Your Single Most Important Marketing Activity to Kickstart 2018

December 14, 2017

Take your “real estate professional” hat off for a second.
Picture yourself as a homeowner who is beginning to think about selling his or her house.
What are you looking for in a listing agent?
At the very base level, what’s most important to you when preparing to sell your largest investment?
It’s not a trick question. It’s really simple, actually.
Here’s what I think it is:
Does this person know what they’re doing?
Have they done this before?

Convey Confidence Through Experience

Homeowners are looking to feel confident their largest financial asset is in capable hands.
Deliver that confidence, and you’re 90% of the way there.
“Okay Tom, I’ll make sure to emphasize my experience in my listing presentation…”
No!
No! No! No! No! No!
You only end up on a listing presentation AFTER they’ve done all their research.
You only end up on a listing presentation AFTER they’ve whittled their list down to a few agents.
You only end up on a listing presentation AFTER they’ve called you and happened to catch you when you could answer your phone.
This is their most important criteria when looking for an agent. It’s the first thing they’re looking for when assembling their list of potential agents.
So if you haven’t already demonstrated your experience to them, you’re already too late… Waaaaaay too late!

How to Prove Your Track Record… Proactively

The key to overcoming this dilemma is being proactive.
It’s about getting out in front of the decision-making process.
It’s about not waiting for people to ask you about what you have to offer, but instead putting it in front of them unsolicited.
And it can be done with one simple marketing tactic.
I call it the “Proof of Success” marketing piece.
The key is to visually convey ALL of your 2017 sales in early 2018.
You can do it with a map that “pins” each property you sold.
You can do it with photos and descriptions of all the homes you sold.
You can use a mix of photos and maps.
It’s also a great idea to include any glowing reviews you received throughout the year, whether on Zillow, Yelp or delivered directly to you.
Basically you’re trying to present your case to prospective clients by demonstrating how productive and helpful you were in 2017.
Here are several real-world examples shared by some top-producing members of our coaching programs: (Click on each to view larger and/or download the entire document.)
Bri Martin:

Maxine & Marti Gellens:

Tim Smith / Smith Group:

5 Simple Steps to Get Ahead of a Homeowner’s Decision-Making Process

Here are some tips for making the most of this crucial marketing piece:

Make a list of every transaction you’ve done this year.
Enter that list in Google Maps.
Send it over to your marketing department or have someone from fiverr.com design the piece for you.
Send the mailer out in January with the title “Thank you for allowing us to help so many families last year!”
Send the same mailer in February with the title “Who you work with matters. We were able to help [X] times the national average of real estate professionals in our marketplace.”

Handling the “What If…” Scenarios

If your 2017 numbers aren’t as impressive as you’d like, here are some tips to still make the most of your “Proof of Success” piece:

Make the address pins on your map larger to create the perception you dominated the market.
Rather than presenting 2017 exclusively, create your piece to cover the last few years or your entire career.
Focus more intently and tell the story from specific transactions where you were able to impact people’s lives in a positive manner.

I consider the “Proof of Success” piece one of the most important elements in your marketing mix for 2018. I’m sharing this now, in mid-December, to allow you time to prepare this piece and have it ready to be sent out in early January.
Let me know any questions you might have in the comments below!