Marketing Strategies in a Real Estate Sales Role
When you are in sales and marketing, there are passive ways to do your work, and aggressive ways to do your work.
Aggressive interaction with people - door knocking, cold calling. Basically, having direct contact with a human being.
Passive - email marketing, drip campaigns, social media, postcards/mailers. Basically, indirect access to your client/potential client base.
I'm not saying one way is right or wrong. It's actually smart to take a multi-pronged approach to your work, meaning don't put all your eggs in one basket. Just because one way of marketing works now, doesn't mean it will work later. What's also interesting is that just because you have worked in one geographical area with a marketing and sales technique - it doesn't mean it will work as effectively - or at all - somewhere else.
Have you heard the analogy of a three-legged stool? Each leg holds up the stool. As it applies to real estate, each leg represents a marketing technique. Take away one marketing leg, and the stool would fall down. Sure, you could say that your Zillow leads are a strong leg, or your team provides all your leads - but what happens if that leg breaks for some reason?
You need to be prepared. You need more stool legs in your marketing arsenal. And the good and bad news is that you are the only one that can do the work for yourself. You are in control of how much or little you do for the result you want. And once you learn how to use a new marketing strategy, no one can make you unlearn that. That education belongs to you now.
But, for me, some sales techniques are hard for me - especially cold calling. I actually hate cold calling people, but it can be an effective way to get appointments. I'm not a natural at it. I have to work at it. It exhausts me when I've done a couple of hours of it. But, it's is like exercising. You might not really want to do it, but when you are done and get a result, you endure the part to you don't like for the reward of what you do like.
Authenticity is the key. If a certain technique is not your style and you lack confidence in your work, it's almost guaranteed you won't get the result you are looking for. But if you are able to tweak that technique in a way that is authentic to YOU - you will be more successful.
Let me give you an example. I've done door knocking, and the only application that has worked for me, is an invitation or an offering. Inviting a neighbor to an open house or a neighborhood party is a great way to make a friend or a possible new client. For my neighbors, I've begun an annual tradition of bringing a holiday gift that I've hand-made. Try not to sell them something - try to invite them into your world.
But only the results of your work, and importantly, the consistency of your work - will tell you what areas you might want to focus on. What type of work translates into appointments and sales is what you need to focus on, or invest more time and money.
One last thing I would to share is this. When you plan your day each day - even if you do only one thing for yourself or for your business - ask yourself - "Do I have an activity that I will complete today that I will thank myself for in a year from now?"
Kristin Bushnell is Designated Broker of Bushnell Real Estate Solutions and Co-owner of Bushnell Craft Brewing Company in Redmond, WA. Check out my profile here.
If you are ever interested in chatting about real estate, contact me at kristinbushnell@gmail.com or call me at 425-559-1355. I'll buy you a beer (or non-alcoholic beverage, if you prefer!), and we can chat about real estate until your heart's content.
