Are You Peddling A Cliché Real Estate Sales Pitch?

Offering the “white glove treatment?” What about “diamond service” or “out of the box” thinking? All of these terms have become quite cliché over time, but are they serving your business well?

There are probably a dozen other real estate agents in your area alone who are using a similar pitch, which doesn’t mean it’s not valid as long as you’re living up to it.

All of these are old-fashioned terms used to indicate some form of superior service given, so how do you ensure that your pitch fits with the modern era? Living up to what your clients really expect from you is a good way—we have a few thoughts on how your agency can be doing that today…

Keep It Simple

“The information you presented was so much easier to understand than any of the others. That’s why we went with you.”

These are the words of some clients who chose an agent to represent them on a 1.4 million dollar listing. Realtor John James used Haiku Deck to create a simple yet well-presented slideshow, which he sent to the prospective clients. He was even able to create this presentation under considerable time pressure—possibly an advantage in terms of having to quickly explain himself as simply as possible.

James’ success is a great example of how it can pay to keep your pitch simple. Clients want to be able to see clearly and quickly why they should be going with your agency. They don’t necessarily want to see a whole lot of flowery language or the jargon and euphemisms for which agents have become well-known.

Try using the different tools which are now at your disposal (Haiku Deck, infographics and video for example), to demonstrate creative, yet simple ways of breaking down more complex information.

You could even say in this case that James used “out of the box” thinking in coming up with this simple pitch—the cliché works as long as you can genuinely demonstrate it.

Be Genuine

We’re creatures of habit, so it’s always tempting to go with something you know when creating a pitch or marketing presentation. But finding a way to add some personality and genuine voice to your pitch can be a very effective strategy.

Corporate templates can come across as just that—templates. After a while they all start to sound the same, and it’s difficult to distinguish yourself from the rest of the pack. Save the scripts and templates for movies, and relate to clients with sincerity and creativity. You can still maintain a professional image while injecting some personality into your pitch.

Besides demonstrating personality, show them that you know more than just the generalized information and real estate data. Do this by creating pitches that are hyper-localized, so they are of more personal value to the client. Share specific examples of how you marketed other similar properties and how you helped the sellers to achieve their goals.

Be Timely

“White glove treatment” is all very good when you’re genuinely making the effort to be available for clients, but is this really their experience at all stages of the process? Everyone is busy, including your potential clients, so if they get in contact with you, whether that be over the phone or by filling out a webform, they expect to hear back quickly.

If you’re so busy that you fail to respond in a timely manner, it can come back to bite in the form of poor online reviews or the client simply moving on to the next agency. When your workload is genuinely so large that you just can’t manage a timely response, it may be time to look at hiring help to ease the workload.

Be Honest

Your clients will appreciate it if you bring the reality to real estate. Be upfront and keep honesty as the mainstay of all your communications with clients. Sometimes a seller has unrealistic expectations of sale price. Sometimes buyers have unrealistic expectations of what they can get for their budget, and sometimes “fixer upper” is just a polite description for a property that is virtually crumbling at the seams.

This is really an extension of the point about being genuine and showing personality; clients are bombarded with all kinds of messaging these days, so they tend to have developed good radar for detecting “marketing speak” or euphemisms. The most successful agencies are those who develop strong relationships with clients, and honesty plays a big role in those relationships.

If things don’t go according to plan, or if a deal is going bad, being quick to be upfront and have those difficult conversations with clients will be appreciated by all who have a genuine need for your service. In fact, for many clients, the decision to stay with you as an agent has a lot to do with the high premium they place on trust and genuine relationships.

[tweetthis]Bring the reality to real estate. Your clients will appreciate your honesty.[/tweetthis]

Be A Listener

A regular challenge for salespeople lies in knowing when to stop talking and just listen. The real estate transaction is all about the client, so operating the “two ears, one mouth” ratio proportionately is a good way to build the relationship and genuinely understand your customer. Get them talking about themselves, their ‘why’s and their goals for buying or selling property.

You should gather enough information about the customer that you can build a good picture and genuinely understand their needs. It’s part of what a customer is expecting when they look for a good agency relationship.

Explain Your Value Proposition

If your agency and the one down the road both provide customers with “the white glove treatment,” how do you distinguish your agency from theirs? You need to have a good pitch to explain in detail what makes your business successful and how it is different from others in the area.

For example, if your network of buyer’s agents gives you an advantage for finding the right buyer, highlight that, or talk about your record of quickly closing sales. Do you use different avenues of marketing successfully? Use anything that makes your business a stand-out for achieving the goals of the client.

Final Thoughts

Sometimes we use cliché terms for a reason: because they are a commonly understood way of explaining a point. If you’re going to use terms such as “out of the box thinking” or “white glove treatment” with your real estate customers, just make sure you are actually living up to them by delivering service that a client today expects.

Clients appreciate simple pitches that clearly explain complex ideas. You don’t need a lot of flowery language to achieve this, you just need to be able to get to the point, add some personality and always be genuine and honest.

Figure out how your agency is really different from the one nearby who is also offering “white glove treatment.” What is your own unique value proposition?

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