Reader Q&A: How To Write Your Message from Your Prospect’s Perspective

John asks:

Hi - I find your site to be extremely valuable. I am in the process of having another website done for our business. My biggest dilemma is…once I identify
my target market, how do I write my message on my website from the prospects
perspective. Thanks.

Once you’ve picked a target audience, the next step is to get to know who they are, what their motivations are for buying/selling, and what is most important to them. We often assume we know what our customers want without ever asking them.

Once you’ve identified your target audience, get out there and start talking with potential clients - become fascinated with them. Ask them how they view life, what their hopes and dreams are, and what their biggest problems, challenges and concerns are. Then, pick one of them and write your site’s content as if you were talking to that person, one-on-one.

Your website’s content needs to be salesmanship in print. It needs to educate your customers and prospects on the value of doing business with you and why your services are superior to everyone else’s. It needs to convey your unique selling proposition.

Buying or selling a home is a big financial decision for most people. It’s easy for people to feel overwhelmed or frustrated. It’s also a very emotional time for them so you have to address their emotional needs (their hopes, dreams, and fears) as well as the rational needs (where to start, what are the steps, how does the process work). Keep in mind - people often make emotional decisions but want rationalizations to justify it.

Explain The Value of Doing Business With You
Your website’s copy should talk directly to their emotional and logistical concerns. It must educate them so they understand and appreciate the value you bring to the transaction. It should explain intangible terms like “service”, “quality” and “dependability” in ways prospects understand.

For instance, don’t say you provide “quality service”. Explain that you have an office staffed with 12 people while the average real estate agent works from home. That your office staff works 12 hours/day, 7 days a week while the average agent in your area only works 40 hours/week and that someone is available at any time to take your call and answer questions. Explain that the average sales price in your market is $X but your average sales price for homes is 10% more because you have a house mailing list of 10,000 people, you’ve built relationships with other real estate agents over your 15 year career and know how to find buyers, that you spend $X on advertising their home in newspapers, etc. Provide testimonials from happy clients that demonstrate and support your copy.

Don’t just say you have “neighborhood expertise”, give them a picture or video tour of the neighborhood on your website. Show them the different kinds of houses in that neighborhood, pointing out the differences and the good/bad points of each structure. Explain the history of the neighborhood. Show them the best places to eat or shop - you can even interview the owners. Do an informal poll of the neighborhood asking residents why they live there. What the best features of the neighborhood are. What they like best. Then, write up the results. (This would also be great to mail to residents in the neighborhood as most people are interested in what others are saying.)

The above are just examples. Whatever you say needs to be ethical, moral and true, so you’ll have to do some fact digging. Then, when you are finished writing your copy, go back and reread it. Does it convincingly explain the reasons why you are the superior choice to someone in your prospect’s shoes? Does it explain why you are unique?

If your copy could be used for any other real estate agent in your area just by replacing your name with them, it’s not good enough. If your copy makes generic claims like “quality service” or “reliability” without building a case for them and explaining exactly what that means to your prospect, keep asking yourself “so what?” until you build that case.

Test, Test, Test
Then, test it. Ask your prospects and clients what they think. If what you’ve written is truly unique and meaningful to your prospects, you should be able to take portions of it and use them in your mailings, advertisings, and other promotions and see people responding.

If you have a question you’d like answered on this blog, you can submit it here.

PS - I hope everyone has a happy and relaxing Thanksgiving holiday.

Update: Thanks to Bloodhound Realty for awarding this post their Black Pearl Award. That’s award #2 - check out the other winner, Negotiating Commissions with Buyers.