Realtors to reach out to an expired listing on the same day?
OR
Would you rather spend 1-2 hours creating a real good piece of content each week and then distributing it? That’s what is comes down to.
Does this all make sense? Are you ready to create some real estate content? if you enjoyed this article share it with the world and help me get the word out!
Generating consistent stream of real estate referrals is crucial to your career and sanity. Staying in touch with your database isn’t optional, it’s a necessity. However, how do you do it without always talking about real estate?
Good news is you don’t have to. Actually, you shouldn’t really ever talk about real estate with your past clients and database because it could get annoying.
If you want to get generate a consistent stream of real estate referrals in your real estate business, you must stay in touch with past clients and everyone else you know! I’m not talking about boring them with market updates either.
The question is how do you stay in touch and what do you say?
Past clients don’t want you real estate related content when they are not in the market, but they do want your relationship.
There is one thing you need to understand about creating more real estate referrals before you can implement any kind of system. Referral marketing is all about keeping your name in front of your database in a sell without selling type of way. It’s about being top of mind so that when real estate comes to mind, you are the only agent they think of.
WHY?
Because it’s impossible to be referred if people forget about you. Here’s the formula to why people refer Realtors.
They have to notice a conversation about real estate.
They have to think of you.
They have to introduce your name into the conversation.
If these three things are in place, then you should get plenty of referrals…
But they must remember who you are and what you do.
Referral marketing is not rocket science, but it requires consistency and a system to do it the right way. Many times agents overthink referral marketing, but it’s really simple.
So what do you talk about?
The best part of creating more real estate referrals is that you don’t ever have to talk about real estate if you don’t want to. All you need to do is remind your database you’re in real estate. We’ll get into more details as we talk about the three channels you should be using to do that.
You need multiple ways to communicate to your database to get the most out of your referral marketing efforts. The right way to market for referrals is to use a combination of social media, video email, and direct mail consistently.
3 Must Have “LISTS” To Create More Real Estate Referrals
Your “lists” are comprised of total number of contacts or people you can reach within direct mail, email, and social media. You need to create an email list, a direct mail list, and ultimately a social media following full of people whom you’d expect to send or do business with you.
Generate More Real Estate Referrals on Social Media
Every social media platform serves as an additional channel to market your brand. Your “friends” on Facebook are part of your database because they live somewhere, which means they all have the potential to refer or do business with you. Think about how many old friends you don’t have time to keep in contact with anymore, but know what they are up to because you see them on Facebook. If you want more real estate referrals you have to be remembered!
Would you expect your social media friends to use you for their upcoming move? Then you need to keep reminding them that you are in real estate.
There is a right way to use social media and a wrong way. It’s not meant to be a classified ad section, don’t be cheesy. If you do it right, your “friends” will REMEMBER and REFER you. The proper way to do this is by sharing pictures or videos while telling a story about your business.
Social media is one huge relationship center! There is no better way to remind others what you do for a living than to make real estate related social media posts during your typical workweek! I recommend no less than 10-15 real estate reminders a month although that’s not a ton.
Remember that all of your connections on social media are all nothing more than a bunch of online relationships that will eventually move. Facebook and Instagram have been the most dominate social media platforms used by real estate agents for referral marketing, but you have to use them the right way to make it work for you.
The key is to consistently let others know what you do for a living without sounding like a sleazy salesman. You want to build your reach, friends, connections, and followers are much as possible with any social media platform you use.
Anything you share on social media is referred to as content. Share content like cool pictures of houses, cool views, client closings, final walk throughs, reels, or anything else that will reinforce what you do for a living to your friends. That’s how simple this is.
Generate More Real Estate Referrals With Video Email
Video Email marketing is also necessary to keeping a consistent presence amongst your audience. You should have an email list comprised of all the relationships you currently have. As long as you have a relationship with someone who you have implied consent to broadcast content to, they should be nurtured monthly with video email content.
The key to email marketing is not having the largest list, but one made up of quality relationships. To have an effective email referral marketing strategy, the content of your emails SHOULD NOT be generic.
Don’t Spam Your Database With Crap Content
There are many platforms that “Automate” email campaigns for real estate agents to their “database”, but the problem I have with it is that it’s not very engaging. Most people can tell they are pre-written emails and they are not very personable. The key to having referral success from your email marketing is to nurture your audience with very personal messages so that your content is more engaging.
Pre-written templated emails appear like spam and your people are more likely to unsubscribe or even be annoyed.
How good is your marketing if it never gets read or opened and feels like more of a nuisance receiving?
The national average open rate for emails is only around 13%. If you want to have a better strategy, you need to independently write your emails and make them personal. Don’t forget the main point of sending an email to your in the first place.
It should be to stand out and nurture your relationship.
We’ve seen open rates average over 40% using video based emails and creativity, which turns into a whole lot more real estate referrals. Email is also great because it has a 100% deliverability rate. This means that as long as you have the right email address that your intended recipient will receive it, but that doesn’t mean they will open it.
You need to create engaging content with your emails.
How Do You Create An Email List?
If you don’t already have an email list, you can easily get started by logging into your Gmail you are already using. Export all of your email contacts and then go through them and determine who should be on your list. If you feel like you would say hi to this individual walking down the street then they should be in there.
You will not have a relationship with every contact you export, but at least you have a large list to start with. Go through your contacts and delete everyone you don’t feel you have a relationship with. Once you are done, then BAM, you are in business.
Once you have your email list ready to go all you have to do is create a schedule that has consistency and follow it. The content of your emails can be whatever you want, but please make sure that you are providing some kind of value to your recipients. Don’t forget the point is to stay on top of mind of your audience so that you are remembered when they or someone they know may you need your services.
Generate More Real Estate Referrals With Direct Mail
This is going to be the hardest list to build, but only because it’s time consuming. Your direct mail list will be comprised of your closest relationships. We are not farming a strange community, but we are farming your relationships.
Who Should Get Your Direct Mail?
Your list should consist of anyone you would invite to your wedding or funeral. Your direct mail list is all about quality and not quantity. It’s not about buying a list of names and numbers to market to. If you do that, I am telling you right now, this is not going to work for you. We are marketing to our relationships, not farming strangers. Remember what needs to take place.
Anyone who says direct mail is dead has no idea what they are talking about. Direct mail is the most powerful list of the three. One of the reasons your direct mail list is so important is because everybody will receive it and physically touch your marketing message. You cannot say the same thing about social media(only roughly 17% of Facebook friends see your posts) or email (national open rate is 13%, but if you create consistent valuable content you can average 40-50%).
Yes, your direct mail will eventually get thrown away, but not before they acknowledge receipt of it. No other channel can provide a physical engagement with marketing other than direct mail!
To be honest with you it doesn’t really matter what the content on the mailing piece is, just as long as it’s entertaining or informative without and reminds the recipient that you are in real estate.
Once you have compiled a direct mail list of qualified relationships you can set up your direct mail referral marketing system. Your campaign can be a monthly newsletter, postcard, or even holiday card. Don’t forget that the point is not to push your service as much as it is to remind them of your existence. When you are remembered you are more likely to be thought of when they or someone you know needs your services. Make sure you use technology to automate all of your fulfillment so that you are not stuffing envelopes or stamping postcards. That is a waste of time.
Conclusion In Referral Marketing Tips
I hope this helped you see how keeping a consistent presence amongst your database encourages referrals. Don’t over think the strategy here. Using a 3 prong attack for your referral marketing generate more real estate referrals.
Did you like this article? Check out our Youtube channel for more videos.
Do you want to run a business instead of being run by one?
Do you hate cold calling or cold prospecting?
If you answered yes to any of the above questions, you might want to check out Referral Sweet.
Creating real estate social media content that generates business is a lot easier than you think. Unfortunately, today it is no longer optional to be on social media, it is a necessity.
The Good News About Real Estate Social Media Content is that it’s much to create than you think. The key is consistency, which means finding the RIGHT strategy for you is very important because if you’re not excited about creating content on social media it’s very hard to do it over time. Making 1-2 posts a month is better than nothing, but it’s not going to turn you into the next Million Dollar Agent.
Do you recall one video from yesterday you saw on social media? Well, nobody is going to recall anything you created either, which is why the first step is finding a social media content strategy that you are excited about.
Some people like creating videos, while others would rather be creating graphics, but whatever that becomes for you, consistency is the only thing that works.
Why Creating Real Estate Social Media Content Consistently Creates Clients
Social media is the easiest place to constantly remind ALL your relationships you’re in real estate. The people you are connected with on social media all live somewhere, don’t they? Wouldn’t you expect to get their direct business when they do? Would you appreciate their referral business? Then start creating real estate social media content that reminds people you’re in real estate (more on this later). The question for you becomes, “how do YOU use social media to create engagement?
The more content you create, the more people you can help buy, sell, or finance real estate because of the following numbers.
10-15% of your social media connections are moving this year!
100% of your social media relationships have the ability to refer you one client.
80+% of people use the first person they meet with.
Over 74% of closed transactions were with agents they know personally, were referred to, used in the past, personally met, or ran into.
Everything I am showing you here is 100% mathematical and not based on theory. Once you understand how and why people hire their real estate agent or lender, then you know how to market them. Top
Top Of Mind Brand Awareness Is Everything In An Attraction Based Business
The reason for creating content is very simple. The more real estate social media content you create, the more engagement you’ll have. All of the engagement you create will create conversations that ultimately lead to the relationships that get you hired. The reality is that business is right in front of you! The next question then becomes, how do you stay consistent creating real estate social media content that creates engagement?
4 Kinds Of Real Estate Social Media Content Every Real Estate Agent Or Lender Can Create
The key to creating content on social media overtime is to learn how to be an effective story teller. Storytelling is all social media really is at the end of the day. Everything you do or consume is nothng more than a story. Each time you make a post, that content reminds people of your brand. When this is done over time you’ll build a brand people start to associate with real estate as long as your content is reminding them you are in real estate.
Real Estate Content Idea Content #1- Memes
There are so many funny memes that create engagement you can post all over social media. Sometimes making fun of yourself or profession is a great way to create engagement. We like to call these more lifestyle memes, but regardless of what you post, each one will remind people you’re in real estate.
Real Estate Content Idea #2- Cool Real Estate Stuff You See Daily
Real estate agents see the coolest kitchens, views, designs, etc. so just start sharing that on social media. Tis becomes as simple as taking pictures of cool real estate things throughout your week and then just sharing those pictures over time.
When I was practicing in Chicago, I had a series called #TBT, which stands for “Throwback Thursday”. When I used to show and list houses I would take cool pictures of old school furnaces, woodwork, brick, architecture, etc.. The city of Chicago has some of the most awesome architecture and each time I made a post it reminded people I was in real estate.
Real Estate Content Idea #3- Unique Real Estate News, Ideas, Concepts
The real estate industry employs roughly 25% of the work force directly or indirectly. This means there are many people interested in the topic because everyone lives somewhere. One of the best ways you can position yourself as the expert is that when you see something newsworthy or unique, you create content on it.
For example, when the recent interest rates started rising in 2022 and the market made an immediate shift from a seller’s to buyer’s market one of the best real estate social media content you could’ve have created at the time, was commenting on whether or not the market was going to crash or what the impact on inflation was. In the example above, this agent received 166,000 organic views from reporting on that content first. This is a perfect example of how news trending topics get a lot of buzz when you are one of the first to create content on it.
In addition to this you could create content on anything you want, even though it’s not your listing. Here is Ken Pozek, Orlando Realtor. He created a YouTube video that went viral because who doesn’t want to see the inside of Shaq’s house?
The point is that you can create real estate social media content on anything. The key is not making it about your or even “them”, but more on what’s going on in the community or your life. Believe it or not, you may be more interesting than you think and people want to get to know you. Think of social media as a way to date for future business. The more content you create, the more you flirt, which ultimately leads to you getting lucky with a new client.
Real Estate Content Idea #4- Real Estate Case Studies
Every time a real estate agent posts, just listed” or “just sold” you are doing nothing more than bragging about how much money you made. There’s no other industry that does this where it would be acceptable, but in real estate. The only people who comment on those posts are those that are trying to get your business.
The video above is nothing more than a case study a client of ours had with our video marketing services. I can tell you how awesome we are or I can let someone else do it for me, which is far more powerful.
Once you start telling stories of the people you served, your engagement will triple. HGTV is nothing more than a giant case study. Regardless of what side of the transaction you are on, there is also a journey, which is a great way to showcase your expertise WITHOUT feeling like you have to brag or making a post that nobody comments on. If HGTV can create an entire TV channel on “our profession”, why can’t we just document our own story? If you don’t have any stories start commenting on public “moves” by following channels like TMZ, etc..
Don’t overthink creating real estate social media content. The key is not creating content about your business per se, but rather reminding people in what business you are in.
The reason why 87% of agents fail within five years is because most of them start in real estate chasing the wrong people with NO real estate marketing strategy. Everything you are about to read is not rocket science, but common sense when it comes to real estate marketing vs. advertising. My goal is that you will learn how important it is to immediately establish an ongoing real estate marketing strategy. Creating real estate content creates top of mind brand awareness or what Gary V. would call “Attention”.
Prospecting For Real Estate Business Is Difficult
I recall as a brand new agent in 2002, cold calling my first six months because I was told to prospect, prospect, prospect instead of how to market my own brand.
One of the first lessons I learned my first year in business as a real estate agent was that prospecting through cold calling or other “old school” sales tactics was unsustainable for me. I was getting burned out fast, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t make it in real estate, it just meant I had to find another way.
You don’t get referrals or business from strangers, you get them from people you know. The key is staying on top of mind when a referral opportunity arises.
Let me ask you a question….
If nearly 61% of business is generated from referrals and repeat clients, what should be your most important real estate marketing strategy?
Facebook ads?
Buying Zillow leads?
Cold calling FSBO’s or expired listings?
Direct mail farming?
Door knocking?
These are all great ways to prospect new business, but it’s a fact that over 80% of a real estate agent’s business comes from referrals, repeat clients, people you already know, or run into?
Consider This…
If I were to open up a taco stand in San Diego and I found out that roughly 80%+ of my customer base were from a certain area or demographic, what should be the first thing I do? I would focus the majority of my marketing efforts to that specific group of people. I would first determine how I could reach them so they know I’m open for business.
Over 80% of business comes from people you know, worked with in past, are referred to, or personally meet! These aren’t statistics created by me, these are facts reported from NAR. A real estate agent who is not marketing their relationships is like me opening up my taco stand without putting a sign in the window saying I sell tacos.
What real estate marketing strategy keeps you in front of people WITHOUT always having to talk about buying or selling real estate? You create content.
What Do I Do First?
Many real estate agents rely on chasing leads vs. creating and maintaining relationships that produce referrals and repeat business. We are told to believe that we should be prospecting vs. marketing and building a brand. Prospecting strategies are great, but they should come secondary to setting up a system that generates referrals and repeat business.
I am talking about farming your relationships with content in multiple channels, so let me explain.
We all know direct mail farming works. It’s been a real estate marketing strategy since the dinosaurs ruled the world. You pick a neighborhood and then consistently mail it over a period of time. After about 6 months or so you should start seeing some results(if not sooner). The longer you maintain a presence and build a brand in your farm area, the better the results over time. The reason this takes time to build is because it takes a while for people to remember who you are. Over time, direct mail farming creates top of mind brand awareness.
So if direct mail farming a bunch of strangers still works, imagine if you started farming your relationships?
Why Your Real Estate Marketing Needs To Be Put In Front Of Your Relationships
You must market your relationships because when you are out of sight, you are out of mind. Trust me, people don’t remember what you for a living as much as you would like to believe. Top of mind brand awareness keeps your brand at the forefront, nurtures your relationship with your database, and makes it easier to be remembered when a referral opportunity rises.
What’s The Return On Investment In Marketing Your Database?
This is mathematical marketing, not theory. You can literally get a good estimate on your referral opportunities for the next 12 months simply by determining the size of the audience you are marketing. According to MelissaData, the annual statistics in the United States show that 10-15% of the population moves every year. This includes everyone you know or are connected with through social media or walk past each day.
Marketing your relationships consistently will generate direct business, but that’s not why you should be marketing it primarily.
You market your relationships because 100% of them knows someone who is moving that they can refer you to!
If you were to to “Farm” 100 people over a 12 month period, roughly 10-14% of them are going to be moving this year. If they know you, they are more likely to call you first when they need to buy or sell real estate. Over 80% of homebuyer and sellers hire the first person they speak to.
If I had 200 people I was consistently marketing, roughly 20-28 of them will be moving this year. The best part is that 100% of the people you stay in front of have the ability to refer you at least one client because they all know someone who is moving this year.
The question becomes if they will refer you or not. This is why top of mind awareness is crucial to your business.
You create top of mind brand awareness through creating content consistently through direct mail, video email, and social media.
People don’t hire your broker or bank, they hire you, but why. In a sea of Realtors or lenders, what is it that makes you stand out. What do you do differently?
Consistently chasing after “now” business week in and week out can eventually burn you out. I don’t care if you wear a cape and are the world’s greatest salesman, if you’re constantly prospecting vs attracting business, at some point, you will break. This is why you need to simplify your sales strategy.
Sales is a lot more than just finding people who are willing, able and ready right now. You need to stay in touch with leads, past clients, and then when you are working with people you need to impress upon them you’re the right person for the job. All of this is sales. It’s the way you stay in touch with people who aren’t ready yet to the way you make them feel during the process.
Do you know what consumers think of getting cold called? How do you feel when you get a cold call from India? I seem to get three cold calls each week and I hate them. My cable provider, some car warranty company, and countless calls from real estate related internet paid lead service providers. Even though they may be trying to help me get a better deal, it still annoys the living shit out of me.
So the question you have to ask yourself is what kind of “sales” do you want to do? Do you want to spend 2-3 hours a day cold calling? Do you want to spend hours a week “popping by” FSBO’s? Do you want to have to rely on “closing” people all the time on something they are unsure on?
OR
Do you want to create a sales strategy that has potential clients calling you?
Check Out This Week’s Podcast
Do you want to run a business instead of being run by one?
Over the next 12-18 months we’re going to see who’s a sales person vs an entrepreneur. With commission compression and NAR lawsuit, outside sources are doing everything they can to eliminate the need of using a real estate agent or lender. It’s in times like these that HUGE opportunities come up, it’s just a matter of whether or not you see them.
My predictions over the next few years is that agents or lenders will pivot in ways we don’t even know about yet, but however they do it, they will be wearing their entrepreneur hat. A long term career in real estate or mortgage will involve you thinking long term, not short.
On this week’s podcast we bring in business expert, Jen DuPlessis, where she shares the fundamentals in letting go to grow. There are going to be some hard choice everyone needs to make, but it’s going to be those choices that will be the difference between success and failure.
Consumers Expect More From Their Real Estate Agent
Roughly 1 in 5 people regretted hiring an agent and wished they did it on their own!
Yes folks, 19% of home sellers surveyed regretted using an agent. This isn’t a real estate problem, this is an industry problem and the exact reasoning behind why all of these “let’s cut the Realtor out of the equation companies” are growing.
Lack of value is the industry’s problem right now.
I believe that the answer to this problem is rooted to how we, as real estate agents, view our occupation. Are we sales people or business people? There is a major fundamental difference between the two and we now face an option as to how to respond to the the increased competition and the “less expensive” options. The public is speaking up and telling the industry to shape up or ship out!
We aren’t entitled to a 6% commission!
We aren’t entitled to be involved in a transaction!
We need to earn it!
The public doesn’t want more real estate sales people. They want more real estate problem solvers. If the industry as a whole began to teach agents to run their practices as small business owners vs. sales people, I believe we will redefine the value a good Realtor brings to the table. The reason for this is simple. Sales people play the short game and business owners play the long game.
Let’s start off defining the main difference in motivation between the two.
A sales person, by nature, is motivated by closed sales and personal gain.
A business person, by nature, is motivated by creating and maintaining the best product or service that can become salable at some time.
Let’s use these questions to spell out the difference in mindset the two may have. You can then use this questions to analyze your own business.
16 Questions That Determine if You’re An Entrepreneur vs A Sales Person
Here is a list of 16 questions on how you view, market, or run your current business. The answer to these questions will determine whether or now you are running a business or just another sales person chasing a check.
1. Do You Have A Database?
A business owner has a database they consistently market. They view their relationships as future business and make staying in touch with their network a priority. They most likely have an email or direct mail list to keep in contact with network. Over 60% of business comes from referral or past clients, but it’s impossible to attract when you’re not top of mind.
A sales person doesn’t care to keep track of a database. If they have one, it’s on a spreadsheet or CRM, but nothing is actively done with it in terms of consistent communication. A sales person does not consistently stay in touch with past clients.
NOTE: If you are having trouble marketing your database, sign up for Referral Sweet.
2. Do You Have A Website You Own?
A business owner has a website they fully control vs one they lease because they are playing the long game. A business owner constantly invests in working on their website always looking to improve or add value with it.
A sales person may also have a website, but it’s most likely one that was given to them by their broker or a very inexpensive tool. You may have a website but have never once updated it since the time you got it.
3. Do You Measure Your Lead Generation Efforts?
A business owner measures successful lead generation efforts by measuring cost vs return on investment. When they see a positive return on a certain marketing activity, they double down on it.
4. Do You Have “Systems:” That Enhance The Client Experience
A business owner believes in enhancing the consumer experience. They reinvest a portion of their income back into the client experience with every transaction. Sometimes it’s a closing gift or it’s a service, but it’s something the client doesn’t forget.
A real estate sales person thinks customer service is just in the way they communicate with clients during the course of a transaction.
5. Do You Actively Spend Time Business Planning Or Have A Coach?
A business owner spends multiple hours each week planning on how to leverage into a team and remove themselves from the sales process. They are actively looking at hiring or ways they can hire and scale their business.
A real estate sales person spends multiple hours each week planning on which lead generating system to use next.
6. Do You Have An Actual Listing Marketing Plan?
A business owner has a marketing plan that involves more than an MLS listing, open house, and a sign in the yard. They have a marketing strategy uniquely prepared for each property. Their goal is to first please the seller with their service, then leverage spin off business from the listing. The last goal is to sell the actual house.
A real estate sales person marketing strategy is the status quo.
7. Are You Consistently Building Your Personal Brand & Online Presence?
A business person is constantly building upon their personal brand with video, content creation, and other marketing strategies that position them as the expert.
A real estate sales person relies primarily on lead generation activities only when it comes to marketing.
8. Do You Have A Team Or An Assistant?
A business person invests in an assistant or hires help. If they are not able to yet, it’s a goal they have.
A real estate sales person thinks it’s too damn expensive.
9. Are You Investing In Education?
A business owner is constantly investing in their own education and attends training events.
A real estate sales person thinks everything they learned in real estate school was enough or they know it all. They constantly come up with excuses why they are not learning or implementing anything new each year.
10. Do You Have Your Own Branding?
A business owner has their own branding, logo, slogan.
A real estate sales person uses their brokers.
11. Do You Own Your Own Signage?
A business owner invests in their own branded open house and for sale signs.
A real estate sales person uses their brokers.Do
12. Do You Keep A Savings Account?
A business owner sets up a certain percentage of income earned to be reinvested back into their business. They also save money for market valleys.
A real estate sales person uses 100% of their income to pay last month’s bills. They don’t think the market will ever change and typically live month to month.
Business owners view their day to day much different than sales people do. There isn’t a right or wrong answer for you, it’s just on how you want to run your business. It’s ion my opinion that to survive going forward at least in real estate, you have to be an entrepreneur.
Farming, does it still work? That’s one of the first things you think of when you think of becoming the neighborhood Realtor everyone knows. You pick a certain neighborhood and send direct mail (farm) to its residents every month for an indefinite amount of time.
Yes, it still works, but sending direct mail to a certain neighborhood isn’t the only way you can become the neighborhood Realtor everyone knows. Today, you can farm your database, social channels, niches, etc. You can become the neighborhood Realtor without even living in the same neighborhood you’re the neighborhood Realtor for!
Note: Check out the podcast with Matt Muscast The Neighborhood Realtor Expert. Here’s a Sneak peak.
Regardless of what you strategy is, the concept of a maintaining a consistent presence of marketing using various channels is the blueprint to becoming the neighborhood Realtor.
Consistent communication leads to top of mind brand awareness, which leads to conversations, which trust, which then creates conversations that lead to getting you hired.
The real estate agent with the most amount of attention, notoriety, or largest brand are already and will continue to be the agents with the most sales. There isn’t any magic trick or super power to this. THe only goal is to be the first agent people think of when they think of real estate.
Consistent Communication To The Same People Over Time is How You Become Their Neighborhood Realtor
The first place to start is in putting together your database of relationships, past clients, and anyone else you would expect to hire you or do business with. People hire or are referred to people they know or know of not strangers. This is why the most important “database” to stay in front of are the ones you already know.
Most Realtors try to chase a bunch of leads before making sure everyone they already know, knows they can refer them business. The reality is you’re chasing a very small percentage of market that’s extremely competitive.
Does your entire rolodex of relationships remember or know to refer you business? Think deep, do they automatically think of you when they think of real estate?
Become The Neighborhood Realtor To The People You Know Before Trying To Reach The Ones You Don’t
Real estate is a referral dominated business, where over 60% of all agent business comes from the people you already know. The best people to farm are the ones you would invite to your wedding, funeral, hang out with, or say hello to in the grocery store, not complete strangers!
Real estate is a belly to belly business where overwhelmingly people want to work with someone they know, trust, and like, but so many real estate agents place their marketing efforts on shiny objects they are told will create business for them.
Here’s where most real estate agents think they should be doing.
Buy an expensive zip code or online lead platform to keep “leads” coming in.
Get a mega website they don’t know how to use or drive traffic to.
Cold call cancelleds, expired, and FSBO’s constantly. They are told that it’s a numbers game and once they get 10 rejections they are one step closer to getting a “YES”.
Get a super duper email autoresponder to “drip” on people until they respond to you.
I’m not saying these activities don’t work, they do, but most agents don’t have the budget or systems to work them effectively to scale. The good news is you don’t have to because the business is right in front of you already.
Any logical business owner would place the majority of their marketing budget and energy towards the largest source of business, right?
When the people you already know forget you’re in real estate, they forget to refer and use you.
People refer real estate agents for 3 reasons.
They have to like the agent they are referring them to;
They have to like the person that is asking or suggesting for a referral for an agent; and
The person referring the agent has to notice that an ongoing conversation is taking place (about real estate) and they have to THINK OF YOU (this is the key).
If you are interested in the psychology of referrals, read the rest of this article below;
It is our job to remind our relationships what we do for a living. It is not their job to remember to refer business to us.
I don’t want to be salesy!
Don’t be. It would be cheesy if you did (or you can join Referral Sweet). You cannot get nervous about consistently marketing your database. That’s why you have to apply a “sell without selling” type of approach. You can consistently market your brand without doing this very easily.
The goal of marketing your database is not to generate a lead or create an opt in, it’s to not be forgotten.
Here’s the main point!
If real estate farming works, imagine how it would work with people you actually know. Staying on top of mind as the go to real estate pro amongst your database pays off big!
These are the facts. If 10-15% of people you know, or know of you, are moving this year, how many of them remember you are in real estate?
The primary reason you are marketing your database is not for their direct business, although that’s nice, but to get their referrals because everybody you know, knows someone who is moving this year. That’s a fact.
When you become the “neighborhood Realtor” in their minds, you’ll get their referrals and repeat business.
What the hell is going on in the real estate industry? More specifically what is going on with the future of buyer agency? Is the end near and will buyer agency cease to exist? I’m hearing of agents already “losing” buyers who are unwilling to pay a buyers agency fee at closing so is this the beginning of the end?
Here’s what I know for certain, if you don’t change you will go out of business because here’s the truth. Commission compression is real and the future of buyer agency as an income stream is real. There is a large segment of the real estate buying population that does not see the value in paying 2.5-3% buyers agency fee.
My Prediction: The average buyers agency fee will be 1-1.5% in the next 6-18 months.
NOTE: Listen to this podcast to see the ins and outs of how to profit with mortgage legally.
The Future Of Buyer Agency Compensation Is Through Ancillary Services Or Indirect Services
If real estate agents and brokerages do not start making adjustments, they are at risk for a massive wake up call. We’re talking about a 50% reductions on buyer agency commissions which WILL CHANGE the way the entire industry operates.
However, it’s not all doom and gloom because there is a massive opportunity here to because I believe a large part of the future of buyer agency compensation can be through mortgage.
I made a post a on my personal Facebook page back in March stating that every loan office just became a buyers agent and i got a lot of shit for it. In today’s market I think my prediction is starting to see fruition because the opportunity to shift.
“BUT MY COMPANY NAME IS… AND WE HAVE BEEN AROUND FOR 99 YEARS… OUR MARKET SHARE IS AMAZING & I DON”T NEED TO ADJUST!”
Nobody gives a crap. People care about one thing and that’s their bottom line. What is your alternative going to be with a buyer client when they say no to your buyers agency agreement?
Are you just going to let them go because your ego is too big thinking you are “worth 2.-3%”? Guess what, 100% of nothing is still zero.
This is going to be one of th ebuggest challenges we see within the real estate industry over the next 12 months, but what are you going to do about it?
Well, through a mortgage partnership you can legally collect anywhere between .5-.75% (lenders call these basis points) of the loan amount.
So if you were to receive 1-1.5% commission as a buyers agency fee, you could not also receive additional compensation legally through referring the mortgage, which you probably do anyways 90% of the time.
The Future of Buyer Agency Is Thinking Outside The Box
Everything changed with the NAR lawsuit. This has changed the consumer expectations. In addition telling a byer they need to come up with an additional 2-3% plus their downpayment is a tough sell. I’m not discounting buyers agency at all, the public is, I’m just trying to show you an alternative.
The way real estate is bought and sold has changed dramatically in the last 15+ years. It was not long ago when consumers needed a real estate agent to obtain information on the buying and selling process.
In today’s world, buyers can get that information easily by turning on their computer and logging onto Zillow, Trulia, Red Fin, Realtor.com, and other property search related websites.
The value of a buyer’s agent has lost much of it’s value in the eyes of consumers.
Your Buyers Agency Value Proposition Has To Change
People don’t hire your broker they hire you, but you have to show them you’re worth it. What do you do that nobody else does? The client experience and your personal brand have never been more important. part of having a value proposition can be marketing yourself as a hybrid agent or a true one stop shop.
Now your buyer clients can use you to help them find, negotiate, and finance their next property which is much different than someone who cannot offer that. People don’t hire or remember what you do, they remember how you do it.
Pattern Interruption Is The Future Of Buyer Agency
We will see over the next year what’s in store for the future of buyer agency, but there is no doubt a paradigm shift occurring.
We’ve seen this play out in a couple different industries.
Blockbuster vs.Netflix
Taxi’s vs. UBER
The hotel industry vs. Air BNB.
CarMax vs. The Used Car Dealerships
Don’t get scared, take advantage of the opportunity. It’s times like these when millions are made because of the opportunity.
There will remain several factors that that I don’t think will ever change. People still want a human to work with during one of their largest financial transactions.
You can’t build an attraction based business WITHOUT having a brand. I don’t think you can have any long lasting business without a brand The most important thing you can do is learn how to stand out in the marketplace.People don’t remember what you do, they remember how you do it.
The hardest part most service based businesses or individuals have is seeing themselves as a brand.
NOTE:Listen to the latest podcast with College Hunks Hauling Junk & Moving Founder Nick Friedman.
Here’s a sneak peak….
“I work for a broker and they are my brand…”
NO, The you are the brand. The broker is not. Helping build your broker’s brand does you NO BUENO. As a matter of fact less than 4% of consumers actually chose their agent because of the brand they were affiliated with.
What does this mean?
It means that buyers and sellers don’t give a shit what company you work for. People aren’t hiring your broker, they hire you. Company brand used to matter as the public perception used to think they needed to work with an agent at a big brand name. In today’s brokerage world, that is no longer true for the most part because 96% of consumers reported they hired the agent vs the brokerage they affiliated with.
How To Standout In The Marketplace Step 1- Determine Your Symbol
Over 60% of all agent business is derived from referrals and repeat business because people seek out agents they know, like, trust, or are referred to. You don’t get referrals and repeat business from strangers, you get them from the relationships you have in life, but only when you are remembered. You need a logo that tells a story.
Which is more memorable?
NIKE
OR
I think we know the obvious answer here, but the question is why? Over time we’ve been trained to associated Nike with their logo. When I see it, I don’t just think of the company, but I think of what the company stands for. Instantly I get images in my head of:
Michael Jordan
Basketball
Sports
Just Do IT
Adrenaline
Competition and so on….
That logo has the power to trigger all those thoughts and emotions in my brain. That’s the power of branding. Over time I have been exposed to a consistent combination of marketing campaigns where Nike associated their branding with the stories of well known athletes.
You cannot learn how to stand out in the marketplace without first defining your own story.
They didn’t need to put their shoes or apparel in the ads, they just placed their logo next to the athletes stories. Therefore, over time, my brain was programmed to associate that swoosh with athleticism. It was the consistency and branding of the Nike’s logo that created that association in my brain.
I understand Nike is a billion dollar company and we are talking about real estate branding here so let’s go through my own branding from when I still practiced as an example.
Mike Cuevas, Realtor
OR
The logo is more memorable than saying Mike Cuevas, Realtor. Images are more power than straight text and why I use my logo in everything I do because I know my logo resonates more than my name.
My Chicago Real Estate Dude eventually turned into Real Estate Marketing dude, the name of my podcast.
I’m fighting for attention, not leads. THe “dude” is my personality summed up while my logo is my symbol.
When you have the attention of your database you’ll attract clients
My only goal in real estate branding is to be the most known Realtor amongst my network.Once that is accomplished, it’s just a numbers game because people move. The more people who know who I am, the more referrals and repeat business I get. It’s that simple.
I don’t market Mike Cuevas the Realtor, I market the Dude who’s name happens to be Mike Cuevas.
My brand also reflects my style. I’m not a luxury agent. I’m a dude. I have found that the more “real” that I am in my marketing, the more people I connect with. Connecting with people , nurturing, and building relationships is the entire goal of my marketing strategy. I don’t market my brand for leads, I market my brand to build on my relationships and stand out.
The goal of marketing your brand should be to become the most well known Realtor amongst your network possible. People hire Realtors they know, like, and trust, but they can only work with you when they remember who the hell you are.
“The Realtor who is beating you in sales is not better than you, they are just more popular”
I no longer sell real estate actively, but I didn’t change my brand. Today, I’m the Real Estate Marketing Dude.
In the last 3 years I have completely changed what I sell, but my brand remained that of a “dude” because it’s just who I am. I went from selling houses to selling video and branding services to Realtors, but my brand didn’t change, my job did. The reason for that is because your brand is not based on what you do for a living, it’s based on who you are as a person and what you stand for.
How To Stand Out In The Marketplace Step 2- Get Loud
If you really want to know how to stand out in the marketplace,use video because it’s the most impressionable way to communicate.
60% of all communication is based on your tonality.
Did you ever hear the phrase, it’s not what you say it’s how you say it? Your tone is everything. If you spoke in monotone boring voice in all your videos would it affect your messaging? Of course it will. Your tone is the most important part of how you communicate as it expresses emotion. Check out what Jerry has to say…
30% of communication is based on your body language.
When you are using video, you need to consider your body language as a form of communicating.
10% of communication is based on the actual content.
This is going to blow your mind. Only 10% of what you actually say will be retained. People don’t typically want to talk about real estate or work unless they are in the market. Quit focusing on what you are saying and put more emphasis on how you say it.
Every video you create does not need to sell real estate, it needs to remind people you are in real estate.
Do you remember ShamWow?
It’s this guys tone and body language that people remember. I didn’t recall the product because it was a good product, I recalled it because of the dude! His body language and tone are what is memorable. That’s the power of video.
Can you express your tone using email?
How about body language?
(Emojis are the exception✅✅🏠✅👍🏻😢🤣🏠💰)
How To Stand Out In The Marketplace Step 3- Be Consistent
The final step in the puzzle is to be consistent. For someone who is consistently communicating with their database, local community, and anyone else willing to listen, you become unforgettable.
In real estate specifically, people move every 6-9 years so do the math, it’s never whether they will need you but more of a matter of when they will need your services.
As you communicate consistently with the people you already know, you’ll learn that how to stand out in the marketplace really doesn’t involve you coming up with some clever idea or ground breaking technology. It involves good old relationship building communication, and authenticity.
Everyone in real estate knows they need to create content for real estate marketing, but many are still holding back, why? Conquering the fear of putting yourself out there doesn’t require skill, it requires determination. Attracting clients vs. chasing leads is what every agent wants, but without having a personal brand or a lot of notoriety, it’s near impossible to build an attraction based business.
Guess what holds people back 99% of the time? The fear of putting yourself out there.
(Listen to this week’s podcast with Chan Weber From Agile & Co… Here’s a sneak peak…)
Why Every Agent Needs To Start Creating Content Immediately
In order to understand how this works, you need to understand how and why people refer or use Realtors. I have a more in-depth article you can read here about the psychology of whats makes someone refer you, but let me summarize it for you. People refer and use Realtors they know, like, trust, and… REMEMBER!
When you create content for real estate marketing that you distribute you more referable. As you do this consistently over time, you become unforgettable.
In my opinion, the number one goal in real estate marketing is to remain top of mind to the people who already know, like, and trust you. This is where content comes into play. Content allows you to stay relevant WITHOUT always having to feel like you are selling something. The more content you create and the more people who see it, the more referable you become.
“10-15% of the people who see your content this year will be moving, but 100% of them have a referral for you!”
Why Conquering The Fear of Putting Yourself Out There Is So Important
Over recent years, many “shiny objects” have infiltrated the real estate marketing industry and although they sound really cool, the vast majority of business will STILL come from people you already know.
However if you cannot get over the master conquering the fear of putting yourself out there, then how can you ever create content consistently? In this article, I want to show you why conquering your fear of putting yourself out there is key to the future of your real estate business.
Who Are You Creating Content For?
The best people to share your content with is your database of relationships. You don’t need you content to get seen by millions of people, you need it to get seen by the ones who will send you referral business or use you directly for their services. Everyone lives somewhere making everyone a future potential client or referral source. The database I’m talking about is nothing more than a collection of people you would invite to your wedding or funeral if you had an unlimited budget. Your database is NOT a collection of Zillow leads, opt ins, or other people you have no personal relationship with. Your database is comprised of your best friends, neighbors, family, parents at your kid’s school, and anyone else you would say “hi” to in the grocery store. If you would be angry to learn they bought or sold without you they are part of your database. Here’s the question. If you’re creating content for people you already know then why are you scared to show it to them? That would be like running away from someone you knew at the grocery store? Step 1 to conquering the fear of putting yourself out there is realizing who you are creating content for. Your best sources of business are through relationships, which include your friends, past clients, and family. Quite often, real estate agents shy away from “marketing” their closest relationships.
What Kind of Content Should You Create?
The key to overcoming the fear of putting yourself out there is being a great storyteller. You don’t want to send your database sales related messages talking about interest rates or bragging about how many houses you sold, you want to add value. You don’t have to talk about real estate, you need to remind them you’re in real estate. Attracting new clients from your database is not about generating a lead, it’s about generating their attention.
Why ATTENTION is So Important…
Having the attention of your database creates top of mind brand awareness. Top of mind brand awareness creates a higher likelihood of you being the first person they speak to about making a real estate decision.
10-15% of your database is moving this year.
100% of them can refer you to someone who is moving this year.
Past clients don’t want you real estate related content when they are not in the market, but they do want your relationship.
How To Distribute Your Content
You want to not just create content on social media, but through multiple channels. This is about taking a multi-channel approach to marketing your database so your brand is everywhere all the time. Every social media platform you’re on is just as an additional channel to market your brand. Your “friends” on Facebook are part of your database because they live somewhere and have the potential to refer or/and do business with you. Think about how many people you don’t have time to keep in contact with anymore, but know what they are up to because you see them on social media. If you want attract more clients from social media, they have to know what you do, which is why step one to conquering the fear of putting yourself out there is you need to know how and why it works. We create content that reminds people we’re in real estate vs. annoy people with spammy like messages. If you would you expect your social media friends to hire or refer you business, then you need to keep reminding them that you’re in real estate vs. telling them.
Social media is not meant to be a classified ad section!
The proper way to do this is by sharing content through images and video about your community, life, or business that remind them you’re in real estate. It’s not about screaming you’re in real estate, but gently reminding them while sharing cool stories or content that they engage with. Once people realize that they do not need to always talk about real estate or work, the conquering the fear of putting yourself out there is much easier.
Conquering The Fear If Putting Yourself Out There With Email
Social media isn’t the only place to put yourself out there. Email marketing is also necessary to keeping a consistent presence amongst your database, but I highly recommend doing it with video email. You should have an email list comprised of all the relationships you currently have. The key to email marketing is not having the largest list, but one made up of quality relationships. To have an effective email referral marketing strategy, the content of your emails SHOULD NOT be generic. The key to having referral success from your email marketing is to nurture your audience with very personal messages so that your content is more engaging. How good is your marketing if it never gets read or opened and feels like more of a nuisance receiving? We’ve seen open rates average over 50% using video based emails and creativity, which turns into a whole lot more referrals.
Conquering The Fear of Putting Yourself Out There Begins With Mindset
Do you believe you’re the right person to get hired? If you do, it becomes your obligation to let the world know about it. The real key to conquering the fear of putting yourself out there begins with KNOWING you’re the righ tperson for the job. It’s your obligation otherwise you’re being shady. Check out Agile & Co. Check out Chans’ Weber website.
Nobody wants to be sold, but that doesn’t meant you shouldn’t be trying to sell your service, it just means you need to change how you sell it. Story telling in real estate is how you can constantly market your real estate business WITHOUT necessarily having to talk about real estate or give market reports. It is a skill that makes content creation easy. Once content creation becomes easy, then so does attracting vs. chasing clients.
On this week’s podcast we feature master story teller Robert Kennedy III. Robert is story telling in real estate building a locally famous brand people know, like, trust, and refer.
How Do You Get Started With Storytelling In Real Estate?
If you feel slimy advertising your business, we’re going to show you how to market it WITHOUT EVER having to talk about real estate. Many real estate agents default to all their marketing efforts be full of real estate related content, but do you really need to do that? No.
Storytelling in real estate is about marketing that reminds people you’re in real estate vs tell them, but it begins with embracing your personal brand.
The truth is…
Your database doesn’t care how many houses you sold this month!
Your database doesn’t want your turn back the clock emails!
Your database doesn’t want to hear about today’s interest rates!
Your database doesn’t want to hear about real estate until they are in the market to buy or sell themselves!
So quit talking about real estate and start storytelling in real estate creating content people would actually look forward to receiving. The problem most people have is in “how” they market their business. I’m going to walk you through the steps necessary to adapt a content strategy for storytelling in real estate.
Let’s walk through the process of identifying your personal brand, creating a marketing message, and then a consistent strategy going forward. The key here is creating a marketing strategy that is authentic, fun, and doesn’t rely on regurgitating boring real estate information people don’t care about.
Step 1: Identify Your Brand Message
First, it begins by realizing you are a brand. Yes, that’s right you’re a brand.
It was reported only 4% of consumers used the agent because of the brand they were affiliated with. This means 96% of consumers chose the agent over the brand. So quit marketing your broker’s brand and start marketing your own!
Your personal brand is your “story” to tell. It’s how people know you and remember you. Can you imagine any new business becoming successful without identifying who they are or what they represent? Every business has a “why” behind them or something they stand for.
How Do I Find My Message?
As in any business, the first place to start focus your craft your content strategy with where the majority of business comes from, that’s your database.
In real estate your database is your audience.
Over 80% of home buyers and sellers find their agent from referral, repeat client, or they personally met them. This means the vast majority of business comes from the people we already know not strangers. The reason it’s so important to stay in communication with your entire database is because 10-15% of them are moving this year and 100% of them have a potential referral for you.
If I had 100 people in my world who knew what I did for a living about 10-15 of them are moving. At the same time all 100 of them knows at least one person who is moving this year they can refer me to.
Generating referrals from your database is much easier than you think, but it requires consistency in communication to do it. You will begin attracting referrals just by staying in touch with your database. Often times we overthink the mechanics of how to market your database, but it’s very simple.
We overthink our branding strategy, but it’s just being you. If you’re a doctor, then be the real estate doctor. If you’re brand is your name, then build a visual storyline around it that reflects whom you are as a person. The best part about this is that every agent has a brand unique to them! God only made one of you!
At the end of the day your brand is nothing more than a visual reminder and consistent story of what you do and how you roll. Make sense?
I’m a dude. Thats my brand. I wish I cold be a luxury agent, but I can’t. A long time ago I realized the “Dude” is how my network remembers me.
Your brand needs to do the same thing. It has to be authentic and should reflect whom you really are. Don’t overthink this as it’s really that simple. This is the single mindset shift needed when learning how to begin storytelling in real estate.
Step 2: Create Consistent Content
The first goal of storytelling in real estate is to create impact. When I create marketing content, I am not doing it to generate a lead, I’m doing it to generate attention. My only goal is name brand recognition. This is the first mental mind shift that occurs with learning how to market your database using your personal brand.
People remember stories, they do not remember statements. Become good at storytelling in real estate and focus on reminding vs telling people you’re in real estate.
You want to market your database through direct mail, email, and social media. I’ve tried this with countless agents all with different levels of experience and it has worked every time. The only time it does not work is when and if people don’t like you. Real estate is one giant popularity contest and when you have the RIGHT branding strategy, you become unforgettable.
Everybody lives somewhere and has the potential to refer you business too, but it’s not their job to do so, it’s your job to remind them. If you’d like to learn more in depth about the marketing your database with direct mail, video email, and social media, then check out this article.
The name of this game is TOP OF MIND BRAND AWARENESS!
Once you define your brand there is no shortage of content to create around it. Just don’t sharing your story.
We are going back to basics and reminding everyone what’s really important in this market. Remember, it is all about the relationships you build over time, but you have to play the long game. In order to build an attraction based business you have to have an impeccable service people remember and want to refer.
On this week’s episode we bring on Kristi Jenkins to go over her process of how she becomes her clients Realtor for life. Her goal is not to sell them one house, it’s several houses over the course of time as well as anyone they refer her along the way. This new market is going to require agents developing a deep relationship with their database.
Meet Kristi Jenkins
With more than 2 decades of real estate experience and countless repeat clients, Kristi Jenkins is known as your “Realtor for Life”. She has helped her clients move throughout many stages of change and growth, from first-time home buyers to empty nest sellers and everyone in between. She has won numerous awards for both her exceptional client care and her excellence in sales, which set her apart in her field. Kristi’s attention to detail, fierce negotiation skills and exceptional marketing exceed the expectations of both buyers and sellers. She specializes in luxury and waterfront properties throughout the greater Eastside and Seattle areas and sells across all price points. She is an expert in residential resales, new construction and land acquisition and development. Having grown up and raised her own children in the community where she works, Kristi has a unique perspective on her neighborhood, schools and amenities. She prides herself on her ability to go beyond traditional agent services and provide a curated experience for buyers moving to a new community and sellers looking to highlight the incredible features of the home they’re leaving. Kristi creates a personalized plan for each client and uses exclusive marketing strategies and an innovative approach in each transaction.
As a Managing Broker, Kristi’s leadership responsibilities go beyond training and mentoring new brokers. She is intimately involved with compliance, financial management, education and changes at both the local and national level. She believes in collaborating with other agents of the highest caliber and values her impeccable reputation within her local real estate community. Kristi has worked personally with some of the best real estate brokers in the country, including Ryan Serhant, and has a global network of esteemed agent partners.
When Kristi isn’t working, she and her husband of 25 years, Chris, enjoy exploring the beautiful Pacific Northwest, boating the San Juan Islands and unwinding at Suncadia. They have 2 amazing, grown daughters, Caroline (a nurse) and Kaylie (a graduate student), and a beloved Maltese-Bichon named Sassy. Kristi is a Washington wine enthusiast and will take a friend to head just about anywhere that offers a white wine flight and charcuterie board!
The riches are in the niches and today’s episode is another example of that. Meet George, who after filming one video on Youtube for tenants squatting in a property that went viral! That video instantly positioning him as the expert in Squatter related deed instances. From there he was able to create two products:
One video led to an entire business model, which again proves the point we make every week on this show. Attention and brand always attract business no matter what business you’re in. Whether you’re an agent, lender, or squatting expert, today’s currency is attention!
This week’s episode is joined by recruiting and onboarding specialist Stephen Rhyne. One thing for certain is that there is a lot of movement within the real estate industry right now in regards to changing brokerages, etc. However, recruiting is a full contact sport and requires 3 parts. First you need to attract, then you need to onboard, and then you need to retain. These 3 principles are to place not only your recruiting efforts but long term retention for any business.
We are still talking about the market shift because it is what everyone should be talking about. The best way to survive is to nurture the personal relationships you have and that is exactly what we built Referral Sweet for.
Don’t lose touch with your clients after the deal closes ever. They will buy and sell a few more properties, plus they have the ability to send you a handful of clients who will do the same. Part of being successful in real estate involves knowing how to stay in touch with past clients impactfully.
In this blog, I’m not going to be showing you how to send market updates or turn back the clock emails, but communicate more impactfully so that when they hear the term real estate, or lending, or whatever business you’re in, they think of you. Here’s the good news…
You Don’t Need To Talk About Real Estate, You Need To Remind Them You’re in Real Estate!
Inman News published an article that states only 17% of homeowners actually use the same agent again. The reason given is because real estate agents don’t know how to stay in touch with their past clients and they forget what their previous agent’s name is!
Can any referral based business succeed without name brand recognition? NO!
What’s even more interesting is that at the same time repeat business accounts for roughly 21-23% of all agent sourced business!
So even though only 17% of people use the same agent, it still accounts for roughly 21-23% of all agent business! What if instead of running around trying to find a bunch of new clients to work with you just nurtured all the relationships you had instead?
Repeat business is a HUGE source of business! Are you positioning your brand to get some of it? Do you know how to effectively communicate with clients after they close?
But, Referral Business is a larger source than repeat business because everyone you’ve worked with in the past has the ability to refer you at least one client.
Staying In Touch With Past Clients = Largest Source Of Business
You need to know how to effectively communicate with clients after the transaction closes for two reasons;
They are one of your biggest referral sources
They will buy and sell again eventually
When you don’t know how to stay in touch with past clients post transaction, you are more likely to be forgotten. People don’t refer or return to you for business when they forget your name. It’s really that simple.
Knowing how to effectively communicate with clients post closing closes in a way that is not self serving is the key. How do you keep a presence, but not be annoying or appear to be begging for business?
We are going to share the 3 ways you can be communicating with your clients post closing so you can nurture a profitable relationship with them!
Set Up A Relationship Marketing System.
If I didn’t continue to create content and podcasts like I do, I would eventually lose touch with my audience. My content is what keeps me on top of mind with them. What can you do to keep you on top of mind with your audience?
The largest problem most Realtors have to staying in touch with past clients is that they overthink their communication strategy.
“What should I send?
“How often should I send it?
“My past clients remember me so I don’t have to communicate with them”
THE KEY TO STAY IN TOUCH WITH PAST CLIENTS EFFECTIVELY IS TO NOT ALWAYS BE TALKING ABOUT REAL ESTATE!
As a matter of fact you shouldn’t. Instead take on a sell without selling type of approach and make your focus on branding, humanization, and personalization instead of selling. The goal of running this type of marketing system is to stay relevant and on top of mind. You never know when your past clients may come across another referral situation for you.
To know more about this kind of strategy check out some of these articles. You will learn about a 3 prong approach using social, email, and direct mail that works very well!
TO learn more about this strategy read this article or explore our strategy here.
Client parties are a great way to stay in touch with clients. The problem many Realtors have is that they do not see instant gratification from hosting client parties. You might not get a direct referral but you should count on some further down the line. I had a buyer contact me 3 years after a client party once. They came to one of my events with a friend and remembered me from it 3 years later!
You have to play the long game in this business. Hosting a client party is an easy way to stay on top of mind while showing your appreciation and reinforcing you run a referral based business. Remember the stats!
15% of the people you know this year are moving, but 100% of them know someone who is moving. Every person you know, has the potential to introduce your services to someone in need. Will they?
You might invite 100 people to your client party, but that doesn’t mean they are all going to show up. Regardless if they show up or not, you still went out of your way to invite them to a party you are throwing for them.
Each time you have a client event, you can invite your clients via direct mail, email, and even through social media. However the most important would be to physically call them and invite them yourself.
The client party shares as an excuse to touch base in many ways and you can repurpose video and pictures of the client party to brand your business again afterwards.
Make Annual/Bi-Annual Calls
If you want to know how to stay in touch with past clients after the transaction closes use common sense and pick up the phone. There are multiple dates you can use as excuses to touch base with a client.
Don’t underestimate the power of a good old phone call. People want to feel appreciated and just like you, never forgotten. It’s not our clients job to know you appreciate them, it’s your job to make them feel appreciated. Here are a few easy excuses to touch base.
House sale/purchase anniversary– Why not check up on them and see how they are doing? It’s an easy excuse to touch base and reconnect.
Holidays– Holidays are an easy excuse to call your clients and wish them the best. It shows you care. Even if you get their voice mail, it’s still an amazing thing to do.
Birthdays– You should always try to wish your clients a happy birthday if possible. Make sure you friend request all of your clients on Facebook and it will trigger you to wish a birthday greetings. The first thing I do every morning is wish all my friends happy b-days!
The overall concept here is reconnecting. Sit back and think of someone who provided a past service for you did something like this. How would you feel? Would you appreciate it?
Real estate is a people business. If you want to be successful at it, you must know how to stay in touch with past clients and your entire sphere of influence.
Would you hire you off your website? Does it connect with your ideal client or does it feel cold? On this blog, I’m going to show you the exact website videos every business should have on their website. These videos humanize your business and connect with people on a much deeper level.
When people visit your website it’s not to see what you do, but how you do it. You website is your digital storefront and whether someone is being sent their from ads you’re running or they are referred their from a friend, they still have the same BS meter. They are wondering;
Can I trust this person?
Are they reputable?
Will they help me accomplish my goal?
Your website should be designed to do build trust, collect leads, and generate phone calls, but if it’s scary then it’s not going to work.
In a service based business, people hire you for how you do business, not what you do. People want to make one of the large financial decisions with someone they know, like, and trust.
The one thing that separates everybody from each other is their personal brand. It’s the one thing that consumers relate to most when making a decision on who hire.
Here are the 5 Core Website Videos To Humanize Your Brand & Sell Your Service!
1.) The Front Page “Direct Pitch” Video
When someone lands on your home page, they should know exactly what you do. Your front page or home page website video is your sales pitch. It should show the who, what, when, where, and why of your brand or business.
You don’t want to leave any guess work for the viewer.
How To Use It
You should place this website video front right on your home page preferably above the fold. You can also use this video for retargeting ads if you’re running them.
2.) About “Why” Video
Your about video is one of the most important website videos to have because it should demonstrate your why. I don’t care how long you been in the business, I care about why you’re in the business.
Your about video is NOT about how many awards you won, but more to showcase your personality and style. People should be able to view it and determine if they relate to you or not. Here is my about video for Referral Sweet. it should your why behind the business. Referral Sweet was born from a bad experience I learned a hard learned lesson in.
How To Use It
Your about website video should go right on top of your about page. Your about page is the #3 most visited page on someone’s website. The reason for that is because people want to see who they are doing business with before they contact them.
You can also place it on your email signature and it should be placed on every online resource your brand is represented including your social media profiles.
3.) Frequently Asked Questions Video
Have you ever visited a website and checked out the FAQ pages? One of the most effective website videos on your site should be your FAQ page. The reason why so many websites have a FAQ page is because people want to know what others are asking they have not thought of yet. The FAQ website page gives you the opportunity to address common objections. However the video on the website should demonstrate sales objections.
As a business owner you should know what those sales objections are to your business, so address them head on face to face. For Referral Sweet, people want to know if they will get an ROI using it, so I made it simple for them to determine it.
How To Use It
This video should be on one of your core pages of your website. You can also use this in your email campaigns and for retargeting ads too.
4.) Service Pages/How It Works
Your service pages are the core pages of your website that focus on your services. Each service you provide should have a page dedicated to it. If you’re a real estate agent you should have a buyers sellers page. If you’re a mortgage broker you probably have a conventional loan page, FHA page, and refinance page to get the idea.
For Referral Sweet we have a “tour” video that gives visitors a walk through.
We also have videos on each type of membership too on your website, but the point is your service pages should all have videos on them explaining how it works and what is entailed.
5.) Testimonials/Case Studies Video
There is nothing more powerful about what someone else says about your business. Therefore EVERY business needs a reviews page on their website to showcase past customers or even case studies.
Have you ever booked the vacation on Travelocity without any reviews?
That’s what I thought. Nobody hires the real estate agent, lender, or contact an investor who has ZERO social proof either. Creating a “Reviews” page on your website is smart to do.
How To Use It
Your reviews page can be used in your drip campaigns and ads. It’s even more powerful if you continue to incorporate real estate video testimonials into your site as you get them going forward. They serve for great reminders of how good you are at your job without having to say it.
Focus on humanizing your brand with website videos. There’s nothing more powerful than connecting with your ideal prospects, especially in a referral based business.
Most Realtors try to chase a bunch of leads before making sure everyone they already know, knows they can refer them business. The reality is you’re chasing a very small percentage of market that’s extremely competitive.
