Thankfully the tide has turned from the egotistical self promotion that was touted as necessary for building name recognition in the last century to a more customer-centric thinking. The public is interested in how you can help them, understand them and give them the information they need. They are left unimpressed by the hype around how great you are, how much you have sold or even your education. They tune into WIIFM--“What’s In It For Me?”

As I work with agents to design marketing campaigns, we start with the basics: Who is your best market and what do they want/need from you? Being a real estate generalist brings diminished returns and takes more work. Today’s market rewards the agents who fill a need and who show up as the best resource for their clients and customers. Someone trustworthy and fun is a person who embodies what today’s consumers are looking for.

You must be very clear about where you derive your joy, about what you do best and about who your perfect client is. Less is more when you take your innate talents and leverage those skills into a package of services and offerings that fit the needs of a narrow, yet specific group of people.

Are you spending time and energy in places that aren’t giving you as much return as they used to? If you are stuck with limited thinking that tells you to hang on to each and every possibility, you will find it difficult to believe there are abundant opportunities. The scarcity thinking brings business that takes lots of struggle and work. It’s really a leap of faith to let go of the old ways without absolute proof that the letting go will attract better business. Ask yourself where are you getting in your own way?

What do you clients want/need from you that you haven’t been willing and able to give?

Let’s start with making your clients feel important. Do your marketing pieces focus on you or on what you provide as value to the public? Everyone likes to feel special.

Here is a simple marketing idea to incorporate: Put your clients in the picture…… How many ways can you include clients “in the picture?”

You want to make them feel special and you know that third-party testimonials are much more impressive than egotistical statements, so here are some ideas for new buyers:

• After you have found and closed the perfect house for your buyers, take their picture in front of their new house. Give them a page on your website for their friends and family to see the new house. You could even post a virtual tour of the house!
• Make them postcards with the same picture that has the change of address information for them to send out to friends and family.
• Make a flyer with their picture that you offer to deliver to neighbors, introducing them to the neighborhood.
• Add their photo and comments to your testimonial page. With your digital camera and your laptop, you have everything you need to get a photo and record the comments in their voice!

How about your sellers?

• Create a change of address postcard for them also—happy you got their house sold!
• Add their photo and comments to your testimonial page
• Create a CD for them of their home to take with them as a memory. Putting them into the picture with make it even more memorable.

How about others?

• At Easter, offer pictures of them/their children with the Easter Bunny, taken in your office.
• Or with Santa—your office is likely to be less crowded than the mall!
• Feature in your monthly newsletter, a client of the month, along with their picture. The criteria could vary depending on your circumstances. Perhaps a client that is doing worthy volunteering, a child that’s won an award, the winner of a contest you have sponsored, the client that has referred the most number of people to you.
• If your clientele includes a group with a similar interest, photos posted to your webpage of recent activities or events of interest to these people. Maybe you have a Harley and recently did a ride. You took along your digital camera and post a page to your site on the ride!

These are a few ideas to get you started. I bet you can brainstorm many more. How many ways can you include clients “in the picture?” Make them feel special and they will remember you and, even more importantly, feel grateful to you! It’s like making some deposits into their emotional bank accounts!

And like Zig Ziglar has said,” When you help enough people get what they want, you’ll get what you want.”

Published: February 28, 2001

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Joeann Fossland GRI, LTG, MCC is a dynamic speaker and business coach. Creator of THE REAL ESTATE GAMETM, she provides coaching solutions enhance your effectiveness and life balance. You can subscribe to her free monthly newsletter, attend free monthly telephone seminars, and find out about classes delivered by email and personal coaching by visiting JoeAnn.com or e-mail her at .