As some of you may know, I was on vacation last month taking a little "R & R" in Chattanooga, TN. And while there, I had the pleasure of eating some exceptionally good spare ribs one night for dinner.

Not only were they some of the best ribs I've ever had, but this restaurant put on an absolute clinic in marketing your business that I think could help out new agents tremendously.

Allow me to explain.

As we arrived at our hotel the night before, my wife asked the Front Desk staff if they had any coupons or discounts available for local area restaurants. (By the way, that's a great habit to pick up when you're on the road. Not only does it narrow your "food search" considerably, but you never know what goodies you'll find.)

Much to our delight, he reached under the counter and gave us a voucher for a free appetizer (with purchase of an entrée) at a place called Sticky Fingers.

All right, we thought. Ribs weren't exactly what we had in mind, but who can argue with a free appetizer? I'm in.

Now here comes the best part. To understand the power of this decision, I have to tell you that there were two other restaurants within walking distance from our hotel. But since they didn't give any vouchers to the Front Desk, we literally drove past their establishments to go someplace else.

New Agent Marketing Lesson #1: Always give your prospects a reason to try your services -- even if it means giving something away for free.

Now I know that flies in the face of conventional wisdom, but as I've said before, as a new agent you don't have time for the traditional approach. Nor do you have the time (or money) to make the same mistakes everyone else has. Instead, you need to "prove" to your prospect that you're the best option for buying or selling their home, and providing a "free sample" of your services is a great start.

What's a good example of this?

Well, we know that most prospects shop online prior to picking an agent, which means they're looking for some good information about the home buying (or selling) process. So if you're a "buy side" agent, how about a free report on the "Top 5 Mistakes Most 1st Time Homebuyers Make When Buying a Home" on your website? Or if listings are more your thing, how about a free report on "The 1 Thing You Need to Know When Selling Your Home in [insert your city here]"?

You see how that peaks your interest right away?

And I don't know about you, but if I'm a prospect, that's exactly the kind of information I want to see.

Why?

Because it's targeted, useful data that sounds like it will make my life easier. And in exchange for that I'm willing to give you (the New Realtor), my name, number and email address -- even if I haven't heard of you before. And of course, once that happens, guess who's going to make a phone call a few days later to learn more about this prospect's situation?

You see, what we're talking about is giving your prospects a reason to try you over everyone else. Not because you're the best, or the brightest, or even willing to cut your commissions the lowest. We want people to know that you're an up and coming new agent who knows a thing or two about buying or selling a home. And rather than tell them that (which is what billboards and advertising try to do), why not "show" them with some quality information? (The free report we just mentioned.)

Now of course, offering free reports isn't the only way prospects can "test drive" your services. So if you're looking for some more good ideas on options that will make prospects want to work with you, even if you're new to the business, then email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. with the subject, "New Agent Marketing Ideas" and my office will shoot a quick list out right away.

Oh, and one more thing. Remember the restaurant where my wife and I went out to dinner? Well, we wound up paying $50 for our meal, and picking up a couple bottles of their signature Bar-B-Que sauce to take home. (Yes, it was that good.)

So let's see, give away $7 in appetizers and get $50 in dinner. I don't know about you, but as an up and coming new agent, I'll take that deal every time.