How To Differentiate Yourself As An Agent

This article is from REALTOR® Magazine - Online Interactive Edition

Daily Real Estate News for April 11, 2008

Prove You're Not Like the Rest

In a crowded real estate field, you must be a good marketer in order to generate business.

To snag the customer, you've got to find a way to stand out, experts say. "Real estate is an emotional business and, because the market has changed so much, visibility is often more important than ability," says The Personal Marketing Company Chief Marketing Officer Rob Murry.

Here are some of Murry's tips for making yourself known:

Appeal to emotions. To distinguish yourself from the competition, create a brand that makes an emotional connection with your target audience. Once prospects find a real estate practitioner whose personality they like or with whom they can connect, they are more likely to select that agent over a competitor.

Be consistent. An agent's brand, once established, should be applied consistently in all of his or her marketing media in order to attract business, entrench brand recognition, and keep the agent in the forefront of house-hunters' minds. "This is all about perception," according to Murry.

Market your specialty. "Consumers think that all real estate agents are the same. Because they don't see any differentiators, they don't see the perceived value, and are more likely to want to pay less if they think they can get the same thing somewhere else. But when you're a specialist, you have a unique value and are known for something specific. Position yourself as a specialist and market yourself as such to get the business."

Source: RISMedia, Beth McGuire (04/10/08)