This may be too basic and maybe not. Some things bear repeating. I have a question for you.
Do you wait for people to come to you or do you go after people who would be a good fit for your business? Say you are selling cars, you try to find people who want to buy cars. Well, yes, but if you are selling luxury cars, then don’t you want to take it a step further and find those people who might buy luxury cars? What are their characteristics?
- Income level to be able to afford the luxury cars
- Already own a luxury car
- Live in areas where people own luxury cars
- Have a car that is older than a few years and may need a new car
How many ways can you dig deeper into the “target” market that might want a luxury car? The further you go, the more focused your audience and more likely they would be to purchase a luxury car. Do you see how this is different than just sending out a big marketing piece to everyone?
Target marketing in real estate and staging is much the same thing. Realtors don’t just look for someone who just wants to buy a home. If they have a $1,000,000 home, they try to find the people who can afford the $1,000,000 home and if it’s a condo they try to find people who are looking for a condo. The places they want to “target” to advertise or focus their marketing efforts will be much different. The deeper they dig, the more focused the audience, the more likely they are to find someone who might want to buy what they have listed.
How does that relate to staging? If your target market is Realtors, then how can you target the right realtors for your business? Remember the deeper you dig, the more focused the audience, the more likely you'll find a “good fit”. You can use ANY criteria…
- Realtors in your board of Realtors area
- Realtors in your city or cities you want to work in
- Realtors in neighborhoods where you feel comfortable
- Realtors with a certain price point of business
- Realtors whose listings fit the style and architecture of the furniture and accessories you are most confident with (Does this mean you don’t go out of your comfort zone? No, but it means you have a segment of business that is easy and comfortable for you to master.)
- Realtors not currently with a staging partner
- Realtors who are not the TOP, TOP producers (Top producers can be more demanding and want you to be available for them and not others, sometimes that can be a conflict unless you are looking to work mainly for one Realtor. Putting your eggs all in one basket can be risky if something happens, all your business is gone.)
- Realtors with whom you share similar interests and work habits
- Realtors that belong to the same groups and/or clubs as you
Does that mean you shouldn’t work with other Realtors or homeowners? NO… It means that a few target marketed Realtors who feel you are invaluable, who truly fit your business and you fit theirs, will be the foundation of your income and business when times are tough and when times are good. Stagers who are making it through the tough times have worked on their business in this fashion. Their business has been deliberate and they have utilized target marketing to their advantage. The foundation of their business is a core group of people that they have sought out and connected with. Then you have time and ability to stretch and grow, you deliberately find another “target” market or it finds you, and you continue to build on your business with the various “target” markets until you have all the business you can handle.
Terrylynn, I loved the post and it's very true to find your "markets." I work with several realtors and we have so much confidence in eachother we can refer back and forth. It's important for Stagers as well to develop a good relationship with them and possibly go speak to them as I did for many years.
What a great post target markets definetly need to be defined not just in our business but I believe that every business needs to find it's niche. Great advice Thank you!
Noting is to basic for me. I can use all the help I can get. Thanks for sharing your knowlege and experince. I'm sure I'll discover my niche or it will discover me.
Your post is so true, not every phone call you get will be from a customer that is really your target customer either. Just because someone inquies doesn't mean they will be a good fit.
Terrylynn, I love your photo. Just had to get that out of the way. :) Anyway, this is such a great informational post. You have really pushed the envelope with your info. I THINK that target marketing and niche marketing are different things. Am I right?
Thanks for the great post, it's easy to veer away from your best laid plans sometimes. I'm saving this for future reference
what a great post, especially a newbie like me, it helps a lot to learn from a pro. like you.
Shobha
Nice photo love the color missy! We'll you know my thoughts on target markets. We should always have them in our focus when considering add to or taking away marketing efforts. For each effort there must be a reward ROI is the key. If you don't target accordingly you are wasting time and effort and MONEY. Like attracts like so make sure you know your target markets mind set and adjust your marketing accordingly. If your target market is 2 mil dollar houses more than likely the Realtor you are targeting is targeting that market as well...as least that should be the Realtor you are targeting. Very nice blog!
Kym
Terrylynn, thought provoking blog. I have wrestled with this subject throughout the years. In my fourth year of business, I have concluded that I enjoy working for a core group of realtors that I like and they like me and my service. As Kym says, like attracts like. And, I enjoy working in the community in which I live. It is very grounding for me and I can run over to the vacant house and water their potted plants as part of my service. This is an excellent blog for me because, even though I have achieved my annual goals, there are the new ones to meet! Thanks for keeping me on track.
Hi Terrylynn-
With the current price of gas, I am trying to target Realtors specifically in my community. Your experience as a Realtor gives us valuable information to consider as we fine-tune our marketing focus. Thank you so much!
Kathy
Terrylynn, Very well put together post.. Thanks for breaking down the steps to really looking for and finding our target market.. It makes so much sense to build a relationship with like minded people.. It's like being evenly yoked.... God bless,
Hi Terrylynn, I agree, great post. I've narrowed my target market back to more local business due to the gas prices. Although I'll continue to go where the business takes me, I'm trying to streamline my contact more locally based...primarily because they are mostly mid-income families, average priced homes which won't take me out of my 'comfort zone' too much. I also feel like I can make the most difference in this market as well.
Terrylynn... super blog! Love the new pic too. You are too cute, and ALWAYS offer us the best foundational information. You are willing to help everyone with anything, so....Thank you for being a huge part of my success. I know others are thankful too;))
Hi Terrylynn: Thank you for writing this and reminding us how to be better at targeting our marketing at those who will need/use/appreciate us. For many of us, time is limited, and we need to spend it wisely getting the most out of our efforts.
Carole, the best part of what you said was finding the confidence in each other. That is the best when looking for a relationship, not just working together. Thanks for your comments, I always appreciate your wisdom.
Christina, so what is your niche...I agree, we all need to find our niche. And, identifying it and sometimes falling into it in a way we never expected is the best. We need to remain open and just try to draw to us people with similar and like minded business practices and it is amazing how smoothly and wonderfully that working relationship can be. Thanks too for your comments.
Donna, sometimes that is exactly how it happens. You put YOU out there and like minded people are drawn to YOU and you to them. It is exciting when it happens. Then you deliberately will decide if the niche, or target fits you and your business model and away you go. Good luck, it works.
Cindy, absolutely the most liberating thing I did earlier in my real estate career was turn down a listing. It was soo scarey but felt so good afterwards. The time, energy and stress that it would have taken to try to make it a good fit would have precluded me taking the next client who was a perfect fit for me and effortless by comparison to work with. It is liberating to have it happen and watch that it works for the best.
Great post Terrylynn as always we appreciate your wisdom and guidance from the realtor's perspective. I target realtors who I like as people -- and it works out perfectly! Life is too short to take on difficult clients ... we might as well have fun at this game, right?
Yvonne, well pushed the envelope might be a little overstated, but,,,thanks for the compliment.
Hum thinking about that. We target (focus in - adjective) a niche (noun), don't we? thanks for your comments
Ronelle, oh tell me about it. The new and experienced Realtors have this problem all the time. We wait for the phone call and just want to make everything fit so badly that we often take listings with people who don't fit our personality type at all. It can make the whole process HELL. The skill is getting to know our strengths and weaknesses and then trying to rein it in a little and keep the focus. I hear you. Thanks for the comment.
Shobha, oh thank you, and that's what will make you successful ... research and study and learn from people who are here to teach. At least our experiences can help someone else along the way too. That's why we share. Thanks for being a sponge and wanting to learn. The most rewarding thing about paying it forward (Stage it Forward) is that it works. And it feels good to share our knowledge. We come from a place of wanting the best for all. And, when you have a new person after you one day soon, you'll do the same. And on and on it goes and that is the point.
Terrylynn, thanks for putting this post out there. Sometimes it is easy to get distracted or veered into a different direction. You make some excellent points.
Kym THANKS, and yes I do. You actually are my inpiration for some of the things I write, as we've been on this journey together now for a few years. I can't help but compare the industry growth and happenings to real estate as we are in the real estate business and they parrellel so much. Just like to take the mystery out of the sometimes mysterious.
Nancy, it is just more fun when it's more fun, isn't it? Work becomes serious business but feels like play when it's the right fit and people are easy to deal with because they are our personality type. Then you branch out and find another target market that fits in another way. Life is good. Thanks for commenting.
Kathy, you are so right, the price of gas and other things have caused us to stop and rethink things on a business level so we don't throw money away and can keep our prices competitive. You are a wise woman. Thanks for the comment.
Cheryl, even yoked...I like that, you must be a libra like me. Balance is everything. Even and fair.
Abby, you can make a difference in that market and ANY market you target, and for me, it's just comfort is a huge role in any endeavor I take on and then when I am ready and have mastery I take on another. It's great to build a business this way.
Haven't been on here since the weather got nice. The first thing I read was this. Thanks for the great advise. I don't think you can ever repeat this one enough. I know what my comfort level is for now. I also know that as I go on...this level will probably change. Thanks for the info!
Excellent, valuable information from one of the best "Stagents" in the business. Thank you for taking the time to put these thoughts and 'actions' on such a key piece of the business puzzle to print Terrylynn.
Lori, you are so kind, and generous yourself girl, thanks for sharing.
Michelle, you are so right on, especially in a tougher economy we need to be aware of what we spend and the return, as Kym always reminds me. Here's to happy returns...
Hi Terrylyn,
Finding a niche that highlights your particular skillset is good advice for Realtors as well. BTW I like your new picture too. That's a beautiful color on you.
Terrylyn,
I am so glad to see this blog; it fits so well for me right now. I recently had an inquiry for a staging that after the first few minutes of conversation I knew just wasn't right for me. I am a true believer in following your instincts and judgment, and this one just didn't feel right. Anyway, I am trying to build my business and it was really strange to be saying "no thank you" to a potential client, but this one definitely missed the "target"!
Thank you Terrylynn! You are very inspirational and I appreciate your willingness to teach! Thanks to you my new business is really taking off! I picked up a new job just this week! I am joining our local Women's Realtor board based on your ideas as well as Shell's talk from the RESA ralley in Santa Clara last month. Thanks again!
Maureen, you are so right, life it too short not to enjoy what we do. I loved that about staging WITH you, seeing your creative thought process and how you enjoy what you do.
Cari, I know, sometimes I write these as much for myself as for others, I need the reminders too.
Sandy, that's right, as we evolve we also attract people who evolved in their wants and needs too, that's the best part. And yet we have the foundation of those we've already brought into the fold.
Karen, THANKS for the kind words. I like STAGENTS... It means alot coming from you.
Susan, I always look to you for wisdom and advice. Thanks for the compliment, appreciate it.
Pam, you are most welcome. I know we always have the gut feeling just don't listen to it in the beginning when we are sometimes so hungry for the work. BUt it's good you did, because it makes your path clearer for you and for those who will be the perfect fit for you. Good luck, would love to hear your progress.
Shanna, you are a treasure. I am forever grateful to have a new friend in Santa Clara. You don't know what it means to have your enthusiasm and support. Really. See you in July.
Love the post and the picture! It pays to work smarter, not harder! Thanks.
How true!! Thanks so much for the great post!!
Thanks, Cindy, thanks for commenting.
Patti, thank you for stopping in and commenting.
Rob, you are most welcome. I agree about the direction of the wind and the real estate market. Ever since I got in years ago, it's been a constant challenge and pleasure to grow and change with the marketplace. That's what makes it such a great profession.