Real Estate Sales - Winning The Day

Real Estate Advertising’s Greatest Hits

06/06/202306/06/2023 Mark Johnson Leave a comment

By now, Real Estate Advertising’s Greatest Hits is an album all too familiar to us. The tracks unfold, on auto-repeat, in the background of our lives:

Find your place
Home is your shelter from the storm
Real estate made easy
Love where you live
Search to close
An exceptional experience
Going the extra mile

None of these are bad, necessarily. They hook into emotions that we understand to be real. But these archetypal messages may no longer ring as true as they once did and are, in all but exceptional moments of creative execution, woefully undifferentiated.

My friends over at 1000 Watt did some original research on Real Estate Marketing and this is what they found:

People are inundated by real estate advertising — 78% of respondents reported seeing real estate ads in the past 2 weeks. This indicates that the value of such information, being very abundant, is also generally quite low.
Messages that are broad (e.g., “we are your local real estate agents”) tend to be perceived as marginally more credible by consumers, but are not necessarily more effective. They are likely simply less impactful.
People don’t view ads that tell them that real estate can be made simple or easy as credible. They both know and feel that the process is neither simple or easy, and don’t believe assertions that dispute that reality. They “call B.S.” on such messages, to put it bluntly.
The findings above broadly align with peoples’ perception of the real estate transaction experience. 64% of respondents agreed with the statement, “buying and selling real estate is too complicated and should be made simpler.” Interestingly, 30% disagreed, and found that “real estate is too important to be simplified.” Almost all respondents recognize the fundamental gravity and complexity of buying or selling a home.
Men responded significantly better to forceful and specific claims (e.g., “We’ll sell your house faster and for less money”) or messages that communicate rankings or performance (e.g., “We are #1 in real estate sales”) than did women.

The principal conclusion?

Acknowledge the truth people hold within them, find a connection in candor, and build trust through recognizing reality as people see and feel it.
If buying or selling a home is complex and sometimes hard, don’t tell people it’s “simple” or “easy.” Make it clear you understand what they are likely thinking and feeling, then tell them how you can address those things better than anyone else.

The Greatest Hits may still be good to play once in a while but play them too much and people will tune them out. It’s time for some new music.

By design or by default — By design vs. by default?

When Desire Meets Confusion: What Prospective Sellers Are Thinking Now

06/04/202306/04/2023 Mark Johnson Leave a comment

According to my friends over at 1000 Watt, current market conditions are, in a word, interesting. Great for sellers, hard for buyers, confusing for agents, and difficult for the supervising brokers. Check out the trends in your area on my Altos Research link.

The era of dirt-cheap money ended abruptly, causing many buyers and sellers to call a time-out. Others are proceeding with expectations of a prior market condition, with, as one agent put it, “sellers thinking it’s last year, and buyers thinking it’s next year”.

In recent research, “change of lifestyle” was the #1 reason respondents cited for considering selling. This suggests that while a change in jobs, death, and divorce will always strongly predict transactions, less definite, more aspirational considerations are always present and active. Information about price declines accelerating next year make 53% of respondents more likely to sell now.

84% of respondents who have a mortgage on their home are either “very concerned” or “somewhat concerned” that high mortgage rates will impede their ability to sell. However, when presented with context that explained that refinancing to a lower rate in the future may be possible, 50% said this information made them more inclined to sell. 53% said that information about price declines accelerating next year made respondents more inclined to sell now.

91% of respondents report being “very clear” or having “a pretty good idea” of their home’s value

91% of respondents report being “very clear” or having “a pretty good idea” of their home’s value and indicate that an agent’s opinion, Zillow, and recent home sales contribute to that understanding. Notably, respondents who had yet to speak with a real estate agent relied much more on Zillow and recent sales to form their opinion of their home’s value. This suggests that if real estate agents leave an informational vacuum, others will fill it.

The results from 1000 Watts research show clearly that people who are thinking of selling are hesitant and concerned about the recent and dramatic changes in the real estate market. But these results show just as clear that personal engagement can have positive effects, both for the prospective seller, and the agent, broker, or marketer who reaches out to them.

We cannot control a great deal of the market right now. Yet I believe that professionals with a capacity for well-executed marketing are far from powerless in achieving their goals for the year. In times like these the listings are in David Knox’s 7 D’s:

Death,
Divorce,
Diplomas,
Diamonds (engagements),
Downsizing (10,000 people in the US turn 65 every day),
Daily Grind (job changes), and changes in
Discretionary income.

Willing To Eager

06/03/202306/03/2023 Mark Johnson Leave a comment

So this just happened… my granddaughter was born yesterday (Maggie Rose), and Willing To Eager was finally published.

Please, but not satisfied: Several months behind schedule; looking at it now so many things I would improve. That means there will be a second expanded edition with many more success stories – from many of you – next year.

Willing to eager – the ultimate secret. In this collection of real-life stories, I’ll share some of the distinctions of those who thrive in adversity, using it as fuel to achieve, meet and exceed their goals.

Marketing, Awareness, and Opportunity

06/02/202305/27/2023 Mark Johnson Leave a comment

1000 Watt Marketing recently completed some original research and asked people a range of questions to identify areas of opportunity and vulnerability in today’s real estate market.

There is intense competition for the attention of homeowners. While only 46% report that the agent they bought with has contacted them post-transaction, 28% receive “a lot” of real estate marketing, and only 25% report that they receive “little or none.” Moreover, 47% can recall the name of “one of two” agents from whom they receive marketing (who are not their own former agents), and 22% can remember “several” agent names.

Only 46% of home buyers report that the agent they bought with has contacted them post-transaction.

There appears to be little negative sentiment around how much agents are paid when context is provided. 63% of respondents said agents are “probably” or “definitely” paid too much. However, when provided with a hypothetical scenario involving the sale of their own home that involves specific dollar figures, 73% thought the agent was not paid too much. This suggests to us that stepping toward, rather than away from, specific conversations about compensation is a good idea. We also found that the appeal for discount real estate services was broad but weak.

Stepping toward, rather than away from, specific conversations about compensation is a good idea.

The biggest challenge with homeownership this group of recent homeowners expressed was “ongoing maintenance costs” (42%). This beat out “stress about my home’s value” (20%) and “affording my monthly payment” (34%). While engaging recent buyer clients on this issue could be a somewhat fraught proposition, it nonetheless underscores an opportunity we have identified in earlier research: people need help being homeowners, and real estate brokers and agents are uniquely prepared to deliver value in this area.

Desire, Sentiment, And Problem Solving

05/31/202305/31/2023 Mark Johnson Leave a comment

My friends over at 1000 Watt recently completed some original research on home ownership with Millennials and older Gen Z individuals. 600 participated and were made up of 24% living with family and 76% renting independently.

Despite the daunting reality of high rates and high prices and the corresponding cultural awareness of an affordability crisis, 95% of respondents express a desire to own a home. This is up from 91% from the August 2021 survey.

Most respondents are motivated by emotional sentiments in their desire. “Pride of ownership” and “a place for me and my family to call home” outweigh “good investment or builds wealth” significantly. Moreover, only 26% view where they currently live as “home,” and 68% think ownership is required for a “place to truly feel like home.”

It is clear that marketing to this cohort should be directed largely toward the heart.

The challenges young people face – people who very much want to own a home – are nonetheless daunting. Good marketing can’t lower interest rates or build more houses. But it can help you connect with those among this cohort who become capable of surmounting those challenges.

Millions of Gen Z and Millennial Americans will buy homes in the coming years.

Those brokers and agents who take the time to understand them, help them solve their problems, and give them candid advice, will be their real estate professionals for life.

Home Ownership — 95% of respondents express a desire to own a home.

Get Crystal Clear On Who Your Ideal Customer Is

05/27/202305/27/2023 Mark Johnson Leave a comment

You’re probably already working with various clients if you’re a real estate agent. Newer agents I work with say, “I’ll go anywhere with anyone,” yet the seasoned agents are “Crystal clear on who and where they invest their time and energy.”

Have you ever thought about how many different types of buyers or sellers you might be working with?

Working with first-time home buyers or sellers is vastly different than working with retirees who are downsizing into an active adult community. Both groups are different from second-chance home buyers entering the market again after recovering from a job loss or financial distress.

Not only do each of these subsets require different considerations and industry knowledge, but they also have different audiences, which means they do not share the exact needs, concerns, or goals.

To resonate with prospects, you must understand their pains, problems, desires, and triumphs. The first step toward doing that is to create a buyer and seller persona.

This exercise can lead to information and perspective that will inform your marketing efforts, messaging, and how you present your brand.

PS: For broker-owners and managers, this same exercise applies to you as it relates to your ideal agent and team.

To resonate with prospects, you must understand their pains, problems, desires, and triumphs.

Decide!

05/18/202305/18/2023 Mark Johnson Leave a comment

“Each and every day is a given choice. To start over, move forward, change directions. All you have to do is decide.” ~ Tere Arigo

Difficult Doesn’t Mean Impossible

05/17/202305/17/2023 Mark Johnson Leave a comment

Difficult doesn’t mean impossible. It simply means how can I get more resourceful? How can I work smarter, harder, quicker or be more nimble. The Wright brothers didn’t have a pilots license!

AI and ChatGPT

05/16/202305/16/2023 Mark Johnson Leave a comment

My coast to coast airplane ride mindset: Geoff Colvin’s “Humans Are Underrated. What High Achievers Know That Brilliant Machines Never Will.”

With all the buzz on AI and ChatGPT I was reflecting on this leading edge book from 2015.

The answer lies not in the nature of technology but in the nature of humans.

Regardless of what computers achieve, our greatest advantage lies in what we humans are most powerfully driven to do for and with one another, arising from our deepest, most essentially human abilities: