Virtual Views - The View From Here : July 2008

The Internet is influencing how buyers and sellers select their real estate professional. While they appreciate referrals from family and friends, buyers and sellers are using the Internet to compare the recommended agent to others in the area.

Does your website set you apart? What makes you appear to be more qualified than you competitor?

Your success depends on providing relevant and helpful information. Yes, they want to hear about you and your expertise; but what prospects are looking for is information about the community you serve as well as the real estate industry in general.

While the website visitor wants to see the properties and prices in Anytown USA, they also want to know about Anytown USA. Even locals are impressed when you provide quality information about your city and its neighborhoods.

When you provide quality information in a text format (not links), to your website visitor, you build trust and confidence. When you tell them about the various components in a real estate transaction and how they work, the perception will be that you are an expert that really knows your business.

What are the questions your prospects ask you face-to-face? These are the same questions that website visitors have on their minds. Instead of a generalized "Frequently Asked Questions" page, create a page (or pages) that answer these questions.

Quality content draws the website visitor in and makes them want to stay. The longer a website visitor stays within a site, the more likely it is that they will choose that agent's services.

Whether I am looking for an RV or an iron, I want to know about the product and its advantages. I also want to know what makes that manufacturer's product the best product available. An informative website tells me that the vendor is aware of what the end-user needs and considers important. The websites that impress me the most are the ones that go above and beyond in providing information about the product in general and their product specifically.

Be a Provider: Provide information about the community you serve and its neighborhoods.

Be a Provider: Provide information about real estate and its various components.

Be a Provider: Provide good in-depth and quality information about your community, real estate and you.

    
 

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Pamela Cendejas

Second Self Virtual Assistance - When There Isn't Enough Of You To Go Around!

Branding is a centuries old way of marking a person's livestock; no rancher would be without one. The symbol burned into the hide tells everyone around who the owner of the livestock is. No two brands are alike.

We don't think about it too much, but all products on the market are branded. There is a distinctive mark indicating who the maker of product is.

Are you branding your real estate services? Does your website, blog, business cards, etc. show your brand? A brand can be a logo, tagline, a symbol or a design and/or a combination of them all - but it must be distinctive to you.

A brand is more than trying to attract a large prospect base or asking the public to choose your services over those of another in your area. A brand tells buyers and sellers that you are the only one who will provide the expertise and services they need.

"Your Realtor For Life" was very popular at one time. It quickly became overused and, therefore, it no longer set the agent‘s services apart from the rest. The tagline became a slogan rather than a brand. Whenever you hear the words,  "You're in good hands with Allstate", you automatically think of no one but Allstate Insurance. If you are in the "remember when" age group, an image of a light bulb will still make you think of Ford Motor Company ("Ford: The Better Idea").

A Realtor I once knew had a picture of the back of his head on his business card with the words "When you are ready to talk face-to-face, Call Me". That card was distinctive.  People saved it in their wallets because it was different. The slogan and the picture set him apart from on the competition. It told people that he was serious about his business and the services he provided. To this day, I will see the back of someone's head and his image will pop into my mind. That's branding.

Another agent uses the tagline "Ask Meli".  This tagline appears on every mail-out, business card, etc. In her town, even people who have never used her real estate services will tell others to "Ask Meli". You would be surprised at the amount of calls she receives to do just that - ask a real estate question. This brand tells those in need of real estate assistance that she is there with the answers as an expert and as marketer of property.

Colors and style are important, too. Consistency is an important part of your branding. Be sure that your colors and style are consistent in all that you do. All of your websites, blogs, stationary and marketing materials should carry the same theme and style.

Whether you chose an image, a tagline or a combination of both, use your brand everywhere! Make sure it is on your website, business card, stationary, blog and marketing material.

Make yourself as recognized as the only one in town that will provide Buyers and/or Sellers top quality services.

    
 

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Pamela Cendejas