How suitable this day is for the entry I had planned about the various sales and marketing ploys that real estate agents are taught to use. Perhaps I’m an innocent babe, but I do understand the basics of marketing — that’s what I did before entering this wonderful world of real estate.
There are many, many people out there who make a living based on real estate agents wanting to make a living. They try to sell us tons of things, all promising to help us increase our sales. If I had a dime for every time I heard someone say, “If you just get one sale out of this “blah, blah, blah” technique, it will have paid for itself” … I’d be rich and no longer have to spend my days in my car driving all around Arlington. It’s all based on tapping into someone’s dream (as is any successful marketing) and for many realtors the dream is to make lots of sales. Yes, I know you’re surprised!
The latest thing, and an enduring one, is a seminar run by a noted real estate trainer. A lot of agents in my office attend this. As far as I can tell, it’s about relationship management. Duh. Keep your clients satisfied, keep in touch, and build referral business. Coming from the corporate world as I do, this is a complete no-brainer. But he’s entertaining, he’s translated this basic concept into the world of real estate, and he’s really good at what he does. Agents spend money to have him tell them to, indeed make them, send personal notes, send reminders, generally keep in touch with clients on a regular basis. What they call coaching.
And, BY THE WAY, the next time you see a marketing piece from an agent (I can’t say Realtor, cuz that’s trademarked, whooops!) that includes this phrase — by the way — know that some trainer is teaching us all to say those three little words. It makes it easier to ask for the referral in a non-threatening way (non-threatening to us both, but probably more non-threatening for the agent, who may find it difficult to speak up). The other thing agents do is to send something out to past clients on a monthly basis, so that they remember you when any sort of real estate need comes up. That I get, because who wouldn’t love to receive a nice little something for free in the mail? Personally, I’m looking for cash in my mail everyday, but it never seems to arrive.
In fact, I must tell you that I’m on another agent’s mailing list (as Chris Richards — come on, at least get my name right!) — and so I get her marketing stuff. That way I know what she’s sending to all my neighbors. She’s following the program, bless her. But hopefully my efforts to get to know my neighbors, and my neighbors’ home values, and give them the data they need to make informed decisions about buying or selling their homes, will REALLY provide them with an Item of Value. Plus, I see them everyday when I walk my (slightly neurotic) dog around the block.
