Discovering prospects: A plan for real estate agents

What is the Discovery Phase?

In a customer journey, the discovery phase is when potential customers first discover your business. For real estate agents, it’s less when they discover you and more when you discover them. This is because there is so much competition among agents in every market you need to prospect to ensure customers find you. The goal is to identify the people most open to considering a real estate agent and then introduce them to your services for phase #2, consideration.

If you are just starting your real estate career, your initial clientele will likely come from your inner circle. That is friends, family, former colleagues, and connections on social media. It’s important not to assume that these individuals are loyal customers. Except perhaps your Mom, your sphere has not yet discovered your expertise and may not trust your skills enough to hire you. When coming up with your prospecting strategy, it is a good idea to pick tactics that you can also apply to your inner sphere since we know they will be your first customers and you need to educate these people on your new career path.

Building Our Discovery Plan

Before building our Discovery plan, let’s remind ourselves of the three concepts to work on in each phase of the customer journey. Afterwards, we will implement a specific strategy.

1. Motivations
2. Messaging
3. Touchpoints 

1. Discovery: Motivations

Let’s take a moment to understand our discovery customers. The time spent thinking this through will shape your branding, marketing campaigns, and conversations with prospects. Start with these questions.

• What customer am I focusing on (buyers, sellers, investors, niche, etc.)?
• What are the demographics of this type of customer?
• What are the reasons this customer would buy or sell in this market?
• What unique challenges exist at this time for this customer?

Do this a couple of times choosing a different type of customer. You don’t want to put all your effort into only one type of customer segment. Also, get creative about the type of customers you are targeting. The best agents know how to market to niche markets. 

Once you have answered the questions above, we can start thinking about strategic messaging.

2. Discovery: Messaging

Using the answers to your questions, let’s create specific talking points that will resonate with your target customer. Use this messaging to guide your marketing campaigns and conversations with prospects.

During discovery, our message will attempt to move prospects into the consideration phase. Real estate professionals mustn’t attempt to convince someone to buy or sell. Instead, your message must educate and provide additional encouragement for a desire some people already have. The messaging helps you quickly identify as many qualified prospects as possible.

3. Discovery: Touchpoints

When deciding how you will share your discovery message or market to customers, there is no shortage of opportunities for agents. Focus on the methods that will best reach your target customer.

Let’s try it.

Brainstorming: Discovery Motivations

Q: What customer am I focusing on? 

A: First Time Home Buyers

Q: Why would someone buy in this market?

A: There will always be a desire to own. Currently, buyers are watching rent, interest rates, and home prices increase, so buyers may feel they need to get in.

Q: What unique challenges exist at this time?

A: At the time of writing this, buyers face extreme competition due to low inventory and a seller with little/no motivation to move.

Brainstorming: Discovery Messaging 

Using the answers to my questions above, I came up with the following messages that may appeal to first-time buyers.

Access to New Housing Developments

Inventory is low, if you are looking to buy a home this year there’s a good chance it’s being built right now. These new homes will go fast. I provide unparalleled representation for buyers seeking to purchase a new construction. With an established and dynamic network of new home builders, I bring not just a transactional approach, but a deep-rooted working relationship that benefits my buyers.

Information on Local Down-payment Assistance Programs (City/State Programs)

Did you know that several local cities are taking a proactive stance to help aspiring homeowners step into their first homes? I’m here to guide you through the process. Are you among the individuals who meet the specific income criteria set by these local cities?

Brainstorming: Discovery Touchpoints

In this example, I am targeting first-time home buyers. Most of them are likely renting, so that’s how I will choose my touchpoints. 

Postcard Campaign

I will commit to a highly targeted postcard campaign for the next six months. Messaging will focus on the urgency to prepare before new constructions are available. Using apartment search sites, I can identify a couple of large apartment complexes in neighborhoods I’d like to farm.

Social Media Campaign

Every week for the next 6 months, I will post one video and one photo on my social media channels focusing on my messaging topics. This will get the attention of my sphere. I will also commit a small daily budget to promote these posts in the same zip codes as my postcard campaign. 

Email Campaign

I will create a monthly email series sent to both prospective leads who have shown interest in social media ads/postcards and to individuals within my close network.

While we could generate additional touchpoint ideas, it’s important not to overextend ourselves. Develop a focused marketing plan that you can confidently execute for each specific target customer within your budget. Remember that consistency outweighs perfection. As you gain experience, your content and branding will improve, allowing you to maintain both consistency and quality. Maintaining consistent touchpoints is how the best agents grow their database of referrals.

Conclusion

Given the intense competition across every real estate market, adopting a proactive approach to prospecting becomes imperative. By actively identifying those individuals who exhibit the highest need for an agent paves the way for the crucial second phase of the journey — consideration. Effectively navigating this discovery phase sets the stage for introducing prospective clients to your services and commencing their journey toward a decision. Stay tuned for the next article in this real estate customer journey planning series