Why Real Estate Marketing Differs From Marketing Digital Cameras

Most of the marketing books on the shelves today focus primarily on marketing a product. While there are some similarities between marketing a service and a product, there are many differences. These include:

Services are intangible
When you buy a product like a digital camera, you know what you’re getting. You can go to Circuit City and pick it up, ask the sales guy for a demo, and try it out before you buy. The selling process involves ordering the product, paying for it, and walking out of the store with it (or having it delivered within a few days.)

Services, on the other hand, are highly customized and tailored to your client’s specific needs. As a real estate agent, each person you work with has different wants and needs. First time buyers might need a lot of hand holding while investors may want the job done as quickly as possible. Each person has to balance home features and location with what they can afford. And because buying a home can be extremely subjective - the buyer has to like the home enough to purchase it - it can be extremely time consuming.

When prospects are looking to hire someone, they’re looking for someone they can work with until they buy or sell their home. They want someone who can do what they say and is easy to work with. In many cases, they don’t know the ins and outs of buying or selling a home, so they are looking for a trusted advisor to help them complete their transaction as smoothly as possible. That means picking a real estate agent that they feel cares about them, is knowledgeable about what to do and what not to do, is great at negotiating on their behalf, and is willing to take the time to explain how the process works without being pushy, using real estate jargon, or making them feel dumb.

Real estate marketing involves building relationships and working together with clients.
You’re not in the business of buying or selling homes. You’re in the business of building relationships and being a trusted advisor to your clients. Yes, you need the skill and expertise to complete the transaction, but that’s not enough.

With products, chances are that once you buy the product, you’ll never see the sales person again. With services, however, you will be working with clients throughout the buying or selling process so how available you are, how often you keep them updated and how you manage their expectations is a huge part of your job.

Too many real estate books encourage real estate agents to be manipulative or deceptive during their initial consultation. I’ve heard agents say they just need “to get the bird in the cage” - meaning to sign the contract and then they are legally bound. They can worry about what clients think later. This is a horrible way to build trust with your future client. It’s difficult to like someone if you feel they only care about their paycheck. And it’s a nightmare to work with those people.

I believe that honesty is the best policy. Manipulation and deception only lead to headaches down the road - unmet expectations, complaints, negative publicity, and maybe even a lawsuit. Why set yourself up for that? Instead, work to foster a working relationship built on trust and partnership.

Real estate agents must be more selective when choosing prospects.
You can sell a product to anyone with the money to buy it. With services, money is a factor, but there are a number of other qualifiers. These include whether your services match the problem your prospect wants you to solve, how easy the prospect is to work with, and whether your prospect will be satisfied with the services you provide.

You want to weed out any clients you believe might become ‘difficult.’ For instance, if your client brushes off a staff member or comes across as rude, those are warning signs for how they’ll act with you down the road.

Some people just don’t understand how real estate agents do business. It’s up to you to either educate them or send them on their way. And there will always be a subset of sellers that will try to sell their home themselves. Give them the benefit of the doubt and encourage them - perhaps they can.

Finally, not all work that comes your way will be interesting and fulfilling to you, personally. If you have doubts about a client, that may be a sign that this client isn’t right for you.