Archive for the ‘Agent Outreach’ Category

What Makes You So Special? Seriously. What?

Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010

Here are two more posts I’ve been meaning to share from some folks who know a thing or two about real estate marketing. Like the others I’ve linked to, both tie-in well with our value proposition for REALTORS®.

While he has new web apps in mind here, Brian Boero at 1000watt Consulting makes the case for differentiating in his “Breaking Away from the Undifferentiated Realty Mass” post. His point? “There are lots of reasons to deviate from the standard real estate brokerage playbook. But there is none more compelling than this: In an industry with so much noise, new and different wins.” In other words, if you’re not different, become different.

Similarly, the people at the National Association of REALTORS® encourage agents to highlight the things that make them stand out: “Every Realtor is different and has different strengths and weaknesses. As a Realtor, if you suspect your client is having a hard time picking one agent to work with, try explaining to them what all Realtors have in common, and then explain what makes you stand out.”

Agents, please tell us, what is it that makes you stand out from the crowd? We, buyers and sellers, want to know.

  • Facebook
  • MySpace
  • Delicious
  • Digg
  • StumbleUpon
  • Yahoo Buzz
  • Share/Bookmark

Marketing 101 Southwest Airlines Style

Tuesday, March 2nd, 2010

Given the tie-in to our value proposition for Chicagoland REALTORS®, I couldn’t resist sharing this short video. As Jeff suggests, listen at the end for a quick reference to a competing carrier, which is the key takeaway for you agents out there.

Agents, how do YOU stand out to home buyers and home sellers?

  • Facebook
  • MySpace
  • Delicious
  • Digg
  • StumbleUpon
  • Yahoo Buzz
  • Share/Bookmark

How are you like a Chanterelle mushroom?

Monday, March 1st, 2010

I like to highlight blog posts by real estate agents and marketing professionals that unknowingly support our value proposition for Chicagoland REALTORS®.

Ron & Alexandra Seigel recently wrote one when they asked whether you – a real estate agent – could “state who you are and how you are distinct from your closest competition in a few quick phrases.” The question obviously doesn’t just apply to luxury real estate professionals. Find me any home buyer or seller who isn’t interested in the distinguishing characteristics of the agents they are considering.

Are you making them ask?

  • Facebook
  • MySpace
  • Delicious
  • Digg
  • StumbleUpon
  • Yahoo Buzz
  • Share/Bookmark

An Open Letter to Chicagoland Real Estate CEOs

Tuesday, February 16th, 2010

The value of AgentsCompared.com to area home buyers and sellers who are looking for an agent is of course directly proportional to the level of participation by local REALTORS®. While our agent ranks have grown significantly over the past six weeks (after we began offering free Standard Plan subscriptions), we continue to employ a variety of tactics, online and offline, direct and indirect, to get the message across to Chicagoland REALTORS® that joining AgentsCompared.com is a win/win proposition for them and consumers.

I’d like to share one such effort here. Tomorrow morning executives at twelve of the largest Chicagoland residential real estate companies will receive a brief introduction to AgentsCompared.com, and a straight-forward request to encourage their brokers and salespersons to give the site a try. I plan on posting reactions – be they written or verbal replies or spikes in registrations from particular companies, in the comments below.

It will be interesting to see which CEOs are the first to understand – and act on – the value proposition offered by AgentsCompared.com to local agents. But one thing is for sure: after tomorrow, none of these companies can say they didn’t know about AgentsCompared.com or its mission to help prospective Chicagoland home buyers and sellers make more informed decisions when selecting a real estate agent.

  • Facebook
  • MySpace
  • Delicious
  • Digg
  • StumbleUpon
  • Yahoo Buzz
  • Share/Bookmark

We’re now offering FREE Standard Plan subscriptions to all Chicagoland REALTORS®

Friday, January 15th, 2010

Here’s our announcement from yesterday:

Chicago, IL – January 14, 2010 – AgentsCompared.com, a website that helps Chicagoland REALTORS® strengthen their web presence, stand out from competing agents, and attract prospective buyers and sellers looking for a real estate agent, is now offering free Standard Plan subscriptions to all Chicagoland REALTORS®. No credit card information is required. As before, the site does not charge any referral, lead or territory-based fees.

AgentsCompared.com, a new Affiliate Member of the Chicago Association of REALTORS®, invites agents to distinguish themselves across a variety of categories important to buyers and sellers, including success stories, relevant statistics, expertise, local market knowledge, service level, price, etc. Agents can target specific prospects (first time buyers, short sales, etc.) and post buyer and listing referral fee offers for participating agents to consider. Standard Plan subscribers can create one Buyer Package and one Listing Package that will be displayed in appropriate buyer and seller search results, respectively.

“REALTORS® are not commodities, and they shouldn’t be marketing themselves as if they were,” opined Michael Erdman, President and Founder of AgentsCompared.com. “We wanted to make it easier for Chicagoland real estate agents to highlight their individual strengths to home buyers and sellers, so we decided to start giving away Standard Plan subscriptions to all area REALTORS®,” he added.

AgentsCompared.com is unlike existing “find an agent” websites. The site is regularly promoted to prospective home buyers and sellers in Chicagoland, but does not solicit agent ratings or reviews. It also excludes “featured placements” and broker ads from search results. The site provides equal treatment to “top producers,” new agents, and everyone in between.

AgentsCompared.com continues to offer its Premium Plan subscription, which includes a personalized Profile Page and other amenities, for $9/month or $99/year (cancel at any time). The site serves all of Lake, DuPage, Cook (including all Chicago neighborhoods), Will, McHenry, Kane and Kendall counties.

  • Facebook
  • MySpace
  • Delicious
  • Digg
  • StumbleUpon
  • Yahoo Buzz
  • Share/Bookmark

Five Freebies for Chicagoland Realtors®

Wednesday, January 6th, 2010

Here are five quick – and free – things any Chicagoland real estate agent can do right now to increase his or her visibility to prospective home buyers and sellers, courtesy of AgentsCompared.com:

1. Sign-up for a Standard Plan on AgentsCompared.com. Strengthen your web presence, stand out from competing agents, and win buyers and sellers looking for a local agent. The Standard Plan is free, no credit card required. No referral fees and no obligations.

2. Participate in AgentAnswers(SM). Monitor and answer questions submitted by prospective Chicagoland home buyers and sellers. Be sure to include your contact information when you post a response so readers can contact you directly for more information.

3. Do you Blog? Do you write a blog that targets prospective buyers and sellers? If so, let us know and we’ll link to it in our Chicagoland Real Estate blogroll (see right-hand column of any page on this blog). We’ll also highlight relevant blog posts both here and on Twitter.

4. Do you Facebook? Do you use Facebook to reach prospects? Share a link with us to include in our Chicagoland Realtors® on Facebook list (see that right-hand column again). In the future we may break this list down by location.

5. Do you Twitter? If you tweet with potential clients in mind, please tell us and we’ll include you in our Chicagoland Realtors® on Twitter list (appears in right-hand column here and on our Twitter page). We promote the list on Twitter and retweet relevant posts we find there.

If you’re submitting multiple links, feel free to do so in a single email. Happy New Year!

  • Facebook
  • MySpace
  • Delicious
  • Digg
  • StumbleUpon
  • Yahoo Buzz
  • Share/Bookmark