Why Should I Choose You?

I talk with a lot of real estate agents and one of my first questions to them is “what makes you different from other agents?” I’m always amazed at the number of people who respond “There’s really no difference. We all pretty much do the same things.”

That is the absolute worst answer you can possibly give. And it tends to come up because agents see themselves as transaction sellers than consultants. Here’s the thing. If there’s no difference between you and everyone else, the only thing your prospects will consider you on then is price. And there’s no way they’ll pay you 6% when the guy down the street is only charging 4%.

To put it as bluntly as possible, if you truly believe there is no difference between you and the next real estate agent, you might as well get out of the business now.

How to Differentiate Yourself
The good news is that there almost always is a meaningful way to differentiate yourself from other agents. After all, no one else has your specific set of strengths, skills, and life experiences. You just have to discover which of those is most meaningful to your target audience.

Let me also say that neither your logo or your tagline differentiate you from other real estate agents.

I don’t care how clever your tagline is. I don’t care that you’re the agent with the red hat or big purse or crazy tie. Those are gimmicks. I’m talking about meaningfully differentiating yourself from other agents.

What Do I Mean by ‘Meaningfully’?
If you really want to set yourself apart from other agents, you need something that your prospects will sit up and take notice - and that it will influence and motivate them to hire you. A red hat may get you noticed, but what in the world does that have to do with selling real estate? It doesn’t tell me that you have the skills, knowledge, and expertise to get the job done. In other words, it doesn’t instill confidence in me that you’re my go-to person for real estate.

To be meaningful, your differentiating factor must be:

1. Specific to a target audience - You have to pick a target audience and craft your message based on their preferences. If you have multiple target audiences, you’ll have to craft a different marketing message for each.
2. In line with your strengths - You have to be better than most - preferably all - other agents in something that is meaningful to your target audience.

For instance, let’s say you want to focus on single female first time buyers without children. Chances are good that they eventually see themselves settling down and raising a family, but for right now, your knowledge of the school system isn’t going to be something that’s a major concern for them. What might be their top concerns?

• Where should they live? What’s the singles’ scene like in the area?
• What can they afford, since they, alone, will be paying the mortgage each month?
• How much of a down payment will they need?
• What mortgage options are available?
• What other financing options or government assistance programs are available?
• How to negotiate a good deal

These are just starting points. To better understand your target market, you’ll want to get out and start talking to single women. Find out what’s holding them back from buying their first home. What are their top concerns?

Now that you know which concerns are most important, you need to look at your strengths. What areas of expertise do you have? In this case, you’ll want to learn everything you can about single women buying homes - who they are, the options available, etc. In other words, if you aren’t already, you need to become a specialist in helping single women find homes. You need to know the ins and outs, pitfalls, and opportunities. You need to know what the local singles scene is like, where single homeowners can go for help, and any other resources they’d find useful.

Then, you base your point of differentiation on your specialization - that you help single females realize their dream of buying a home. All your marketing materials focus on this point. Your website contains articles that single women will find helpful. You offer a tip sheet that addresses a specific concern that single women have. And after a few months, you’ll be seen as the go-to real estate agent for single women looking to buy a home.

But I Don’t Want To Turn People Away
You don’t have to, but from your prospects’ perspective, no one wants to do business with a jack-of-all-trades when they can work with a specialist. Just like you’d feel more comfortable if a medical specialist performed surgery on you rather than your family doctor, others feel more comfortable working with someone who is an expert in their needs.

You can always add target markets - though don’t pick more than 3 - but for each, you’ll have to tailor your message specifically to their unique set of concerns. I advise agents to start with one and once they have that marketing campaign off the ground, add another if they feel they can manage it. Otherwise, you’ll just overwhelm yourself.