Do you know what makes YOU stand out from the crowd? If you aren't sure, it's time to find out - and use your personal story to grow your real estate business.
Let’s talk about how to build your unique selling point as an agent and how that one unique selling point can make a huge difference in growing your business.
Many times, we hear someone talk about our “selling point,” and we think to ourselves, “What accolades do I have? What accomplishments do I have? Why would people look up to me?”
But thinking this way isn’t beneficial. If we do, we discredit our human side — our personal story and struggles — and what our passions and professional experience outside of real estate can do for our prospects.
I want to share with you part of a conversation I had with a real estate agent named Marco from Winnipeg, Canada, who found his niche and is building his unique selling proposition with his story.
Tell your truth and connect with people
What do you think about that? A plumber, and now a real estate agent? You might be thinking, “How in the world does discussing my former job help me be a better agent?” The answer is that it connects your human side and your story to what you’re doing, and it helps people relate to you.
Nobody wants a perfect, shiny story from an agent about how they're the best and the most awesome, so you’d better hire them. When we share a true struggle, it speaks to people. Why is that a benefit? It builds trust and rapport. And, as you and I know, trust and rapport is at an all-time low in the real estate industry because here's so many shortcuts and hacks to try to get listings that unfortunately degrade the relationship.
I would encourage you, as you're building your profile online and publishing your professional bio wherever you happen use it, tell the true story of how you got into real estate. Ask yourself these questions:
Avoid empty phrases in your story
Many agents will use empty phrases such as, “I make dreams come true.” But how does that really tell people you're going to be a good real estate agent? What dreams? Why? It’s simply too general.
This is also the case when you hear something like, “I make buying a house a reality!” Honestly, nobody wants a genie who claims to have magic dust and make stuff happen out of nowhere.
When the time comes to build your story, I encourage you to include your personal struggle. As a bonus, this likely will help your rankings online. People will read your story. If you can get someone to read your story, and, at the same time, see your value and want to hire you, you're leaps and bounds above all the other competing agents with the shiny business networking pages, just listing their accolades or business experience. That formula no longer works; there are too many people using it.
Instead, agents who have the story and who are connecting with their audience get more business. Best of all, they also develop a following. They build a “tribe,” and the tribe is where the repeat business comes from! When someone asks, “Hey, do you know a great real estate agent?” it's going to prompt them to think of you and your story and how they connected with you emotionally right away. That means they're going to say, “Yes! You have to call Joe. He is the best.”
They may even say something like, “I have not worked with him yet, but I’ve heard so much about him. I heard he's the best.” Guess what? That is a referral!
The point is, growing your sphere of influence to include people you haven’t even worked with yet is important because those people will promote you, too. The secret is to build your story, make it personable and have it deliver value.