“So, what exactly are you doing to market my property?”
The implication is that you’re doing diddly-squat. But this question isn’t really about marketing. It’s about a lack of communication.
Here’s my translation of the dreaded question: “What exactly do you do all day, anyway?”
Think about it. You hire someone to perform an important job, and then you never hear from them. What would you think?
That said, that marketing beyond the MLS is mostly what I call “fake marketing.” It’s designed to appease your sellers but not actually doing a darn thing to help them.
For example, you promote your listings on Facebook. Big deal. I mean, who goes to Facebook (rather than the MLS) to look for a new home? There’s a big difference between marketing the listing and marketing yourself. To be clear, there’s nothing wrong with marketing yourself on Facebook. You absolutely should do this! Let’s just be honest about why you’re doing it.
Virtually 100 per cent of the potential buyers for your listing will find out about it through the MLS. That’s exactly what I tell my sellers during my listing presentation and why 100 per cent of my marketing focus is on producing the most powerful, compelling MLS presentation possible.
If you do a great job advising your clients how to prepare their home for listing, provide the correct information to guide them to the right list price and you produce a powerful and compelling MLS presentation, 99 per cent of your marketing work is done. What else are you supposed to do?
Stand on the corner with a twirly sign?
However, your job as a professional real estate agent involves far more than “marketing properties.” For example, do you have a clear-cut strategy on how to communicate with your clients regularly so they know exactly what is going on at all times?
When you do this, your clients feel cared for, and they’re far less likely to wonder what it is you do all day. Making up stories about what you’re doing to “market the property” is a waste of time. Instead, learn how to keep your clients informed to make them feel more involved and part of the process.
Hot tip: Your focus should NOT be completing one transaction at a time. Rather, it should be to create a never-ending stream of incoming referrals. The first step to achieving this is to dramatically improve your communication skills.
Remember, marketing is only part of your job. If you want to build a sustainable business with a never-ending stream of incoming referrals, your communication plan is even more important than your marketing plan. What’s your communication strategy? And, more importantly, what is the exact system you will employ to ensure your strategy is implemented? If you don’t know, or you’re thinking, “I’ll figure that out later,” perhaps it’s time to stop thinking and start doing.
If you want to achieve massive success in real estate, stop accepting that good enough is good enough. It’s not.
“The best investment you can make is an investment in yourself… The more you learn, the more you’ll earn.” – Warren Buffett
After Ted Greenhough’s first year as a Realtor, he earned between $590,000-$865,000 every year for 12 consecutive years, all as an individual agent, without ever once making a cold call, reciting a canned script or doing any other “salesy” stuff. Now he runs Agent Skills, an online learning program for agents across North America.
