Where hustle is the name of the game.
It has such a...….. dispiriting feel to it.
To coerce, pressure, badger, hound.
To browbeat, railroad and harass.
At best, a state of great activity.
At worst, a fraud or swindle.
But a way of life now for many estate agents.
Door-knocking, cold-calling. Leaflet drops and digital stalking (disguised as re-targeted ads).
A race for attention. In a world full of people that want to be heard.
Always at full throttle.
Because of the fear of missing out.
The problem with all of this hustle, though, is that it often fails to create much of real value, in the world.
Full throttle often is at odds with who you are. As a person.
Make that call. Deliver that pitch. And, don't forget to ask for the business.
"Slow is more sustainable; for programs, for companies, for people." Ann Handley, Author - Everybody Writes.
Made to feel inadequate by some overbearing American, or Aussie zealot who teases with a few quick tips.
And who then requires a credit card before allowing access to their mental work-out.
The routine that, when it works, encourages you to not think for yourself.
Which is precisely their point.
No need to think for yourself.
Look where that's got you so far.
'Just copy what we taught these super-star real estate agents and you too can join the millionaire mindset.'
Hustle. All day. Every day.
Do you know what that hustle signifies to a vendor?
Just another estate agent.
Trying their best to compete.
Chasing as many 'leads' as possible.
And when they hook one?
Turning on the fake sincerity, polished charm and relaying everything they have been told to say.
By someone else.
Is it any wonder estate agents/realtors have so little credibility with their audience?
If that's you, deep down. Great. Just keep hustling.
But, in my humble opinion, it's not how the vast majority of estate agents are. Or wish to be.
They're not fake. They're not insincere. They don't need a script.
They can think for themselves.
But what they've been told. Has got them in this mess.
Social media 'sages' that have left them digitally depressed. Sales 'guru's that have turned them into led gen cogs in a big machine.
"The more you use Facebook, the worse you feel." -Harvard Business Review
Tapping into the local community on Facebook and expecting to be well received.
When everyone on there, knows what it is you're after.
A few hundred additional 'friends', if you're very lucky.
Instead of a very few that are truly interested in what you have to say.
Hours spent drafting social media posts that lack the emotion they need to resonate.
It doesn't matter how much you spend on social media. How many sales seminars you attend.
If the strategy is wrong, you're default dead. It might work short-term. But the end will come.
It's time to wage war on this obsessive dumbing down of estate agency.
It's not estate agents that need to get better, it's the social media 'sages' and training 'guru's.
The 'crowd' doesn't need what they're selling. But the few estate agents who do get and deliver this hyper-embellished sales culture, negatively impact every other agent.
Pushy, insincere, obtrusive. They give all estate agents a bad name.
And your corporate brand, with its mission statement and humdrum marketing isn't enough to get you through this battle with the darker side of agency.
Homeowners still think you're an estate agent. Trying to sell them something.
It's time to rethink everything you've been told to do in marketing.
Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, YouTube. They have all been designed to keep you addicted.
A notification every other minute turns out to be something and nothing.
What it does though is to interrupt and distract you from valuable and meaningful work.
They're not platforms for you to share your beliefs and values. They've become a conveyor belt of gloss and glitz. Encouraging you to spend money you might not have and to impress 'friends' that you don't know that well.
You can survive, and more importantly flourish, without social media.
I know, I know. It's free. But it's not always real.
And for those social media 'guru's' that tell you to advertise where your customers are, my response is this.
Bring the audience to your place. Don't go chasing them all over social media.
Give them a reason to come.
Inspiring stories. An insight into your everyday life. Warts & all.
Provide them with clues as to why you're different from every other estate agency.
nb.. It has to be a clue. They won't believe it until they know you better.
Improve your writing skills.
Write a blog. It can make you look smart. It can make you seem trustworthy.
Improve your speaking voice. There are clues there, too.
Host a podcast. One that interviews other businesses from your community.
Practice your video technique. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
Done well, it can be the equivalent of local T.V exposure.
And when you can write. When you can speak. When you can present.
Build your own media company that drives an audience to your door.
Then social media will become what it always was.
A distraction.
When that audience shows up, as it will, there's one thing you must never do.
Sell them something.
So, you won't need those expensive sales 'guru's'. Ignore the received 'wisdom' they peddle.
You won't need their scripts and templates. No automated email's. No chatbots.
You have your audience in the palm of your hand.
Take care of them.
And when, or if, they decide to move home, there's someone they already know, like and trust.
To help them do just that.
Hustle might well be the name of the game, right now.
But a winner in a losing game, as Reid Hoffman (founder of LinkedIn) says, makes little sense.
There's a war to be won.
It won't be easy. It won't be quick.
But if you want to be seen as something other than just an 'estate agent', better get started now.
I'm always happy to chat.
Thanks, as always, for reading.
Chris.
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