“What is the only thing I have to do with my real estate marketing to build my personal brand and generate leads?” They ask me this question all the time. New agents or agents who are struggling with a marketing budget will ask this question and I always prefix it by answering: Marketing is a holistic endeavor and, unfortunately, real estate agents who are salespeople are always looking for the next big thing or the right thing to do. silver bullet to solve your customer attraction problems. The best approach is a holistic one where marketing is approached from a big picture strategy that combines marketing channels, tools, activities, and sales integration that are aligned to collectively achieve goals.
And then the agent will say, yes, but if I only had enough money to do one thing, what do you suggest?
With my warning out of the way and being pressed for an answer, still, even in today’s internet age, I’d say that the personal brochure is the single most important tool a real estate agent can develop.
Even with the rise of the Web as the most powerful tool in real estate, the individual agent is still committed to the business of building relationships at the community level through trust and credibility. The average agent without a sufficient marketing budget is primarily engaged in traditional farming and networking. In the traditional setting, the agent meets people at networking events, open houses, opening of corridors and through contact with family, friends and sphere of influence. These are the highest quality leads you can develop. The problem is to make a positive and memorable impression.
The rejection is usually: “But the Internet is changing the real estate business. 80 percent of people start their search on the Internet.” Yes, this is absolutely true (and remember I was asked about “a” tool). In my opinion, a real estate agent without a personalized and personal-branded website, strong search capabilities, a commitment to search engine and social media rankings, and a dedication to providing valuable information and content, lacks a large holistic component of the overall marketing landscape. Again, I answer the question, “What would you do with a limited marketing budget?”
A well written and professionally designed brochure should be the cornerstone of your brand building efforts.
There is a problem with an agent creating a website as their “only thing”. While most people begin a home search online (or do research on their pending home for sale), the vast majority of people don’t commit to a real estate agent solely because of online involvement (with the exception perhaps of second home markets). The best internet marketers are great general marketers, active in networking, print / TV advertising, public relations, direct mail (at least to your sphere and past clients), and client and sphere tracking.
How do you build your business with a personal brochure? First, it gives you a way for people to remember you. The business card is totally ineffective in accomplishing this. It would be great if you could get the people you know to visit your website, but what are the chances that they will do so from scratch? And there is no immediacy of connection. Given to someone you have just met, the personal brochure gives that person a storytelling device through words and pictures to locate and remember. It’s PR and Marketing 101 and it’s essential.
So if it’s a tool, I recommend, with one caveat, the personal brochure as the ultimate tool for the real estate agent who wants to proactively grow their business. First, let’s say your brochure does what it’s supposed to do, which is tell a memorable story, create a unique niche or selling proposition, and demonstrate credibility and reliability through high-quality graphics and prints. That’s job one. It must be well executed to achieve the desirable results.
The next key is distribution. And if you have a limited marketing budget, I don’t mean mailing it to an agricultural area. I’m talking about hand-to-hand combat, looking for ways to proactively get 30-50 brochures out to people you know on a weekly basis. Networks. Open houses. The corridor opens. All your real estate activities. Even knocking on the door if it comes down to it. People you meet at restaurants, gas stations, dry cleaners, on the golf course, at children’s sporting events. The vast majority of agents hoard their brochures and / or are too shy to distribute them. The real estate business does not pay the docile or reluctant personal brand.
What is the only tool? I keep saying that the best real estate marketing involves a variety of communication platforms to develop relationships and attract leads of varying quality. But if you’re going to play the “one-tool game,” the personal real estate brochure is your best bet.
