What's Best to Sell to Real Estate Agents...

Tim,

Sell the end result they want most [benefit].

How you achieve it for them is of minor importance to them...mostly.

Therefore lead in with the desired result before method [feature] of achieving it.

Best,
Ewen

Hi I am Graphic Designer and have worked in the sign industry for the past 10 years, and real estate agents and companies have always been a large part of our customer base. They always need signs to post on the properties for sale, so that's one service you could offer.

I'm a newbie to online marketing and the warriorforum (hello everyone it's my first post) but I am an expert when comes to signage.

also more agents are setting up seperate websites for each property for sale in addition to a main page with all their listings. so with each property they have to have a seperate rider sign with the unique web address for that one property


Brian

Saturation mail, targeted mail, SMS services

whao, this is a big realization to me that they get contacted so much.

You know what I'll talk to a really successful real estate agent I know and we'll see what he has to say.

I haven't sold Real Estate, but I used to sell New Cars years ago. I found when I was working in sales, I could not get enough of books about sales training. I bought courses and books on how to close deals, how to build rapport, plus lots of self improvement stuff as well.

I'm real estate broker.
Here's my recommendations:
1-Get a real estate with an active MLS( Multiple Listing Service) membership....a most.
2- Get this( I'm not an affiliate, ok) --> Text Message Puch Card...> Text Message Punch Card - Email Marketing is Dead!! Lauch Date 4/1/12.
3- Get your twilio account and purchase several number... at least two.
4- The idea is to set up text message punch card for realtor #1's open houses.
Note: If realtor #1 does not have house/condo/etc.... for sale, does not matter. Realtors always let others realtors do their open houses
5- REaltors usually do open houses to show house's owner that they are doing something to sell their houses.
6-Set up a contest using the message punch card system.

For example: the person that visit all my open house on Sunday will get a chance to win dinner for two at a nice local restaurant( have the local rest. paid for it in exchange for free advertising).

*** The text message punch card system will do all the heave lifting for ya***
Including notifying all parties involve.... that is sweet.

*** Remember, every open house will have a unique ' keyword' that open house visitors will text to your text message punch card system in order to have a chance to win.

*** This is very important*** Get a reators that is barely making it but still has an active MLS account. THIS WILL CREATE NO RESISTANCE to your free offer.

Here's the beauty for you all..... Tell him or her that you're willing to set up a free account of your text message punch card system for him /her as long as he/she show you via his/her mls system all the scheduled open house and most important all information of TOP producers realtors by area,price range, type of property, property zip code, cities, etc. THAT'S THE GOLD!!!!

*** Having ten of those TOP PRODUCERS Paying you $299.00 per month for unlimited open houses.... That's about $3,000 for ya pocket... that is sweet.

Last but not least, offer the text message punch card to all those others realtors( TOP PRODUCER) that can afford you.

BTW, i'm planing to purchased the text message punch card system myself on April fool day!!

Oh, one more thing.... remember the restaurant owner above? Why not offered the text message punch card to them too.

If you need anything else, just PM.

Almost forgot.... This comes directly from the sales letter: " If you don't find a least one paying client for this new service, then you pay NOTHING, ZIP, NADA... for this training and technology, ever. "

I do really liked the sound of that!... do you?

Thanks

Juan

P.S. I got the following from one of the guys on the text message punch card thread....

" his is absolutely powerful..
Certainly the ways to use this system are endless and only limited by one’s imagination and work ethic. Here are just a few of the ways to use this I have thought of:

1) JV’s with radio stations or others
2) Schools (by department)
3) Churches (huge)
4) Politicians (huge)
5) Car wash
5) Tanning salons
6) Restaurants
7) Car rentals
Oil change shops
9) Auto dealers
10) Chambers
11) Associations
12) Landscapers
13) Insurance agents
14) Hotels
15) Flower shops
16) Tax services (annual reminders, etc.)
17) Auto detail services
18) Cigar shops
19) Massage therapy
20) Bowling
21) Sports teams
22) Daycare
23) City’s (many departments – public notices)
24) Emergency services
25) Pizza shops
26) Auto service shops
27) Salons of all types
28) Computer stores/repair service/supplies
29) Music stores
30) Ballroom dance
31) Pest control
32) Pawn shop
33) Gyms
34) Real estate
35) Jewelers
36) Liquor stores
37) Tire shops
38) Pet stores
39) Ad agencies

This list can go on for sure, but I think this covers the majority of places and more than enough to create a massive business through the Text Message Punch Card! "

Thanks Tomi Walter the additional usage of this great system.

Web Design then SEO, social marketing, go one after another and make sure you give them your professional business card. I love real estate agents! What typically sell to real estate agents first is web design. They don't even need to be successful real estate agents to get a website! I've done video marketing for real estate agents SEO. What I like most about Real estate agents is that they Network which in time and depending on how many you've spoken too can make you a lot of money. Don't forget that about commercial real estate agents.

I'm a realtor in Florida in Connecticut. If you can get a realtor leads that they can make money with.... You can have a nice business...

I suggest sending them lead via internet marketing, or any other means of marketing eg leaflet dropping etc. BJ

Why real estate agents? If you don't have the end result in mind, then it doesn't matter who you are selling to, they won't buy. What do you have to add value to this real estate agent?

Two comments: First, all agents are not broke and part-time. In every office there are 10% that do serious business (in fact without them, the office could not survive)..

Second, while they do get 'hit' by every ad salesperson in town, they still buy. They buy as well as any niche I've found. While they may not buy as many real big ticket services, there are way more realtors than most other businesses. ..so your opportunities can be greater.

Personally, I've found selling Video Marketing Packages to be popular with RE agents.
They seem to like the ego boost and video definitely makes them more competitive.

One way to sell more to RE agents is to structure an offer through the office/manager, where the cost per user goes down based on how many in the office buy. Time deadlines can help as well.
_____
Bruce

According to real life experience, 80% of real estate agents are chumps who couldn't sell sight to the blind.

Every one of them is over-reliant on the fundamentally retarded MLS system that only they know how to use. They spend 75% of their available work time dreaming up overwrought email newsletters to embed MLS links into, thinking about how nice it would be to go out to lunch if they could afford to, updating their personal facebook pages, and poring over the MLS system to see what their competition sold while they were screwing around all week.

The remaining 20% are the top-selling real estate agents in your market. Call only these people. Show them a service to generate leads to qualified real estate buyers and they will buy it from you. That's all they want, and all they care about, and they will step over their dying grandmothers to get to them first.

If your a realtor, I suggest you become a redfin member. They give you qualified leads if you register with your license # etc.

Mobile. Marketing and QR codes have been a big hit for real estate agents that have used Trumpia

I cant seem to escape the whole real estate marketing thing for the past 15 years as it has created an income when I could not get it from anywhere else. Most of you were right about 10% of agents producing and the others thinking they do, but the numbers say they are not. The thing I see agents respond to is whatever creates them valid leads. It pretty well comes to that. I'm not going to say what that current is but think leads, not services and any agent will talk to you. Trick is to find the ones that will say, "I'll buy those from you", instead of "we should partner together".

I keep thinking that someday someone is going to pull a moneyball scheme on real estate. I get so sick of seeing people's faces on signs, the latest agent being the topic of conversation blah blah. Real Estate is about buying/selling houses, not agents and someday someone is going to work the numbers the way billy did in baseball and put A LOT of agents out of work.

Why not just ask what they are looking for and give it to them? People tend to know just what they need for their business.. even if you don't do that item you can easily outsource it.

In addition I recently found out the real estate agents tend to buy a lot of gift baskets/ flowers/ gift thingys.. who knew? so offering a steady source for them to buy them in bulk has been a nice money maker for me as well.

you could build a website and rank it in your area, then sell them either leads or advertising space. this i think will sell

Obviously online marketing is one of the best way to promote your business. There are some real estate softwares which are helpful reach thousands of all possible clients looking for real estate services. These softwares displays your listings featuring pictures, prices, availability, advanced searches and many, many more all being managed by you from the admin area via your web browser.

If someone could get me seller leads meaning people who want to sell their home, I would pay them all day!

I don't know about the US but in the UK, reviews of estate agents are becoming quite a big thing.

Therefore, a "reputation management" service would be a good idea. If an agent has bad reviews, they're not going to get many listings. It's your job to create positive reviews by providing clients incentives to do so. You then handle all the bad reviews etc on behalf of your client. There's a thread on here called something like "5 offline marketing tips" by a guy called Nate. He runs you through exactly how to go about it so im not going to go through it all on here again.

I'm in the mortgage business and several people in this thread are right, 90% of the "used home salesmen" are worthless. Most make below the poverty line.

I built my business on consumer direct so I could avoid them.

That said, the most profitable way to get into real estate is to put up a properly optimized website, get licensed, generate leads and feed the referrals for 25% commission.

first see what they supply then you can see what they need.... Consumers are always looking for ways to save money, and paying real estate commissions can amount to tens of thousands these days. Not an insignificant sum to most people. Is it worth it to hire a full-service real estate brokerage over a discount service? Reasonable question. It's one I hear often. And the answer is it depends.
Type of Marketplace

If you're in a seller's market right now, homes are probably selling the minute they hit the multiple listing service. A one-eyed sheep with two paws tied behind her back could plop a home into MLS and get an offer. Will it be the highest price you could get?
Buyer's markets exist when inventory exceeds the supply of buyers. In these markets, some homes aren't selling at all. This is where expertise and extra work pays off. Listings that sell at top price are typically those exposed to the most buyers, which are priced well, marketed well and show well.
MLS and the Internet

I cringe when I see new listings hit MLS without a photograph because I know that agents and buyers are passing them over without a second thought. Many multiple listing services accept 8 to 12 photographs nowadays. For that reason, many full-service agents hire professional photographers and shoot double the photos required.

The pros spend considerable time sorting through photos to select those with the most light, the best angles, sharpest contrast & color.
Photos are cropped and resized to accentuate positive attributes.
Each photograph is entered into MLS with a full-length enticing description.
When I see a photograph taken by the multiple listing service instead of a pro or the agent, I also see a lazy real estate agent who doesn't care enough or isn't getting paid enough to properly market her client's property.
Signage

Lots of mom 'n' pop operations and discount brokerages don't spend money on professional signs because they don't believe in it or they can't afford it. Good signage is free advertising. Many full-service firms will advertise:

Main office phone number
Agent's personal cell phone or voice mail number
Web site for more information
Virtual tour links
Specific information that makes this home different from others in the area
Marketing Materials

Full-service companies tend to project quality, and that means four-color flyers and four-color direct mail pieces. The days of hiring neighborhood kids to toss photocopies on neighbors' front steps are gone. Full-service marketing is first class.

Open Houses

Not all homes are right for an open house, but those that are require finesse. This means working the buyers who come through by pointing out impressive features of the home without making the buyer feel oppressed or hounded, and that in itself is an art. It requires the service of an experienced sales person. Many discount brokers refuse to hold homes open.

Full-service agents counsel sellers. They find out what made the seller decide to buy the home and how that moment happened. Then, they employ that knowledge at open houses. For example, suppose a seller said that moment came when she first stood gazing out at the pool. When she turned to her husband and gasped, "I can't believe we can afford to buy this home." Good sales people at an Open would ask buyers to stand in that same spot by the pool. Then, they'd share the seller's first experience verbatim.

Negotiation

Real estate is an extremely competitive business, and there are many agents fighting for the same listings. A full-service agent who wins the listing is probably a good negotiator, a person you want on your side during offer negotiations. Think about it. Agents who can persuade you to pay what they feel is reasonable, will probably persuade a buyer to pay your price. Ultimately, that means more money for you.

Final Sales Price

Sometimes full-service agents lose listings because the seller was promised a higher price based on hot air and a lower commission. It's these listings that often show up in MLS a month later with reduced prices. The amount of the price reductions, not surprisingly, tend to exceed the difference in commissions between the dualing agencies! In these scenarios, sellers received fewer services and ended up losing money on the sale as well.

If you can't decide between an agent who charges 1 or 2 percent less than another, think about how you would feel if you had to reduce your sales price, say five percent, to get the house sold. Ask the agents to show you their last 24 months of price reductions and compare them.

How Much Do Agents Make?

Agents are paid by brokers. Brokers retain a portion, sometimes 50%, and pay the balance to the agent. From that, the agent pays her overhead and taxes, which can easily amount to 50% of the net. A listing agent's true salary ranges from 20% to 30% of one-half the commission. Full-service agents typically spend more on overhead than their competitors; by refusing to compromise service, they tend to charge more.

Rasheen,

That is a very thorough post and you definitely know your Real Estate. Do you specifically work with Realtors or are you a Realtor? It seem like you know a ton about that side of the business.