Specialists - become THE authority
(Part 2 of a 3-part series)
Last week I wrote about Specialists and Generalists, and how the changing market was creating a great divide between the two.
| * Harvest Point * |
The Specialist. Consumers have always looked to Realtors for help in getting answers & information that they could not get for themselves. This isn’t going to change anytime soon. However, consumers now have access to more information (and answers) than they’ve ever had before. One way to stay relevant as a Realtor is to stay ahead of the consumers by becoming an absolute authority in one particular niche of the marketplace.
A successful Specialist will need to do 2 things:
1. Be a Specialist. The specialist should be The Authority in this particular marketplace. There shouldn’t be anyone on Earth, even the residents of this niche, who know more about it than The Specialist.
2. Marketing and Networking. This may seem obvious, but if nobody knows you’re the top authority on the xyz marketplace, you won’t have any business. You’ll end up being a very knowledgeable homeless person.
Be a Specialist.
1. Choose a good niche. A specialist will have more value in niches which are difficult to learn about. For example, if a non-specialist would have a challenge coming up with and interpreting the comps, you can be a great asset to her. You’ll also want to pay attention to the size of your niche - too small and there won’t be enough volume to support you; too large and you won’t be able to know everything about it. And finally, your niche must be desirable enough that people ask about it – nobody needs a specialist for a 2-year old neighborhood in the middle of the suburbs, it’s just there. But everybody will want a specialist for the 100 year old neighborhood in a quirky part of downtown in the process of being revitalized.
2. Know EVERYTHING about your niche. History, dates, trends, volume, sizes, floor-plans, zoning, amenities, nearby neighborhoods, job markets, etc. etc. Know the neighbors: Where do they work; what are they like; what’s the inside scoop? Know the inside of every home/unit - which ones have been remodeled, which ones need work? Strive to become the unofficial (or even the official) mayor of your niche.
3. Eat sleep and breathe your niche with passion. If you’re not completely immersed in your niche, you’re in the wrong niche!
Marketing and Networking.
1. Website blog. In today’s world, a specialist without a blog is asking for failure. A) It can help you “own” your niche very quickly, depending on your niche and your competition. B) If you know everything about the neighborhood, and you’re there all the time, you’ll be able to write about very personal things, such as conversations with neighbors about a particular event, photos, sales trends, and the general vibe of the neighborhood. Your blog should become the authority for your niche. (not sure what a blog is, or how to get started? There’s a ton of great information online; I would start by reading the Real Estate Tomato.)
2. Buyers. Your blog will market for buyers for you.
3. Sellers. You are in & around your niche everyday, so you can market to the sellers the old fashioned way - talk to them! You can also send postcards with your blog’s address and your photo (which the recipients should recognize since they’ve seen you around.)
4. Realtors. This should be a major component of your marketing.
Are you willing to pay a referral fee to a realtor who brings you a buyer? You should, since this is a win-win scenario. The realtor from across town will look like a goof-ball trying to help his buyers in your niche; he might even get into legal trouble for not knowing something he should. Better for both parties if he refers his buyers to you! Advertise your blog’s address and your willingness to pay a generous referral commission!
Online networking and social media – get involved with the community of online realtors and let them know your area of specialization.
Offline – introduce yourself to other realtors (with blog address & referral info), starting with the busiest ones. You don’t need to waste a lot of their time, just ask them to file your info under “your niche” in case the subject ever comes up. You might also want to send out a postcard twice a year to all the realtors you’ve met as a reminder.
Referral Commissions – be prepared to discuss this, or even to advertise this. Are you willing to pay a referral commission on all subsequent business generated from the first referral. In other words, if the buyer’s friend calls you 6 months later? Or if the buyer calls you 2 years later to sell the home you helped him buy? Realtors will respond to you better if you have generous terms on this, such as all business generated within 36 months of the referral, or 24 months, or indefinitely – whatever. The more generous your offer, the better response you’ll receive, and the more I would advertise it.
5. Email. You should be sending everybody an email, at least monthly, which will remind them of your specialty. Oh yeah, I can help you with that!
Next week we’ll take a look at the Generalists in part 3 of this series.
Posted: October 27th, 2008 under Business Planning.
Comments
Comment from ChrisB
Time October 27, 2008 at 2:21 pm
JD - I hear what you’re saying, but I think you’re leaving opportunities on the table.
1. Listings may drive the initial web traffic, but you’ll want to demonstrate yourself as the niche expert once these people see your site &/or call you. Showing more about the neighborhood and sharing your experiences is a great way to do that.
2. You’ll have much more success marketing to Realtors across the city/state/country if you can show them more than just mls searches.
3. MANY places across the country are condusive to being out in the neighborhood, which makes writing about it and sharing it a natural fit. (granted, you & I live in the same suburbs, where most people don’t even know their own neighbors!)
4. Even by your own advice, they’re still setting up a site on a blog platform.
Comment from Jonathan Dalton
Time October 27, 2008 at 12:27 pm
Appreciate the link but the point of my post is that you don’t need to have a blog to own a neighborhood. You can do it with a blogsite just as easily, at least on the neighborhood level, with a static website on a blog platform.