In fact, according to www.business.com a website’s “about” page “yields more marketing muscle” than any other piece of content. One study found that more than half of web visitors go to the about page immediately after landing on the home page. That means your real estate profile – otherwise known as a bio – deserves plenty of attention.
Why will so many people to read your real estate profile?
Because people are looking for people to trust. When well-written, your real estate bio gives insight into your personality, values, and expertise. It reassures your prospects that you understand them and their situations.
On the other hand, generic bios reveal nothing. In fact, they make the agents look like nothing more than clones of a dozen or more other agents. Since so many of those generic bios exist on line, it’s no wonder that some consumers believe it doesn’t matter which agent they choose, because “all agents are alike.”
What goes into your real estate profile to make it effective?
Your unique skills. These are an important component of your real estate profile.
- You may be blessed with infinite patience, so excel at listing homes for those who are elderly, alone, and longing for someone to talk with. (No, you can’t say it quite that way.)
- You may be super-organized and enjoy overseeing crews to pack, clean, hold yard sales, stage, etc. for heirs and/or people who need to move before accomplishing those duties.
- You might be skilled in math, so able to clearly show both buyers and sellers the financial bottom line regarding their decisions.
That list could go on and on. The bottom line is that whatever you do especially well should be evident from reading your real estate profile.
Your education.
If you’ve made the effort to learn more than other agents know, brag about it a little. However, remember to write out the names of your designations so readers will know what they are. Then reveal why they are a benefit to your clients.
If you have college degrees, mention how that knowledge helps you serve your clients.
Your enthusiasm.
Prospects reading your bio should come away feeling that you love what you do. You might demonstrate this by revealing what led you to real estate and what led you to the niche you’ve chosen.
Your niche.
Trying to be a “Jack of all trades” turns you into a “master of none.” Don’t allow your web visitors to view you as that master of none.
Instead, use your real estate profile to reveal your niche. Some prospects are looking for someone who is an expert. If you have a personal reason for choosing that niche, share that with your readers.
Let your real estate bio show them that while you’re happy to help others, you specialize in assisting clients in your niche.
If you have resisted developing a niche for fear of missing out on non-niche transactions, please read this post. You’ll see why your niche can help you close more transactions, not fewer.
Your knowledge of the area.
If you’ve spent your entire life in the area and know it well, say so. Just don’t try to encompass such a large area that your claim is unbelievable.
An agent in a town about an hours’ drive from my home claims to know our two large counties “inside out.” Anyone who knows the size of the area and the diversity of the many communities in these two counties would know her claim is nonsense.
What if you’re relatively new to the area? Talk about your enthusiastic exploration of the area, your study of the markets, etc.
Your history.
Most agents had some other career before turning to real estate. Reveal that other career and how the knowledge and skills you developed then is a benefit to your real estate clients now.
For instance:
- Your prior career as a loan officer means you can explain home loans to your buyer clients.
- A past career as a decorator or stager means you have staging advice to give homeowners.
- Your work as a teacher might mean you know how to convey knowledge.
- If you were a home builder, you know about construction and can give advice about how a new homeowner might make changes in a house.
- Your job as a pizza delivery person means you know all the streets and the fastest routes to get where you want to go!
The same is true for past experiences. You may have special understanding because:
- You have moved cross-country several times.
- You have served as executor for an estate.
- You have gone through a divorce in which real estate played a role.
- You have acted as a general contractor in the construction of your new home.
Those, and other experiences, gave you insight that you can use to understand and assist your clients. In addition, they’ll give prospects a point of connection and a reason to trust your advice.
Mentioning where you grew up, cities you’ve lived in, and where you went to school will also give some prospects a point of connection with you.
Your pets, hobbies, volunteer activities, and other non-work pastimes round out your real estate profile and reveal your personality.
Once again, you’re offering possible points of connection and trust. When your prospects see that you are “like them” in one or more ways, they’ll be more drawn to you.
You are unique.
Your combination of skills, expertise, experiences, preferences, and personality make you unlike any other agent in your market – or on the planet.
Not everyone will be drawn to you from the information you reveal in your agent profile – but those people you will most enjoy helping will. And isn’t that kind of customers/clients you want most?
When you need help creating a client-attracting bio, get in touch.
I’d love to help you show those prospects why you are the agent to choose in your territory or niche. Learn more and read samples on my bio page.
You can reach me at: marte@copybymarte.com.
Graphics courtesy of S. Miles @freedigitalphotos.net