When you are just starting out in any sales related industry, you wind up having to do a whole bunch of self promotion. If you don't have many clients yet, it can be a challenge to build a client base as quickly as you would like. However, using self promotion effectively can help you shorten that time frame.
So what are the best techniques for creating a buzz about yourself?
Here are some tips to help you be your own best promoter:
- Figure out your brand- It is hard to promote yourself when you aren't sure what your strengths are. Decide what you want to be recognized for. Create the image in your mind of yourself as a smashing success in your industry. What is that person like? How does she dress? What sorts of things does she do to build her professional network. Once you have the answers to those question, you will know what to aspire to.
- Start small- Sometimes a successful marketing campaign starts as a tiny little change and then grows into something much larger. You can start promoting yourself in little ways. For example, you can create an email signature that is attention grabbing and put it on all of your email accounts. Then, whenever you send an email, the other person is seeing your virtual calling card. Even though this type of strategy won't produce immediate results, it is a good place to start. Building takes time, and through repeated exposure to your business card email signature, you will build brand recognition. This means that if someone you email frequently needs a Real Estate agent, they have higher odds of thinking of your name than if you hadn't done it at all.
- Get some publicity- There are several sites like PRLeads, that keep a database of authors, musicians, real estate agents and many, many other types of people. They use this database to connect writers who are looking for quotes from people in certain fields with the people in those fields. For example, if there was a journalist for Redbook who was writing an article that has a small part about a Real Estate issue and they were running out of time, they would go to a site like PRLeads and find a Real Estate agent to ask or even to provide a quote. Although, I think there is a registration fee for the site, you can end up receiving a great deal of publicity. Then you can put “As seen in Redbook” on your direct marketing campaigns.
- Write articles about your industry- Why not start a blog about the Real Esate market in your area? It doesn't take much time to set up a blog with free blogging site like Wordpress or Blogger. Be sure to keep it up to date and write about all of your accomplishments and any industry functions or fundraisers you may attend. When clients are looking for an agent, and don't know where to start, many times they will Google to find someone. Writing your own blog allows you to be sure that when the client Googles agents in the area, she will see your very professional site. Another option that you can use in conjunction with creating your blog is, get to know the people who run popular industry blogs. Ask them if you can guest blog for them from time to time. The exposure is wonderful, but the added plus is that by contributing to more successful blogs than yours, you will be increasing your Google page rank. This makes your name come up higher in our hypothetical client's web search.
- Keep in touch- Participate in your social networking community. Read people's opinions and join discussions about topics you are passionate about. There is so much you can learn by talking with people who have been in the business for a very long time. You should also make a point to keep in touch with clients you have worked with in the past. Maintaining relationships is important to your business.
- Teach- I know what you are thinking. What am I going to teach? Well, you could offer to host a discussion for first time home buyers at your local public library. This would be a great way to meet people who may be interested in purchasing a home. If you get creative, you could even think of other topics that may be of interest. For example, if you hosted a class twice a month, you could cover topics like: What is a short sale and how can I get the best deal? Or Downsizing isn't a dirty word: How to sell your big home and start living again. You get the idea. Teaching a class can help your build self confidence and it adds some great experience to your professional resume.
- Ask for compliments- The next time a client sincerely compliments you, ask them if they would mind writing it down. You can tell them that you are trying to build up a small portfolio and it would be very helpful to have some written client reviews.
Hopefully these tips for marketing yourself will have given you a few ideas or at the least made you start to think about ways that you can promote yourself. The more you get your name out there, the more likely it is that you will get more clients. When a potential client is looking at a list of Agents in her area, she is more likely to find your name familiar and give you a call. Her decision isn't based on your 15 year of being a sales leader, or the fact that you just became an agent a year ago. It is based solely on name recognition, because she remembers that she heard it somewhere, but doesn't know why specifically. This is why so much of promoting involves finding opportunities to be seen and have people see or hear your name.
What are your favorite ways to self-promote? Let me know in the comments.
Are you looking for a job in the Real Estate industry? Take a look at RealEstateJobSite.
By Melissa Kennedy- Melissa is a 9 year blog veteran and a freelance writer, along with helping others find the job of their dreams, she enjoys computer geekery, raising a teenager, supporting her local library, writing about herself in the third person and working on her next novel.
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