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If you’re recruiting newly licensed agents who are just starting out in real estate, you’ll need to make sure they’re well-prepared for the business. Here are three steps brokers can use to get agents up and running with an online presence and personal brand.
1. Find a niche. Real estate is a competitive field. Suggest that your aspiring real estate entrepreneurs choose a niche for the best chance at success. Here are some real estate niches they can consider:
- A specific residential neighborhood or housing type such as condos.
- Resort and vacation homes.
- Investment and income-generating properties.
- Commercially zoned properties.
- Property management.
- Rental properties and property management.
2. Create a strong brand identity. Once an agent has chosen a specialty or niche that differentiates themselves, crafting a memorable personal brand identity is a crucial element to their success. Of course, agents will be represented by your company’s brand, but their personal marketing should represent who they are as well as their business interests. It’s how people will get to know them.
Have your agents ask themselves these important questions:
- What identity or personality do I want my real estate brand to project?
- Who will want my services?
- What can clients get from my services that they can’t get anywhere else?
- What can clients get from working with me that they can’t get anywhere else?
- What are my brand values?
- What is the most important part of my customers’ experience?
Your agents’ answers to these questions will help them build the core of their personal brand. All of their future marketing decisions should expand on these ideas. Their team or company name, logo (if different from your firm), and website design should all grow from the concepts they’ve laid out.
3. Build a web presence. According to the National Association of REALTORS® 2018 Real Estate in a Digital Age Reportpdf, 93% of homebuyers used the internet to search for homes, and 17% of all buyers found their agent with their mobile device. Agents must make a good first impression with a well-designed, mobile-friendly website. If you don’t provide agents with their own sites or webpages, encourage them to create a real estate website that truly embodies your company brand and their personal brand or voice. Visitors should be able to understand who the agent is, where they work, the services they offer, and information about their qualifications and reputation in the form of client reviews.
Here are some website suggestions:
- Include a photo and bio. Home buyers want to know the person behind the site.
- Be authentic and avoid real estate jargon or “happy talk.” Speak the same language as customers.
- The agent should include examples of sales they’ve closed, and make sure to include social proof wherever possible.
- The site should give visitors an easy way to get in contact with the agent.
The above steps will give your agents an advantage by getting them started on the road to operating a successful real estate business.
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