Marketing for Realtors® in 2018

“You have to spend money to make money,” said Parkbench CEO Grant Findlay-Shirras.

“Most people who got into real estate were not business owners. Imagine your cash as little workers who have a shovel and go to work. Put that money to work to grow your business. People are afraid of the downside. Is the investment good or bad? Nothing is too expensive. If something doesn’t make your money, don’t look at the price tag before the value. You’ll shut yourself off from possible game changers,” he said.

There isn’t a one-size-fits-all method for marketing for Realtors®, he said.

“There is math to all the methods,” said Findlay-Shirras. “When you decide, as a local Realtor®, what to do to build your business, pick a solution that is in line with your personality and values. If it doesn’t feel right, you won’t execute it correctly and it won’t work. If it doesn’t jive with your values, it won’t work for you. There’s a formula to make all of these things work. But it doesn’t mean it will work for you.”

Findlay-Shirras said to pick a marketing strategy that works with your personality and what goals you want to achieve as a Realtor®. “If you want to focus on luxury, then maybe don’t buy leads, your client will probably not use a random Realtor® for a multi-million dollar house.”

Keeping tabs on your marketing is also important to learn what is working for you, as well as what isn’t. “You have to track and measure. The great thing about marketing is that it is more of a science than an art. You don’t have to be creative. Just try something, test it, measure it and keep editing until it improves. When Realtors® make the right decision how to market, they make it work and continue to make adjustments and tweaking. They’re always improving their marketing over time.”

Video will still be a big marketing aspect this year, he said. He also thinks people will be going more offline. “People will be getting back face-to-face more and more. The consumers are smarter than ever. The bar is raised for value and giving experience to someone. The easiest way to do is it in person and that’s what the consumer wants. They want a smart, intelligent, caring Realtor® to be in front of them.”

“Millennials are using referrals for Realtors® more than ever,” he added. “Get back to building relationships and adding values and doing it face-to-face. The numbers show one face-to-face encounter will win them over.”

He also stressed the importance of your reputation. “Build your reputation as doing a good job.”