How to Convert your Sphere of Influence into Paying Clients

The Spring “Selling Season” is here and people everywhere in the Northern Virginia and Washington DC area is talking about Real Estate…or so it seems. There are so many buyers and not enough listings. This is causing people to ask all kinds of questions about Real Estate. “Is NOW a good time to sell?” Should I buy NOW before prices go up?” “Do I need to offer MORE than asking price?” These are all valid questions as it pertains to this hot market. If you are Realtor in the area there is a good chance that your SOI is asking these questions. I had a Realtor/client who is new to the Real Estate business say that she is running into these questions and wanted to not “oversell” her friends but was interested in knowing how to convert your Sphere of Influence(SOI) into clients. As a Realtors I’m sure YOU want to know this as well because people don’t like to be sold to…but they like to buy things. With that said, here is how to convert your sphere of influence in to paying clients.

Hub of Education

Your SOI is your #1 advocate in the Real Estate business. These are people that know you and should be referring you out on a regular basis. They will do this if you are doing your job…and remaining “Top of Mind.” Marketing to your SOI can be tricky because there is a line between “Education and Spamming.” Unfortunately most Realtors don’t know where that line is and when you cross it your SOI will tune you out…forever. Don’t believe me?? Log onto Facebook and you will come across the Realtor constantly spamming their news-feed with their latest listing and how great THEY are. When marketing to convert your sphere of influence into clients, it’s all about Education. You create the proper education around what your SOI might have questions about. You don’t spam them with this, but instead put this content on your WordPress Real Estate Website. This educational content is: blogs, videos, podcasts, PDF’s, charts, market stats, listings, IDX, and much more. This is HUGE because when those Real Estate related questions come up from your SOI you now have a place to send them to gather their information and then make an informed decision. This takes all the pressure off so you don’t feel like you have to “Sell” to your friends and family. A conversation could go like this:

SOI: “I was reading that now is a good time to sell your home? Is that true…I wish I knew what my home was worth because if I knew I could net $50K or more I would probably sell it right now and try to move up.”

You: “Yeah, now is a great time to sell for some people. I can do a CMA on your home to find out an estimated value. In the mean time go to my website and gather as much information as you can. I recently wrote a blog and shot a video about the Top 5 things a potential seller needs to know in this market. Check out the information there, look at my CMA and then tell me if you would like me to list your home ok?

SOI: “Ok great! That will be really helpful! ”

Could this be a real conversation? Very much so…see how the Realtor didn’t have to SELL but their website/videos did that job for her? You need to be creating engaging Content on your website so that it educates and makes the other person smarter. Remember…Motion creates Emotion…so create motion. Video does exactly that and it is the best way to convey a message to convert your sphere of influence.

Imagine if this was YOU answering Real Estate questions to your SOI or the person in the conversation above. Though your friends and family care about you they still think you work in a commodity business. Video is the fastest way to reverse that thinking. Video also can increase your conversion percentage substantially.

Leverage Your Exposure

It means you have to use multiple means of exposure to drive your SOI to their answers. This is one of the instances where I say to YES…send direct mail. Your SOI will open your mail (more than likely) so use that to stay in front of them and drive them back to your website. Add them to your Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter accounts and post relevant and engaging information. Use this opportunity to post your blogs and videos on these platforms (which are free) so that when your SOI see the information in their News Feed they can click on it which drives them…back to your Real Estate website. There are good sites like www.hootsuite.com where you can set your posts in advance for the week and they will go to all of your Social Media sites at once. This will save time and money and allow you to extend your reach.

Ready to Switch Title Companies?

Marketing to your SOI seems easy to do but in reality it can be tricky. How do you cross that line of friendship to now business? I hope this blog has shed some light on how to sell without selling. At Stewart Title we will help you convert your sphere of influence into paying clients. If your current Title Company is NOT providing you with business solutions for Real Estate I would love to work with you. Please fill out the form below and tell me how I can help you.

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DCTitleWade1

Senior Vice President of Business Development at Pruitt Title

I'm the Senior Vice President of Business Development for Pruitt Title in the Washington DC/Northern Virginia area. I help my Realtor and Lender partners grow their businesses with offline and online marketing solutions. More eyes to them mean more business. I create the win/win!