What is the Best Marketing for Realtors®?
The best marketing for you will depend on what you are trying to accomplish. For some real estate agents, building their business for the first time is the goal. The marketing tips for these new real estate agents will be different than the approach needed to sell a “hard-to-sell” property and both of those will differ from the approach taken to boost the volume of sales for an established agent.
So let’s cover all three approaches. But remember, the most essential marketing goal for real estate (and most other industries) is to generate excellent word-of-mouth. Once you get others to recognize your name and to talk about your service in positive ways, you are probably implementing the best real estate marketing tips and approaches. Your best sales will almost always come as a result of people recommending you to their family, friends and peers.
Marketing tips for new real estate agents
If you are just getting started in your real estate career, you are going to need to build your reputation and you will be on the lookout for the best real estate marketing tips.
Begin with the Basics
When you are first getting started, there are a few marketing essentials. Let’s cover those now…
Business Cards
Business cards are a must! You should never be caught out without your business cards, even when you aren’t working. Having them “at the ready” when you are around town will ensure that you don’t miss any opportunities to get your name out and should help to make your face a recognizable one.
Should I Get My Photo on Business Cards?
Yes! Get a business card with your photo on it as well as your contact information. Some people are better with remembering names, others are better at remembering faces. Your business card should cater to both types of potential new clients!
NOTE: Make sure that the photo you choose is a current photo that looks like you now and get new business cards any time you change your looks dramatically.
Real Estate Signs
You are going to need yard signs the moment you secure your first listing, so get those in advance. The last thing you want is to have to order and then wait for your signs to arrive to grab the attention of potential buyers. You want to post your sign in the yard and make your listing stand out as soon as the papers are signed!
NOTE: This is another opportunity to link your face and your name with your services, so consider putting your photo on the yard signs too!
Always Be Presentable!
When you are first starting your real estate career, you want to ensure a polished look for you and the buyers and/or sellers you represent. Developing a presentation package for each property you have listed and preparing a “potential homes” folder for your buyer clients will give you the polish you seek.
Consider customized presentation folders to hold essential information for your clients. Giving them a folder with information customized for them will make them feel that hiring you is the right decision.
NOTE: Be sure to select a folder with a die-cut slot for your business card and tuck in both a customized pen and a branded notepad for your clients to use to take notes. Being both thoughtful and thorough will pay off in happier clients and better word-of-mouth to build your business and ensure return customers.
Be helpful: Help Your Peers and Yourself!
When you are first getting started, offer to “man” another agent’s open house. Super-busy agents will often welcome the opportunity to have a new agent serve as an open house greeter or even to run the open house. Working with established agents will give you ideas and pointers on how to handle your own open houses.
NOTE: Be sure it’s ok with the listing agent if you offer your business card at the open house. You will of course offer their card at the open house for inquiries about that particular house, but the listing agent may be ok with you offering your card to attendees looking for something different.
How to market a hard-to-sell property?
Marketing a difficult property or a property with less-than-ideal features requires more than knowing how to properly market a listing. It requires a bit of creativity and finding the most attractive aspect of the property for sale.
Promote the Positive
For instance, if the property has only one bathroom with four bedrooms, you would focus on the location (if it’s great), the price (if it’s attractive), the school system (if it’s a good one), the property tax rate (if it’s lower in that area) or even the freedom of not having an HOA!
NOTE: A great way to “package” all this information is in a custom presentation folder. In addition to the best features, use this folder to collect information about the neighborhood, the school system and other information to expand the potential buyer’s understanding of why this home might be the best one for them!
Paper the Neighborhood
Often times neighbors will be the best resource you can have for selling a nearby home. People who live in the area may be interested in getting family or friends to move closer. Consider putting door hangers on every home in the neighborhood or subdivision. Your door hanger should advertise the home for sale with bullet points covering its best features.
NOTE: Going door-to-door in the neighborhood will accomplish two things, it will give you the opportunity to meet other potential buyers and sellers face-to-face and offer them your business card, and it will give you the chance to say, “I’m not sure if you have any family or friends you might like to have move closer, but this house has just been listed and won’t last long. I just wanted to let the neighbors know before it hits the Internet. If you or anyone you know has any questions, please feel free to call me!” (This may remind them that a niece, cousin, or friend of a friend is looking for a house.
A Focused Postcard Campaign
If you know of a neighborhood (or even a couple areas) that would consider your “hard-to-sell” house a step above the location where they are currently living, you might want to consider a postcard campaign for those areas to advertise and promote the “hard-to-sell” property.
NOTE: You can make this a touchless process by using Realtor® Postcard Mailing Products that allow you to upload a mailing list and design your card and have it mailed out for you! (Talk about making your marketing easy!)
How to sell more houses as a real estate agent?
When you are looking for the best marketing tips for real estate agents who are established, you are probably seeking more creative marketing tips. Real Estate agents who are established can improve their business by becoming a household name. This means keeping your name “top of mind” not only for first time buyers, but also for repeat buyers.
As an established agent, you want to serve the family and friends of past clients, using their network of contacts as an extension of your own. The best way to do that? Offer excellent service in the first place! Always go above and beyond.
The next goal should be to remain memorable. This requires regular (but not constant) reminders. A great way to do that is to send them something helpful, useful or beautiful occasionally. For instance:
• Spring Forward Reminders on Seed Packets
• Local Football Schedules in the Fall
• Calendars at the Beginning of the Year
• Holiday Greetings Thanking Them For Letting You Serve Them
Of course, it’s always a good idea to have branded pens available in your office and to “conveniently” leave them behind in high-traffic areas like the grocery store or your bank.
But there are so many ways to remain memorable. One is as simple as a handwritten note from time to time and remembering birthdays, anniversaries and other special occasions with a note or a call.
When you are established, marketing isn’t merely advertising, it’s building stronger relationships that not only improve your business, but also enhance your life!
Need help deciding how to best reach your clients? Reach out to us!