Become an Expert in Your Part of the World

I came across an interesting post by permission marketing guru Seth Godin the other day. Since a couple of my main clients are Realtors, his advice to real estate agents - Quit Now! - caught my eye.

There’s no question the real estate industry is hurting. Existing home sales are down, prices are down, housing starts are just about non-existant. All over the beautiful Bucks County, PA countryside, I see developments that stand half-built. But Quit Now! That doesn’t sound like advice from a guy who has made his bones seling things to people.

Seth’s advice, of course, was tongue-in-cheek. His ultimate point — that real estate agents need to do something different in a difficult market — makes a lot of sense. And I think it can — and should — apply to other industries as well.

Not everyone is in the market for what you have to sell. At least not at the particular moment you may come in contact with them. But everyone is hungry for information. They may not use the information you give them right away. In fact, they may tuck it deep in the recesses of their brain. They may pass it on to a friend or relative. But at some point, they will recall you gave them something of value: information, insight, education, call it what you like — and eventually they will seek you out to solve their problem.

As Seth says, “you’re either the best in the world (where ‘world’ can be a tiny slice of the environment) or you’re invisible.”

I produce quarterly newsletters for my Realtor clients. There’s an underlying marketing message in every issue but we try to include content that will be valuable to their readers, practical information they can use every day. My clients are positioned as experts in the industry, not just about selling houses.

Back a couple of years ago, when the market was strong, I tried to convince a group of Realtors to take a different approach with their newspaper advertising. Rather than advertising houses — after all, what are the chances that a potential buyer and an available property will cross paths in that fleeting moment of recognition — I suggested they offer information. Perhaps hold a “First-Time Buyer’s Seminar” in their office. Maybe offer a free report on “Choosing a Mortgage Company” or “What to Expect at the Settlement Table.” It would have set them up as experts.

They looked at me like I had three heads. Needless to say, I didn’t get the consulting job. And for the next few months, their business boomed. Then the market crashed and the last I knew they were joining the ranks of lonely real estate agents wondering where all the customers went.

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