Slow Markets Demand Consistent Marketing

By William Perego, Real Estate Business Magazine, June/July 2006

In many areas of the country, a fast and furious real estate market is quieting down. To make matters worse, large numbers of opportunity-minded individuals entered the profession during the boom days and have never experienced anything else. They now find themselves trying to maintain the momentum of the past few years. Seasoned managers, brokers and owners know how to weather these cycles and expect some natural attrition in their sales force. While some thinning of the troops can be a good thing, wise leaders use slower times to instill basic marketing principles in their less experienced agents.

Simply stated, real estate marketing is the full range of techniques that place and keep agents in the minds of potential buyers and sellers. Marketing includes advertising, public relations, telemarketing, Internet marketing, promotion and networking. This article focuses on three fundamental aspects of marketing — positioning, farming and prospects — that new agents must grasp to be successful.