Your job title and even your broker might lead you to believe that you’re selling real estate, but that really isn’t so.
While you do help people transfer ownership of homes and other properties, you’re selling far more. Stop and think about it.
First, you’re selling your services – which means you’re selling yourself.
- You’re selling your knowledge – of the area, of the listings, of forms and agreements, and of the regulations
surrounding real estate. - You’re selling your expertise in researching, pricing, marketing, and negotiating.
- You’re selling your personality and the care you give to every client.
- You’re selling your time and attention.
- You’re selling your energy and enthusiasm.
- You’re selling your support and protection.
- You’re selling your loyalty.
Always remember that you must sell yourself before you’ll have the opportunity to sell the rest.
The information in your agent bio will help you sell yourself, but that’s just the beginning. After that you must reinforce the sale with the words you choose to use and the information you share in emails, blog posts, and conversations.
It’s not wise to say “I’m a wonderful person and I’m an expert,” so you must demonstrate those things through the tone of your writing and the information you share. Be generous with that information.
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“Not only do you have to have content in your digital and inbound real estate marketing strategies, but content that gets an LOL, gets read, noticed, shared, clicked, and commented on is how you make a human connection in today’s noisy, multi-device world.”
–Laura Monroe
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Next, you’re selling what real estate ownership means to each individual client.
To a first-time buyer you’re selling the pride and security that comes from owning a home. You’re selling a turning point in life, independence, an investment in the future, and perhaps the opportunity to put down roots.
For a move-up buyer you’re selling a symbol of success, along with comfort and convenience. At the high end, you’re 
selling luxury and prestige.
For some, you’re selling space and the opportunity to live in comfort.
For others it’s the opportunity to indulge in hobbies such as gardening or swimming.
To a select group, you’re selling the opportunity to own a dog. (Yes, that was listed in a NAR survey asking first time buyers why they purchased a home.)
When you sell to an investor, you’re selling hope. They hope that the property will help them achieve prosperity.
If you’re a buyer’s agent, you are hopefully selling real estate to a niche group of buyers.
Stop and think about what motivates many in that group, then tailor your communication to touch on that motivation. If you aren’t sure, listening to your clients will give you plenty of clues. Tuck those clues away – write them down – then pay attention to how often you hear the same motivations repeated.
I recall a first-time buyer being eager to be able to pound in a nail to hang a picture. Others have told me they couldn’t wait to paint and decorate a home to their own taste. Some have said they wanted to grow a garden.
When you prepare to sell a house you’ve listed, don’t just think of it as selling real estate.
Consider who the most likely buyer will be and what that house might mean to him, her, or them.
Take time to talk with the sellers and learn what desires and dreams that house filled for them when they bought it. Find out about the features and benefits they love most in the home.
Your eventual buyers will likely have similar desires and dreams and love the same features and benefits.
When you write your property descriptions and place your advertising, keep that likely buyer in mind. Write as if you were speaking to that buyer.
Remember that as general rule, people buy with emotion and justify the decision with logic. Benefits outweigh features. What benefits are you selling in each house you list?
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“Paradise is a state of being, more than just the name of a suburb or a home.”
― Raquel Cepeda
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You’re not selling real estate – you’re selling that state of being.
Agent on the phone Image courtesy of podpad at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
