Now is the time to become The Influencer
It would be amiss to ignore what has been happening over this last week. What is certain is the wealth of uncertainty with what is to follow. I am not here to argue about the pros and cons of what we may or may not face, I will leave that to social media and the press, but what I will say is that it is the time to step things up a notch in your agency.
Time to fight
Never has there been a time to fight your corner and be the person of influence in your area as now. With no clear direction from our government and people craving for a ‘leader’ it is up to you to show your clients and potential clients that you are the person to go to, who will advise, guide and support them through their property transactions or management.
If I am honest I woke Friday morning in disbelief, I knew that this decision would ultimately impact the property market. But would our clients see that they need us more now than ever?
The answer to this is yes! They understand that to win in the game of business they need to be where their clients are and consistently provide them with engaging and informative content. In fact, we had 3 new enquiries over the weekend from proactive estate agents who are no longer willing to stand still.
Act now
One new client informed me they have been sitting on the fence for a while with regard to doing social media. Like many, they had social profiles, which they had dabbled in now and again, but nothing consistent. This is a common story, so if you’re in the same position please be assured you are not alone. But I do ask you think about the damage this is causing your brand. Should a potential vendor see your social media buttons on your website and click through, only to find an erratic out-dated feed or one that only lists property, they will see this as a representation of your business and pass by.
Another agent had seen the content we had produced for one of our existing clients. Upon reading they realised how out of touch their website content was and how little it connected with clients today. Their content was of a corporate style rather than a conversational one, again very common in the property sector. We are now working with this agent to establish their tone of voice so it embeds their ethos and service offering and most importantly tells stories to engage potential vendors, buyers, landlords and tenants.
Be present
What these agents realised is that NOW more than ever it is important to be present digitally. If they are going to continue to grow their businesses they needed to connect, engage and simply converse with their potential clients and the local community. They needed to raise their profile, exude their expertise and be that agent of influence. The agent that is the leader and not the follower.
It is the time to take stock of where you are and find an approach for moving forward that will cement your business regardless of what you face. I know many agents have been through periods of chance and uncertainty such as the recession and have survived but this is different and here is why. The way we live today is different than even 2008, technology has advanced so progressively that our business and lives are held in the palm of our hands. An interesting fact I heard a couple of weeks ago is that more people own a mobile device than they do a toothbrush.
It is not just good enough to play in the digital world anymore, with many of us having ‘content overload’ every day due to the number of emails, social media and other forms of content being consumed and pushed our way. So why am I asking you to add to it? If this is where your clients are, if this is the place they are viewing, reading, talking and listening and you are not there, how can you expect to compete?
You need to attack the digital world with vigour, personality, and passion. Pressing pause or waiting to see will mean you are behind your competition who may already be forging their way to be present and visible. It is not good enough just to do, you need to shine, and if you are unsure how, find someone who can help you get there. I know a zesty company ready and waiting!!
Take this uncertainty and see it as an opportunity.
An opportunity to become the agency your clients want to see, the agency that leads not follows.
Become the influencer.