In any competitive environment, you must clearly stand out from the crowd — somehow. But what if you stand out in a way that not everyone appreciates? That’s OK. You have to forget about working for everyone. Driving from one far end of town to the other, showing homes you don’t especially like, to people you don’t have anything in common with, will quickly drain your energy and will hinder your professional development…
Click the fish below.
(Really, click the fish.)
Did you click the GOLD fish?
The instruction was simply: “Click the fish.” In fact, clicking on any of the fish would have brought you here, but most people will pick the first attractive option that gets their attention.
Home buyers are much the same. People have a lot of choice when it comes to selecting a real estate agent. That’s why you need to make very clear in your marketing that you are unique and not just another average agent with the same basic offering. There are distinct benefits to giving people a reason to notice you first. Research shows that most buyers will only consider three or fewer agents before choosing one to work with. In order to be among those considered, you need to clearly show how you stand out from the crowd. We call this your Unique Value Proposition or “UVP.”
It’s not simply about what you can do;
it’s about what you do differently from everyone else.
For your sphere of influence, your UVP may be that you care more for your friends and family than any stranger possibly could. You will, therefore, work harder than any stranger would to get your client’s what they want. But most agents need to reach out beyond their personal sphere to develop a sustainable business. They need to find a way to get noticed and appreciated by people they can effectively relate to, but haven’t yet met.
To increase their value,
most successful professionals become specialists.
Think about it… In virtually any industry, specialists are the most highly regarded and best paid professionals while generalists are are assumed to be lesser-skilled and are compensated accordingly. A few examples: Heart surgeons are better paid than general practitioners. Electricians are better paid than handymen. The best attorneys are specialists. The best athletes are specialists. The best auto mechanics are specialists. The best consultants are specialists. Similarly, the best real estate agents are specialists — experts in a a very specific community.
But won’t I be giving up business if I focus on a single community?
Not if you choose your niche carefully, making sure property values, market size, and turnover are adequate to support your business. You have to forget about working for everyone. Driving from one far end of town to the other, showing homes you don’t especially like, to people you don’t have anything in common with, will quickly drain your energy and will hinder your professional development. If you focus on working with clients interested in a particular neighborhood, every home you see will increase your value to all your clients. If you find a great home that isn’t right for one client, you can call on six others when you get back to the office and say “you have to see this house I found for you!” You just can’t do that if you spend your time working areas you’re unlikely to see again for years. Successful professionals discover what they enjoy most and what they do best (They’re frequently the same thing!) and then market to a group of prospects who place a high value on their particular set of skills and knowledge.
Over time, the law of attraction takes hold and people will eventually seek you out as the expert and obvious choice when they need help or if they are in a position to refer others to you. Everyone loves to use and to refer specialists. It makes them look and feel savvy for knowing who to call. Furthermore, you become more effective as you concentrate your time, talents, and resources on providing services and promoting yourself to a very specific group of people. When you are a specialist, discussions center around your unique value as an expert, rather than about your fee. You are no longer a commodity. You can turn away clients you don’t want to work with and you can refer clients to agents that are experts in parts of town you’d rather not specialize in. Best of all, your target market will correctly recognize that working with you offers distinct benefits that can’t be easily matched by others, and certainly not by any generalist.
Does this sound far-fetched? Consider the simple case in which you find a buyer that wants a home in a particular subdivision that you are not very familiar with. (We’ve all done this.) Of course, you can get all the information from the MLS and gain access to show all the same properties that any agent can. But, could you honestly say that you are as valuable to your client as an agent who specializes in that community? What if that other agent previews every house that comes on the market the DAY it comes on the market. What if they have previewed or shown every home for sale in that subdivision for the past five years? What if they regularly attend each monthly association meeting so they know about all future developments affecting the area? What if they are also aware of a handful of neighbors who are thinking of selling soon, but aren’t on the market yet? What if they have a few pocket listings and have established relationships with the FSBOs not on the MLS? What if they also are familiar with the pros and cons of living in each home model? Local tax trends… Out-of-site train tracks with midnight traffic… You get the point. If you have a passion for a particular community – whatever it is – you can always serve your market better than a generalist can.
Bottom line: Make sure your blog - and every promotional tool you use – clearly highlights your Unique Value Proposition.
Learn more about the subject of positioning your service from these great resources
These are two great and easy to read books that will get you thinking about how to best position your service in a competitive environment. (Click cover art for affiliate links to Amazon.com)
Examples of real estate community experts
Neighborhood expert, condo building expert, architecture expert, mid-century modern expert, loft expert, new investor expert, first-time buyer expert, Vietnamese-speaking expert, golf-course property expert, transit-oriented development (TOD) expert, water rights expert, horse property expert, small apartment building expert, church building expert, fix-and-flip expert, age-restricted community expert, green-build expert, land acquisition expert, new-build expert, resort community expert, second home expert, ranch property expert, mountain property expert, waterfront property expert, historic property expert, retail property expert, foreclosure expert, short-sale expert, high-rise expert, doctor expert, celebrity expert, firefighter community expert, Airstream RV community expert, airport community expert, car-enthusiast expert, best-views-in-town expert, commercial property expert, industrial property expert, peach-orchard property expert, property assemblage expert, log-home expert, Spanish-style home expert, Mediterranean-style home expert, pop-top expert, military community expert, gated community expert, luxury home expert, student-housing expert, relocation expert, small-developer expert, HAM radio community expert, garden enthusiast expert, divorce property liquidation expert, quick-sale expert, FSBO expert, townhome expert, brownstone expert, Victorian home expert, Penthouse expert, disabled accessible property expert, within-20-minutes-to-the-airport expert, craftsman-style home expert, architect community expert, artist community expert, Harley rider community expert, estate liquidation expert, out-of-town buyer expert, property auction expert…
A “Unique Value Proposition” is also known as a “Unique Selling Proposition” (USP) or a “Unique Selling Point”.
