by Terri Murphy
Special to Realty/Builder Connection
Our business is selling houses and our listings are the products on the shelves. Building a strong listing inventory has long been hailed as the top technique to becoming a top producer. Other models are emerging but most agents still find business success is easier when they have a good listing inventory.
Competitive marketplaces and changes in technologies have contributed to making it more difficult for even the best agents to be guaranteed to be chosen as the listing agent. More sellers are thinking that they can do everything we do since they can put a sign in their yard, an ad in the paper and on the Internet. The cost consciousness that comes when there is uncertainty about the economy and the country’s future only serves to increase their feelings that this is something they should perhaps try on their own. If they don’t go that route, they are still likely to be very picky about choosing the right agent to represent them.
While I have a strong, core belief in the power of relationships as the foundation of long term success in the real estate business, many of you may not yet be in the position that those relationships are generating the level of business you desire. You may need new prospects and business to propel your activity to the level you envision.
In order to build your listing inventory, you need to get in the door and then you must shine as the most obvious choice. Three areas of focus can accomplish this result:
1. Position yourself for success
2. Create systems that give you an edge
3. Use technology to differeentiate yourself
Within these three areas, let’s look at seven simple solutions to listing success:
Position yourself
for success
1. Know Your Niches
Less is more these days when it comes to being able to serve the needs of the 21st century buyers and sellers. The generalists are struggling while the specialists are reaping more business. Choose 3-4 types of properties or neighborhoods and focus on building a “guru” status by a consistent marketing effort over time. Yes, this sounds like farming, doesn’t it? And it is, but it is the new and improved way to do it, using demographics rather than geographics, using email instead of snail mail, using what’s in it for them instead of what a great agent you are. This is a long term strategy, but one that will strengthen the very foundation of your business.
2. Do The R & D
Large corporations use a research and development department to discover what the competition is doing, what their customers and potential customers want, and what new and innovative ways they might be able to reposition their offerings. Within your chosen niches and areas of expertise, you must become extremely knowledgeable about everything! Knowing the competition is very important because you can know where you are positioned and where you have an advantage or disadvantage. Your listing presentation should accentuate your strengths and disempower those of the competition. For instance, if the seller would net more money paying a higher commission because of the service and exposure their property would get, thereby getting a higher sales price, wouldn’t they be foolish to pay less commission to put less money in their pocket?
Know the hot buttons of your clientele. A seller who is relocating and a senior who is downsizing may have different needs. Position your services specifically to their needs and you’ll differentiate yourself.
Set time aside to do some strategic thinking or R & D on a regular basis, considering how the market is changing and anticipating what needs will be important to your market. Surf the web and take a look at what others are doing in different marketplaces. Then create programs or offerings that meet these needs and be the first to do that.
Create systems that give you an edge
3. Have a Great Pre-Listing Package
Sell yourself before you ever show up. This is a technique that is so easy and yet underused by most agents. If you excel here, getting the listing becomes a slam-dunk!
Picture this scenario: a call comes in from a potential seller who wants to make an appointment with you as one of three they are setting with agents in your town. You set the appointment for tomorrow afternoon. As soon as you get off the phone, you take one of your pre-listing packets off the shelf and personalize it for this seller with a cover letter thanking them for the opportunity to get together. Then it is sent out by courier or delivered by your assistant within the next 3 hours.
Your package contains information about you and your marketing plan and your experience. It also gives them criteria for choosing an agent that positions your strengths and downplays the competition’s strengths. Information about pricing and setting the stage for showing can also be included. You can even enclose one of the videos available on these topics along with some popcorn.
A list of what they should have ready for the appointment tomorrow would include the financial info on their loans, their utility bills, and copies of their keys.
When you show up, the time you spend with them can focus on their needs, not on you. Your relationship will build more quickly and they will perceive you as someone truly interested in them, not just someone who wants the listing. You’ll probably also find the this is very time effective...you should spend less time on each appointment.
4. Have a great FSBO prospecting system
In many parts of the country, it’s a seller’s market and the FSBO’s are selling homes themselves. But the sad part is that they are probably putting less money in their pockets at more liability and risk to themselves than they would if they had used an agent. The 2000 NAR Profile of Home Buyer and Sellers revealed the median selling price of a home sold directly by an owner was $113,000, while the median sales price of a home sold using an agent was $129,900. This means they would net almost 15 percent MORE by using a Realtor. If a seller were educated to this fact, why would they sell it themselves? It’s your job to educate them!
You may not like prospecting FSBO’s but they are the best source of leads if you are serious about wanting to build your listing inventory. This is an increasing first step that sellers are taking. Strategically speaking, becoming an expert in this area, is probably the single best move you could make for the future.
Systems are the key to opening the door of productivity. You should not be recreating the wheel, but should have in place a series of steps that are time-framed that take you from first contact with a FSBO, through consistent follow up that creates relationship and value. Over 85 percent of FSBO’s will list their homes, so it is a matter of positioning yourself to be the one they choose. In your marketing yourself to the FSBO, you are modeling the way you will market their property to the public. If they are impressed because you make it easy for them to feel comfortable with you, you make it easy for them to get information and value from you and you are consistent and follow through, doing everything you say you’ll do, they will be impressed and want you to represent them.
Along with your system of contact, build a whole program of services to help them sell their house.
While listing the house may be one possible outcome, you could still make a good living working FSBO’s in selling them their next house or referring them to another Realtor in the city they are moving to. They also are seeing buyers that may not be right for their house, who could work with you. The opportunities are broad!
Use technology to
differentiate yourself
5. Virtual tours
Using technology to create more exposure for homes is becoming a given, but surprisingly fewer than 20 percent of agents are actively using many of these tools. Do you differentiate yourself by putting together a virtual tour of every home you list? Do you put these on disk and give some to the sellers to use with their friends (or give to a FSBO as part of your value-adds?) Pricing on virtual tours is becoming more competitive every day.
6. Automatic response technology
Toll-free information lines have been around for several years, but have not been utilized to their fullest capabilities by most agents. These lines are a great source of creating new listing prospects, if you run an ad or feature from your website, free reports on how to net more money in selling your home or some other report that would appeal to potential sellers.
You can wow the seller when you show up on the listing appointment and have prerecorded on the 1-800 line a message about their home. Have them dial the number and then your pager will go off with their telephone number on it (even if it is a caller ID-blocked number). Tell them this is one of the tools you use that allows you to follow up with potential buyers immediately.
This will differentiate you.
Another service available is call messaging. You can have your telemarketing done by a prerecorded message in your voice. You prerecord a message and supply your list of people to be called. For every answering machine that is reached, it will play your message, souning like you have made the individual call. This will save hours of prospecting time!
7. Use email as your secret advantage
Every agent who embraces email as the killer app of the Internet and creates systems to keep in touch and use their email will distinguish themselves from most others. Start with your own domain name to brand yourself in everything you do. With the cost of domain names at about $25 or less per year, how can you not reserve yours? Then you need an email account that allow you unlimited addresses. Each time you take a listing, set up an autoresponder for it at [email protected] . That should impress a seller. Or, buy the domain name for their address. This is cheaper than a small ad in the paper, but will create another wow with that seller. The possibilities are limitless. Be the first to offer enhancements.
What’s your competitive advantage? How many of those listings do you want to capture? These seven solutions are simple and inexpensive, but most agents are not even employing one of them. To increase your listing inventory, increase the number of tools in your tool kit! You’ll be happy you did!
- Terri Murphy is a consultant on the integration of traditional marketing and communication with today’s Web and Internet tools. She can be reached at [email protected] or 901-767-0000.