Promoting yourself as a real estate agent is the number one way to generate leads – and sending out flyers with your latest listings don’t count.
 
Here are five top tips for promoting yourself to new clients.
 
1 – Target an audience
You can’t be the best agent for every type of buyer or seller. Instead, target a certain type of buyer or seller and market yourself to them. Do you work primarily in a trendy neighbourhood? Marketing yourself to the young professional or creative types is a good idea. Or, if you’re in more of an established area, perhaps targeting baby boomers makes sense for you.
 
2 – Become an expert
This goes hand in hand with targeting a certain demographic. If you work in a heavily gentrified area, become the expert in condos. Live in cottage country? Become the agent for recreational properties. Or, learn everything you can about a certain neighbourhood and become go-to person for that area. Learn everything you can about a niche and become the expert in that topic or region.
 
3 – Networking
Networking is a great way to get your name out there. It gives you an opportunity to learn from other experts in real estate and to forge mutually beneficial relationships. If you have a client who is looking for a property type that you’re not familiar with, recommend an agent friend who is. In the future, that agent may think of you when he or she is in a similar situation.
 
4 – Online presence
Most real estate sales start online. Buyers search the MLS and research certain neighbourhoods before they even contact an agent. And when they do find an agent, odds are they found him or her online. If that doesn’t stress the importance of having a great user-friendly website and some sort of social media presence, I don’t know what will.
 
5 – Prove your worth
It makes more to become a well-known expert than just knowing about a certain market. Prove your worth by blogging, writing articles and publishing videos. This is a great way to fill your website and social media profile with useful information for potential clients. Are you targeting the luxury market? Post high-end listings, reports about luxury home sales, and lavish design tips. Buyers and sellers will see just how much you know about a niche, making the choice for an agent simple.