Best way to help realtors?

10 years ago

Wow..that is a tall order to ask for...

I would think you would have some real estate knowledge of YOUR area and the kinds of agents you are dealing with - low end, high end, foreclosures or condos or luxury whatever.

I am curious - what kind of "done for ya' deal do you expect to find? If you do a search of this forum area there are a couple real estate threads I think.

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10 years ago

You need to research and understand how the current real estate works so that you can help them. Once you have gained enough knowledge, it would be easier for you to work with them regardless of what strategies they would use to generate leads.

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10 years ago

I've been working with realtors for over 15 years. And for the first 10 of those, in one of the top real estate markets in the world. Many were friends.

Which brings up an important distinction.

You are going to find realtors divided into two categories when it comes to money tolerance. Money tolerance as an idea can be boiled down to "What does this person think of as 'a lot of money'?"

1 > believes five and six figure sales and a four to low five figure commission is a lot of money

2 > believes seven and eight figure sales and mid-five figure commission is a lot of money.

A lot of this has to do with their local marketplace.

Vancouver, for instance, has a high degree of chance to produce Type 2 realtors. It's not a shoe-in, because some people who choose to become realtors in that market have grown up being told money is scarce, $1000 is "a lot of money", and such.

Wilmington NC, where I am now, produces both types.

A poorer area, where housing values are $100K or less, tends to produce Type 1.

Why is this important?

If a realtor is playing for low stakes, they won't have the room for your help. Not at a reasonable pay rate for you, anyhow.

Find clients who can pay you.

The Type 2 realtors can afford you. When they're making $15,000 or $30,000 commission, which they will on a $2 million sale in Vancouver, they can easily pay $5K - $10K for the sale, can't they. This is an investment on professional video walkthroughs of the homes, advertising, leadgen, follow-up series via email & video, and more. All things you can help with.

Type 1 just doesn't have much room to play with.

Now another distinction.

Realtors either have the Newbie mindset or the Experienced mindset.

Some never outgrow the Newbie mindset. That's where they've been taught "take people on showings; do that often enough and you'll make a sale."

That's it: that's the limit of their sales & marketing knowledge.

They DON'T know how to get leads. They DON'T know how to market. They DON'T know how to presell. They DON'T know how to sell.

And they DON'T "get it"...and you banging on the table won't help them see the value, either.

So don't try.

Instead, look for realtors who are evidencing one or more of these skills:

How do they present their listings? Are they using well-lit video walkthroughs? What do their photos look like?

Where do they advertise? Do they have their own listings "newspaper" mailed weekly to the neighborhood? Are they on the back of the local rag in black & white?

What does their website look like? Do they have a lame page on the mama corporate site, that has all the bland formality and stiffness of a well-Hitlered neighborhood association yard? Or have they jumped to their own brand, their own business?

How long have they been around? This isn't a sure thing, but if a realtor has survived a couple years or more, they've probably learned there's more to positioning, promoting and selling than running showing after showing after showing.

What commission rate do they charge? Get a feel for the area. Scaredy-cat realtors will keep their rates low, and talk about it. Self-confident realtors will charge a higher commission rate, and likely will not talk about that up front...because the people they want working with them want The Best, not The Cheapest.

Have they specialized in helping a specific target market? People move for different reasons, and in different age ranges. Think 60s Empty Nesters vs early 30s Downsizers. Or is the realtor a "jack of all trades, master of none"? (Not a great sign.)

It also helps if you know something about the Florida real estate market.

I have worked with a client in this market, and know there are documents available that will quickly bring you up to speed on specific Floridian things like:

a) average home values

b) why people buy homes

c) what people are looking for when they go to a realtor's website

d) what the best way to communicate and keep in touch with prospects is

e) how people choose a realtor to work with.

These things tell you what to put on the website...how to arrange it...what the realtor should specialize in...and more.

And remember, realtors make commission by helping the BUYER of the home, and by helping the SELLER of the home.

Help realtors on both sides of the equation. On a $2 million home sale in Vancouver, the Seller realtor will make almost $30K commission; the Buyer realtor will make a little over $25K.

I have given you a lot here. This is the guts of a decade and a half of learning. I hope you value it.

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10 years ago

I read your long informative post because I work with a realtor who currently doesn't need help to get leads. She buys them from Zillow. I worked hard on her website with SEO for a long time. Just didn't up in the rankings much. However, right now she doesn't care. It's pretty competitive where we live and work; and it's reflected in the Google searches. Just wanted to say thank you for taking the time to provide information from your experience.

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10 years ago

Originally Posted by HajimeAnne

I read your long informative post because I work with a realtor who currently doesn't need help to get leads. She buys them from Zillow. I worked hard on her website with SEO for a long time. Just didn't up in the rankings much. However, right now she doesn't care. It's pretty competitive where we live and work; and it's reflected in the Google searches. Just wanted to say thank you for taking the time to provide information from your experience.

Hi Anne,.
"Doesn't need help to get leads, but buys them from Zillow".. ?? Here's how Zillow works. Brokers pay for a zip code(s). With that, they're listed as "recommended Broker". Zillow shows their stats and whomever pays the highest amount gets first listing. So, that's what you're Realtor is paying for. Sure, they're getting leads from this, but so is any other Realtor on that list. When a Realtor tells you they don't need help getting leads, you need to equate that into "you need help getting sales!".

Brokers have lead gen sites, all over the internet. That doesn't mean they're making sales. It USUALLY means they're strapped with their budgets. MLS is going to go through a big change, you need to be ready for that.

Reputation management, branding, everything Jason said, is what you and Tyree should be focusing on. In my opinion, branding is something that can be, and will work. A whole marketing plan.... a whole one, lot's of pictures, easy to digest information, social importance... and so on, will get you noticed.

There's more, but Realtor's (as Jason stated) have a "ready made plan", it's not working for them.

Figure out what will and does.

As for your SEO efforts. SEO for Brokers is individual. What are they listing? Well, that may change, and will, as soon as the property sells. Take a look at the Brokerage they work out of. Some, have a "specialty". Look at their Brokerage agents, look at their listings, establish neighborhoods that they specialize in, and go from there. Expand.

Don't worry so much about Google searches, worry more about what are buyers looking for. Do some homework (again, as Jason mentioned), about what are buyers looking for/searching? Don't forget price ranges.

LG

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10 years ago

https://www.marketingsherpa.com/arti...or-gets-400500

Find someone doing it, try to replicate.

Originally Posted by Tyree

Hey guys I recently met a few realtors at an event that were interested in online lead generation but were clueless as to where to start, I was curious what's an effective done for you service that will satisfy them so they can see some results? Some say they haven't even used craigslist didn't really have the time and not so good with facebook? What would I have to learn more about in order to help them reach their goals? How is this market? Any sound advice would be appreciated

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sandalwood

sandalwood

sandalwood

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10 years ago

My answer is a little different since I once was one of those critters (RE Broker) in CA. If I was a fellow who wanted to help someone in this field and I didn't know much about it, I'd start by asking them how they view their business. What are their strengths and weaknesses and what are they willing to do to make money. If I read your post correctly, you want to be their marketing consultant. How are you going to be that if you don't know what they want?

My partner and I specialized in foreclosures. He had developed a system that made this end of the market an easy in and out. I had acquired several affluent investors. We married the two. That was how we viewed the business. Find the property, distressed or otherwise, see if it could be bought and for how much and then sell it.

We didn't want to work too hard nor did we want to do farming or listing or anything else that would interfere with our lives. We knew that and created a plan to accommodate our thoughts.

Do your real estate buddies know their plan? If not, help them discover it and you are on your way to a business relationship that will pay you year after year. I say that because you will always be their go to guy to solve any problem that comes their way.

To me, this sounds like the easiest route to take. The information provided by Jason and gjabiz is great info. Digest what they had to say and you should start off helping those people and being paid too. That's a nice combo.
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