Basic tips from real estate agents can help sell any product or service
Veronika Noize
Guest columnist
Any real estate professional can tell you the three most important factors in determining the value of real estate are location, location and location.
Any successful real estate professional will tell you the three most important factors in determining the success of a real estate professional are relationships, relationships and relationships.
My mother was a very successful real estate professional, as well as one of my most influential marketing role models and mentors. She was an anomaly in the business world in her day: a woman who went from a job as a bank teller to a seven-figure income as a real estate broker in just a few years.
The lessons she taught me have given me an edge in business, and although every lesson comes from the real estate industry, each has served me well in my business.
Lesson 1: Pictures help establish a relationship. In our very visually oriented culture, people respond first to pictures, and then to words, so the more you show the less you have to tell and sell.
My mother used photos in her classified ads for the houses she sold, a picture of herself on her business card, and pictures of happy families in their new homes along with their letters of thanks in her book of client successes.
These days realtors put all those photos on their Web sites, and that’s a lesson all businesses can use. Show photos of your work, your satisfied clients, and yourself on your Web site. This helps prospects see the results you offer, and it begins the relationship even before you actually meet.
Lesson 2: The relationship starts before you even meet your prospects, so make sure it’s a good beginning.
In a perfect world, all prospects would come to us through referrals, so they would already have some trust and confidence in us, but that’s not always possible.
Your relationship with your prospects (your future clients) starts the moment they become aware of you. That means your Web site, your ads, and even your reputation will often precede you, giving your prospects some idea of what to expect (or not) from you. So if you make promises you can’t keep in your advertising, or your Web site is full of errors and outdated information, you could be starting that relationship on shaky ground.
Lesson 3: Treat everyone who shows up as a prospect – even those who are “just looking” or looking on behalf of someone else.
Since it can be difficult to determine exactly who is a prospect sometimes, it is important to treat every inquiry with the respect and courtesy you would offer your best clients. Just because someone is not a prospect today doesn’t mean he won’t be tomorrow. And although she may be “just looking,” she could be looking for someone who is ready to buy, and relies on her recommendations for the short list of possibilities.
Veronika (Ronnie) Noize, the Marketing Coach, is the author of “How to Create a Killer Elevator Speech” and creator of the “How to Double Your Business in 30 Minutes a Day” marketing system. Ronnie’s Web site is a comprehensive resource with free articles and valuable marketing tools for small office/home office business professionals. Visit www.VeronikaNoize.com, or call her at 360-882-1298.
