Even in a Seller’s market, expanding your listing count is always a challenge. Thankfully, Sellers know how important it is to have an agent in their corner. It’s a big reason why only 8% of Sellers choose to travel down the For Sale By Owner road. But how can you convince Sellers to choose you as their agent? Today, as part of our Marketing for Real Estate Agents series, we’ll give you six proven ways to position yourself to increase your listing client count.
Build relationships with local home-related businesses
The most important tips related to marketing for real estate agents revolve around relationship building. Having good relationships is the cornerstone of getting referrals, which is how you’ll likely find most of your listing clients. But where should you focus your relationship-building efforts?
A proven strategy for real estate agents is building relationships with local businesses. Specifically, you should build relationships with the kinds of businesses potential Sellers already work with as homeowners. Here are just a few examples of businesses you should target.
- Insurance companies, especially home insurance companies
- Commercial lenders and title companies
- Personal bankers
- Landscaping companies
- Cleaning companies
- Staging experts
- Pest control companies
Each of these businesses will likely have strong relationships with the homeowners in their area. Co-hosting events, sending branded gifts, and recommending their services to your past and current clients is a great way to begin building these relationships. These businesses are constantly in front of homeowners, and they can act as scouts who find homeowners thinking about selling. By creating mutually beneficial alliances with these businesses, you can get a head-start on putting yourself in front of potential Sellers first.
Find your niche
Homeowners generally want to work with someone they like and someone who’s a trustworthy expert. While it’s good to have broad real estate knowledge, finding a niche can help you focus your marketing. For real estate agents, there are countless niches to focus on, such as the following:
- Historic homes
- Luxury homes
- Mid-century modern homes
- Condominiums
- Townhomes
- HOAs
- Starter homes
And you don’t have to focus on just one niche, necessarily. If your expertise lies in working with younger Buyers, you might focus on helping the owners of townhomes and houses within HOAs sell to that niche. You can then create individual websites for a few different niches and use the appropriate one based on the client you’re targeting.
As you find your niche, make sure that the people who fall within that niche are going to bat for you. Remind them to recommend you and give you positive reviews online to help spread the word of your expertise.
Keep an eye on expired listings
You should always watch MLS for expired listings. Especially in a Seller’s market, expired listings may indicate a Seller who is unhappy with their current agent. This is a prime chance for you throw these Sellers a lifeline.
But before you offer your services, do your research on why the listing expired. It may have failed a certain inspection, which you could help remedy through your relationship with a local business. It might be staged poorly, which is something you can quickly fix with good staging suggestions. Or, it could just be that the Sellers are stubborn about getting a price that the house simply doesn’t justify.
While you can make suggestions to address the first two problems, you don’t want to spend too much time trying to persuade stubborn Sellers to be realistic. Researching the property, including visiting the neighborhood and home itself, will help you figure out why the listing expired. Then, you can contact those Sellers with specific solutions for their problem.
Be open and kind to neighbors
Homeowners always notice when a For Sale sign appears in their neighborhoods. It piques their curiosity about what the house might be worth and how that might affect them in the future. Engage their interest by putting a flyer in their mailbox when you list, sell, or help a Buyer purchase a house in their neighborhood. If you can, have a friendly chat with them about the neighborhood and plant the seed that you’re at their service if needed.
Many times, neighbors will walk over to talk to your Buyers and ask questions about your services. This is why it’s so important to develop a meaningful relationship with your Buyers. As they get to know their neighbors, they’ll likely talk about how they ended up buying the house. If you made the transaction easy and minimized their stress, they won’t hesitate to tell their neighbors. And when their neighbors decide to sell, you have an advocate for your services right next door!
Go to open houses
Open houses tend to attract lots of curious neighbors who can turn into clients. Talk to these people and give them insight into the local market. Even if they tell you they won’t be selling for a few months or a couple of years, you will have made a valuable contact that could result in a big payday down the line.
If it sounds like a lot of work, just imagine how happy you would be right now if you were getting calls from clients you had met at open houses a year or two ago. Getting your name and face out there is Marketing for Real Estate Agents 101! Doing so at an open house is a great way to do that without necessarily imposing on anyone unexpectedly. After all, it’s not odd to see a real estate agent at an open house.
Offer a home warranty with Seller coverage from 2-10 HBW
Offering a home warranty with Seller coverage is an underappreciated strategy in marketing for real estate agents. Sellers want assurance that their house will sell quickly and with as few concessions as possible. Seller coverage from 2-10 Home Buyers Warranty (2-10 HBW) is a great way to provide that assurance while positioning you as a listing client’s best ally.
A home warranty from 2-10 HBW can protect Sellers from systems and appliances breakdowns while their home is on the market. It’s also complimentary where allowed by law ($60 in Florida). Providing this coverage as a matter of course takes a lot of “what if” out of selling a home. No Seller wants their home to go unsold because their water heater broke down or the electrical system had problems while it was on the market. A home warranty relieves of many of these worries.
By letting Sellers know that you can protect their house when they need it most through a home warranty from 2-10 HBW, you build trust. Building trust is a powerful tool in getting more listings.
2-10 HBW offers comprehensive systems and appliances home warranties to help protect your clients from unexpected repair and replacement costs. Contact us to learn more.
