How to Sell Your Skills (and Grow Your Business)
You already know selling is a big part of real estate. But it’s not just home selling that will make your business grow. To be a successful agent, you have to sell yourself, too. What does that mean? Ah, glad you asked.
We’ll break down all the important aspects of personal marketing (A.K.A. selling yourself) that lead to better business development, lead generation, client service and of course, sustainable growth.
Sell your story.
For people to want to work with you, they have to know who you are beyond a simple Google search or social media scan. What are your hobbies? How did you get started in real estate and where has your real estate journey taken you so far? If you can sell your story, you can sell yourself. You are your story, and putting your story out into the world is the first step toward creating that initial client connection. (TIP! If you’re thinking about creating a video to explain your real estate story, Pivo offers a way to make hands-free videos. Walk around your house. Give your views a tour of your office. With Pivo, possibilities are endless for creativity and self-expression!)
Sell your strengths.
Beyond connecting with your story, clients will work with you because of the competitive advantages you offer. This can be personal advantages like your savvy negotiating skills, your empathy in challenging situations, your ability to correctly create comps because of your deep local-market knowledge. This can also be your technological strengths like the transactional tools you use to make deals faster and more straightforward for all parties involved. If you use Pivo, for instance, to create 3D tours, let clients know you have the most cutting-edge video tool to easily create tours and get them uploaded to the MLS in no time at all. More efficient and effective video creation translates into their home getting on the market ASAP.
Sell your vision.
If you’re working with a client, they don’t just want to know how you do something, they want to know why. Every agent has a unique vision for their clients. With buyers, agents must understand the homes they want, what’s available given current market conditions and what’s feasible given their client’s financial capabilities. Then, all that is put together to make clients’ real estate dreams come true. (And as the classic product marketing philosophy goes, sometimes people don’t know what they’re looking for until you show it to them. It’s quite possible a seller who wanted a two-story traditional home in a suburb would be much happier with a ranch overlooking the mountains. Your vision can help guide them to possibilities they weren’t aware of before.) For sellers, it’s about your unique marketing and pricing plan. Your vision is a combination of the way you’ll present the home, the way you’ll price the home, the people you’ll get their home in front of and the process you have for guiding your clients toward the offer that’s best for them. You have to sell your vision just like you sell their home, and they have to buy into it before they will truly be comfortable working with you.
Remember, selling isn’t just to secure a client now. Selling creates a future-state for your career and a source of referrals that will keep your business expanding. One happy customer quickly turns into two, and when you sell your story, your strengths and your vision to clients, they’ll be just as happy to refer (and sell) you.