Direct marketing to target audience

Realtors® can make small shifts in their businesses, including direct marketing, to increase their number of annual sales, according to Roberta Ross, the Six Figure Real Estate Coach.

Roberta Ross

“People always want to do more business,” she says. “They focus on being unique and different but that doesn’t mean it’s going to work. There has to be a shift in your business to making it about the client, not about the agent. The bottom line is prospects don’t care about the agent and they shouldn’t. The reason the two parties come together is based on what the agent can do for the client and what the client’s needs are.”

The first step for Realtors® is to determine who they want to work with and what market they want to serve. “Most people don’t want every type of business. Sometimes agents focus on what they’re afraid they’re missing out on instead of their desire of what they want to attract, and that makes them lose focus,” Ross says.

“Effective target marketing requires clarity, commitment to the market and trust in the process,” she continues. “One of the top two factors clients use in choosing a Realtor® is their knowledge of their market. It’s critical to have clarity on who you want as a client. When you really engage and focus on your message, you will attract them. You are ultimately positioning your business strategy to go after your ideal client.”

Many agents veer off course because marketing firms create a brand around the agent instead of the client they’re focused on. “A Realtor’s® marketing should be in line with who the agent is and what clients they’re trying to attract. Not every opportunity is for every agent,” Ross adds.

Ross worked with a 10-year-veteran agent who was earning $80,000 annually and wanted to up her earnings. “Her marketing was all over the place and she was getting pressure in the office to work in a high-end neighborhood. Logic tells you that you would earn more money in a high-end market but her heart wasn’t there. She felt more connected in a more modest neighborhood. And when she became clear and focused on what she really wanted and who she wanted to work for, she saw her annual income jump $61,000,” Ross says. “You don’t have to cover 80 percent of the market – you can have an extraordinary business with a smaller part of the market.”

Once the target audience has been established, a Realtor’s® social media, direct mail and communication should be directed to this market – whether it’s a demographic, a geographic farm, a profession or types of properties. “I worked with one agent whose marketing was beautiful,” Ross says. “We think if something is visually attractive it’s going to work but that’s not true. When you try to appeal to everyone, you end up appealing to no one. Once he focused on condos and targeted his marketing to those clients he expanded his business.”

This all comes down to creating a strategy that’s true to the business and lifestyle the agent enjoys. “When you make decisions based on what you want, you can achieve your goals,” she adds. “Otherwise, working to gain all business leads to a lot of unnecessary stress and anxiety for agents.”