In The First Three Questions, we talked about consumer insights, source of volume, and positioning statements. The formula works for every marketing situation I’ve ever encountered. But for some reason, it’s especially hard when a residential real estate agent asks me for help.

The realty dilemma
Leaf through a few Biznik profiles for real estate agents and you’ll find very similar statements. Here are a few samples:

• I need homeowners looking to sell …
• I am looking for buyers with good credit …
• I am looking for sellers that want to sell their homes in a timely fashion.
• A great lead for me is someone who is buying or selling a home.
• Buying or selling real estate is my specialty.

Where’s the point of difference?
The National Association of Realtors (NAR) had 1.3 million association members in July 2007. Simplistically speaking, if each state had 1/50th of the realtors, Washington would have 26,000 realtors — and that doesn’t count the umpteen-thousand real estate agents. What can you possibly say that distinguishes you among the competition?

Most often, the answer I get is some variant of “I give my clients extraordinary service.” That is a point of difference to one of your existing clients who have experienced it first hand. And perhaps also to the warm leads he sends your way.

But when you promise “extraordinary service” to someone who doesn’t know you, she has no more reason to believe you than the next real estate agent she encounters. What does “extraordinary service” look like to her?

According to NAR, repeat buyers want real estate professionals to:

• Help me find the right house to purchase – 53%
• Help me with price negotiations – 13%
• Tell me what comparable homes are selling for – 11%
• Help me determine how much I can afford – 11%
• Help with paperwork – 8%
• Help me find and arrange financing – 2%

It seems as though these are the basic expectations for a good residential Realtor. Which brings us back to what’s your point of difference?

Revisiting positioning
Perhaps a hard look at your positioning statement can help. Remember, there are five variables you need to fill in:

• Who is your target?
• What is the name of your concept? (Are you the product, or does your entity have a distinct name and selling proposition?)
• What is your frame of reference? (Do you say you are a real estate agent? Do you modify “real agent agent” to distinguish what kind of real estate agent you are? Or are you an investor, eco-broker, appraiser and Realtor, etc.)
• What benefit will your customer realize?
• How can you support the claim that your customer will realize the benefit you say she will?

Here are a few examples to get your creative juices flowing.

• To buyers with less-than-perfect credit looking for homes in Snoqualmie, Brian Baldo Realty is the Realtor who can get you the home you deserve because Baldo employs a team of credit repair specialists to restore your credit while Brian himself helps you negotiate the best price. For reference, Brian secured five homes in April at an average selling price 13 percent lower than the asking price.

• To Capitol Hill residents looking to sell homes around the $500,000 price point, Tara Jean McDonald is the real estate agent who can sell it quickly and for the best price because Tara has four buyers looking to buy in that neighborhood at that price point right now.

• To opportunistic buyers on the prowl for foreclosures, Joe Tedeschi is the investment partner you want looking for you because Joe can identify properties at risk of foreclosure in advance to give you time to plan your investment strategy.

• To casual first-time buyers looking for a starter home in Bellevue, Allison Hope can be the real estate girlfriend you wish you had because Allison is down-to-earth, low-pressure, and has the inventory and the time to drive around with you at your convenience.

Intermezzo. I expect more than one reader to think, “I can’t afford to be that specialized. The market is slow, and there isn’t enough of one kind of buyer for me to focus on. There are too many other buyers/sellers out there and I don’t want to miss out.”

Here, I bring you back to The First Three Questions. It’s important to make the distinction between customers you’d accept versus customers you target. If someone walks through your door that you weren’t targeting but that you can (and want to) help, great! You just got a new customer.

Recommendation. For your marketing strategy, I recommend you focus your acquisition efforts for three reasons.

1. No point of difference = no reason to stand out from the crowd. In The First Three Questions, we discussed your source of volume. Real estate, like car insurance, is usually a zero-sum game. You aren’t convincing people who otherwise would not buy a home to buy. You are stealing share from another broker who otherwise might get that client. Why should they choose you instead of them?

2. You can’t be everywhere at once. There are economies of scale if you focus on a few types of buyers and sellers because those with similar characteristics may congregate in similar places.

3. You don’t have limitless resources. For the hours in the day and the price of gas, you don’t have the resources to take clients looking more than 25 miles away from you. Or you don’t have enough money for postage to paper the entire city of Seattle.

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I posted this article today on Biznik (you really should join, it’s free (if you want it to be) and it will improve your Google rankings). I’ve never had such an electric response to an article: click here to read tens of responses from people in the industry.

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