With high competition and low inventory, how do you stand out as a real estate agent?
Whether you’re a seasoned agent or brand new to the industry, you can become a top agent in your city. To flourish in your career, you must be eager to experiment with different marketing techniques. A highly successful agent establishes and sticks to effective marketing strategies. It is important to represent yourself and your listings professionally and attractively. Professional photography is crucial to stand out in your market.
We’re going to walk through 6 strategies to be a prominent agent in your market.
1. Develop your niche
There are agents in every market who will represent anyone. While nothing is wrong with this, top agents do so well because they find their niche. The real estate industry is saturated with agents claiming to be a jack of all trades for their clients. Can they be truly great at anything if they’re good at everything? There are so many niches, from luxury townhomes to large ranches. If you want to be a prominent agent in your farm area, focus on a specific home type or neighborhood, and you will build credibility with your target audience.
2. Find your professional photographer
A prominent realtor has a defined brand. Part of this branding includes a solid and consistent listing portfolio. If you’re a seller’s agent, you’ll want to secure a professional real estate photographer for all your listings. Real estate images captured by a professional photographer stand out online, have more showings, and sell for more money than those taken by a non-professional. Being a well-known real estate agent means your brand is consistent, professional, and eye-catching. Find a professional photography partner to help you achieve all those things.
3. Stay active on social media
Social media is your gateway to many real estate opportunities – from networking to lead generation to valuable referrals. With 90% of buyers searching online for listings before going to a showing or choosing a realtor, you want to ensure you’ve seen them online.
Here are a few ways to stay active and engaging on social media:
- Post-value-based content with links back to your website/blog
- Engage in community Facebook groups and real estate networking groups
- Reshare popular content onto your channels
- Ask open-ended questions to get conversations going
- Offer special promotions to prospects
If it’s overwhelming to be on multiple social media platforms, select the 2-3 platforms that work for your market. We would suggest Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
4. Create a referral plan
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Maintaining a systematic plan for growing your referral pool is necessary for achieving higher close rates. The first step to creating a referral plan is setting personal referral goals to ensure that your referrals remain a top priority on your path to becoming a successful real estate agent. Your goal should help you decide how many referrals you wish to obtain in a given amount of time.
Real Estate Express suggests ranking referral sources as shown below:
- Level 1 Sources. Past and present clients will likely send real estate referrals to you because you have a good rapport, relatives, friends, and other contacts who regularly send you leads, and associates in influential social/professional positions.
- Level 2 Sources. People will probably send referrals to you but require additional work such as repeat requests or other interaction. Additionally, these sources may also place certain limitations on their referrals to you.
- Level 3 Sources. People may send you new business because they have heard about you, but you do not know when or how they will do so. Your referral plan should also include obtaining and maintaining quality referrals.
5. Write about your city
A prominent real estate agent is considered a thought leader in their industry and an active and engaging member of their community. It’s important to show those within your community that you know everything about the neighborhoods they are interested in buying or selling in. There are plenty of topics you can write about when it comes to your city. Here are some go-to’s:
- The top neighborhoods in
- The best restaurants in
- Ten things to do in
- Buying a home in
- Selling a home in
- The top parks in
For more topic ideas, try a topic generator like Answer the Public.
6. Leverage your sphere of influence
(Content below originally published here.)
A prominent real estate agent has a solid and reliable COI (Circle of Influence), also known as a Sphere of Influence. Your sphere of influence will be your go-to for generating new referrals while nurturing current relationships. Your sphere of influence will include your family, friends, peers, acquaintances from previous jobs and so on. You can continue to build this sphere by attending local events, joining community organizations, participating in your child’s school’s PTA, etc. Stay in touch through texts, email campaigns, mailers, and online.
Get ahead with Virtuance
Looking for a real estate photographer to make your real estate pictures pop? Virtuance offers professional real estate photography for agents looking for quick services and quality photos that catch the eye of potential clients. Schedule your shoot in your city today!
FAQ
In order to stand out, it is necessary to employ a variety of techniques such as building a strong online presence, networking, investing in professional photography, and differntisting yourself from other agents.
There are variety of ways to get your listing in front of the right eyes. Social media and email marketing are important to establish credibility and drive sales by delivering relevant content and promotions directly to potential clients.
Hiring a professional photographer to portray your property in its best light is crucial to maximize your listing and saving time. Virtual tours and high-quality videos can help you stand out even more and increase open-house attendees.
