How to be Different

The best way to top your competition is to forget about them. This Coaching Tip is about differentiation, and I’ll be showing you how the path to rapid business growth is through focusing on what your customers want, not how big your competitor’s signboards are.

Too many agents are working hard to try to top each other, usually winning listings by setting a lower fee. All that time and energy would be better spent in getting to know what your customers really want from you, and demonstrating your expertise in handling their property sale or purchase. Working with clients around what is most important in their world will differentiate you far above the competition.

You may appeal to some clients with offers of low fees, but you will never expand your business or elevate your image that way. You have to think beyond transactions and create transformations. Like the difference between joining a gym (transaction) and actively living a fitness lifestyle (transformation), it’s the visible result of consistent action that differentiates you from the people who simply carry the membership card. Once you demonstrate that you can take your clients where they want to go, they will pay for that result.

One way to differentiate yourself is to show the client you already have buyers ready and waiting to see their property. Outline the numbers and processes your agency employs to attract buyers, and motivate your client to take action with a system already in place and working. This tactic demonstrates your understanding of their desired result and the proven methods you will use to achieve it.

Next, share your auction and offer records with the client to demonstrate your track record for getting the kinds of prices and results they desire, from open for inspections to final offers. This is also a fine opportunity to discuss marketing methods and effective tools you can offer them to connect their property listing to specific, interested buyers.

You can bring process and result to life for your clients with case studies of homes you have handled successfully. This gives them a complete picture of how you are able to deliver the results they want, and proof that you are capable of making it happen for them.

Whatever your competitors are doing becomes irrelevant once you capture your clients’ imagination, and excite them with the difference in services and outcomes you can offer them. Ask the right questions to discover what matters most to them, then prove you can actively deliver their best result.

I hope you’ve enjoyed today’s Coaching Tip, and I look forward to seeing you here again next week.