Reaching today’s buyer takes a multi-level approach to prospecting. Though you cannot replace old fashioned face to face relationship building, the first contact an agent has with a prospective buyer is more and more likely going to take place in an online setting. Reaching buyers this way takes an organized approach just like any other advertising campaign.
Attracting buyers, and sellers for that matter, online requires
placing findable information that will draw the consumer onto an agent’s online sites and keep them coming back for more information. In the end, an online relationship will be created that allows the consumer to trust the agent enough so the consumer reaches out. This new real estate consumer researches differently than the consumer just a generation or two ago. The new consumer searches topics not people. For example, the new consumer would much rather gather information about a specific community from many sources than reach out to an individual real estate agent. This way the consumer can analyze the validity of the information and glean what he wants instead of trusting that an individual agent is accurate and unbiased. In the end, the new consumer will more likely reach out to the individual agent that consistently provides quality information. Some things only change on the surface. When farming a neighborhood in the past, a successful real estate agent would use many advertising tools to reach the consumer. The agent would use not just direct mail, but also phone calling, local newspaper advertising, and other community focused events to become recognized as an area specialist. Today’s agent needs to understand that consumers search many different online sources and need to spread information throughout the internet instead of relying on one single source to capture the consumer.
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