Becoming Everything Real Estate

By Debra Asher
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Today, with a few clicks, consumers can find out most anything they want to know, not only in your market area but anywhere in the world. Many of us remember the old days of being the information gatekeepers. Our old job description is changing. One day, we will look back at this period as the catalyst and breeding ground for the new generation of real estate professionals.

True, some astute practitioners were well on their way during the pre-recession days. Their changes were voluntary business decisions prompted by looking past the distractions of the housing bubble frenzy. However, what was voluntary then is a necessity today. 

There is a shift in the reasons buyers and sellers need our services. Of course, the consumer does need you, now more than ever. But most don’t know it because we haven’t adequately announced or evidenced our new job description. The bottom line objective is to pull the consumer out of their pigeon-hole perception that all agents are the same and that you’re only needed when it’s time to buy or sell.

These challenging times are an opportunity to re-invent yourself and your real estate business. Start with a bit of brain cleansing. It may be cluttered with old conventional wisdom and practice. Keep the knowledge, but get rid of the stuff that doesn’t work anymore. Crumple up and throw out statements like, “This is the way it’s done. I’ve never done that before, and I don’t know anything about that.” 

Consider this scenario. You start a new business. Your business card has your name followed by President or CEO. Your slogan is “everything real estate,” under which there are the initials S.P.O.C. (single point of contact).

Your income source will be coming from services rendered. In theory, you hired a person to head up that department. In reality you just hired yourself – the best. You expect productivity from that department. As a sharp business person you also embrace the business 101 truism: a business may offer the best product, but if no one knows about it, nothing will happen. 

You need to hire a professional to head your marketing department. Let’s stop here and move out of the hypothetical. You are your own marketing department, and there is a productivity issue here as well. But it’s not only about how many leads your marketing provides. It’s about how many people know that your knowledge and acumen live up to that slogan “everything real estate.” 

It’s about people knowing that you can help them wade through the information overload dilemma called the Internet. What’s important, what’s relevant and what does it mean to them and how do they use that information to make the best real estate decisions? 

It gets deeper and starts impacting you as the service department. Consumers want to cut expenses. Shouldn’t they hear from you that they may have a possibility to reduce their property taxes? After all, you are “everything real estate.” When will that window of opportunity open up, and what are the considerations? What’s relevant in presenting their grievance and so on?

What about loan modification? Sure, clients can read about specifics — even download the forms, guidelines and procedures for free — but what if they do not comprehend what they are reading? They should know to come to you for a confirmation and explanation of what they have heard. And, while they’re there, maybe it would be nice if they could get those forms directly from you. 

Give this a quick thought: We used text books during our education. How many times did a gifted teacher help us to get it and understand what we were reading? Your new job description should include “teacher on everything real estate.” 

What about the home owners who are candidates or actually in a distressed sale position and need an expert consultation? Some of those home owners are lucky because they can call and talk to the area expert on “everything real estate.” 

If you retain the lingering question of how is that change going to make me money now, you have not fully cleansed. Our old way of doing real estate focused on immediate gratification. I remember being told to keep cold calling until I got an appointment or to stick to the then-conventional wisdom of mass mailings (“the more spaghetti you throw at a wall, the more will stick”). 

The numbers game theory has not changed. What has changed is the objective and methodology. Yesterday it was about the hunt and fishing for business. Today it’s about creating, expanding, maintaining and consistently promoting your identity as an “everything real estate” expert to as many people as possible as often as possible. 

It’s not theory or hype. It is fact, and it works. People should know that you are capable of providing them with information to help them decide whether or not to add on to their home or to sell and purchase a larger one. What about home improvement considerations? They will come to you first as their information source on “everything real estate.” “Go green” is all the buzz recently. How can you tie it in with your market area homes?

Our past production has been associated with numbers of appointments and transactions. The new generation of agents will add marketing to their productivity gauge. A small business marketing rule of thumb is that a consumer must see your name and message 27 times. Every three times they see it, they will get closer to a definite recognition of your name and association with what you do. This is not a formidable challenge when you consider the proliferation of blogs – neighborhood, city, local newspapers, your market area real estate blog, your Web site and so on. 

Don’t neglect “hard-copy.” Contact local publishers and offer an editorial contribution, which usually includes your name and contact information in lieu of payment. If you’re comfortable with public speaking, offer to be a guest speaker at any community organization meetings. 

With your new mindset and marketing productivity, wonderful things will start to happen — immediate business, referrals, recommendations, future business and the earned recognition as the new generation of real estate professional. 

Debra Asher is CEO of ProCalibre Associates, Inc. and president of Debra Asher Seminars. She is an internationally recognized speaker and personal and company performance coach for the real estate industry. Her e-mail is debraasher@procalibre.com.