Editorial
Front Page - Friday, December 24, 2010
Coach's Corner
Better positioning strategy
Dirk Zeller
When talking with prospects at a listing presentation, we are usually talking about our marketing and advertising pieces. We often try to draw the prospect to convert to client status through our colorful brochures, Internet sites, and overall exposure. We are, again, selling through feelings rather than tangible proof of results.
Because of your positioning strategy, can you prove that you produce more leads or more meaningful ad calls, sign calls, or Internet inquiries? Does this increase of leads generate more showing activity or more buyer consultations? Does how you position the property with the real estate agent community result in more showings to more buyers?
The first step is to prove to the client that your positioning strategy generates more showing activity. A Champion Agent will generate more showing activity than other agents in the marketplace.
Do you have an inventory advantage that creates more showings as well? Because, on average, I carried around thirty
listings at any one time, which it en-abled me to cross-market my properties more effectively with a wider reach to generate more showings than many other agents in the marketplace. Increased quantity of leads creates more opportunity for the seller.
More leads generate more showings. More showings in-crease the probability of selling the home. The increased showings can also lead to a high potential sales price in a high demand home.
We all know the more people through a well priced home, the greater the chance of attracting a high quality buyer and high quality transaction. We need to move the prospect step-by-step through each stage to see clear benefits of why they should hire you.
I also believe better positioning links with a primary rule of real estate sales. Most people miss this primary rule; even agents miss it. When we break down the basic rules of real estate, this one leads the pack:
Real estate sales are governed by the law of supply and demand.
The law of supply and demand drives real estate sales and real estate values in any marketplace. It drives appreciation, investment, and activity. It can also drive list price to sales price ratios, days on the market, and listings sold verses listings taken ratios for most agents. A Champion Agent will always filter their strategy and positioning and tactics through the laws of supply and demand, and they will end up with far superior stats than other agents. They will counsel their prospects, customers, and clients on the influence the law of supply and demand is playing in the marketplace.
This is especially true when the marketplace is shifting. When we shift from a seller’s market (where inventory is low and demand is high) to a neutral marketplace, a Champion Agent will show inventory levels, sales price ratios, and sales per month, and will counsel their clients based on where the market is now and where it is heading.
Our job, as Champion Agents, is to inform our clients of the current and emerging market conditions. The law of supply and demand controls the frenzy in seller’s markets and the slow cautiousness in a heavy buyer’s marketplace.
By knowing and tracking the marketplace, you can better position your clients to achieve the best results in today’s marketplace. Our job is to clearly communicate how the law of supply and demand will affect each of our clients and how it is impossible to achieve significant results contrary to the law of supply and demand.
If any agent is promising them those results, they either don’t really understand the marketplace, are overly optimistic and delusional, or lack the skill to be able to really represent their interest at the highest level. This will become very obvious to prospects if your discussion about the law of supply and demand is delivered with conviction and power.
We need to tell the sellers and buyers that the reason marketplaces explode is because demand is greater than supply – it’s that simple! When supply increases and demand lowers, the activity level goes the other direction.
Interest rates certainly can affect demand as well. Interest rates influence the buying power of each person looking for a property. I believe, however, the largest influence is the law of supply and demand. We can respond to it far better than we can respond to interest rates.
Strategic positioning works well with the law of supply and demand. Effectively executed, it will work to create a maximum benefit for your client based on the odds of the marketplace.
“Mr. Smith, since we position your home more strategically, we increase the number of agents who actually show your home. With the increased showings, we can increase the buyers and potential offers. This creates more buzz on your home, which equates to more dollars in your pocket. Doesn’t that appeal to you?”
“Mr. Smith, one of my primary jobs is to enhance the demand for your home. Real estate at its core is a supply and demand business. My job is to increase the demand for your home over the competition in the marketplace.
“One way to know if an agent is successful at accomplishing that is to compare the statistics of listings sold versus listings taken. The broad average right now is _____ percent of homes actually sell. My average is over _____ percent. Would you agree that we are more effective at positioning your home?”
Dirk Zeller is a sought out speaker, celebrated author and CEO of Real Estate Champions.? His company trains more than 350,000 Agents worldwide each year through live events, online training, self-study programs, and newsletters.? The Real Estate community has embraced and praised his six best-selling books;? Your First Year in Real Estate, Success as a Real Estate Agent for Dummies, The Champion Real Estate Agent, The Champion Real Estate Team, Telephone Sales for Dummies®, Successful Time Management for Dummies, and over 300 articles in print.? To learn more, please visit: http://www.realestatechampions.com/.
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