Chapter 2
How To Market To Prospective Clients
Learning Objectives: Create an understanding of how to best combine free marketing techniques and inexpensive, efficient advertising methods to build a successful long term business.
The previous chapter talked about how to create an identity for yourself to project into the marketplace. Having decided on that, now what do you do to spread the word and get business?
Getting referrals: Before you consider spending money on advertising of any kind, recognize the client base all around you and spend your time developing a network of potential clients. This is how you build a large referral base. When you see a doctor or dentist, hairdresser, pharmacist, auto mechanic, attorney, department store salesperson, optometrist, neighbor across the street or friends and family, hand out your business card and remind them that you are a real estate agent. These are the people you already know who, on the average, will be buying or selling real estate every five years.
Networking: The most successful real estate agents are the ones who actively network. And that doesn’t mean you have to join a formal business networking group, although that is an option. It means social networking with people who share your interests. Become more involved in activities at your church. Join a civic group or hobby organization. Volunteer for charity work or activities with your political party. In the process of meeting and interacting with like-minded people, you will develop acquaintances and friends who will turn to you for their own and their friends’ real estate needs. The relationships you build in this way are worth far more than any persuasive value you can generate with advertising.
Internet presence: Next, make sure you have some degree of internet presence. This is absolutely mandatory in today’s digital age. If you are affiliated with a medium to large Realty firm, your broker will probably have a website which is, in part, used to generate business for its agents. Find out all the ways you can plug into the company site and use these tools.
If your broker doesn’t have a website, build your own. While this may seem like a daunting and expensive task, it is neither. There are many companies today that specialize in designing and maintaining sites for small businesses. They have created already-formatted sites that include two to four pages of content, plus the ability to run a blog and include video for pricing in the $500 to $1,000 range. Even if your broker has a corporate website, you should still consider setting up your own site and linking it to your presence on your broker’s site. In either case, list your website on your business card and all your promotional materials.
