Module 9: Time Management 69

Write down at least one new practice that you will implement to make yourself more efficient.

EXERCISE

What is one new practice that you will implement to make yourself more efficient?

Marketing, Branding, and Creative

We need to STOP INTERRUPTING what people are interested in and BE what people are interested in.

-Craig Davis

Marketing Is A Conversation

Every memorable ad that you’ve ever seen spoke to you. It made you feel something. Marketing is a conversation. How a communications and marketing plan affects the receiver requires training and understanding of who your consumer is and what reaction you are trying to solicit from them. The following section will equip professional assistants with one of the most sought-after skills that a real estate agent will have. A professional assistant who can assist the agent with branding and marketing increases their value by becoming an income generating resource for the team.

▪ Brand Marketing

The real estate agent and their team are a “brand”. They are an entity that people should be seeking to do business with.

There are different types of marketing in the career of an agent. Brand Marketing refers to the efforts that an agent makes to reach out to clients and ensure that they are aware of the agent, the team, and the services that are offered. The goal of Brand Marketing is to connect the team’s identity, personality, and value.

The Consumer

Effective marketing campaigns begin with knowing and identifying who the intended audience is. A common error by real estate agents is trying to develop a marketing campaign or market plan that reaches a wide range of consumers. Marketing plans that yield the best results are designed around specific consumer personas. Consumer personas are developed by identifying a specific demographic and particular traits unique to that consumer demographic so that messaging can be designed to that particular target.

A 35-year-old home buyer and a 60 year old home seller are two very different types of consumers and separate marketing campaigns should be planned and designed around each type of consumer.

▪ Consumer Personas

Many marketers across various industries begin designing their marketing campaigns by identifying a type of consumer and then creating a model of them in order to remind themselves of the client’s buying habits, transaction journey and typical behaviors.

Using tools made specifically for profiles of Home Buyers and Sellers and GeoWarehouse (www.geowarehouse.ca), agents and professional assistants can easily discover exactly how specific types ofconsumers behave. From that data the marketer can extrapolate a projection of the consumer and draft a Consumer Persona.

Example:

“Kayla and Kyle are 24-year-old first time home buyers. They have been married for 2 years, have careers in retail and graphic design with steady incomes. They have a 1-year-old daughter named Kenley. They have a 2-year-old golden retriever name Kupcake. They have been researching online for their purchase for 13 months, using Google, Zillow and a variety of mobile apps. They are preapproved through True North Mortgage and have visited a number of open houses.”

Now that you have identified the type of buyers that are common in your marketplace or the types of clients that are relevant to your niche, you should give them a story to make them human. You can now reflect on this Consumer Persona when developing a marketing plan and decide if the type of graphic, platform, verbiage, or call-to-action will connect with this specific consumer. What do you needto change in your communications or resources that will encourage these clients to connect with your Brand?

▪ Calls To Action

A call to action is an instruction or solicitation for a consumer to engage in your business and typically it follows some offering or branding awareness marketing effort. It can be an instruction to “subscribe” to your social media network, “call” the agent or team for more information or “act now” to benefit from some new offer.

The marketing message should be so compelling and engaging that the consumer feels that acting now is an essential thing to do. People often will only take an action, such as subscribing to your YouTube channel or Facebook business page if they are asked or reminded to do so.

Agents and teams should be constantly working to build their consumer following. Having consumers visit your website, follow your blog, signup for your email, and other resources helps you build your following and keeps the agent at the top of mind for the consumer. A solid call to action could trigger a ready seller or buyer to engage your agent at the moment that they need representation.

Google’s Zero Moment of Truth

In 2011 Google established a concept called the Zero Moment of Truth or ZMOT. This is the moment that a consumer reaches a product or service prior to the point of engagement. For real estate agents this is very often their online persona.

The buyer or seller will find a myriad of service providers and entities in their buyer or selling journey. 98% of consumers utilize the internet as part of their process and begin that research process online.

The first step in ZMOT is the stimulus. A buyer or seller decides that it’s time to buy or sell and then they take to the internet to research the process, prerequisites, how to choose an agent, etc.

The Zero Moment of Truth is when the consumer sees the service provider, in this case the agent, online through the agent’s video, website, prior client reviews, social media or other online marketing assets that the agent has. This ZMOT is an important moment for client engagement. Real Estate consumers are choosing what agent they’ll reach out to based on the agent’s online presence.

The First Moment of Truth comes after the consumer has chosen to meet with the agent based on the agent’s Zero Moment of Truth online. The First moment of Truth is the physical meeting. The consumer is looking to see if the agent delivers on the persona they’ve projected online.

The Second Moment of Truth is the consumers actual experience with the agent and how the agent performs representing the client in their transaction.

Prospecting

Prospecting refers to the agent’s efforts to find new clients to work with. The agent uses a variety of tools and resources to engage prospective consumers and encourage them to reach out to the agent for their real estate needs. Prospecting isn’t one tool or resource; it is the act of proactively marketing to consumers.

Agents will often choose a specific location, region, neighborhood or even a particular condo development to focus a large portion of their time cultivating consumer opportunities. This is commonly referred to as “farming”. Farming is usually done over a period of time with a consistent message and communications plan developed to become the predominate agent in a particular farm area.

Inbound Marketing

Inbound is a method of attracting, engaging, and delighting people to grow a business that provides value and builds trust.

~ HUBSPOT

Inbound Marketing is also known on “content Marketing” and is a contemporary marketing concept in which a marketer will create useful and engaging content that a consumer would be interested in reviewing even if they are not immediately interested in buying or selling real property. Inbound marketing is designed to get a consumer to subscribe to website, social media profile, subscribe to an email campaign or fill out a contact form online.

Utilizing tools like blogs, sharable graphics, eBooks, or other things that a consumer would find valuable to download or share online is considered Inbound Marketing. It is the concept of creating content to start an engagement with a consumer and show value in their life or transaction process.

Inbound marketing is valuable in building a community or what author Seth Godin calls a “tribe”. Agents can use their content and inbound marketing efforts to help build a following with a strong call to action for a consumer to follow them on social media or subscribe to an E-newsletter. Then they ask their tribe to reshare the content with the hopes that their fans will share with people who trust them. The goal is that those people also engage the agent and continue to build and enlarge the tribe. As an agent’s audience grows the chances for consumer engagement will grow producing a new source of business.

▪ Everything Should Drive to Your Website

As the agent builds various channels to communicate with potential consumers and past clients, they will find various responses and consumer types based on the channels being used. This can create a challenge in keeping content and marketing assets fresh and tracking their efficacy. Use one source to host all the content marketing assets, like the agent’s website. Posting or hosting content on the website allows the various marketing channels to be used to connect the consumer to the content.

For example, an agent posts a new buyer guide on their website which is designed to help buyers in the buying process and shows value in using a particular agent who provides this great content. Once posted, the marketer will use Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and email campaigns to show the marketing asset to the followers on each platform. Links back to the asset on the agent’s website will build additional traffic and offer the consumer other valuable resources. Hopefully, this will lead the consumer to take action and subscribe to the agent’s emails or reach out to the agent to get more information.

When creating content to be shared, it’s important to consider several things. The following considerations should be made with curating sharable content.

Useful

Relevant

Sharable

Motivational

Is the content that you are creating something a consumer will consider valuable and meaningful not only to themselves but as a resource to share with their friends and family? An example is an eBook related to relocating to the agent’s primary market area. Another example may be a video explaining the steps necessary to buy a new construction home. Is the content related to something currently happening or will soon be happening in the near future. Example of relevant marketing would be the schedule of the local high school football team or a graphic with all of the local voting locations during an election month.

One of the most important measures of efficacy for a content marketing asset is how often it is shared. Consumers share information and resources they find valuable. Anything that the marketer creates should be easily sharable from the “hub”. When creating the content, the resource must be valuable enough that a viewer will feel compelled to share it. When it is posted it should be easy to share on social media and by email with a call-to-action to do so. Sometimes content marketing isn’t necessarily designed around creating resources or specific calls-to-action, but rather to reflect the brand’s positive impact with motivational messaging. Sharing good news about the community or doing a video interview with those positively impacting the community may take the spotlight off of the team and place it on good civic work, which helps show the brand is engaged in the community.

▪ Lifestyle Content

Real estate agents provide a service that is close to the heart of the consumer. Creating marketing content that connects with the consumer regarding community and their home will leave a notable impact. Sharing content online related to things people appreciate and enjoy will help bring a tribe together. Things like the best home security system, ways to enjoy the local parks, your favorite recipes, nature, gardening tips, and things to do with your children during the summer, are all examples of ways to share the lifestyle that people in the area enjoy. It will also help show the marketer as a relatable individual.

Marketing Delivery Tools

In today’s world the agent has a myriad of tools to tell their brand story, promote their listing, and create new client opportunities. Generally, agents and teams depend on their professional assistant to coordinate their marketing efforts. Digital and online marketing have proven to be the most effective tool, but some agents have also found successful analog marketing campaigns, such as printed newsletters and post cards.

▪ Videos ▪ Infographics & Guides ▪ Social Media ▪ Blogs ▪ Sharable Photos ▪ Email Campaigns ▪ Stories

The choices of marketing platforms and lead generation services can be overwhelming to many agents. The professional assistant may be called upon to research and help setup new marketing assets and campaigns, as well as create innovative ways of using existing systems.

▪ Agent Websites

For most agents the website is a “store front” where consumers can find basic information about the agent and maybe homes for sale, but that’s only a small part of the value of a well-designed and functioning website. The agent’s website is a valuable hub for successful marketers. This is where an agent can create a community resource, tribe-building powerhouse of content, and easily get found by consumers searching for information.

There are various website options available to agents. Often brokers will offer websites with limited information, but good findability online. Some agents choose building their own websites using popular tools while other agents prefer ready-built websites hosted and maintained by website vendors.

Countless consumer surveys are done each year to ascertain what type of actions consumers take when online. Here are a few important statistics.

▪ 91% of all real estate buyers and sellers use the internet as part of their buying and selling process ▪ 69% of buyers begin their search with local terms such as “waterfront homes for sale in

Muskoka, Ontario” ▪ 55% of buyers start their search on a real estate agent’s website as their first step ▪ 78% of real estate consumers use more than one site when searching for homes ▪ 52% of all online consumer research starts with local search information (not home searches, but rather information about a locality) ▪ 75% of consumers judge a business or entity by the quality and content of their website.

▪ Why Design Matters

Knowing that 75% of consumers judge a business by their website, it should be no surprise that a wellorganized and well-designed website is important for a real estate team. Consumers are more likely to interact with a website which is clean, simple to use, and has worthwhile content. The front page of the website is the first handshake the consumer could have with the real estate agent, but the content on the pages and blog posts will be what keeps the consumer engaged and willing to subscribe to enewsletters and social media sites to get more information.

Websites have various parts and agents, and professional assistants should be familiar with layout and site elements. The “home page” is generally the first page a visitor sees when they type in the addressof the website. The “website” is a collection of pages and posts that make up the whole. “Pages” are the individual sections of the website that are typically dedicated to the unique content of each part.

The diagram below breaks down the elements of a page.

▪ Identity Standards

Each brokerage, franchise and provinces regulations as well as the REALTOR® Code of Ethics, has certain disclosure requirements which must be met on all online marketing on behalf of an agent. These requirements are part of the identity standards.

Brokers may require specific logos, colours and fonts to be used in a marketing platform, but there are also regulatory requirements on behalf of each province’s regulations. Here are few common requirements:

▪ The agents name must be listed as it is presented on their license

▪ The name of the real estate firm must be disclosed

▪ The city and province of the office which the agent reports should be listed

▪ A list of all the provinces in which the agent or team is currently licensed

▪ Use of approved logos, both the company and the agent’s preferred mark

▪ That fact that the agent is a “REALTOR®” must be disclosed. Note: The word “REALTOR®” is trademarked and must be presented in all capital letters with the registered trademark symbol following. You can create the registered trademark by pushing [option and “r”] on a Mac and on a PC click “Insert” and then “Symbol”.

▪ Responsive Sites

Consumers use a variety of devices from smartphones to desktop computers to utilize the internet. Each of these devices have different sized screens and it is important that a website caters to each. A website is considered a “responsive site” when it has full utilization and an appealing user interface regardless of the size screen that it is on.

Websites use different themes, which are filters added to give it a basic template for its look and feel. An agent’s website should be using themes which are responsive to various devices and maintain a consistent feel for the site across all platforms.

▪ Website Vendor Considerations

The majority of agents will lack the skills necessary to create and design a website from the ground up. Agents will usually pay a company to create, host and maintain a website on their behalf. Some vendors will charge for the site’s creation and hosting while other vendors will have a fee for the website being found online and for ensuring that client opportunities are created on a routine basis.

Before signing a contract or hiring a website vendor the agent should ask the vendor for 3-5 current clients to call as references. When speaking to those references, the agent or professional assistant should ask about their satisfaction level with the vendor. Has the vendor provided everything they promised, and if tech support is offered, are they responsive? While speaking to the reference the professional assistant should try and ascertain the level of technical prowess of the reference to see if it matches the agent or teams ability to manage technology. A reference who isn’t very tech savvy may be very impressed with a website vendor only because they do not know of other options or what should be available to them.

When interviewing a website provider, the following questions should be asked of the provider to determine what reasonable expectations the agent and their team should have and to assess if the charge for the site is appropriate.

Cost

The first question is always what the cost of the site will be. Expenses for websites vary wildly from a few hundred per year to thousands per month. Websites that are merely basic sites hosted by the vendor and maintained by the agent are the least expensive. Sites that are maintained by the vendor with new content added and efforts made to create consumer opportunities are the most expensive.

IDX

Internet Data Exchange or “IDX” is the service provided by Multiple Listing Services to real estate agents where the data from the MLS is shared on the agent’s sites. Therefore, both the agents own listings as well as those from other cooperating brokers are available to a visitor on the agent’s websites. Most IDX licenses come with monthly fees for the website and occasionally from the MLS.

SEO

Search Engine Optimization or “SEO” is the ongoing and active efforts of a party to make the website findable by search engines like Google.com. By using specific words, page titles and other techniques individuals can optimize a website’s setup to be more easily found and higher ranked in search engines. Not that paid placement such as Google Adwords is not SEO, it is a financial investment to Google or a third party to get the website seen in the paid ad space on search engines.

Lead Generation

The act of creating consumer engagement opportunities for the agent is often referred to as “lead generation” by vendors. Agents often find this the most valuable part of their website. Vendors should be asked to lay out their techniques for creating opportunities from the website. If the lead generation is SEO driven, will the agent and their team be expected to create content for the site or will the vendor?

CRM

Customer Relationship Manager or CRM is a component of a website that creates a database of contact information from clients, consumers and customers and allows an agent to organize the individuals into different groups based on timeliness of their sale or purchase. The various features of a CRM vary from one provider to another. Many have suggested marketing campaigns, email templates, and calendars to manage when certain groups should be contacted and followed up with and a database system to keep contact information and notes about individuals. Vendors will need to lay out what features of a CRM are available as part of their website tools. Many website vendors do not offer a full-featured CRM and the agent may need to use a third-party CRM system. Vendors should be asked if contacts from within the website can be easily exported into a third-party CRM program.

Duration of the Contract

Most website vendors offer contracts as part of their hosting and maintenance services. There are often discounted prices for long term contract or for paying a single annual fee as opposed to a monthly fee. Professional Assistants and agents who are negotiating a contract with a vendor should consider contractors for no longer than one year. It may take up to six months for the website to reach its full potential for findability online, but technology changes so quickly, that long-term contracts may not be in the best interest of the team.

Who Owns the Content

The most valuable part of any website is the content. The videos, blog posts, written resources, and more represent an investment in the agent’s time. The clients that are added to the CRM are long term opportunities and domain name is something that an agent will want to use for the rest of their careers. When working with a website vendor, terms should be negotiated ensuring that if the agent stops working with that vendor the agent owns the domain name, all of the clients contact information,and the content on the website. The vendor should be asked to demonstrate how the content can besaved and exported from the system prior to entering into an agreement.

Marketing Listings

Many high performing real estate agents put a strong focus on procuring listing business. Because of the time commitment required, an agent can handle many more active listings than they can buyers. Additionally, having a listing provides the opportunity to showcase your marketing talent and to also get the agent’s brand in front of many more people. Often agents and teams will depend on the professional assistant to ensure that the marketing of the listing is done well.

▪ Multiple Listing Services

The Multiple Listing Service, also known as MLS is a regional database of listings that establishes cooperative agreements and commission offers between agents. The MLS takes the listing data that is entered into the system and then through its own consumer facing site allows buyers to search the site for homes for sale. The MLS will also distribute the listings to various third-party websites called aggregators. Common aggregators include Realtor.com and Zillow.com.

The distribution of listing data to aggregators and individual agent websites is called IDX or Internet Data Exchange. The IDX distribution is controlled by the broker and not all brokers permit IDX distribution outside of the MLS.

▪ Open Houses

It is reported that 54% of all home buyers have visited an Open House as part of their home buying process. The Open House is an opportunity affording to the public to enter a home for sale and view it without the accompaniment of the buyer’s agent. Many home buyers visit open houses before they hire an agent to represent them. Listing agents who are hosting the Open House can sometimes engage these unrepresented buyers and create a client relationship with them.

The primary purpose of the Open House, however, is to introduce the home to a buyer and sell the home for the home owner. Open Houses require marketing efforts prior to the actual day of the Open House.

▪ Open Houses – continued

Considerations include:

▪ Marketing the Open House

In order to get the most out of the effort of the seller and the agent during an open house, aggressive and early marketing of the Open House is necessary to get the attention of the largest number of buyers.

Marketing the Open House online includes using the MLS and the listing aggregators to promote the date and time of the event. Using Social Media ads is also an effective marketing model to communicate with the agent’s online sphere of influence and have the event shared with others.

Analog marketing efforts can include written invitations to the neighbors inviting them and also asking them to invite their friends or families that may be interested in moving into the subdivision. If the home is in a Home Owners Association, then running ads in the HOA newsletter is also known to be an effective effort.

On the day of the Open House the professional assistant may be asked to accompany the listing agent or prepare the home before the open house. Preparation for the Open House includes creating extra home-books, brochures and information sheets. Using welcome posters and greetings can help create a warm environment for the visitors on the day of the event. In addition to the all the marketing that was done before the event, the professional assistant may also wish to place directional signs near the front of the subdivision allowing passerby’s to know about the event and to pop in.

Professional Assistants will also want to have data sheets available to ensure the agent hosting the open house knows what other active listings are in the area in case a buyer would like more information other than the home they are visiting. Feedback forms are necessary to get written feedback from the buyers as they visit the home to be delivered to the seller after the event.

▪ Homebooks

Homebooks are expanded brochures full of information about the home, the subdivision amenities and lifestyle information about the area. Homebooks should be so informative that buyers are compelled to take the book when they are considering the home and even if they aren’t as they will keep the agent’s branding even after they’ve visited the home. In addition to listing photos, feature information and area information, homebooks should have information from the economic development resource from the county or city and neighbor reports from Geowarehouse.

Using design tools like canva.com will help make the process easy and look very professional.

▪ Listing Aggregators

As mentioned earlier, listing aggregators are third-party websites that are given listing data from the MLS to help buyers navigate the listing inventory in their desired area. Aggregators are a powerful tool in selling homes and should not be neglected. Once the listing data has been populated from the MLS to the aggregator, Professional Assistants should log in to the primary aggregators known to be used by buyers and update the listing data utilizing all of the features of the aggregator to draw the attention of the home buyer.

Aggregators will often allow more content, such as virtual tours, additional photos and expanded areas to write more in-depth descriptions. Some aggregators offer additional marketing assets for free, such as video walk-throughs and virtual tours.

All of these marketing assets can help the agent and Professional Assistant tell the home’s story and engage clients in a way that few other listing marketing efforts can.

▪ Single Listing Websites

Another effective marketing tool is to create a page on the agent’s website or to utilize a third-party tool to create a single page or site for each listing. This page on the team’s website or landing page from a third-party provider will provide the listing agent a way to share expanded listing information to any buyers who are inquiring and to keep the clients on the agent’s platform. This is a form of a “hub” as discussed earlier that can provide valuable buyer information to anyone making an inquiry.

On these single listing websites, the agent should provide all of the data and marketing assets available on one site. Some of that expanded information includes:

▪ A slideshow of all the listing photos ▪ A digital version of the homebook that they can download ▪ Links to community amenities ▪ Full listing description ▪ A call-to-action form where the buyer can request additional information ▪ Area information such as dog parks, school information, favorite restaurants, etc. ▪ Virtual Tours ▪ Videos of the home ▪ Floor plans ▪ Listing Photos, Virtual Tours and Videos

The visual elements of a listing marketing campaign is what grabs the attention and interest of the home buyer. Home buyers are looking through listings online and make the decision to exclude certain listings based on how they appear online. Photos, videos and virtual tours are critical assets in a marketing campaign. It’s important to have high-quality, professional photography for every listing.

Effective marketing campaigns involve photos of the interior and exterior of the home, but also quality photos from the seller of the home during different seasons if they are available, photos of the community amenities and drone photos if the property has features that justify it.

Virtual Tours, also known as 3D models, utilize a technology that allows a consumer to view the home as if they were standing in it, even if they are at home or elsewhere. Virtual Reality goggles, mobile

phones and web browsers can all be utilized by the buyer to view the tours. Buyers are becoming increasingly comfortable with the technology and will often seek listings online that have virtual tours available.

Videos are also a highly sought-after marketing asset, allowing the buyer to see a story about the listing. Listing videos allow the listing agent or seller to present the house to the buyers as a guided tour. There is no other marketing asset as impactful for winning the buyer’s interest.

▪ Listing Photography

▪ Ask sellers for their lifestyle photos ▪ Tell a story with your photos

▪ Virtual Reality

▪ Growing Trend ▪ Buyers can “walk-through” in their own home ▪ Most consumers are already acclimated to virtual reality ▪ Embedded videos and callouts allow you to highlight key features

▪ Virtual Staging

▪ Add furniture ▪ Remove items ▪ Replace dark skies ▪ Adjust photos

▪ Video Rocks the Listing

▪ Video walk-through of the property ▪ Brief videos of someone enjoying the property ▪ Amenity videos ▪ Use a gimbal for a professional look

▪ Blog Post about a Feature

▪ Create content around a specific feature or amenity of the property and then share the listing information at the end

▪ Social Media

▪ Create and post social media content focusing on unique property features

Listing Marketing Checklist

Once a listing has been secured from a seller, a marketing campaign usually begins soon after the listing paperwork has been completed. A checklist is an essential tool in ensuring that nothing is missed and that the promises made by the agent to the seller to promote their property to buyers is met.

Here is a sample marketing checklist for listings:

Marketing Checklist for New Listings Listing Address: MLS ID:

Task

Create File in Transaction Management System Upload Listing Docs to Transaction Management System Add Seller contact details to file

Request showing instructions from Seller

Order Photos / 3D tour

Order or take video / drone

Collect room measurements

Order virtual staging photos Call about sign placement

Place sign Place Lockbox/Sentrilock Box on property Create flyer Write listing story and description Enter listing into MLS Setup Showing Time/Brokerbay for listing

Date Completed

Continued on next page

Add lockbox serial number in ShowTime/Brokebay Add attachments/disclosure into MLS

Create Homebook and leave at listing Update Transaction Management System with MLS information

Setup Social Media marketing campaign

Edit Listing Video Share link to single listing site with Seller

Add video link to Realtor.ca listing Setup automated seller report Order Just Listed Cards

Add listing expiration date to calendar Add 30 day expiration reminder to calendar Send summary of marketing efforts to Seller Send handwritten “Thank You” note to Seller

Generating Client Opportunities

A valuable role for the Professional Assistant is that of marketer and assisting the agent or team in creating new client opportunities. There are a plethora of tools and marketing resources available to assist the Professional Assistant in creating new client opportunities. As discussed earlier in this course, content marketing, social media, websites, and many other tools are free for their use, but “free”still requires time to be invested in curating and promoting the resources created by the team. Paid marketing efforts, such as print ads, lead generating websites, and radio ads are often not as effective as the content driven efforts of the previously discussed tools and practices but can still engage clients.When investing time or money into client generating practices, careful tracking should be made to ensure that there is a return on investment for the tasks.

▪ Expired Listings

From time to time an agent will win a listing opportunity with the seller and for various reason may not have sold the property before the agreement with the seller expires. Agents and teams who wish to build their listing inventory can setup searches in the MLS to be alerted of listings that have expired.

A Professional Assistant can work with the agent to assist them in identifying expired listings that meet the agent’s criteria and then assist in finding the contact information for those sellers. The agent can reach out to the sellers and ascertain if they would like to meet and perhaps give the agent an opportunity to help them sell their home.

When reaching out to the homeowner of an expired listing several things should be considered. Homeowners need to be contacted quickly upon the team finding out that the listing has expired as many other agents may be making the same efforts.

▪ For Sale By Owners

About 7% of homes sold each year are sold by the homeowner without a listing agent, but a much larger number of homeowners attempt to sell on their own before realizing that they need the assistance of a trained professional to assist them.

Professional Assistants can assist the agent by harvesting FSBO information from popular sites online and create marketing resources for the agent to drop off with the FSBO.

A page on the agent’s website dedicated to providing resources for FSBOs to demonstrate the value ofan agent can be a powerful conversion tool, so long as there is a notable call to action and reason to reach out to the agent.

Common elements of a FSBO conversion packet include:

▪ Cover letter from the agent/team to the unrepresented seller introducing the value of using an agent and asking the FSBO to visit your website and provide information about their home in case the agent has a buyer that may be interested.

▪ Summary of documents that an unrepresented seller would need or may be required to have.

Note that the packet does not included copies of those documents, just a list of what would be needed and that the unrepresented seller may not have considered.

▪ Basic marketing information about the tools that the agent will use that the unrepresented seller does not have access to and would clearly put the home in front of the largest number of buyers.

▪ The agent’s resume and brochure outlining the accomplishments, experience, and advancedtraining.

▪ A buyer profile that shows how buyers search for homes. Most FSBOs do not know the value of video, virtual tours and other advanced marketing techniques nor how to create those assets. A detailed buyer profile can show the FSBO how complex the buyer is and how professional assistance is needed to convert them.

▪ A neighborhood and market report from Geowarehouse showing how the market is trending and pointing out how much longer unrepresented seller’s homes may linger on the market compared toa professionally marketed home. This data also shows the agent’s advanced knowledge of the market and their professional resources which the unrepresented seller does not have access to.

Creating several copies of these FSBO conversion packets and providing them to the agent makes it easy for the agent to stop by a home that they see a FSBO sign in front of and drop off the packet and start the conversation that could lead to a new listing for the agent.

▪ DIY Network Groups

There are a lot of networking groups available to businesspersons. Often the creators of these groups charge a membership or administrative fee. Professional Assistants can bring value to the team by assisting the agent with creating their own networking group with various business owners and lifestyle type business partners to meet on a routine basis, share ideas and refer client opportunities to one another.

These do-it-yourself networking groups can be coordinated using tools like Google Groups or closed Facebook groups to create a platform with meeting reminders, areas to chat, and share resources and keep in touch.

▪ Community Newsletters & Listing Flyers

When agents choose a farm or create curated tribe in their CRM they can begin creating newsletters, both digital and analog that can be sent out to their sphere of influence and provide useful information about upcoming events in the community, market information, interesting stories, restaurant recommendations, etc.

These community focus newsletters are a way for the agent to engage consumers and remind them of the resource that the agent can be to them. This form of brand marketing is most impactful when real estate sales isn’t the primary focus, but rather connecting consumers to their community and then a call-to-action at the end of the newsletter to remind the reader to refer business to the agent.

Video Marketing

Modern consumers spend a tremendous amount of screen time with their devices and of that time much of it is spent binging their favorite show, watching tutorials on YouTube, being inspired by TedTalks, watching a favorite old movie on their streaming service or other video-oriented endeavors online.

As many consumer profiles have told us, consumers no longer read – they watch.

▪ 74% of homes buyers use videos as part of their home search

▪ YouTube is the most used search engine after Google

▪ 81% of homes buyers are more likely to look at a listing online if it has a video

▪ 89% of buyers look at community videos as part of their home search

▪ 46% of consumers take action on a product or service after watching a video about it

▪ Marketers who use video see a 49% faster revenue growth over those who don’t

▪ Types of Real Estate Videos

There are a wide variety of videos that an agent can create to promote various aspects of their business. These videos vary from brand promotion to advertising a specific niche.

Video Biographies

Agents can create a video of themselves outlining what makes them unique to a consumer and what a consumer can anticipate if they elect to work with the agent. A video biography connects with the viewer and allows them to hear the agent in their own voice. Consumers are more likely to watch a video from the agent speaking about their skills and how they serve the client, rather than reading a lengthy bio.

Listing Videos

Home buyers are continuously reporting that they are more likely to look at a listing if the listing has a video attached. Walk-through videos and videos hosted by the agent or seller sharing the benefits and features of a home will give the buyer far more emotional connection with a home than simple photos.

Community Videos

Neighborhood Videos

Testimonial Videos

Niche Videos

A part of nearly every buyer’s journey is to research the community that they are moving into. Agents who are farming specific geographic areas or building a niche can grab the attention of those buyers with a video. The video can show the agent’s love for the area and an “inside” look into the community that a buyer may not otherwise get without living there. Community videos are generally about the region, city or county and reflect a citizen’s lifestyle.

Creating a video of a specific neighborhood creates a value to a buyer who has shown interest in that development, but also may create an interest from a buyer who prior to seeing the video was unaware of the amenities and features that they could enjoy in that community.

While researching agents and making a selection of which agent to engage for representation, consumers put a high value on testimonials from people like themselves. Seeing a past client of the agent speak on video about their positive experience could be the winning factor for an agent competing for business.

Some agents choose specific types of clients or services to be their niche. Agents may choose equestrian properties, smarthomes, new construction, luxury properties, or other specialties. Creating a library of videos containing information about aspects of smart devices in a home, what it’s like to own a horse, benefits of living on the water or things a buyer should know when buying new construction, can introduce important content marketing assets that other agents aren’t creating and make finding a niche agent easier for the consumer. Niche videos have an additional benefit of speaking to consumers who aren’t yet in the buyer or selling process find a reason to subscribe and join the agent’s sphere of influence because of a social connection based on common interest.

▪ Video Tips

Professional Assistants and agents are rarely experienced videographers and sometimes don’t know where to start. The best thing about video is that you can keep practicing and editing until you’re happy with the message. Below are a few tips to remember when you’re creating a video for real estate purposes.

Keep It Under 90 Seconds: Culturally our attention spans have shortened over the years. We want as much information in as short a time period as possible. As a general rule a 60-90 second video gets the most attention and is more quickly shared by a viewer than longer videos. When doing a video, 90 seconds is a very long time. The average TV commercial is 30 seconds.

Tell A Story: When creating a video, it’s generally best if the persons involved in creating it start with a “storyboard” outlining what their message is and what the frames or outline looks like. This keeps everyone on the same page and gives structure to the video. Viewers of the video need to know why they’re watching it, what the most important point is and what they are expected to do once the video has finished.

Use Music: Music sets the mood and tone of the video, it makes voices sound fuller and it coversup ambient noise that may occur while creating the video. Music should be nuanced in the video and not overwhelming. Subtle, but lighthearted music can bring a video to life for the viewer.

Call To Action: A good call to action may be asking a viewer to subscribe to the agent’s video channel or to email/call the agent for more information. Consumers need to be encouraged to take action at the end of a video. The type of video will dictate what action you’re asking for. If the video is about a property, asking the viewer to contact the agent to see the home is appropriate. If the video is a brand video introducing the team to the world, then asking for the viewer to subscribe to your channel and join your tribe is an appropriate call-to-action. Part of the storyboard for the video should be a plan for what specific action you want the viewer to take at the end.

Be Personable: The videos which solicit the highest engagement are those videos where the agent or team shows some charisma, charm, and personality. Agents should be encouraged to show a little personality and engage the consumer with some great energy.

Be Funny: Making a viewer laugh is a great way to make your video memorable. People love a good chuckle. Don’t be afraid to show a little behind-the-scenes shenanigans, a little mistake that makes its way into the video or just a funny memory the agent has of whatever they are discussing. When it’s appropriate make people laugh.

▪ Your Smart Phone is a Media Center

There is certainly something to be said for a high-end, polished professional video, but that doesn’t have to be the norm. The video library that the agent creates can be a collection of professional videos and those produced by the Professional Assistant or agent. There are some great tools available for agents to create their own videos.

Today’s smartphones are very capable of creating amazing looking video assets and editing software like spark.adobe.com can give it a very professional appearance. YouTube.com is the best platform for hosting a library and Professional Assistants should be diligent to understand how to upload, promote and manage a library of video assets for the agent. Lighting kits and Bluetooth wireless microphones are inexpensive and can really up the quality of the video that is being recorded. A small investment in some portable equipment can make the video process easier and more professional in appearance.

The Agent Biography

▪ Telling the Agent’s Story Agents often have no problems verbally sharing about themselves to potential clients but have a very hard time writing about themselves. Sometimes it seems that one of the hardest things for an agent to do is write a meaningful and engaging bio. They find it hard to tell their own story in a meaningful way.

We’re in a world where content marketing rules. People want online media to help them make decisions. The agent bio, their introduction video and online assets tell that story and does so using written content.

▪ The Importance of “YOU” to the Readers Seth Godin delivers an allegory in his book Tribes: We Need You To Lead Us. Godin asserts that businesspeople create a sphere of influence or “Tribe” based on things about you that people can connect to. A well written bio allows an agent to keep the focus of future meetings on the consumer, because they have already gotten to know a little about the agent from their bio. Your clients want to know who they are working with, and they do indeed want to know about the agent personally. They want to trust your team. They need to know you’re someone like them.

▪ Define Your Audience

It’s important that you begin your writing experience with a persona of whom you’re trying to reach. What does the client who is reading the bio look like, think like, what are they looking to see, what will make them want to work with your team? This may seem like a lot of unknown, but that’s because agents often think too broadly, and we try too desperately to appeal to a large group of people and not a specific type of person. For example, if an agent generally works with sellers, they should focus on what a 38 year old home-seller, who has probably only sold once before would want to know about the agent. What would interest them? Take out a piece of paper and write a one paragraph persona of who that client is.

Here’s an example:

John and Joy are 38 and 32 years old. They have two sons who are in grade school in a local private school. Both John and Joy work and make about $78,000 a year. They’ve lived in their first home for about six years. They have a Golden Retriever named Pixel. They are “digital natives” who are tethered to their devices, and they are very well informed and research everything online.

▪ Find Writing Time and Write Well

Agents often get overwhelmed when they open up a Word document and start pounding out a 500word essay on “Why I’m An Awesome Realtor”. We want to avoid having the bio sound just like everyone else’s.

Some thought is required to create a compelling agent bio. The writer should go somewhere where they can write and focus for the hour or so that it may take to write it out. Everyone has a different environment that works for them.

A bio should be fun to read, interesting and focused. Tell the agent’s story, but from the client’s point of interest. What benefits will the client realize by working with the agent? Why is reading this bio important to them? Bios are often best received in a first person, conversational tone.

Answer the following questions for them:

1. Who is the agent? 2. Why should they choose them? 3. What makes your team unique? 4. In what ways can a consumer personally connect with the agent?

▪ You’ll Need Three

A team will need three versions of the bio. One full-length bio that tells different aspects of the agent’s story. This typically exists on the agent’s website. The second bio is an abbreviated version for your profile on your company site, aggregators, etc. The third bio is a very short, one to two sentence whimsical statement for social media sites. Writing the full bio first then helps to do a one or two paragraph summary for the short bio and then that helps to create a short social media bio.

Writing all three in a Word document and saving it with a cloud host makes it easy to simply copy and paste the bios into whatever document or site you need to have a bio for.

▪ Remember Your Disclosures

Provinces regs vary, but the Realtor Code of Ethics outlines some basic disclosures that reflect most obligations to the various provincial regulations for what needs to be in included in your content. Don’t forget to make sure you list the agent’s name as shown on their license, disclose that they’re a REALTOR® and licensee, list the city and province of the office, and what company the agent is licensed with.

Things to Consider with Marketing Assets

Marketing requires a plan, a budget and continual assessments of its efficacy. Considering the plethora of tools available, managing the marketing campaigns can feel like an insurmountable task. Professional Assistants should consider the following things when making recommendations of various marketing opportunities to an agent.

▪ Expectations

Very often marketers are sold on the promise of a tool or marketing resource without fully understanding what is expected of them to maximize the asset. For example, an aggregator site can provide the agent with 100 consumer contacts over a month, but the agent doesn’t produce any clients, so they terminate the agreement with the aggregator. What they did not consider is that online consumers are significantly more likely to work with an agent, when the agent or their team respond to their inquiry within 15 minutes. Websites will not create client conversion opportunities if the website

can’t be found online and isn’t used to host content marketing. Agents need to understand how a marketing asset works and what systems they’ll need.

▪ Quality of Resources

As we’ve explored in this marketing module there are various types of marketing resources available to the agent. Quality should be a serious consideration when engaging in a marketing asset or choosing a tool. There are always several options for each type of marketing and the marketer should be cognoscente of the quality and appearance of each marketing resource. A brochure can have the best content and call to action, but if it’s printed on low quality paper it could be easily disregarded. A website can have great information, but if the layout is dated, not fresh, or contemporary a consumer may click off the page before finding all the great content. Quality matters.

▪ Agent Comfort and Understanding

If the Professional Assistant is responsible for or involved in the selection of marketing assets and tools, they should ensure that the agent is given a full understanding of the value of the resource. An agent or team who doesn’t understand the value of a tool may be apt to stop using it or not invest in it as fully as they should. At times agents may be enticed by a new product or service and choose to replace another system they already have because they don’t fully appreciate the value. Professional Assistants should work alongside the agent so that both fully understand each marketing tool. The Professional Assistant should keep the agent informed of new updates and features as they’re added.

▪ Target Audience

As a reminder, the marketer is seeking to reach a target audience. Creating a consumer persona and then curating marketing assets to reach that target audience is important. Various campaigns can be created and maintained that are designed to reach a varied market segment and niche group. However, Professional Assistants who are responsible for marketing should not attempt to run so many varied marketing plans as to dilute the uniqueness of the team. The more focus given to a few specific groups, the greater the chance of success in the particular marketing campaign.

▪ Knowledge of the Target Niche

Choosing a consumer persona and a target audience is an important element of a successful marketing campaign, but truly knowing your niche is equally important. Using tools like narrpr.com to get demographic data about that niche is a good first step, but then fully embracing their lifestyle is how you breathe life into your campaign. If the agent’s niche market is equestrian farms, then the agent and Professional Assistant should spend some time on the farms, understand the proper names of things and the common colloquialisms of horse enthusiasts. Spending time studying the buying process and perhaps going to a few horse shows will codify the teams understanding and expertise in the specific niche.