“What is the one thing I need to do with my real estate marketing to build my personal brand and generate leads?” I get this question all the time. New agents or agents struggling with a marketing budget will ask this question and I always preface it by answering: Marketing is a holistic endeavor and unfortunately real estate agents who are sellers are always looking for the next big thing or the next big thing. silver bullet to solve your customer attraction problems. The best approach is a holistic one in which marketing is approached from an overall strategy that combines marketing channels, tools, activities, and sales integration that align to collectively achieve goals.

And then the agent will say, yes, but if I only had enough money to do one thing, what do you suggest?

With my warning out of the way and being pressed for an answer, I would still say, even in today’s internet age, that the personal brochure is the most important tool a real estate agent can develop.

Even with the rise of the Web as the most powerful tool in real estate, the individual agent is still in the business of building community relationships through trust and credibility. The average agent without a sufficient marketing budget is primarily involved in traditional farming and networking. In the traditional setting, the agent meets people at networking events, open houses, brokerage openings, and through contact with family, friends, and sphere of influence. These are the highest quality leads that can be developed. The problem is making a positive and memorable impression.

The rejection is usually: “But the Internet is changing the real estate business. 80 percent of people start their search on the Internet.” Yes, this is absolutely true (and remember I was asked about “a” tool). From my point of view, a real estate agent without a custom built personal brand website, strong search capabilities, a commitment to search engine rankings and social media, and a dedication to providing valuable information and content. you are missing a huge holistic component of the overall marketing picture. Once again, I am answering the question: “What is the one thing you would do with a limited marketing budget?”

A well written and professionally designed brochure should be the cornerstone of your branding efforts.

There is a problem with an agent creating a website as his “only thing”. While most people begin a home search on the Internet (or do research on their pending home), the vast majority of people do not interact with a real estate agent solely through Internet engagement ( with the exception perhaps of second home markets). . The best internet marketers are great salespeople in general, active in networking, print/TV advertising, public relations, direct mail (at least to their domain and past clients), and customer and domain follow-up.

How do you build your business with a personal brochure? First, it gives you a way for people to remember you. The business card is completely ineffective in achieving this. It would be great if you could attract people you know to your website, but what are the chances of that happening early on? And there is no immediacy of connection. Given to someone you’ve just met, the personal brochure gives that person a narrative device through words and images to locate and remember you. It’s PR and Marketing 101 and it’s essential.

So if it’s just one tool, I recommend, with one caveat, the personal brochure as the ultimate tool for the real estate agent who wants to proactively grow their business. First, let’s assume your brochure does what it’s supposed to do, which is tell a memorable story, create a niche market or unique selling proposition, and demonstrate credibility and trustworthiness through high-quality graphics and printing. That is job one. It must be executed well to achieve the desired results.

The next key is distribution. And if you’re on a limited marketing budget, I don’t mean mailing it to a farm area. I mean hand-to-hand combat, looking for ways to get 30-50 brochures into the hands of the people you meet proactively on a weekly basis. networks. Open houses. Corridor opens. All your real estate activities. Even knock on the door if it comes to that. People you meet at restaurants, gas stations, dry cleaners, on the golf course, at children’s sporting events. The vast majority of agents hoard their brochures and/or are too shy to pass them out. The real estate business does not pay for the meek or reluctant personal brand.

What is the only tool? I keep saying that the best real estate marketing involves a variety of communication platforms to build relationships and attract leads of variable quality. But if you’re going to play the “one tool game,” the personal real estate brochure is your best bet.