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What is your point of difference?

As an agent, you are now expected by your prospective vendors and landlords to use at least two of the portals within your marketing strategy. So, it’s fair to say that using the portals doesn’t really set you apart from the competition when pitching for the instruction; it’s a given, it comes as part of the standard marketing package that you offer. It’s also fair to say that this factor – i.e. the ease of portal-based marketing – has attributed to the rise of online-based agents (often with no high-street presence). Even research conducted by one of the leading portals – Zoopla – confirms that, in order to achieve greater success, agents should be marketing to the widest audience possible in order to generate quality leads.

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Are you using your database?

Zoopla note that there is very little time to ‘test out’ a marketing plan before listing. But what if there was a way to start generating quality leads in advance of listing a property on the portals? Would it be beneficial to you to have a process in place that enabled you to promote your properties to a local audience and qualify interest in relation to the asking price before listing?

If you did, you could be assured of the asking price. And, even in the unlikely event that you didn’t receive enquiries from your client database – many of whom may be looking to make a move – you can be confident in the price you’ve set; that the appraisal is accurate, and – from that point – you know you’re in a commanding position to negotiate the highest possible price you can.

“The first hour of a property’s listing on a portal is the most crucial for sellers or landlords according to research from Zoopla.”

“There is very little time to ‘test’ a marketing approach, try out a higher price or wait for better images. From the very first second, agents must ensure that they are marketing the best information to the widest possible audience in order to generate quality leads.”

“In the lifetime of a sales listing, 11 per cent of all leads come on the first day, and – for a rental listing – this figure stands slightly higher at 12 per cent.”

Source: Zoopla, Estate Agent Today.

Available at: https://www.estateagenttoday.co.uk/breaking-news/2019/4/portal-listings-first-hour-of-listing-has-the-most-impact-says-zoopla

‘If you want to sell for the highest price possible, choose an agent that will generate the most interest in your property in the shortest amount of time.’

Source: The Advisory

Portals are no longer a point of difference

Simply listing your properties on the portals is no longer a point of difference then; no longer enough of a selling point to attract new business. So, what is your tipping point to attract new vendors and landlords? What sets you apart? What are the main points of differentiation that now makes them want to choose you? Yes, you can still argue that clients care about how long you’ve been operating, or how many awards you’ve won; these things are important; you’ve worked hard for them and you’ve been recognised for the quality of service you offer. You could even argue that – if they’re an extremely savvy vendor or landlord – they may care and want to know about your agency’s KPIs: total market share, listing-to-sold ratio, percentage of price reductions, percentage of properties withdrawn without selling, number of viewings arranged, average time to agree a sale or rental etc.

But if we bring it right back to basics, what do your customers really want from your marketing?

Yes, they want ‘skill, integrity and suitability’ from their agent. Yes, they want to know about your local ‘market’ knowledge; market performance, area and amenities, they want you to understand motivation, budget, property requirements, timescales, etc. This kind of ‘local knowledge’ is invaluable and can make a significant difference to the sale price or time spent on the market.

But for argument’s sake; taking all extenuating circumstances aside, when we are looking to sell or let, most clients simply want to achieve the highest possible price in the shortest possible time. That is the main priority. So surely it stands to reason that the more proactive you are in terms of promotion, the higher the probability you have of selling a property quicker and negotiating a higher selling fee for the client.

Put yourself in the position of a prospective vendor, and let’s examine two post-appraisal marketing pitches. (Obviously more goes on behind the scenes to get the sale or let over the line, but remember, we’re talking about a marketing pitch to win the business at this point):

Pitch One

Sale particulars produced, including: photos, room dimensions, a floor plan and descriptive details of the property (and its unique selling points).
We’ll feature your property on social media.
Online advert created and uploaded to the major property portals.
‘For Sale’ board erected.
We’ll contact all registered buyers that meet your property criteria by telephone.
We’ll arrange and conduct viewing appointments.

Pitch Two

Sale particulars produced, including: photos, room dimensions, a floor plan and descriptive details of the property (and its unique selling points).
We’ll test the listing price on our database using property mailers 48 hours before we upload it to the portals.
We’ll run a 4-week featured sole-listing property mailer to all suitable applicants in our database.
We’ll feature your property in our bi-weekly interactive property magazine sent to our entire database.
We’ll arrange – and promote – an open house campaign.
We’ll feature your property in our monthly property newsletter, which we’ll also publish on social media.
We’ll feature your property on social media.
Online advert created and uploaded to the major property portals.
‘For Sale’ board erected.
We’ll contact all registered buyers that meet your property criteria by telephone.
We’ll arrange and conduct viewing appointments.

Is your current marketing plan doing enough for your vendors and landlords?

Your vendors and landlords aren’t really concerned where the interest in their property comes from. All they care about is knowing that your marketing is generating the maximum amount of exposure for their property, and that you’re able to quickly qualify suitable buyers and tenants. Through a digital marketing strategy – using your existing database – you can reach a greater number of (local) buyers and tenants; increasing the exposure of your listings – keeping your vendors and landlords happy – whilst also demonstrating your point of difference to any potential vendors and landlords who are thinking of choosing an agent. They might not be on your radar yet, but your point of difference should be used as the tipping point to win more business.

So, if you’re not offering a way to attract buyers and tenants outside of the portals, here are just some of the campaigns you could be doing:

Respond to 100% of your portal enquiries.

If you’re going to make the most of using the portals, make sure you’re responding to – and qualifying – all your leads. Our Portal Lead Responder automatically responds for you 24/7, so you’ll never miss a lead and you’ll demonstrate exceptional customer service from the outset. Also, if they’re looking to buy, they’re more than likely looking to sell, so you can use this campaign to generate additional appraisal opportunities at this point too.

Include property tours and do sole-featured feature listings.

Tell prospective vendors and landlords that you can promote their property to your database in a feature listing. With unlimited property sends, you can use the properties within your CRM and simply drag-and-drop them into property mailers. What’s more, we’re currently finalising our video engine, which means you’ll be able to include filmed property tours or bespoke property pitches that you’ve taken on your phone and drop them in your mailers. Your videos won’t even go through to a third-party hosting site, such as YouTube, meaning you’ll stay on-brand with your own microsite. You’ll even be able to include call-to-actions and track who’s most engaged, pick up the phone and generate more viewings.

Make your listings interactive with E-Zines.

It’s a Sunday morning, you’ve just published your interactive property magazine to your database who are now perusing your listings, property articles, third-party promotions and services. When a property is clicked on, an interactive window appears. This provides the reader with scrolling property images, full property details, floorplans, pdf media items, EPC documents and the property’s location on Google Maps. All your properties are then linked back to your website to encourage more viewings and website traffic.