Imagine this – you are scrolling through your Facebook feed when you see that your friend just bought a new home. What?! You didn’t even know they were interested in buying and now you are bummed that you missed an opportunity to work with them. But with a few communication tips this could have been avoided.
Chances are you either never told your friend that you are a real estate agent or you didn’t give them a reason to work with you. Maybe all of this hesitation came from fear of being too salesy. Your friendship matters more than a deal after all. But it doesn’t have to be this way. Here are three communication tips to help you attract business from the people you already know without being pushy or salesy.
Communication Tip 1: Speak Up
First, you actually have to tell people you are a real estate agent. Of the three communication tips, this is the most important one. As much as we hope that people are mind readers, they don’t know that you want to help them buy or sell a home unless you actually tell them.
This can be done in a few ways. You can post on your social media accounts to remind your followers that you are a real estate agent ready to help them with their real estate needs. Your daily conversations with friends, family and neighbors is another great opportunity to tell people that you are a real estate agent. However, you don’t want to just be searching out opportunities to tell them you are a real estate agent, which leads to the next tip.
Communication Tip 2: Be Genuine
Second, you need to be genuine in your conversations. People can sense when someone has an ulterior motive. I’m sure you don’t love having conversations when you know that the other person is trying to sell you something. And you are a real estate agent, so I know you get a number of calls a day about the next best lead generation tool to buy. Not fun!
If you are genuine, you won’t come across as salesy or pushy. And a great way to be genuine is ask questions and listen first. You can ask about work, hobbies, weather – the topics are endless. And you will get to know someone even better by listening to their responses, which will help you serve them better. It’s a win-win. When the time comes for you to do the talking, the next tip is crucial.
Communication Tip 3: Add Value
Lastly, make sure you add value to the conversation by staying on topic and not switching to a sales pitch immediately. There are natural ways to bring up that you are a real estate agent. Often conversations will bring up the subject of work, which gives you an opportunity to plug that you are a real estate agent.
The conversation is an opportunity to share insights to help the other person out. When your focus is on service and adding value, you will create a reputation of being helpful, not salesy. And this is an invaluable asset for growing your real estate business.
Your Best Lead Generation Tool
You don’t have to be salesy to be a successful real estate agent. But you do have to tell people you are a real estate agent to get any business.
And your daily conversations can become your favorite and most rewarding lead generation tool with these communication tips. It all boils down to knowing what to say, how to say it and to who – so you attract quality leads and make sales easier.
With a communications plan, you can turn your daily conversations into your best lead generation tool without being salesy. And here is an 8 step workbook to help you get started today.
No longer will you be scrolling through Facebook and be surprised by new home purchases from your friends. Because you will be the one who helped them buy their home!
