Does your niche need a tune-up? If you have ever worked on cars, or even driven one that hasn’t been tuned-up in a while, you probably understand the importance of an engine tune-up. Not only does a properly tuned engine keep things running smooth, it saves you money, stops your engine from breaking down, and increases the longevity of your car. With all the intricate “moving parts” of your niche real estate business, have you ever stopped to do a tune-up? If you are new to the business, a tune-up might be a little premature, but if you have been in the business for a year or longer, you may want to consider giving your systems, goals and marketing an overhaul. Goals So where do you start? What is worth tuning-up? That depends… The first thing I would look at is your goals vs your actual achievement. Many times agents either over shoot on their goals. Is it possible to do 50 deals in your first year? Sure it is, is it realistic? Maybe. There are some superstars who have pulled it off, but it takes a LOT of work, and dedication and isn’t something that many agents pull off in their first year. What’s more common is agents who under shoot their goal. You may have said it yourself, you may have heard it before: “Well, if I could just do 5 or 6 deals this year, I’d be happy with that!” Setting the bar low is something that doesn’t need to happen. (Especially if you are focused on growing your business and are truly dedicated to learning the business) So don’t sell yourself short, rethink your goals and create a new game plan. Systems Systems are another area that agents tend to overlook. The systems that get you to 10 deals are not the same systems that get you to 50 deals, or 100 or 500. If you are new to the real estate world, you may be setting yourself up for future failure by not putting the right systems in place from the beginning. Take a look at your business right now and do a self-assessment on your systems. Are there any systems in your real estate business that are...
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An Article for “The Niche Agent” By Mark Chyz | President Cm2 Media Whether you are niche marketing in real estate, or in any other field, the sole greatest tip one must utilize is “MAINTAIN YOUR FOCUS.” In today’s social media, SEM, SEO world, it is very easy to get caught in the trap of trying to do too much. Listening to the many opinions about where you should be, who you should be marketing to, and what sites you should be on, will only lead to a mess of “too little… all over the place.” To be good in your craft of niche marketing, you must establish your niche, and stick with it. Here is a short list of tips for you to follow if you are taking on a new business venture, or getting started in online advertising and social media: Before taking on any new business venture, you must develop a plan with some thought, and research. When developing your plan, always keep in mind that there are only so many dollars, and so much time. Establish a focus of your target group and go with it. Results may not be immediate, but developing yourself within the niche is critical. A brand cannot be created without exposure. Don’t look for every single dollar to generate another one in return in the beginning. With startup businesses, or those new to the social media and online advertising world, we usually get them focused on 1-2 social media sites and begin with only one advertising campaign. This eliminates confusion, allows a focus and most importantly, begins to track real data, so you can use it for a purpose. If you don’t know what you are doing, or spread yourself too thin, you will waste many of those dollars on clicks that have little to no impact. If you like what you have read, and have some questions, don’t hesitate to email me at mark@cm2media.ca. We enjoy helping businesses grow! By Mark Chyz | President Cm2...
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What do you think about when you think of Niche Marketing? We all have an image or an idea of what it means to us, but have you ever stopped to think about what it ISN’T? What Niche Marketing is NOT! Niche marketing is not about trying to sell homes everyone out there. As a single agent or even small team, not only could you not afford that kind of budget, but you wouldn’t have the time to service the clients effectively. It’s just not possible!! But if you truly understand real estate niche marketing, you can begin to sell to a smaller, more targeted and effective market. You can get started doing this in today’s market with only a computer, an Internet connection and a good idea! Niche marketing is NOT about trying to compete Why do you throw yourself into the pack of wolves we call your competition? It’s fierce, ugly and dangerous. If you understand the concepts of niche marketing you can move into a competition free market (Or at least learn to crush any potential competition). When you create your own market, you aren’t lined up next to your competition and ordered to compete; you are in a class of your own. If done correctly it should be just you selling to a specific audience that you have created. This will result in higher profits, easier sales and less hassle. Niche marketing is NOT about selling to every type of client Once you have figured out who your audience is going to be, you focus on building your ideal list. Then you can market to these people over and over again if it’s the right fit for them. You don’t need to be constantly looking for the next new client to pay your bills. A properly built list of a targeted audience will provide you more than enough income to meet your needs. It just takes time and strategic moves. Niche marketing is NOT about focusing on the big picture Don’t worry! There is plenty of pie to go around. Don’t focus your energy and efforts on trying to get your hands in every area. When you focus on a smaller area ensures you become...
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You have heard me preach over and over again, choose a target market. This isn’t going to be any different. Successful agents who want to get control of their business, spend less money, time and energy know that a niche market is one of the best ways to achieve all this. But before you just jump right in and start spending money and time, it’s important that you ask yourself these 10 critical questions BEFORE you select your target market. This will help you not only find the right market, but also help you get your services into the right hands sooner, with less hassle and more effectively. 1) Who is my target market? What can I find out about them? What is their age, income, occupation? You want to look for measurable stats. This will help you get a better handle on who you are working with. 2) What is their lifestyle? What are they into? What do they do for fun? What type of music are they into? Etc. By knowing what they are into, you can get a better idea of what makes them tick, and this will also give you opportunities to reach them. 3) Can I see myself working with this group? Just because it may be a profitable group to target, is it going to be a demographic you want to spend your time with? Just remember, when you are committed to mastering your niche, you are going to be spending a lot of time with these people so make sure you are prepared. 4) Do you have any “ins” with this group? Are you part of their demographic? Do you have any connections with the group? If you have an “in” with the right target audience, then it can speed up the connection process, and give you opportunities that other agents may not have. 5) What organizations are they part of? Are they part of any social clubs, organizations, and groups? If you can’t get in from a connection of yours, sometimes being part of the same organizations as your target market can pay off. Plus it may give you a chance to give back...
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A MUST Read For New Agents I remember a few years ago when I started in this business… Excitement and fear were two major emotions that I faced on a daily business. (And I’m sure you can relate!) The excitement of starting my own real estate business would give me chills thinking about all the possibilities. And then, the fear of failure would bring it all back into reality. As I started in my real estate business, I quickly realized that fear wasn’t just a nagging emotion. Fear can be a debilitating and toxic thought that cripples many people’s businesses. So what can you do to help kick the habit of fear out of your business life? A bit of careful planning, coaching, the right systems and some luck can get you onto the right path to success. If you are just getting started in the real estate world, it is easy to let the little things take over. You make yourself FEEL busy because you are doing a lot of little tasks. But it’s important that you stay focused on the important things. Take a step back and really look at what you need to accomplish. You should decide what niche, approach or segment of the market you want to focus on and this will allow you to make the planning easier. It will also increase your chances of success! Taking a step back will give you the opportunity to better understand how you can serve your clients as well as build your business to its full potential. To the inexperienced and new agents, it’s easy to get lost in all the little things and not spend any time and energy on this. But many real estate agents make the mistake of thinking they are going to try and get a piece of the pie from every pie. Chasing a large audience may sound alluring and a smart business strategy, but this can in fact be a complete killer to your real estate business. Not focusing on a manageable segment can end up taking your business off course and leave you broke! I can’t stress it enough, unless you were fortunate enough to be born into...
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Permission. How do you define it? Webster’s Dictionary says that permission is defined as “The right or ability to do something that is given by someone who has the power to decide if it will be allowed or permitted”. When it comes to dominating your niche, permission is the key to massive success. It shouldn’t be an optional thing, it should be the key to your marketing. Just stop for a second and imagine yourself as a consumer. “Sales Person A” decides he is going to call you at random times, send you unwanted junk mail on a continual basis, sign you up for his e-newsletter because he thinks you would probably like it and he figures since you haven’t replied to anything he’s sent in the last year he should double his efforts next year to make sure you reply. “Sales Person B” on the other hand is smart. She connected with you in a mom’s networking group. The two of you chatted about mutual interests, you felt a connection and when she asked if you would be interested in getting information on a monthly basis about cost saving ideas and some fun activities, you happily obliged. “Sales Person B” has been sending you useful things that you actually WANT to receive and has been helpful over the last year after gaining your permission to send you valuable information. So if you were the consumer, would you prefer to work with “Sales Person A” or “Sales Person B”? Wait, did I really just ask that? We all know you would pick B! (Or at least most would…) This shows the simplicity of permission marketing at its core. People want to work with people that they know, like and trust. And one of the easiest ways to do this is to get permission to stay in front of them. If you haven’t yet, I strongly suggest reading Seth Godin’s book Permission Marketing. It is an amazing insight into the importance of building that trust and gaining their permission. If you do any type of direct marketing, farming, internet marketing or client follow up marketing (basically most real estate marketing) I think you need to take...
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