There’s a contagion in the real estate industry right now.
Agents are spending an enormous amount of time, energy, and money producing content that doesn’t show them in the best light.
Many are looking for likes from other agents. In other words, they’re looking to become social media famous instead of aiming to educate. But what you need to realize is people will Google you. And if you’re not adding value for consumers, you’re making a big mistake.
We constantly see agents making funny, over-the-top videos that have nothing to do with real estate. And I’m not saying don’t be entertaining. What I’m saying is when you shoot to educate—instead of making conversion your number one goal—you’re adding value.
In doing so, you present yourself as a qualified professional ready to help real people in your community navigate the market and make smart decisions.
Educational content can be funny or entertaining. There are a lot of ways to deliver value. But there has to be an educational message and an intention with the consumer in order to make this work.
So, I’m breaking down three ways you can avoid this contagion and stop spending your time producing content that’s not going to help you win new business.
Because you know well enough how you make money in real estate: selling houses.
#1—Your content MUST bring value
Your content must speak to consumers in a way they understand. Ditch the real estate lingo. Talk about things in a way that the average buyer or average seller—who probably hasn’t been involved in a real estate transaction for over a decade—is going to be able to understand, so they can use that information to help them make well-informed business decisions.
That is our job as guides in the marketplace. And it has to do with data, with facts, and with things they can apply to their day-to-day.
When you produce that content, don’t just post it on social. You can make personalized touchpoints by doing the following:
- Email it to the appropriate group (buyer/sellers) in your database—or send one-to-one emails
- Share it with people on social media
- Use it in DMs
Most agents don’t follow up enough in the first place. So, take your content, make sure there’s a message that people can understand, and use it to educate everywhere—not just on a social media post.
What I want everyone to understand is that it’s our job to market to consumers, not to expect them to come find us. When you take that as a responsibility and you prioritize that one-to-one conversation, people experience how committed you are to helping them. It goes a long way.
#2—Value-based outreach
Picking up the phone, a text message exchange, whatever it is—these things work. But too often, agents claim they don’t know what to say.
Multiple people on our team have had tremendous success sending out updated mortgage rates to consumers anytime there’s some significant movement there. It gets people excited about the home search process again. It can even get sellers to understand there might be an opportunity for them to sell their home for more.
The point is most agents expect the consumers to know about this stuff. But maybe 5% of people actually do. Even those in a decision-making phase aren’t guaranteed to know the mortgage rate on a particular day. But they’ll certainly expect you to know—and to tell them.
When we had the latest rate drop, we reached out to our clients, we sent a video, we made calls, we sent text messages; we did all the outreach you’re supposed to do.
And that’s what #2 is all about: outreach—specifically, value-based outreach.
What we found was people actively looking for homes didn’t even know that rates came down. All the more reason to take the content you use and to have actual conversations with people.
Don’t just send the information to them; send it and then follow up with a phone call, and let them hear the sound of your voice on the phone. This stuff works!
#3—When they give you objections and concerns, address them head-on
If a client or a prospect brings up concerns like “I’m worried the market’s gonna crash” or “The rates are too high,” talk to them about it. Answer their questions. Make time to help them make sense of everything that’s going on right now.
They may not like the answer you give, and you may not have an answer that will get them into action. But when you don’t address their concern, you’re showing you don’t care about the consumer. Instead, you’re telling them, “All I care about is a sale.”
There’s too much lazy follow-up that goes on in this business. Value-based follow-up is different, and it starts with these three things:
- Empathy
- Focusing on motivation
- Addressing objections with educational content
I’ve got a bonus here for you. When there’s someone that you don’t speak to, send them the email or the video (or both), anyway.
There’s so much lazy follow-up that goes on, with messages like, “I’m checking in to see if you want to buy a property right now,” and that type of check-in doesn’t work. Cue the collective eye-roll. Consumers can spot the real motive behind that message from a mile away.
They know what you’re really checking in on (and so do you): your next commission check.
Instead, try delivering value and putting out information that could help them. Because you may not get that person on the phone. You may not get them to respond to you right away. They may be busy. People have lives.
When you follow up with value-based content, and you use it in those places—making it easier to find for the people who need it—you’re gonna win. And that’s how you avoid the contagion.
We’re not here to be video influencers. We’re here to guide people through one of life’s most stressful transactions.
