Real Estate Agents: Be fearless in 2021

The difference between fearlessness and bravery is that “… fearlessness is a state of being and bravery is a choice,” according to Tanner Christensen at creativesomething.net.

“… you can’t control your fear response. Bravery, however, is the choice to act despite the fear.”

Real estate can be a scary business for some. It’s an act of faith, really, to work your hiney off with no guarantee of a paycheck. Although acts of faith shouldn’t, they often induce fear.

Keep in mind, then, that just joining the ranks of the self-employed shows a certain amount of bravery. It shows that you have faith in yourself and that you see a positive outcome.

Then, the ca-ca hits the fan. Who knows why and where or who whittles away at that conviction, but whittled it becomes.

This past year has been filled with enough fear, don’t you agree? Think back to the “you” when the notion to get your real estate license first struck. “You can do this,” you told yourself. “Others are doing it, so can I.”

Hang on to that memory because we want to help you turbocharge that confidence into actionable real estate marketing methods for 2021.

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Learn what you don’t know, but should

One of the best ways to boost confidence and thereby allay much of the fear of doing something different is through knowledge.

What is it that you need to learn more about?

Marketing your business, online and/or offline: You’ll need to break those topics into smaller chunks because there’s a whole lot to learn about each. Start off with learning all you can about SEO, social media marketing, PPC, direct mail statistics, etc. Choose one to master, then move on to the next. Check out this helpful guide from Josh Keeton that goes over the ABC’s of content marketing:

Finance: If you’re new to the business you especially need to focus on this topic. Learn about the various types of loans, the different GSEs and what they offer. Get completely familiar with the mortgage process, from start to finish.

Construction basics: According to the NAR, 60% of homebuyers want their agent to be knowledgeable enough to point out faults in homes.

Get to know home construction standards and regulations in your market, the permits required of homeowners when doing work on the home, construction materials used when local homes were built and today’s materials, the ins and outs of wells and septic systems, common architectural styles in your market.

If you have no idea what the appraiser or inspector is talking about, brushing up on commonly used construction terms might be a good idea.

These are just a few ideas to get you thinking.

A note of caution: It’s easy to find information about all of these topics and more online. We urge you to consider the source and only take your information from reputable ones, like our own blog.

Wildly creative real estate marketing methods for 2021

Debates rage online as to whether one can be creative without fear. There are those who believe that to be truly creative requires an “… act of turning into your fear and pushing past it,” according to Christensen.

So, what does this have to do with assisting consumers with buying and selling homes? Let’s look at some examples.

A couple of years ago when a friend wanted to sell her her Las Vegas home, I sat in on the listing agent interviews. Yeah, it was interesting, to say the least.

The home was lovely but there was one problem that concerned her: she had converted two small bedrooms into a large suite. The home went from four bedrooms to three in a neighborhood where four bedrooms were the norm.

When asked what they thought, two of the three agents she interviewed met her question with blank stares and stammering which eventually led to, quite frankly, some B.S. answers.

Agent number three was the winner, though. From the top of his head, he rattled off several solutions, some more challenging than others.

First, as you know renovations like this aren’t uncommon. Homeowners are fond of converting garages into bedrooms and, yes, removing a bedroom altogether.

Why, then, did two real estate agents have such a hard time thinking up a solution?

In my opinion, it was fear. They were afraid that if they told her the truth, or that she didn’t like their solutions, they wouldn’t get the listing.

The third agent, however, was fearless; he included some pretty creative, yet challenging fixes to his list. He bravely put them on the table.

Sure, the obvious fear from the other two agents provoked sympathy. I distinctly recall the clammy hands, the rise in heartrate and the incessant chatter in my oh-so-fearful brain while on the way to listing appointments.

The good news is that fear can be overcome, and you’ll want to overcome it when you’re planning your real estate marketing methods for 2021. “… bravery is a choice, it is also a skill,” notes Christensen.

“How can you practice bravery? Find a small task that will generate those fears and self-doubt and repetitively push past them,” he said.

I, for one, don’t care for his suggested solution (“Take a cold shower for 30 days.”)

When it comes to creativity in real estate, the elephant in the room is marketing. It also happens to be the one aspect of their business that stymies and paralyzes so many agents, apparently.

This is why your business card photos have you all striking the same poses. Websites all promise the same “services.”

Copy-cat-ism runs deep in real estate. It’s why the public thinks that you are “all alike.”

• It took one agent’s idea to video herself while driving around to create a real estate phenomenon. Soon, it seemed like every agent on the planet was posting videos of themselves while driving. There is even one YouTube video about “Realtors in Cars Getting Coffee,” Episode 1 and Episode 2.
• One real estate group decided that a clever song parody video would make them appear more relatable to the general public. It was wildly successful. Then, tons of other agents decided to copy them.
• One agent decided to purchase a moving truck to help his clients move. Now, that idea is pretty common.

The above list is prioritized by how popular the idea became. The truth is, the cheaper a marketing idea is, the more popular it will become among real estate agents.

Afraid to move away from the pack, to be different, to act on creative impulses and spend money doing so is scary. But those who defeat the fear typically find great success.

Need some motivation for real estate marketing methods for 2021? Turn off your phone’s camera while in the car, close the door while at the office. Get motivated:

• The king of overcoming fear, you can’t go wrong by reading, viewing or listening to Tony Robbins. Check out “10 steps to overcoming fear” at tonyrobbins.com. Listen to “Fear will destroy you or drive you,” Robbins’ third most popular podcast. Watch “My SECRET to Getting Out of a Fear Mode” at Youtube.com.
• Read “Success Is An Inside Job: Stop Playing Small – Overcome Fear of Success – Live Your Potential,” by Judith F. Chusid and available at amazon.com.
• If your fears of becoming more creative in marketing your business stem from a lack of self-confidence, that, too, can be overcome. Watch “How to Overcome Your Fear of Rejection,” Brian Tracy at youtube.com.
• Does the fear of being judged keep you from stepping away from common, often trite, real estate marketing methods for 2021? Check out “Stop Worrying About Being Judged,” a youtube.com video from Julia Kristina, registered clinical counsellor in Vancouver, Canada.
• Listen to In The Lead – A real estate podcast produced by EAP’s own Chris McHale and Eugene Allen. They cover the latest industry trends and tips for marketing yourself as an agent, every week.

Did you know that you can actually use criticism to improve your message and delivery of your real estate marketing methods for 2021? There’s proof right here in the real estate industry in Kris Lindahl, Minnesota broker and super-agent.

Lindahl decided to create a billboard unlike any other real estate billboard on the planet.

 

And people snarked.

Businesses snarked and the local newspaper joined in.

In fact, the Star Tribune’s Chris Riemenschneider calls Lindahl “… the nice-guy Realtor behind the 600 annoying billboards.”

Riemenschneider adds that Lindahl is also on”… buses and trains, and even airplane banners … Simply put, many people are sick of seeing him.”

Annoyed? Sick of seeing him? When asked why they hired Lindahl or a member of his team, clients more often than not mention the billboards.

Do you think he had some fear around the idea when he came up with it? I imagine he did.

How does he handle the naysayers, the insulters, the haters? “I responded gracefully to everything that I heard. I didn’t let my emotions get out of whack, one time” Lindahl says in an episode of his “Behind the Billboard” podcast.

“I got crushed by a lot of people .. but I’m ok with that … “ he continues. “… when you have someone that’s trying to kill your dreams … is that your fault? Or is it theirs?”

I’ve known Kris since he got his license. Kind, unassuming, devoted to family and generous to a fault, he doesn’t have an ounce of fear when it comes to creatively marketing his real estate business. If you’re a copy-cat, this is the agent to mimic.

Whatever you do, if your current ideas aren’t working, be sure to change up your real estate marketing methods for 2021. Get wildly creative by overcoming your fears of rejection, of standing out from the herd of other agents or the fear that you’ll look lame.

Whether you have real estate marketing methods for 2021 waiting in the wings, or you’re just starting your brainstorming session today, LeadSites can help you make your 2021 marketing a success.

Learn more about LeadSites here – and get a special discount when you sign up with the promo code!