Lesson #2: How Real Estate Agents Can Choose A Niche To Get More Clients

Episode Transcript

Welcome to this episode of Confessions of a Top Producing Real Estate Agent I’m your host. Jennifer Myers listen in. As I share exactly what I did to go from not being able to sell a house for years to becoming one of the top 1% of agents in the U S even opening my own brokerage full of agents helped me serve all the clients that were coming my way. I taught those agents at the same strategies I used and date to became a top producing agents. Now, through this podcast and agent Grad School dot com, I’m sharing the same modern marketing and business strategies with you. Most of which I learned from looking outside of the real estate industry, no fluff, no theory, no outdated sales techniques or paying for leads, or just the exact steps to get you the real estate business you’ve always wanted. And the life outside your business, you’ve always wanted to let’s make it happen and dive into today’s episode. Hello, it’s Jennifer from agent Grad School dot com. Thank you so much for listening to the podcast. I really appreciate you being here. Today’s topic is an important one. It’s one that anytime I have real estate agents asked me, how do I get more clients? How do I create a successful business? I give them this answer and it is in it. It is start with deciding on who you want to work with. I always say the riches are in the niches. And as soon as you’re willing and have the courage to pick a niche and market to that niche specifically, even if at first it feels like you’re going to have less clients. I really truly want you to believe and trust. When I say that niching actually leads to having more clients, not less. I remember back when I was struggling in real estate, when I was first in real estate, as you guys know my story, the first two years, it didn’t sell a house. It took me two years to sell my first house and two more years to sell my second house. But at that time, right around that time, I went to a conference that had nothing to do with real estate and a man named Dan Kennedy, who I always say is the godfather of, of marketing. He asked a question and there was, this room was full of people in every niche that you could imagine, every business that you can imagine from restaurant tours or real estate agents and mortgage brokers, and you name it online entrepreneurs. And he asked all of us one question, and he said, the minute you’re able to answer this question. Why should somebody choose a You among all other options? And why should they do anything at all the minute? You can answer that question. You will turn around your business and be able to have more clients and you know what to do with it. And I sat there and I did not have an answer to that question at all. It through me for a loop, my mind was blown. I felt like a failure, but then he slowly but surely explain how to come across that answer. And he says, the first thing you have to do is pick a target audience, pick a niche. And that is where the gold is. And so this is something I teach. This is the one of the very first concepts that I teach in my programs, that agent Grad School, ah, we just are wrapping up the semester for your first, your most successful year. Excuse me. Your most successful year used to be called your first successful year. And I renamed it because we had so many agents in there who are not it wasn’t their first year. It was their they’d been successful for years, but they just wanted to do business differently and do it more efficiently. So one of the concepts that I talk about in there is you have to talk to, you have to pick a niche. And from there we can create an amazing marketing campaign to get clients coming to you where you can stop begging stop cold calling, stop knocking, stop waiting, and bugging everybody, you know, for client. Why did you first pick a niche from there? You can create a marketing campaign that gets clients and that those exact clients that you want, that Niche coming to you. And then I teach you how to take those leads and actually convert them to clients who love you. That then become repeat clients and referral sources. But niching is a little harder that it sounds that first. And so I asked one of these students, you Yvonne Ivy to come on and talk about her experience with niching and how, you know, what her business looked like before niching, the process of niching and what the business looks like now. So we can really not just talk about the concept in theory, that dig deep and say, how do you do this? And how do you do this for your own business? So, hi, Yvonne. Hi, Jennifer, it’s so nice to have you here. Thank you so much for your time. I missed talking to you every week in class. So thank you for being here and it’s good to touch base again. So tell us a little about, about you. Where are you served, kind of where you live, where you help clients and the type of clients that you help? Okay. Well, I’m from San Bernardino, California, and I help teachers and school employees in the San Bernardino and Riverside counties buy and sell their homes. Amazing. Amazing. Now that’s something you learned. It sounds so good that that’s something we, we learned in agent Grad School about what’s called an identity statement and being able to clearly state where you work and the clients you work. So that’s like music to my ears. Thank you. You’re welcome. I took a lot of practice. I know a lot of soul searching and you know, it all starts with your Niche. So tell us a little bit about what your business looked like before you Niche and then we’ll dive into how you picked your niche. Okay. Well, before agent Grad School, I essentially was out of business. I last year I had did three deals. I just couldn’t get a foothold into what I needed to be doing. Just felt a little lost. So I just felt like my business didn’t have, you know, purpose, you know, focus or a sense of direction. And I was just kind of grabbing him and he everything. And so, you know, basically just, just to keep a float. And so, you know, from their, I just started, you know, really searching and looking for ways to enhance my business. And my sister told me about a Podcast and that’s how I got acquainted with you, Jennifer, through a PR Podcast that you had did. And so I listened to it and I was hooked. And so I needed to learn everything I could about agent Grad School from there after I got everything going and made a decision that I would be part of agent Grad. School awesome. So how long have you been in the business before? You know, we met 13 years, 13 Years, and yet still struggling. And what was your marketing plan and kind of who, tell me a little bit about how you got Clients during the last 14 years? Well, I started out my first, probably five years as a REO agent. So I work with banks and work with dirt You during the downturn. And Andy had a lot of business coming in and then when we kind of got into a normal market, I really didn’t know what to do because I had everything handed to me. So now I had to go and start getting business myself. And that’s where I kinda started tripping up a little bit. And, but, you know, I, I, you know, kept things going. I would get a, still some REO properties. I was a relocation at one of the places that I worked at. And so that was something I would do work with at a town of Clients that we’re moving into the area and then some referrals you and I worked, you know, and in, you know, get people would refer me. And, and so that’s pretty much how I got my business. And so, you know, what your story is pretty typical, most real estate agents, you know, do exactly. And I did exactly what you did, kind of hoped and prayed for people to know about you and remember you and come to not really have like a set plan. And I think that’s, what’s the most jarring part. I believe of being real estate agent is realizing that you actually have to create a process and a system that is consistent for generating leads and having people come to you, but it doesn’t just happen automatically. I mean, one or two here and there, but not in a way that’s sustainable and gives you an income that you can depend on a month. That is so true. Yeah, it was, it was really hard. It got really painful to be in an office and you weren’t, you know, getting business, other people were getting business, but you weren’t. And so, you know, that that can weigh heavy on you when you’re trying to do it and get things done. So Join agent Grad school. And I don’t, you know, I don’t want this Podcast to be about agent Grad School. I really want it to be about Your transformation, because I think so many people struggle with the same exact thing I did. You did. And there’s so many people listening to this that perhaps were successful in their career before they became real estate agents. I know, you know, I, I did, I just never really thought through, like, I just thought Clients were going to come to me and that it wouldn’t have to really do too much. And you know, that realization that’s like, Oh crap, like it’s not gonna work. Like I thought, and it’s not going to be easy. There’s so many agents that almost quit the business. And because there is no resources about how to build a client generation machine. And so when you joined a agent Grad school and I said, why don’t you tell us kind of the experience you had about, you know, how to transform from no Clients into the ideas that you learned to get Clients. I mean, what was the process that you learned kind of step one of how to get clients? Well, the main thing was through a while to get clients through agent Grad School or just, okay. How did, how did you learn when you joined a new grad school and you learned about how to market yourself differently? The first concept that I teach is how to Niche and what was your reaction? When I said, all right, you got to pick one audience and you’ve got to dive deep and you’ve got a, Niche kind of walk us through the process that you went through in the beginning. When you heard that that was the path to getting more clients. I struggled, definitely struggled because it’s hard when you used to dealing with all different types of clients. And that’s what you’ve been told for, you know, all these years that you have to have, you know, five, six different types of people coming at you and different streams. It was a very, very hard to make a decision to Niche down. I had, I had been working, I do believe in the concept of niching, but not that being your sole, you know, pick one thing and that’s what you’re going to work on it. I, I worked like three, I had three different niches that I, well, then I was working. And so it just, the concept was just really for a foreign to me, I was thinking, how in the world can I get all of the business I need from one Niche. And, and that just kind of threw me for a loop. So I struggled, I struggled a lot with that. Well, and you talk about three, three different niches or, or target audiences that you had before. I kind of push you to pick one, but I mean, it wasn’t that exhausting To. I mean, I just remember you saying that you were going to all of these meetings and meet up groups and this and that. And honestly, when you told me everything that you were doing and still not getting any business, it sounded exhausting. It was very, it was very exhausting because you were all over the place, you know, one minute you’re having to deal with first time home buyers and next ones sellers than it was probate. And so, you know, you can’t, you can’t adequately serve those three markets and do them justice, you know, and that’s what I was doing. So I was still falling behind, even though yes, I did get some business. I still wasn’t able to totally serve them in the manner that I wanted to do. And just trying to generate those leads, where I felt like you were going to like meet up groups and networking and breakfast and this and that, just running around, trying to be everywhere. Not just could you not serve these different people that did eventually come to you, but it seemed like you were running ragged and not getting anything. Yeah. And that, that is true. And also, you know, for working with the probate, you know, is the mailings, it’s trying to keep up with everything that you have to do in order to, you know, I work with these groups and your right, you have to go to all these meetings, you have to go to all of these events because each one is that they’re at different places. You know, they’re not all at the same place. Yeah. And you always gotta be there. You gotta constantly be showing up, regardless of what else is going on in your life. You have to like, you know, wake up early shower, get everything done that you need to do. And, you know, still show up in a week after week, I don’t, and then not get anything. And its like, you constantly have to be there, which is exhausting in itself. So, so how did you decide because you were wavering for a minute. I was a really worried about, you know, we kept talking and talking, then you kept not niching. And so kind of talk through that evolution, you know, that it was a struggle at first that, so how did you go from not wanting to pick one Niche to getting yourself, to take the plan? Well, the way that I worked through it was I, as, as we went through the courses and everything, it just came to a point where it was like you going to have to choose, this is what is going to help you to move forward. And these are the things that I told myself, you’re going to have to pick you, going to have to choose and you going to have to stick with it. One thing that I think happens to us as realtors is, you know, we don’t want to be locked down. You know, we want to be able to, you know, have our hands in all these different pots that doesn’t do us any justice and neither doesn’t do the client’s any justice. So I listened to all of the, the concepts over and over and over again, till I just said that, you know what, I’m going to, you know, choose something now, choosing something was hard because I have a lot of interest, you know, a lot of things that I liked doing a lot of people that I affiliate with. And so that was really, really difficult to find one thing that resonates with me that I could work with. And so I went from first time home buyers and I went to a human resource directors, cellars, you know? And so just working through each one to sing it, it really was what, what I really liked or what would, what I could benefit where I could benefit was the thing to do. And so the reason why I did choose teachers is because, because I have a passion for working with teachers, my last client was a teacher and, and he really struggled to find a home. He made a good income, but it was just, it was really hard. And the more I kind of delve into talking, researching about teachers researching about their plight and how housing is becoming unaffordable, they can’t find homes, all these different things. It just touched my heart that these people here are the ones that serve our community. You know, they teach our children, you know, they’re the foundation of, of most communities and that they have a problem finding a house, you know, that it should not be that way. So I, after much research of one of the courses that I was taking and conversations I had with Jennifer, she said you were just gonna have to put your stake in the ground and be committed. And that’s what I did. So one day I just, I was just thinking about what I really want to do. And I took a little, a literal steak in my hand and I drove it into the ground. And that was, that was it. I emailed Jennifer and told her This it’s teachers and I’m not doing anything else. That’s how it was birthed And the happy dance because of that moment. I still, I didn’t know you did the state, but I love that moment that I heard that level of commitment. I, that was the moment you found that I knew your business was transforming without that willingness to go deep and commit. And also because of the way that you were able to find your niche, you know, I love what you said about, and I always say, life, life shows you the P the way, right. But the fact, the fact that Your last client was a teacher and, you know, I always say our Niche has to be an alignment with who we are. So your Niche has to, like you said, it kind of touched your heart and you felt like it was something that you wanted to change. That the fact that it was so it’s so hard for, for teachers to find homes and that the communities that they serve and where they teach our children, that is perfect alignment. And if you can find that place where it, you have an interest in that target market that you believe it should be easier or better for that target market. And that it seems that you have experience with that target market, right? There is everything you need to pick a niche that is an alignment with who you are. We can’t just pick niches that, you know, you know, for example, a lot of people, a lot of agents come to me and say, well, of course I want to sell houses in the most expensive neighborhood. I want million dollar Clients. And you know, there thinking of the quick to get rid of stuff, Are how do I make the biggest commission? That’s never going to work that kind of niching doesn’t work. But the fact that you were able to sit there and say, this is who I am. This is who I want to serve. This is who I enjoy. That is the beginning of not only transform, transforming your business so that you can have these clients coming to you, but also a business that you actually enjoy. I like that you could actually help these people make their lives better. And from there being able to create a marketing campaign is so much easier than just, I want to get rich quick. Yeah. I, I totally agree. There was an exercise that we did where we had to look, look at Are who was in our current database. And actually when I started searching the database, I found out that I had worked with more teachers than I knew it wasn’t that funny. And that was funny. And so on. My website is those are actual teachers and professors that I had worked with. And I even have some School employees that I haven’t even, you know, haven’t even done anything with yet, but I, it really opened my eyes to what, to the power of niching and how it can, how we can turn your business around. How long would you say from learning about the concept of knowing that this was something you had to do? How long was it until you really committed to this Niche that you decided on this Niche and then I think some people first decide on it and then waiver for a little while, but then fully committed to this Niche and it didn’t look back. Like, what was the timeline? I think so many agents think like they can spend five minutes thinking about it and then move on. But I always say this is the most crucial piece of Your of building a business and take, as long as it took me like a good year to figure this out and constantly asking the question, who do I want to help? Who my best at serving what would be a dream client for me, you know, and who can I add the most value to? I asked myself those questions over and over and over again. And so it took me about eight months, which I always say it always takes me longer, but how long did it take you to write? It took about two months and it was The. It was grueling, I believe, to really focus in. And although I didn’t have to do it in that timeframe, I wanted to do it in that, you know, that two month period. So after, right after I decided, because I have, I guess that I had kind of gone back and forth, you know, I had other ones and then something else a new concept would pop up and you know, is that, you know, shiny objects, you know, all these different things coming out of me, I could do this, I could do this, I could do this. And then when I made the decision, it was a, it was like a load lifted off my shoulders. Yeah. That’s how it feels. So that’s how, you know, you land on it. When you just say this is it I’m going to commit. It should feel light. Yes. Well later and excited. And so what happened next? So for those people who are listening and they say, okay, great, I’m going to spend however long it takes thinking about my Niche, who am I best at serving? Who do I want to serve? Who would be a dream client, all those questions that we ask. And once you land on it, what’s the next step that you have to do? The next step was changing all of my Marketing to, to be able to speak to the teachers and the school employees. And he says, Do people say Marketing, I think that’s always such a broad topic. So what was the, what was the actual pieces of Marketing that you started with My website? Namely my bio. I had to totally redo the, in fact, I didn’t even have a bio. I had to, to write a bio that reflected, that spoke to teachers. And so when I did that, and then the next thing was the website and just totally transforming the websites so that I could speak to teachers and school employees. I had to also get a freebie together. So that something that would resignate with teachers and school employees to let them know that I was serious about helping them from there. It was just other little Marketing pieces. Like I have a flyer that I, I send out to the interested people. I mean, just, just all kinds of things. And I’m still working on things to ensure that what I want to convey the teachers and school employees is that they’re getting it. They’re getting what I’m saying and they’re identifying with it. So let’s talk specifically, because about, I think it was maybe three weeks after you decided to Niche you had an event that you were going to go to full of teachers, but is that about right? So he had about three to prepare. Yes. And so a spoiler alert, you’ve got, how many leads out of this one event? I got 16 leads. We’ll talk about how you did that, but how many had you done events and the PA, I mean, you had, you’d been going to all of these networking events and doing things. What was the typical outcome from, from, you know, before you Niche, and before you went to one of these events, what was your typical kind of a lead count from your efforts? Yeah, it really wasn’t even, I’m a lead. Most of them were just like, you know, a networking, you would get one or two, you know, and, and you would pray that they worked out when you called. So it really wasn’t even that many that I got that this event was through a school district and they had invited me to be a vendor. And I just had all of my marketing material up there and I was ready to Top. That, that to me is one of my strengths is to be able to, once I get in front of people and I can tell them about the business, what I’m doing in my business and how it can help them, then I can really kind of reel them in with the information that I had. And that’s, that’s what ended up happening. So your first event after niching, you went from like one or two, maybe leads like phone numbers or whatever, to 16 who wanted to hear from you again. Yes. We wanted to hear from you again, which is such a huge that alone. Even if it’s one to one, even if you went from one person who didn’t want to hear from you to one person who wanted to hear from you and work with You, but to go to from zero or one or two to 16 people who actually wanted you to follow up with them, how did you do that? I, what I did was I contacted representative from the school district and they invited me to come in and gave me a table and I partnered with a lender. And she came in because she was offering an incentive as well. I offer for my teachers or school employees up to a thousand dollars towards their closing costs. And then she would offer an additional $500 I’m off of their closing costs. So, and I take that straight out of my commission, what I’m giving them. And so I just set up my table and as people walked by, we tackled them. And that really, we didn’t do that, but we, I just talked to them and I believe that they saw the passion in my heart for what I was doing. And then also I got their email and their name and information. I had a little sheet that I had them fill out. And then I just, when I got home, I just loaded it up in my system and it just sent them a, their freebie. And so just recently I sent out the freebie and I saw on my Facebook page that it was like six or seven new views. Amazing. So they were there, they’re looking, they’re wondering, okay, why is she doing this? And who is she? Who is this woman? But I want to let them know exactly who I am and why I’m. Yeah. So the avant congratulations on the transformation that you have made and are continuing to make. And it, you know, for those that were saying, what’s a freebie, you know, the process is of, of learning how to market yourself so that you have clients coming to you versus you chasing them down or sitting around hoping that maybe one day they’ll remember you, when they’re ready to buy Yourself the process all starts with deciding who you want to work with and who you’re best at serving and understanding that if you choose your Niche, that the rest of your Marketing can be successful from there. And so Yvonne, none of that would’ve been possible if you had not really gotten clear with who you wanted to help and why you wanted to help them. And again, that’s, you know, you really had this, this feeling inside your heart that you wanted to truly help teachers become a homeowner homeowners ’cause it was the right thing for them to do. So congratulations to you. And thank you for sharing your journey. Is there anything else that if you ha, if you’re, if you, if a real estate agent is listening to this and struggling and saying, I want to go and just put yourself back where you were, right. Thinking like, I might have to go back and get a real job, or I feel like a failure because I can’t get any Clients. What would your advice? Well, I can truly say that my business went from uninspiring to inspiring, and it has been a wonderful journey. I would tell anyone that’s listening. That’s thinking about joining agent Grad school and that your business will truly be transformed. And to just do it, don’t think about it. Don’t ponder it, just do it. I really can’t say that my business now is set up for success. I have all the tools. I have the foundation to ensure that my business will be successful. And now don’t, you, you do need to know This that you will have to put in the work. And if you put in the work and You, and you’re committed to what you’re doing, you will definitely stick. Well, thank you for that lovely plug. I was not expecting that. So I know a lot of people balk at the price, and some people feel like they have to save up to invest in this program, which I completely understand. So you’ve gone for those agents who wants to just simply listen to this one podcast episode and apply something to their business. What would you tell those agents who just simply can’t afford, or, you know, can’t commit to that level of transformation, but what’s one thing that they could take from this tiny little episode that they could put in place today to feel like they’re not so, you know, down in the dumps about their business. Well, I think that what the topic that we’re talking about is just, is niching, you know, making sure that you have clarity about who your audience is and who you are talking to. I think that that is, that was the thing that really turned everything around. Now. I will tell you, yes, you know, People by, you know, see the price and turn and run the other way. And I personally was not in a financial situation where I could even go there, but I took a leap of faith. And I believe that that leap of faith is, has trans it’s helping me to transform my business. It it’s the, the money came. It, it, it, it happened. Everything happens just as it was supposed to be. So, I mean, Jennifer, you know, I, I can’t say enough about her. She’ll, she’ll help you. And you know, that you just talked with her and she’ll help you, but I really, really encourage you to take that leap of faith and just, just join the agent Grad School community. Well, for those of you who are trying to Niche and to try and understand how to Niche I, below this episode, I will put a download where you can ask, Your ask yourself the questions that are necessary in order to decide on your niche. As you Yvonne has said, it’s not an easy process, took her a few months, took me even longer, but there are a list of questions that you can continue to ask yourself over and over again, until you finally land on your decision. And so I’ll put those in the show notes below, and you can download those. You bought for anybody who wants to refer you, any of their teacher Clients that they know I, can you just say it again, how they could find you, what your website is, what area do you serve and how people can send you any of their teacher clients that they know that need help? Sure, sure. Well, I’m in California, as I said, and I serve San Bernardino and Riverside counties. My program is called home ownership for teachers, and my website is home ownership for teachers.com. Thank you for being so generous. Thank you for being a model and for trusting the process and being doing what it takes and having the courage to believe in yourself and that you could make this happen. You know, my promise for people in agent Grad School is always, you can have the real estate business that you’ve always wanted, and one that’s beyond your wildest dreams. And in my belief, it begins with niching. Who do you want to work with every day, all day? Who do you want to spend all this time and effort talking to and helping? And you Yvonne, every teacher that comes into contact with you and your business will become a responsible homeowner and perhaps, you know, accomplish something in their life that they never thought possible. So the fact that your able to do this, not only for yourself and your business, but for every one of those teachers in Riverside and San Bernandino, excuse me, San Bernardino. I just wanna thank you for everything that you’re doing to, to help these people and create the business that you’ve always wanted. So congratulations, and thank you for always looking behind and helping the next agent. Come, come along with you. Thank you so much. Thank you Jennifer and I appreciate it. Thank you so much for listening to today’s episode. Remember change happens when you take action. So apply what you learned today to your own real estate business. If this episode has helped you subscribe, leave a review and share it with all your real estate agent friends, and as always, if you want even more great resources to create the real estate business you’ve always wanted, and to have the life you want outside your business, to head over to agent Grad School dot com and sign up for the free weekly trainings, you’ll get free classes and discounts and other goodies that only go out to real estate agents on that email list. See you next week, right here on Confessions of a Top Producing Real Estate Agent the Agent Grad School Podcast.

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Lesson #2: How Real Estate Agents Can Choose A Niche To Get More Clients

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