Real estate agents are salespeople, not marketers. Yet, when agents venture into the world of personal promotion, they become marketers of themselves. Unfortunately, they do it without knowing the rules of effective marketing. Here are the six that are most often violated in personal promotion:
- Under-promise and over-deliver. Agents do the opposite in their messages. Just read the homes magazines. You would think that every agent is really ‘number one in service”, or “provides great service”, or “excellence in action”. It’s not believable to the client. And, by over-promising, agents are setting themselves up for a fall.
2. Use lots of white space. Agents have too many messages on their business cards and signs. Just try reading one of those for sales signs going thirty miles an hour! Remember, clean and clear. Get some graphic artist assistance.
3. Slogans are passé unless they’re dynamite. You know the Nike slogan. What’s Reebok’s? Yet, Reebok has spent millions of dollars to get us to recognize it. You’re not a simple product. Don’t get ‘sloganitis’.
4. Frequency is more important than reach. One big ad in a newspaper once makes little or no impact. It takes frequent repetitions to create remembrance in the client’s mind. Don’t start unless you commit to frequency over time. Narrow your field and become known! One long blog once inawhile is not effective. You have to blog at least 2 times per week to start to have memorable impact. Frequency is the key, along with consistency.
5. Work your best market, not your worst! Who’s your best market? The people you just sold. Make a marketing plan to communicate frequently with it.
6. Differentiate, differentiate, differentiate. An-all promising slogan won’t make it. Develop unique themes that communicate your value to clients and customers, and run those themes through all your promotional pieces and verbal communication. They can’t discover your great skills unless you tell and show them!
I created The Professional Portfolio to lead you to your ‘core competency’, so you would know what’s outstanding about YOU. The Professional Portfolio helps you focus on your strenghs, to create the confidence you need to succeed in this tough sales business. Click here to find out more.
