I’ve seen the signs.  Unfortunately, the sign says I’m not doing my job as well as I could be.

I should explain…

The other day I walked out my front door to come to work and there on the lawn of the neighboring property was a Realtor’s FOR SALE sign.  It didn’t belong to my company.  Well, that’s a fine thing to wake up to in the morning before I’ve even had a cup of coffee.

Has this happened to you?  You think you’re doing all the right things, talking to the right people, networking, getting out the word, and surely to goodness… it must be working because you’re doing the right thing.  Right?  Right?

Wrong.  If it worked that way I wouldn’t have been standing in the middle of my driveway on that hot and sultry Southern morning with my hands on my hips scowling at the neighbor’s front yard like it was a wayward child that refused to listen.

I then began with the horrible ritual of self-flagellation with a final rinse of self-doubt. The neighbor must hate me. The neighbor is sending me a message. Some other neighbor hates me and tells that neighbor not to list with me. On and on.

The real, honest to goodness truth is that half the time your neighbors don’t have a clue how real estate works. This happens all the time.  A novice real estate consumer calls the listing agent because they think they are supposed to.  Or a neighbor lists a house with another Realtor because that’s the agent who was the first to ask them if they wanted to sell.  Most of the time it’s nothing personal, it’s just a case of the consumer not being as savvy as we’d like.

And this is where I’ve failed.  You might have failed, too.  But starting today let’s make a pact, you and me. Let’s promise each other we’ll do better at educating consumers on how real estate works.  It’s not a bad thing to explain to them how you get paid.  A lot of people think real estate professionals work on salary.  It’s not a bad thing to explain to them how referrals work.  It’s a good thing to explain to them how the home selling and purchasing works, that it’s in everyone’s best interest to find a Realtor you love and stick with him or her.

Let’s go out and meet our neighbors. Have a block or street party at your house and talk to them about the trends in real estate and what is going on in your neighborhood.  A well-planned party is loaded with opportunity to market yourself.

If your neighborhood is not your market, team up with a Realtor who likes to work your neighborhood. Do some co-marketing and get some referrals.

Have you done a  newsletter?  There are great newsletter opportunities (free and cheap) that can be found on the Internet.  There are many success stories about business generated from newsletters or other mailings that foster “relational marketing”.

Be accessible and be an expert.  Don’t think of yourself as “in sales” or as a “salesperson”.  You’re not.  You’re a property marketing guru or professional.  So, when you have the chance to talk about real estate to the people around you, don’t worry that you’re doing a “pitch”.  You’re handing out free information that is helpful to consumers. You’re educating people so they are making better business decisions.  It helps them, it helps you, and in the long run, I think it helps real estate as an industry in general.

So go on out and see the signs.  Just make sure they’re not in your neighbor’s front lawn.

(If you have any brilliant marketing and networking ideas related to this topic, please leave them in the comments section!)

Wendy Russ is the Principal Broker of United Country Spot Real Estate in Clinton, Arkansas. She and her husband Rob work as a team fighting the evil forces of ticks, chiggers and snakes to unite buyers and sellers in the lush Ozark foothills of North Central Arkansas. She is never too busy for your referrals.  Or for ice cream. Drop her a line at wendy@wendy.com.

Retweet this post