02. Episode: Choosing Your Perfect Real Estate Niche

02. Episode: Choosing Your Perfect Real Estate Niche

Now, if you look at agents that are in your market, I want you to picture some of those that are the most successful agents in your area and then ask yourself do these agents have a niche where they are either working with a certain type of person, a particular property type or a specific area. Chances are any of these successful agents that you think of, probably do have a niche. I find many successful real estate agents have some sort of a niche, whether that be a special arena of knowledge or a specific area they farm.  So if you currently don’t have a speciality today this podcast is going to guide you through five quick tips in which you can put into action right away to deciding a niche for your business. Now, some of you out there might be thinking what in the world is a niche? A niche is a speciality or certain area or a particular type of market that you service and that you service more so than other areas.  Many times, newer agents tend to shy away from choosing a niche, thinking they don’t want to necessarily neglect other areas or pigeon hole themselves. For those of you who are new and thinking like this, I want you to know this train of thought could not be further from the power of what choosing a niche for yourself can do for you and your business. It is totally natural to believe that by focusing on one area you might loose business because you aren’t getting business from other areas, but strangely, this is never the case. In fact, I can guarantee it’s never the case. When agents focus on a niche what actually always happens is that their income actually goes up. And the reason is because people want a specialist. People do not want the person that is one size fits all. They want an expert and someone who has a specialized skill. So with that said, let’s go ahead and dive into the five step you can use to finding a profitable real estate niche. The first is to start by analyzing your options. You have to choose a niche that is ultimately going to work for you. For example, a lot of real estate agents pick geo-farming. Other niche opportunities might include property types such as condos, lofts, multi-family, lots, bare land, new construction and gated communities. Another niche might be focusing on a particular type of client such as luxury buyers, sellers, downsizers, first-time homebuyers or people who like dogs. There is really, no right or wrong niche, so don’t feel any pressure to pick the exact right one right off the bat. You’re going to want to take the time to analyze if the niche your choosing is even right for you, which brings us to step number two.  Step number two in choosing your niche speciality is to analyze the commercial intent. Now what do I mean by this? You want to look at the commercial intent of your time and how much of your time is worth dealing with the kind of client your niche is meant to attract.  Number three in choosing your niche is to analyze your interest level. Many times agents will ask me, “can I farm a community where I don’t live”. And my answer is always, yes. All you have to have is interest! Of course, it does help if you live in such an area but that doesn’t need to be the case. As long as you have interest in an area and a desire to an expert in your chosen niche it’s perfectly fine. Next, you want to analyze your commitment. This one is incredibly important because, the thing about specializing in finding a niche is that, it will take time to pay off. While your income will go up with a niche, be prepared for at least one year of effort into your niche without any immediate income. If you’re only going to have a mindset of going into it looking for immediate results and only putting six months of effort into it, chances are you’re also going to believe the importance of having a niche doesn’t work well for you.  Last but not least, is number five. In selecting your niche you want to analyze your fear. And what I mean by this is that many times people want to get into a certain type of niche or different types of communities but are scared because they believe they don’t have enough experience to be an expert in that area or with a particular kind of people, for example maybe investors. What I would say to this is really determine if this is something you’re actually really even afraid of or if it’s something you simply just need to learn bit more about? Don’t let fear get in your way, you can still become an expert in an area regardless of your level of experience or knowledge, it your ability to earn that is the key.

01. Episode: Successful Real Estate Marketing Isn't About Your Ego

When we think about marketing ourselves and advertising our businesses, the conversation often turns to us. And while, it is completely natural to do this as the sole face of any business, especially real estate, it can prove to be incredibly detrimental to sales and business growth.  And often, this can be attributed to what I like to call, “ego-based” marketing. Ego-based marketing is a direction of marketing I find many real estate professionals falling into the trap of, without even realizing it. And it’s a trap that’s so easy to get caught into.  While we know the ultimate goal of every a real estate professional is to always help and serve their client. We can’t forget you, as a real estate professional also have other goals for yourself, such as, increasing the number of homes you sell, working in a new price range, or even targeting a new area.  Unfortunately, however, even with knowing your client’s needs always should come first, it can be ever-so tempting to let the voice of “you” start to take the lead in your marketing. And sometimes, the first signs that this is happening in a real estate professionals business are signs of struggling with sales, business growth or connecting and capturing client business.  So, on today’s quick tip we’re helping you flip your real estate marketing script in a way that helps you avoid ego-based marketing and making sure your marketing is tailored to being focused less on you and more about the people you’re serving. 95% OF YOUR MARKETING IS ABOUT YOU & 5% IS ABOUT YOUR CLIENT.  Okay, so how do you know if you have fallen victim to ego-based marketing within your business? If you find your marketing is 95% about you and 5% about your client. We have a little work to do. This is evident when agents use phrases such as, “I’m the best agent to work with in XYZ area” or they are laying out reasons as to “Why they can sell a clients home faster and for more money”. Other ways you can spot this within your own business are, if you find yourself touting or putting emphasis on how long you’ve been in the business within your marketing.  At the end of the day, we want your services to be the answer to the problems your clients are facing. And everything you do should be completely focused on serving them in the highest possible capacity. So, what does that mean? It means, not just you serving them in the highest possible capacity but also your marketing - from your website, your social media, your listing and selling presentation. Everything should focus around you helping your client in one of the largest transactions any person can make in their entire life. This starts by really understanding your who your target audience is, what your specific niche is (yes, you do need one), and ultimately grasping what exactly your target clients biggest struggle is.  Make sure you’re asking your clients questions and answering their needs in your marketing, not just when they work with you. Avoid technical real estate jargon and remember to use language they use and understand and don’t be afraid to get creative in telling people exactly what you will do for them when they work with you.  Alright so the next key thing you want to be aware of in making sure you don’t fall victim to ego-based marketing is to, have a solid understanding of your personal brand, mission and messaging. Positioning yourself is incredibly important to your marketing and the connections you make with your clients. With the help of things like Zillow and other real estate technologies your real estate clients are becoming smarter and smarter every single day. All they have to do is search for you online and then with a few more strokes of the keys also, search your competitors. Like you, they want to know they are going to get the best service and the best help. So, before you go creating marketing that’s all about you and what you can do for them. Take the time to do the proper market research and find out how your brand fits your clients and potential target audience needs. Make it easier on yourself by making it easier for your customers to say yes to you.  We want your ideal customer to see you as their go-to-guide. They want to work with you. Through your marketing, they’ll value you as not only an experienced resource but also recognize that you truly care about them.  Instead of saying “here are all of my qualifications”, you recognize the problem they have and offer a solution to it. Send out surveys, and ask the right questions to your audience for honest feedback. Sometimes from experience, real estate professional think they’re too good to get feedback or they just don’t make the time. This is so critical for your business, don not overlook this. If billion-dollar companies such as, Intel, Oracle and Disney can do market research and send out survey’s for honest feedback from their audience, you can too. You don’t need to be a billion-dollar business to take advantage of this kind of strategy.  Whether you’re building your business through referrals, traditional or digital marketing, you need to make sure that you are focused on the customers. And to be most effective in this form of marketing, it’s important that you always have an ideal customer in mind.  So, Start by doing some market research. Find out what your customers want, and simply give them what they need. Then adapt to the market. Doing so will force you to see more results in your business. Please, don’t be selfish in your marketing efforts and don’t practice ego marketing. I hope you enjoyed this blog/episode! And before you create your next real estate marketing piece, make sure you are thinking a little less about you and more about your customer.

00. Trailer: Welcome to The Real Estate Corner

When it comes to building your real estate brand and business, staying creative and consistent with your marketing can sometimes feel overwhelming. Often it can be tough juggling successfully marketing yourself while also staying on top of building a pipeline of new business, increasing revenues and maintaining a work-life balance. This can seem especially tough when you’re deep in the trenches of client appointments, showings, follow-up, paperwork and running all over town. I’m here to tell you though marketing, building AND growing your real estate can be done without all the overwhelm.  Welcome to The Real Estate Corner Podcast. I am your host, Malissa Sim, a business development, marketing and social media guru with a love for helping entrepreneurs and business owners, most specifically those in the real estate industry. My mission in creating this podcast is to share innovative solutions, practical tips and simple tools to help you in taking your real estate business to the next level. So, whether you're seasoned industry or new industry pro looking to improve your marketing in your business, this is the show for you! In my daily life, I lead the Business Development Department for a national and top-ranked mortgage bank. I also, am the founder and owner of a a boutique marketing firm where we help agents in putting their business development, marketing and social media on autopilot so they can strictly focus on their clients and what they do best. I've spent my entire career working in branding and marketing and really love having the opportunity to share some of my marketing expertise. I'm thrilled you're here and encourage you to stay tuned to this podcast for solid strategies, systems, actionable advice and of course creative ideas for your real estate business!