Niches and USP’s go hand in hand… Competition… Does that word scare you or engage you? Unless you have been living under a rock, you are aware that there are many different things/people competing for your real estate business. It could be other agents, other offices, online services providing discount real estate services or private sale companies. Thinking about competition can make some agents stomach curl. What about you? A lot of agents think competition is a bad thing – and if you are thinking of competition the way most agents do, it is! Trying to “fight” your competition head on usually is a constant uphill battle. But what if you looked at it from a different angle? What if you learned to service your clients by learning from your competition and were able to help them in a “unique” way? (That’s kind of the premise of the entire Niche Agent concept…) You can use this strategy to not only blow your competition out of the water, but not even worry about them! So you are probably asking… How the heck do I make my real estate business unique? Lets look outside our industry for a second to give you some insight. If you haven’t read the book “The Blue Ocean Strategy” I highly suggest you do! In the book they looked at the circus industry. As years past, sales and interest were weaning. Other circus acts thought that more animals or “big name” performers would provide the needed boost. These things just added more cost, and didn’t even really increase their bottom line. Then along came Cirque Du Soleil. They realized the performance was what mattered. They got rid of the animals, focused on the “artistic” approach, and then charged a premium. They weren’t trying to appeal to kids. They weren’t trying to make their money from selling peanuts and souvenirs. They basically created their own “blue ocean”. Rather than competing against circuses, they created their own market and left them in the dust. That is a great example of a Blue Ocean Strategy – or a Unique Selling Proposition (U.S.P.)! So how do you create a USP for your real...
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Are you wondering “What are Niche Content Sites”? You have probably heard it, and it couldn’t be truer today. “Content Is King”… and that isn’t going to change anytime soon. As long as there is the internet, this tried and true strategy will be important. The internet is basically a collection of content that is interconnected. So you would be crazy to not build your niche site based on great content. Let me ask you this: Why do people even go on line? You probably know the answer, and that is INFORMATION! It may be entertaining information, engaging information, educating information… Whatever it is, it’s for information. So knowing that, I want you to take a look at your website right now. If you aren’t in front of it, close your eyes and think about your site. How much engaging and informative content do you have on your site? If you don’t have much, you probably aren’t getting the results you were expecting from your site. Am I right? If you are smart enough to realize you need to focus on a niche, like the rest of The Niche Agent fans have, then you will begin to understand the importance of having a niche content site for your real estate niche. Your success online (and even in general) will be greatly increased by the quality of content you create and share with your niche. Not sold yet? Here are 3 critical reasons you should be focused on creating a niche content site: 1) Google LOVES Them Unless you have been living under a rock (unless your niche is cave homes) you have probably realized how important it is to be ranked well with Google, and other top search engines. Google LOVES good content. As the developers of Google have gotten smarter and cracked down on people abusing unethical SEO tactics, they have put more and more of an emphasis on quality content. The more ***HIGH QUALITY*** content you have, the greater the chances of you being ranked well on the search engines. The more pages you have the higher chance of getting exposure. Quality and relative content is key. Don’t forget...
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How important is needs-based selling? Its critical to your niche business! Let me guess, you have probably heard someone saying “I could sell ice to an Eskimo”?! This may be possible, but is it really RIGHT? Even if possible, I don’t think it would be an ethical thing to do. Plus, you would have to be a heck of a sales person to pull that off. (Unless that ice is in the form of an amazingly sculpted ice castle with a waterfront view and a double car garage! ) But let’s say someone actually pulled off a sale like that. Do you think it would have been an easy sell? I’m sure the Eskimo would have dragged their feet and definitely didn’t jump at the first chance. It would have taken some serious persuasion to pull off something like that. And why would you even TRY to sell ice to an Eskimo when they clearly don’t even need it? Anyways, you get the point I’m trying to make, I will save the ice for my drink. So what does this all have to do with niches? When you have a niche and you are working it, your “selling” actually becomes more about needs based selling, than persuasion. If you get it right, you will actually spend a whole lot less time “selling” and more time helping clients get what they want, and help you get what you want… a SALE! I told you I wouldn’t talk about ice, but what if that person said they decided to sell a heater to an Eskimo, or better insulation, or some solar heaters. Why? Because it would have shown me that you targeted a market, you understood your markets needs and you sold them something they could actually use and benefit from! But if my job was to sell ice, then I would find a target market that could use my product and really need it! What if I compiled a list of ice sculptors and sold them “The perfect ice sculpting block”? Or what if I went after music festivals and sold them ice in bulk for their special events? Or went after restaurant, grocery store or...
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Oh…. Squeeze Pages! Ok, so it’s probably not what you think, but I’m sure if you are looking for some squeezing in another way, there are probably other blogs out there. What I’m talking about is squeeze pages. “Squeeze what?” you might be asking? If you aren’t familiar, let me explain. In the world of online marketing, one of the most effective ways of getting people to leave you their information is the use of squeeze pages. A squeeze page in its simplest form is a single page that offers the visitor information or something of value in exchange for their information. In essence, its “squeezes” them to leave their information so they can get something in return. I’m sure you have all heard that the money is made in your database. In the online world, the contacts you get registering will be the ones building your database. Agents like Chuck Charlton, have figured this out and have learned to master the art of list building online. (If you would like to get some great insight into what Chuck and his team is working on, check out our previous interview with Chuck on our episode 4 at www.TheNicheAgent.com/episode4 for some great tips. So back to squeeze pages… Having ANY information is better than none, but having the RIGHT information is invaluable. Top marketers spend copious amounts of time and money learning to master these skills, but in the end, it’s worth it. They produce lists of highly targeted subscribers which feed their business. When it comes to online lead generation, building that highly targeted subscriber list is one of the most profitable things you can do. If done correctly you can almost bank on your sales when you know your numbers. So what is the best way to get people to sign up? That is the $64,000 question. The most important aspect of a squeeze page is offering something valuable enough that the consumer will be willing to leave their information. I always explain it like this… If I went out to eat and the waitress said to go home and type in a code from my receipt and get entered into a draw for a CHANCE to...
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USP – Do You Stand Out?! In the real estate world, you probably have all heard it. Unique Selling Proposition or USP. But have you ever actually put much thought into it? Have you developed a USP for your business? If you plan on doing any niche marketing in real estate, you better not skip out on having a strong USP. This is what is going to differentiate you from your competition in the market place. Every agent, regardless if you focus on a niche, should have a USP for their business or else they just become “another agent” and won’t be able to effectively show your worth to your clients. So what is YOUR USP? Have you decide what makes you you? Here are some areas you can focus on to help you get to the root of a strong USP for your niche real estate business (or just in general)… Do you have extra industry Experience? Do you have a background in other industries? Do you carry and additional credentials? Do you have any additional certifications/qualifications? Do you do anything above and beyond the industry standard? Do you have an above average track record? Do you service any specific areas? Do you service any specific demographic/group? Do you have a service guarantee? Do you do anything proactively that others don’t? Whatever your unique selling proposition is, you should be able to clearly state what differentiates you from the competition. If you don’t, someone else will. Truly strong and effective USPs should become the single most compelling benefit you provide your clients. These are what are going to make clients sign the paper work with you and choose you, so make it good. So have you picked yet? One of the key things about a USP is to start early. The earlier you can get this narrowed down, the sooner you can start to set yourself apart from the competition. This will allow you to market yourself effectively and stand out from the crowd. Leave us a comment below and tell us about YOUR USP… We’d love to hear what our fans of The Niche Agent are working on. ...
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As “The Niche Agent” I am constantly confronted with agents worrying that focusing on a niche in their real estate business will be too constrictive. In most cases I tell them that it isn’t true. If you TRULY understand niche’ing you understand all of the benefits of going small. But there are definitely times that agents can be thinking too small and this can be the downfall of their business. I will discuss some ways that real estate agents may be thinking too small. Is Your Niche Too Small? I continually promote getting more and more focused with your niche real estate business, but sometimes going too small can do you more harm than good. Finding a small market is key to success in your business, but don’t set yourself up for failure if the niche is too small. While golf course homes is definitely a great market to go after (we will be having a guest coming up who specializes in this), but going after golf course homes with 4 car garages and indoor pools MAY be too small of a market. Is Your Budget Too Small? Having the right target market is important, but if you don’t have money to put behind your marketing budget, you may find your business sinking rather quickly! You don’t need to have a superbowl ad budget to make an impact, but you will definitely need to make sure you have some funds to put into your marketing. It is possible to get your business off the ground with little to no money, but after a while you will find it will generally not be worth your time to do the free strategies if you want your business to hit its ultimate potential. When your business is running at its peak, you will begin to understand the value of your time, your marketing dollars will not only free up time, it will help you reach more of your market. Is Your Schedule Too Small? Having a plan to dominate a niche market is imperative to your success, but have you stopped to think if you will have the time or energy to actually do what you...
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