Positioning

March 31, 2008
Volume 2 Issue #9 

Positioning. Positioning is my word for the spring. 

If you are a baseball fan you could think of it as who is going to play centerfield for your favorite team (Cubs?) or where the center fielder is located for each batter or what place your favorite team is going to finish. 

For some of my other readers, positioning could have a completely different meaning but I am not going to go there. 

 But this letter has to do with real estate and websites maybe not as much fun but... 

Everyone will tell you that this is a tough market. Sellers are very demanding and not too understanding of the market conditions. 

Buyers are scarce. 

So where does positioning come into play? 

For sellers: You have to convey to them that when a buyer comes into the market you are in a position to capture that buyer. You have to communicate to the seller your strategy of exposing their property and deliver on that strategy. You can't make the buyer materialize but when a new one enters the market you want to make sure they are aware of the seller's property. 

The seller also plays a part in positioning. Their price must be attractive enough to make potential buyers want to see their property. Once a buyer is inside the property, it should be in top shape so that buyer actually wants to purchase it. 

You put them in position by marketing; they put themselves in position with attractive pricing and a property in excellent condition. 

For buyers: You have to position yourself to capture buyers by doing something more or different than the average agent. One of my favorite expressions as a manager was, If you do what everyone else does, you will get the same results or less, because everyone else has already been doing those same things longer. You have to make sure you use everything that your company offers and then add on services to differentiate yourself. 

Use the word positioning. It is powerful. It makes you sound like you are a business person. It is also easy to explain and hard to deny. Almost all that you offer sellers can be explained in terms of positioning. 

When nothing is selling and the sellers ask you what you are doing for them- The answer positioning them to capture any new buyer who enters the market. 

Try using the word positioning on your next appointment or seller call. It can really help you. 

Speaking about helping you... We can help you with a reasonably priced, custom website that will put you in position to attract buyers and retain sellers. 

Last month's newsletter, Website Ripoffs received a big response. Many people had been either taken advantage of or were not sure what to do with so called renewal letters. The day after I sent the letter I received an expiration notice from a company who was not my domain registrar reminding me about my domain name expiration and offering me  a great rate of only $29 per year for domain services for a domain I just renewed for $6.99. Be careful! 

Monthly Tech Tip

Review every site that has information about you, including your company sites. Make sure the information and your picture is up to date (It may be time to change some of those pictures from high school.) Read the information as if you were a potential customer. Make changes if necessary. If the last award you won was in 2005, you may want to change the wording.