26 Nov Narrow The Gaze From A Wide Vista…
Narrow the gaze from a wide vista...to the distance between our eyes.
There's a common fallacy around estate agency marketing and it's this:
The more people that see the property, the greater the chance of attracting interest and a premium price.
It's a lie.
Fostered by the portals and their social media disciples. Claiming that 'potential' reach is their goal for you.
'Potential reach' over depth. Eyeballs over hearts & minds.
If you're selling toothpaste, or most F.M.C.G, that's probably true.
But when you're selling yourself, your agency, or your client's property, you're looking for very specific people. Not the highest number.
Imagine, for a moment, that you have an audience.
Not the ephemeral audience that follows and likes you on social media. Gone in 60 seconds if you don't keep posting engaging content. Not that kind of audience
An audience that anticipates hearing from you. Knows and likes how you think and what you have to say. An audience that has followed your journey. Understands why you do what you do and, that the entirety of your effort isn't always visible. An audience that is loyal.
That kind of audience.
If they're in the market for a new home, you'll be the first to know.
Because you understand their motives for needing to move. You know what's good for them and what's best avoided.
When that someone places their trust in your agency, you know precisely who to call.
There's a relationship.
If that sounds how estate agency used to be, before the internet, that's because it's meant to.
Estate agency is meant to be personal.
It's meant to be about relationships.
"Estate agency is a people business." espouse so many agents, whilst simultaneously broadcasting their potential appeal as far, and as wide, as they can. To anybody with a warm pulse. Oblivious to the fact that if they haven't sufficient affinity with any one person, it doesn't pay to scale that to thousands.
Busy fools, they will become.
In the rush to jump on the social media merry-go-round, agents fail to see that it's going nowhere. That it's simply an awful lot of people, in a crowded room, shouting ever louder at strangers.
In the vain hope that something comes of it.
If you reach a million people who don't really give a damn, you haven't succeeded.
As Seth Godin says: you need a minimum viable audience. An audience that doesn't need your sales pitch. Doesn't respond well to your boasts, or to your promises. An audience that doesn't need you to implement your 33-touch marketing plan - just in case they'd forgotten who you are, or what you do.
Be a magnet. Not a megaphone.
Narrow that gaze.
From a wide vista, to the distance between your eyes.
See who's in front of you.
"Its not about the width. It's all about the depth. It's about how many people care. Not how many people you have." - Gary Vaynerchuk.
There's a polarity coming soon in estate agency. And it's this.
Those that treat potential clients as data. They test and measure. With no interest in how people reach a decision. They interrupt and manipulate. The vendor is simply fuel to be poured into the sales funnel. It's always transactional and it's always about winning. And losing. Caring about nothing but the bottom line.
On the other side, are agents that value relationships. That put client before themselves. Even when there is a financial implication. Agents that invest in their reputation because it's more important to them than another 'lead'. Agents that are part of the local community. Doing extraordinary things. Because they care. Insisting on a long viable path, instead of the shortcut.
There won't be a middle ground. And you won't have to choose which side to take. Eventually, vendors will choose for you.
Thanks, as always, for reading:)
"Since Day 1, I have never been motivated to prove the doubters wrong. I'm motivated to prove the believers right." -Nicolas Cole
chris@andsothestorybegan.co.uk
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