It’s All About YOU!

When Ashtyn and I were building up our original business, Dominash Studios (formerly DomAsh Designs – but changed due to another company with the same name), we worked with a lot of real estate agents and mortgage companies. The majority of our work was a combination of writing, editing, SEO and internet marketing work. Working one on one with real estate agents could sometimes be like stepping into a shark pit. A lot of them did not really understand the Internet and how to utilize it to maximize their business. It was our job to guide the way to the future. With many of them stuck in their old, image marketing ways, they spent time bemoaning about themselves. When would they see a profit? What payoff would the work we put in for them have and why were they not seeing same day results? It was always about them and how great they were as agents. Telling them to have patience in order to reap greater rewards was like telling them to stop acting like yapping, self-centered Chihuahuas.

We had proven success at what we were doing to help real estate agents. Getting them to understand these results did not happen overnight was the hard part. It takes time and patience to build an internet mecca, but we’d done it for more than one real estate agent. Perhaps that is what kept them listening. Regardless, I grew tired of their Me-centric attitudes and in my frustration I wrote an article listing EVERYTHING I felt agents were doing wrong. After writing it, as this was before my blogging days, I submitted the article to a free article site, which let business people use it if they gave me credit and linked to my website. Then, I subsequently forgot about it.

Imagine my surprise when a few months later, I came across my article on a realtor’s site. There, in big, bold letters was my name. A Google search revealed my article had exploded across the web. Four, five, SIX or more pages of my article littered Google. From time to time I do a search for the article. To this day, a few websites are still using it, and with good reason.

Here is the article in it’s original form:

Real Estate Marketing for the “YOU” Generation
By Dominick Evans

Are you working in the real estate industry? Are you a real estate agent, mortgage consultant, builder, real estate broker, appraiser, construction
worker, etc?

The Internet is the wave of the future. You can no longer sell homes without at least some sort of internet presence.

According to Harris Polls…over 70% of people in the world use the Internet.

The Internet is the most trusted source for purchases and this includes houses. Chances are…you already have some sort of Internet presence on the web. You may have gone with a real estate web site design company for your design. You may think your design is ok. Is it really?

That is the first thing prospective clients see when they click on a link to your web site. If they do not like the design then they leave. The web site design company may even make templates that you can use. However, did you know that you aren’t the only one using the same exact template?

I have visited enough real estate sites to realize that these companies are making a lot of money by cloning your site. People that are buying homes are not going to want to see a clone site. In fact, many may not even realize it is a clone site. They click on your link and leave as soon as they see the
design, not even realizing that your site is different.

These sites contain the same articles, same look, same design, etc. They are based on image marketing. Image marketing isn’t going to fly on the Internet.

It just doesn’t work anymore.

You are probably wondering what image marketing is. In the early 1980s, real estate agents realized how successful image marketing was. Back then they used catchy slogans (such as #1 in Sales), told you everything they had that other agents didn’t, and used images (including their faces), to win you over
so you’d choose them as your agent.

Since the 1980s people have become wiser. They no longer care what you have, what your credentials are, or that you are “#1 in Sales”. Did you know nearly every agent in your area claims to be #1 in Sales? How do you know? You can’t track other agents sales since they all work on commission.

So what can you do? Stop using the words “ME ME ME” and start using the word “YOU!”

Let them know exactly what you have to offer them. List what you can do for them. There are numerous ways to do this without compromising your job and your commission.

Offer Them FREE Informative Articles

Did you know that I went to a real estate agent’s site and they wanted me to put in my phone number and email just so I could read their free article? Doesn’t this seem a little odd to you? I don’t even have to mention the kind of spam I received once I did put in my email. I was contacted daily with statistics (that seemed to be made up), information, and a bunch of updates on the agent’s web site progression. I don’t care how many sales he had in August. I just wanted to read his article on Moving when you Have Pets.

This is the number one way to LOSE clients, not gain them. No one wants to be nagged incessantly to buy or sell a home. Buying and selling a home is one of the BIGGEST processes a person will go through. They can lose or gain money in the end, and choosing the wrong agent isn’t something they want to do.

So, don’t let them choose the wrong agent. Offer them buyer, seller, investment, and even FSBO articles. Why FSBOs? If you are so willing to offer information on how a client can sell a home on their own then you really must care about your clients. You won’t be getting anything in return for FSBO articles…or will you?

Did you know that over 90% of home sellers that start out as FSBOs end up going with an agent? They do not get results, don’t understand the processwell enough, or it simply is too much work for them to handle. They may not have the time to put in to selling the home on their own. When choosing an agent they are going to remember the person who was so willing to help them out, by offering advice and information. They are going to remember you!

Give Them In-Depth Information on the Area you Serve

Did you know that one of the biggest complaints home buyers have is not enough information on the cities, towns, and communities in your area? You need to do more than just list a link to the URL for each community page. Have a history, demographics (such as income level, number of residents), school information, and businesses listed about each city and town you serve. You may even want to include pictures, small maps, and anything else you can
think of to make the page really stand out.

You are offering something very few real estate agents even consider offering. The prospective clients will have a much better understanding of the area, and can decide where they want to move, and what they can afford.

Community pages usually list hospitals, businesses, restaurants, sporting facilities, and recreational opportunities for your area. You may even want to list important community events such as festivals, fairs, and holiday celebrations. This will definitely be helpful to current residents and prospective residents.

Your time and effort will pay off in the end. The buyer is going to want to go with the person that offers the most information on the area they are moving. Why not let this person be you?

Offer Free Calculators

If you are a mortgage consultant, why not offer free calculators on your site so your clients can see what kind of loan they may be eligible to receive? The calculators may have different requirements and can give them a basis to go off of before they contact you to assist them through the mortgage process.

Blogs and Forums

You may want to have your own web blog and forums on your site. The search engines place these two things very high if there is content on them that is relevant to your site topic. You can write articles or post other real estate articles on your blog. Forums not only give you a place to post articles, they also give you a visible way to interact with clients (prospective and current) in a public setting. You can answer questions and it is a very humanizing thing. You will become less elusive. Prospective clients will not just see you as a ‘guy/girl on a website’. They will start to see you as a well-informed, caring individual.

Once they realize that you are in fact a human (much like they are!) and not just a concept in their mind they are going to be more willing to trust you with the sale of their home, their mortgage, and/or choose you to build their home.

Team up with a Local Group

People looking to buy a home are more likely to work with a team (or network) than a solitary individual. If you are an agent, you probably work with the same inspector, appraiser, or loan specialist. Why not become a team? You can refer clients to one another and create a network of clients. You also get your name out there because you aren’t the only one working for you…your team is promoting your business, as well.

There are many other things you can do, in order to increase your visibility on the Internet and increase your profits. You just need to remember that the client always comes first. When you do this, you are sure to win over clients every time!

(This article can be replicated so long as a link back to my site is added, and proper credit is given. Thanks in advance.)

The reason why I am sharing this story and article is because what I wrote some years back is not only still true for real estate agents today, it is true for internet marketing and other forms of business. As much as you love your blog or business, if you have a “Me” complex then you are setting yourself up to fail. You need to adopt the “It’s about you” concept with your audience. Without them, your business/blog has no chance of succeeding. You need them as much as they need you and what you have to offer them.

If you are writing articles, why are you doing it? Sure, you want to make money, that’s only natural, but don’t you want to provide a service to those who read the article, as well? People who visit blogs and websites with articles do so to find a benefit for themselves in these articles/blog posts. If they find the value, they will keep coming back. Essentially, if you scratch their back, they will scratch yours. Not everyone is going to like your articles or benefit from them, but those that do are worth their weight in gold. Essentially, you are saying to them, that you care about them. It isn’t “me me me”, it’s “you you you”. You want every reader you have to feel like they are the most important person reading it; that you wrote it just for them.

In this generation where we are obsessed with the latest gadgets and consumers are looking out for themselves, it is the consumers who have the Me-complex. We are all guilty of it. When I go to a site, I want to know what you can do for me. There is no room for businesses to have Me complexes themselves. With competition in nearly every field making its way onto the internet, your number one question for clients needs to be, “What can I do for you?” Without it, your company is bound to get lost in the shuffle.

So, with that, I humbly request, “What can I do for you?”

Technorati Tags: Internet Marketing, Business, Me Complex, Audience, Real Estate, Marketing, You, Generation, Help