Real Estate And Marketing -
Two Cornerstones of A Growing Business

There are two aspects of real estate and marketing that will influence how successful you are as a professional real estate agent

...the acquisition of new customers and the retention and expansion of relationships with old ones.

Like in other industries the cost of acquiring new customers is escalating. For example; depending on the service used the cost of paid leads can easily range from $20 to $80 per lead, or $100 to $1,000 per month. However, continued marketing to leads already in your pipeline for referrals, listings and sales can be equally profitable, but is often overlooked. 

So, like many other agents you probably expend a lot of time, money and effort acquiring new customers; and heaven knows it's anything but easy.  But how effective are you at retaining leads you've already acquired, whether free or paid?

You probably feel, real or imagined, pressure to make the next "close", but in doing so may be leaving a lot of money on the table.

Marketing to current and/or past clients can be especially rewarding. You probably share a genuine care for each other, and if they were satisfied with you and your services, there is a greater chance than not that they will come back to you for future transactions.  And they are likely to refer friends, family and colleagues in the interim.

A fundamental Change in Approach
Can Improve Your Outcomes

Savvy real estate and marketing pros immediately shift their strategy to building long term relationships once they "close" buyers."  You should, too! Rather than simply abandoning a client after a sale continue nurturing the relationship, but in a different way.

Savvy real estate and marketing pros also, maintain continuous, routine and ongoing contact and relations with past clients.  This helps to you protect your customers/business from competitive encroachments.

For example; put them on an every other month "post sale marketing campaign", whether it's via post cards, letters or flyers.

Something is better than nothing, and it doesn't have to cost a lot of time or money.  The alternative is to do nothing and let a competitive agent convert them to their client! If you snooze you'll lose!

An old friend once said. "Sometimes it's better to keep what you got than to replace it with something new."  Avoid the pain of seeing a recent past client transact a real estate deal with another agent.  Don't let them get away - you spent too much time and energy converting them into a customer.

Make A Business Plan Here's something else to get you going in the right direction even more; make a business plan and stick to it.  And just so that we're talking the same talk lets define a business plan as "a written outline that evaluates all aspects of your real estate business and provides a road map to your professional success."

A good plan should include how much you wish to earn.  It should then guide you through the process of examining the key aspects of generating positive income: Revenue, Expenses and Business Development.

However, do not confuse a real estate and marketing business plan with goals.  Anybody can set goals, but not every makes a business plan.

Your business plan could be as specific as calculating how many transactions you must close in order to pay your overhead expenses relative to your cost per  action and how many activities you must complete to meet your income goal.  Instead of lengthy and complicated make it simple and concise.  Hone your real estate and marketing activities to those that are most effective for you; then quit, modify or replace the rest.

Define Your Marketplace Real estate and marketing go hand in hand, you many agents ply their trade for years without ever identifying exactly what their market is. Why is this important?  Because if you don't have a clearly defined market people won't recognize you for the specialist that you might be.  As an example we all know from the medical profession how much respect, consideration and compensation specialists command.

So, get the most out of your real estate marketing efforts.  Become a specialist, establish a niche and start setting you and your business apart from your competitors.

Your niche could be as simple as a signature, such as being known as the Realtor who "Sells 1 home a week, "or who is "Working 24/7 to sell your home."  Or, it could be that that you focus primarily on condos, high rise, or commercial buildings. 

The point is this!  Distinguish yourself in the public eye so that when they think of buying or selling the type of real estate you specialize in they'll think of you and not somebody else.  Such is the power of niche real estate marketing, but you have to work it to get it.

Earning By Learning Some people are natural born real estate and marketing pros!  I wasn't, but I was good at sizing up a situation, figuring out what needed be done, then devising and implementing plans to make it happen.

If you are anything like me you, too have to learn how to be good at marketing and selling real estate.  You'll find lots of tools and resources that'll help you grow your real estate business.  Knowledge is key, and if you think you can become an effective real estate marketer without learning how please banish the thought now if you want to be in the profession 6 months from now.

In summary, think acquisition & retention as the keys to becoming a real estate and marketing superstar. It is better to keep what you, then build on it as a foundation for long term success.

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