Who are your customers?
Mon, Sep 16, 2019
Actually, the real question you should be asking yourself is who SHOULD your customers be? In other words, what target market will enable you to do the most profitable business?
Many agents never think of asking themselves this question. If you asked them what their target market was and how they determined it, they’d probably answer something like: “Anybody looking to buy or sell a house.” While on the surface this seems to make sense, here’s why that’s not nearly specific enough.
Some will be a waste of your time
The fact is, some of the prospects you speak with are better than others. Some are qualified and some are not. Some are motivated and others aren’t. Some, quite frankly, will be a complete waste of your time.
So please understand that who you are targeting with your marketing message is vitally important. You see, the idea behind effective marketing is to determine the most profitable target market first, and then design an effective marketing message to match. The reality, though, is that most agents do it the other way around and then wonder why their marketing didn’t work.
Find out what’s actually selling and where
So, who should you be targeting? How can you determine ahead of time which prospects will be worth your while and which others will consume you? Well, the answer to who you should be targeting can be quickly determined by doing a simple search on the MLS. By spending a few minutes on MLS, you can determine which listings are selling, what price range is moving, and which geographical area these homes are in. The next thing to consider is who is buying these properties and what marketing vehicles you should be using to reach the target market that emerges.
You see, determining who you should target with your ads is not a subjective matter. Before you waste your money on ads, use the MLS to find out which prospects are both qualified and motivated, and select ads that specifically speak to the things that you know are important to them.
Fill your pipeline with buyers and sellers that match these criteria
Think of yourself as a store owner. What would you rather stock your shelves with: product that flies out the door because it’s in such demand or product that gathers dust on the shelf? Obviously, you’d rather stock the first – the product that everyone wants to buy. It’s no different for you. By finding out which neighborhoods and what price ranges are moving, you can choose to fill your pipeline with buyers and sellers that match these criteria by placing ads that attract them.
When I first started out in the business, I made the same mistake most agents make. Most agents don’t use research or logic to determine their target market. Rather, my target market was determined more or less by luck or chance – not much different from throwing a dart against the wall only worse because at least a dart lands in one place where most agents’ prospects are scattered haphazardly all over the map. Why? Because many agents arbitrarily stumble onto their target market, perhaps because that’s the neighborhood where they got their first listing, or it’s where they live or it’s close to work. They try to be everything to everyone and, as a result, end up being nothing to anyone. Some agents decide that they want to represent a certain type of home such as luxury homes or condos or century homes … regardless of whether these homes can offer them a quick and profitable turnover.
Sell what people want (vs. what you have)
When I put it this way, you should be able to see that the problem most agents have is that they try to sell what they have vs. have what people want.
Before you select your target market, you must do your homework. Find out which neighborhoods and which price ranges are doing the most business and zero in to get the right buyers and sellers to contact you. Use both the name of the neighborhood and the specific price range in your ad to call out specifically to these prospects and you’ll be on your way to building an inventory of buyers and sellers that will profitably build your business.
I cannot overemphasize the importance of attending my 3-Day SuperConference. It is at my SuperConference that the most successful agents in the country are born because they gain the knowledge and the will to push themselves out of their comfort zone. Why not decide to be one of them. Why them and not you? If not now, when? Register now at www.TheProctorRealEstateSystem.com