It’s not easy competing with real estate agencies on your door step. Today, buyers have a diverse range of agents to choose from – boutique agencies, big brand names and those agents who already have a strong profile and long track record in the local area.
If that’s not challenging enough, the internet has created more competition. Granted, it has brought down the barriers of entry and widened the reach for generating new business – but it also means that your real estate agency is now competing with agencies outside of the immediate vicinity.
When it’s so hard to generate prospects – why then would your agency risk not converting them into real clients? You’ve no doubt put so much effort (and resources) into marketing your agency, don’t miss the most crucial step of all – turning your real estate prospects into clients!
Here are our tips on how to ensure your prospects don’t walk out the door:
Demonstrate your real estate expertise
Regard your industry knowledge and expertise as an asset – intellectual property that’s of value to vendors because you know how to get the best sales result. That’s what your prospect is essentially buying into. There’s a fine line between being arrogant and confident, but at the same time – don’t be afraid of demonstrating your wisdom. Talk about local market conditions, talk about real estate statistics and demonstrate that you understand the target audience for the sale.
Provide your prospects with take-away literature about your business and specifically highlight your track record – the number of local sales your agency has made recently, your success rate and anything else you can put a figure on.
Provide tangible examples and proof points
Don’t stop at the general statistics. Talk about actual sales that are similar to the property in question. Have some case studies written up by a professional that highlight the solutions your agency brought to the sale. Was it a difficult location? Did you achieve an above market sale price?
Create trust through third-party endorsement
The reason PR works so well is because third-party endorsement is a very powerful method of instilling trust with those who aren’t familiar with your brand. The same applies to testimonials. Ensure that you obtain some meaty testimonials from your clients to demonstrate the value you bring. Build a ‘portfolio’ of testimonials and use them in several places: list them on your real estate website, create a digital and downloadable pdf that you can also send via email and include them in your corporate literature. Instil confidence and your real estate prospects will become real clients.
Be forthcoming with information about your team
Be open and honest about your agency. Introduce them to your team, use team photos where you can. Tell your prospects about how you work, your company values and what you think your unique differentiators are. If they see you are genuine and transparent, they’re more likely to trust you.
Create connection and momentum
Leverage the power of social media to create multiple touch-points with prospects, current and past clients. Connect via Facebook and Twitter – but don’t forget to send a personal email or pick up the phone too. It’s all about timing!
Elevate your marketing efforts
However much time and effort you already put into your marketing – ramp it up. Exploit your track record and expertise throughout the whole sales process – from presentation, corporate literature, real estate mail drops and of course on your website.
If you need any advice on bringing more business to your agency – or if you could use a little extra real estate cash flow, get in touch on 1800 003 569 or read about our commission advance services.
Ps. If you enjoyed reading this post, please share it using the buttons below! You might also want to take a look at some more posts about social media for real estate, successful blogging for real estate and optimising real estate website traffic