Aaron Hoos

Just two weeks ago I wrote series of blogs about how real estate professionals SHOULDN’T market themselves. I mentioned the 5 really big problems were: Offering a free home evaluation, using “great service” as a differentiator”, using schtick in place of real value, guaranteeing a home sale, and marketing themselves to locals as being experts in the city.

And then this letter came in the mail yesterday…

It was basically just a slap in the face to a few of the things I’d just talked about.

So let’s dissect this ad further:

In the above picture the real estate professional lists some accreditation and awards. Unfortunately, he doesn’t tell us what these awards are for. I’m sure they’re for something (homes sold? years in the biz? income earned?) it would be helpful to know.

Next he lists the big slap-in-the-face: “Local Knowledge” as if that’s the reason we hire real estate professionals. As if, the fact that we own a house in this area isn’t proof enough that I have my own local knowledge. Also, I’m not so sure about the use of the term “intimate”. I know what he’s getting at — in-depth, no-stone-unturned — but intimate has another meaning and it’s a little disconcerting to suggest that he has intimate knowledge of the area. Yikes!

This section had some promise… except that he uses “your” and “our” a little too much which sets up the ad to be more adversarial. He’s trying to align himself with the reader (“our area”) but the use of “your” and “our” in such close proximity makes for a less clear reading of this section.

This is a WEAK paragraph! First, there’s the market evaluation, which is another slap in the face to me. Also, being “in the position” to do something reminds me of my days in sales when we were encouraged to say: “I’m in a position to give you a great deal on…” in order to make the customer feel like they are getting something exclusive. (They weren’t). His proximity doesn’t give him “the position” to do anything different than any other real estate professional… and his market evaluation won’t be any different than those who don’t live and work in the area. And I hate to break this to him but he has access to the same information that every other real estate professional has.

This paragraph is also weak (although to his credit, he does live in the area — I checked). Referencing “the local community clubs” and “the local schools” makes it seem too generic. There are several schools and a couple of community clubs. A specific reference to at least one of those would have made this letter feel far more authentic. And again with the local knowledge reference!

If he really wants to plug his local knowledge, he should stop saying “local knowledge and instead say something like: “I’ll show you the 3 BEST streets to buy in East Kildonan” [thats the area of town we live in] “if you want to increase your home value 50% in the next 2 years, and I’ll show you the best deal on the most unbelievable pizza you’ve ever eaten!” Or, “if you have kids under 12, I know of the perfect location to buy so that they are only 5 minutes from John de Graff School”.

Real estate agents, you’ve got it tough. Many markets are crowded with agents and all of them offer exactly the same service at exactly the same price. Every agent seems to use calendars and bus benches to advertise.

If every agent is saying exactly the same thing, how do you differentiate? How do you position yourself as THE agent to call when someone wants to list?

This week, we’re looking at the different ways that Realtors try to attract attention from their prospects. All of these ideas will be familiar to you — in fact, you might even use some of them — but I’ll show you why these common real estate practices might be keeping you from success.

The marketing idea that can hurt a Realtor’s business:

“CITY EXPERTS”

The idea: Agents promote themselves as expert of a certain area or of a city.

My opinion: I’m torn about this one. I do see the value of promoting how well you know the area. However, thinking of the times that I have looked for an agent, I’ve never thought to myself, “I need to find someone who knows the city better than me!” Maybe that’s because I’ve never had an agent show me around town before — they’ve only ever driven straight to the houses that they were showing me.

I think there’s value in marketing yourself as a city expert when you’re marketing outside of the city you work in (i.e., to people moving into the city) but otherwise, it doesn’t make much sense. The average joe is just as much a city expert as the Realtor.

And, city expertise is targeted to buyers, not sellers, and unless that local expertise gets you a big list of hungry buyers (thus making you more attractive to sellers) then it doesn’t help you list homes.

So, should you use this? I wouldn’t use it as a differentiator unless your market is those who are moving to the city. Like your ability to give good service, it might be something you want to mention, but you shouldn’t create a tagline around how well you know the city.

Real estate agents, you’ve got it tough. Many markets are crowded with agents and all of them offer exactly the same service at exactly the same price. Every agent seems to use calendars and bus benches to advertise.

If every agent is saying exactly the same thing, how do you differentiate? How do you position yourself as THE agent to call when someone wants to list?

This week, we’re looking at the different ways that Realtors try to attract attention from their prospects. All of these ideas will be familiar to you — in fact, you might even use some of them — but I’ll show you why these common real estate practices might be keeping you from success.

The marketing idea that can hurt a Realtor’s business:

“SELL YOUR HOME, GUARANTEED”

The idea: Agents offer to sell a home or they provide some kind of incentive if they don’t.

My opinion: I think this is a good idea for many agents. It’s a good tactic because agents want to list homes for sellers, maybe more than just present homes to buyers, so this targets home sellers extremely well. Also, it’s a guarantee that costs very little (compared to a commission) and yet it’s tangible evidence to the seller that you are working hard on their behalf.

Now, if every agent offered it, it wouldn’t be that special. But they don’t, so you might want to consider it for yourself. It gets dangerous in 2 conditions: when everyone offers it (then, everyone will have to offer more and more to differentiate) or, in buyer’s markets. However, the risk in a buyer’s market is mitigated because the incentive is relatively small compared to the commission of a sale.

Real estate agents, you’ve got it tough. Many markets are crowded with agents and all of them offer exactly the same service at exactly the same price. Every agent seems to use calendars and bus benches to advertise.

If every agent is saying exactly the same thing, how do you differentiate? How do you position yourself as THE agent to call when someone wants to list?

This week, we’re looking at the different ways that Realtors try to attract attention from their prospects. All of these ideas will be familiar to you — in fact, you might even use some of them — but I’ll show you why these common real estate practices might be keeping you from success.

The marketing idea that can hurt a Realtor’s business:

BREAK OUT THE CHICKEN COSTUME

The idea: Some agents like a little schtick — something that makes them funny or silly or memorable. Maybe there’s no agent that actually wears a chicken costume, but you get the idea. Maybe an agent dresses like a cowboy or always wears a tux or speaks only in rhyme or something.

My opinion: Okay, here’s the deal. I think selling can be fun but it’s also serious business and there is a balance that can be struck. And, I think that using schtick to sell is used-car-salesmanship-101. But (and I can’t believe I’m writing this) if real estate agents generally provide the same service, then the differentiation required is to simply be “top of mind” when a buyer or seller is about to dial the phone to contact an agent. And they will likely remember the schtick long before they remember the great service you provide. So, schtick works because it’s jarring enough to a person’s reality that you’re memorable. (Believe me, it hurts me to write this as much as it hurts you to read it). There’s a viral factor to it, too. (“I bought my house with a chicken”, etc.)

I realize that people become real estate agents because it is a profession of helping people, not a job as a mascot. So this is not going to be right for everyone. If it’s okay that people don’t take you seriously, then bust out that chicken costume and go to work. But if you want to lean toward the professional side of this profession, find another way.

However, if your market is over-saturated with the same old thing and you desperately need to stand out from the crowd FAST, and it only comes down to just getting people to dial YOUR number when they dial the phone, then wear the chicken costume.

Real estate agents, you’ve got it tough. Many markets are crowded with agents and all of them offer exactly the same service at exactly the same price. Every agent seems to use calendars and bus benches to advertise.

If every agent is saying exactly the same thing, how do you differentiate? How do you position yourself as THE agent to call when someone wants to list?

This week, we’re looking at the different ways that Realtors try to attract attention from their prospects. All of these ideas will be familiar to you — in fact, you might even use some of them — but I’ll show you why these common real estate practices might be keeping you from success.

The marketing idea that can hurt a Realtor’s business:

“I GIVE GREAT SERVICE”

The idea: The agent promotes their service as being superior.

My opinion: Superior to what? All the experiences I’ve ever had with real estate agents who were helping me to buy or sell a home have been EXACTLY THE SAME. They’re all nice, they all engage me in conversation, they all do the paperwork, they all work on my behalf. I know (and so does everyone else) that the service I’ll receive from one agent will be comparable to the service I receive from someone else.

Folks, service does not sell. You have to have it if you want to stay in business, don’t get me wrong, but it shouldn’t be a tagline. Ask yourself this question: “Exactly what quality of service do I offer my clients that no other agent offers?” I think you will be hard-pressed to come up with the answer.

I hear lots of ideas on this matter when agents defend themselves. They say things like “I treat every listing as if it’s my own home” or “I’ll take you by the hand and walk you through the sale”. These sound great, but every other agent does these things, too. (Yes, they do. Don’t argue with me on this point).

So drop the use of service as a differentiator unless you…

• Pick people up in a chauffeured limo
• Pay for their babysitting
• Pay for lunch and coffee
• Flood them with free stuff
• Personally visit when the deal closes with a bottle of expensive wine
• Help them to arrange the details of the move

… I could go on and on here, but I think you get the idea. Your service needs to be jaw-droppingly amazing to be able to advertise with that you offer exceptional service.