If you feel like you’re struggling to get listings this year, you’re not alone. According to the National Association of Realtors®, inventory is down nationwide by over 25% year over year, making this not only a competitive market for buyers and sellers, but agents too. With every agent in your market battling over the same sellers, you need to differentiate yourself from the competition so you’re the one who gets the client.

It’s no secret that Spring is typically the busiest season for real estate – but the last year has been anything but typical. The pandemic has changed the landscape of real estate, causing many homeowners to stay put. As a result, many agents are facing a lack of inventory coupled with an influx of buyers – making it harder to secure listings, find options for potential buyers, and find a place for sellers to purchase after selling their house.

The good news? Savvy agents are getting listings right now. Here are the top 3 things you can do today to secure more listings:

1. PROSPECTING: CREATE VALUE BY POSITIONING YOURSELF AS THE EXPERT

Whether you’re a seasoned real estate agent or new to the industry, prospecting for leads – and in turn, listings – is the same game. Today’s sellers have many questions, and they may be hesitant to list their house due to a lack of information. Position yourself as the real estate expert with all the data they need to make an informed decision. Prove your value! By answering their burning questions with cold hard facts, you educate and help them combat any market anxiety. Having a successful prospecting strategy means offering a little bit of everything.

 Here are a few good places to start:

1. Fill your social media feed with expert quotes & market insights from reputable sources.
2. Create videos for social media & email that highlight hot topics and showcase your personality.
3. Restructure and refine your email follow-up campaigns. Forget cookie-cutter templates and add your individual flair by delivering valuable answers to most frequently asked questions.

Remember, prospecting alone isn’t enough – your lead follow-up is key. People make purchases based mostly on value. So, when you’re selling yourself to potential clients, ask yourself this: what do you offer that’s bigger and better than what other agents are offering?

Your lead follow-up is the KEY place to do this. Sending the standard “Still thinking of selling?” email won’t do the trick. But suppose you fill that “Still thinking of selling?” email with relevant real estate articles, free guides and other free information, such as helpful videos and market insights. In that case, you are proving your expertise, and therefore providing value.

Every step of your lead follow-up should answer this question: How can I (as a real estate agent) help you? And beyond that, how can I help you better than every other real estate agent in the area?  

2. GET YOURSELF A KILLER LISTING PRESENTATION

If you are going to position yourself as the real estate expert with the valuable information a potential seller needs to make an informed decision, then your listing presentation should be top-notch. When done well, a listing presentation can be one of your most powerful tools. It’s been said that if you’ve made it to the listing presentation stage of the sales process, you’re 30 minutes away from securing the sale.

If you want to create a listing presentation that wins in today’s market, you need a lot more than an overview of all your recent sales, career highlights, and a comparative market analysis.

Therefore, take a long hard look at your current presentation and ask yourself these questions:

• Does it start and end strong?
• Is it focused on the seller’s needs?
• Does it explain your company’s value?
• Does it explain your value?
• Does it develop trust?

If you answered no to any of these questions, it’s time for a listing presentation refresh.

What to include? Data & market insights are your best friend. Everything comes down to this: we don’t have to tell you twice that the current inventory storage means listings are getting harder to come by. But people aren’t only nervous about the nation’s economic future – they’re also worried that even if they decide to sell, they won’t find a home available to buy. These concerns are understandable, but according to most real estate experts, they aren’t accurate.

This is where data and market insights become your best friend. People trust credible sources – news articles, charts, and graphs. Even though your videos, blog posts, articles, and other expert info may have lead up to the listing presentation, at this point they don’t need to hear solely what you think about where the market is headed. They need to hear what other market experts are predicting will happen as well. This not only provides value, it also establishes trust, and that’s the most important commodity a real estate agent can offer.

3. AMP UP YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA

If you are going to create value, prospect for leads, position yourself as an expert, and secure a contract, where will you start? Social media is a powerful medium that can connect you with potential clients. When used correctly, you can spend minimal time and effort for maximum results. Here are some top tips for using social media to your advantage right now:

Keep it moving with video. Right now, video is king in the world of social media. Video not only helps your clients navigate the real estate market, but also makes you stand out from the rest of the crowd – providing that value we’ve been talking about. Adding video to your social media and marketing strategy might sound daunting, but don’t worry, here’s a punch list on where to start:

1. Keep it simple! Signing up for a free YouTube channel is quick and easy. Facebook & Instagram stories, Instagram Reels, and TikTok also provide mediums for short videos that can help you get your message across. Explore subscribing to sites like Keeping Current Matters and other real estate related content aggregators, which can provide you with content and talking points for your videos. Use your phone or Zoom to film each video and explore free apps in the app store to edit them. Most of this can be done right from your phone, and it’s budget-friendly.
2. Check out the competition. Look at what other successful agents are doing and adopt their best practices. Seeing how others do it can help you get your creative juices flowing and assist you in crafting your own personal style.
3. Budget your time. Set aside sometime each month or even each week to dedicate to video. Keep the commitment to yourself to source content, record and edit the videos, and post it to all your social media channels. Being consistent is key!

All about the ‘gram.  You may not think of Instagram as a marketing medium, but it can be powerful when used correctly. It may take some trial and error to figure out a strategy that simultaneously builds your brand and your business, but it can drive leads to you!

• Don’t use it to (just) sell real estate. Yes, you read that right! If all your posting is just sold and just listed announcements, and for sale property photos all the time, your feed will likely have low engagement.
• Follow the golden rule of 80/20. That means 80% personal posting and 20% business posting – which includes listings, buyer & seller tips, and market insights.
• Create a social calendar. Whether weekly or monthly, you can plan out what you want to post every day to show your professional and personal side. You can also use free tools like Hootsuite to schedule all of your posts ahead of time.
• Utilize Reels and Stories. Posting short and informative videos on both Reels and Stories is a great place to showcase your personality and expertise. It can make a potential client feel like you are engaging directly with them.

You need a blog. We get it. On top of everything else you have to do for your real estate business – and all the tips we just gave you – your to-do list is piling up, and a blog doesn’t really make it to the top. But, remember – if you are going to position yourself as an expert and prospect for quality leads, the best place to do that is by offering a free resource with expert insight into the burning questions that your potential clients may have. In fact – according to Hubspot, businesses with blogs produce an average of 67% more leads monthly than businesses that don’t.

The truth is, any marketing expert will tell you that this small addition to your website can make a big impact. But don’t fear – there are sites that provide subscription-based, professionally written content that you can easily personalize and use on your website and post to social media, email, and more. Of course, you can always hire a professional marketing agency to handle all of these things for you!

Bottom line

Real estate has undoubtedly changed in a pandemic world, and a shortage of home inventory is wreaking havoc during the hottest real estate season of the year. Leverage your expertise using technology and social media to position yourself as an expert. Answer questions before they even come up, and set yourself apart from the competition.

We’ve given you the top 3 tips that will help you get started, but in a fast-paced market during the busiest season of the year, we get it – you may not have the time (or want to dedicate the time) to check everything off this list. That’s why a professional marketing agency like ours can swoop in to save the day! Book a free, no-obligation, 15-minute discovery call with our marketing expert (who has taught over 10,000 real estate pros in her day!) and we can help you craft a strategy that makes sense for you!

Bonus: We recently launched a brand-new Seller Accelerator program for our clients. We’ve only got a few spots left, so be sure to book your call today so you don’t miss out!