Whether he rubs you the wrong way or not, the man has a point.
Ol’ Jason Mofo Moffatt rips into Realtors, their “horrendous sales skills” and inability to “think outside the box.”
“But most agents have no clue how to think outside the box, craft a USP (unique selling proposition), and are dumbfounded by most of the things that us direct response marketers and copywriters do on a daily basis.”
He points to one agent and the fact he’s allowed Ed McMahon’s (The Tonight Show) house to sit unsold for 2 years. Why? Because it’s near Britney Spears’s house and paparazzi cruise the neighorhood. Excuse me but how is this a problem?
Frankly, this USP could attract interested buyers. However, there’s one caveat… you have to sell the USP!
In fact, J-Mo goes on to write some copy around this USP that targets the folks that would love this sort of lifestyle.
So, what’s the point here… Every property has a unique, compelling, attractive aspect to it. If you focus your marketing and sales on this, you’ll find just the right buyers. Sell just like every other Tom, Dick and Harry and market the house as just another house… you lose.
People make purchase decisions at the emotional level (they justify it logically). This is what direct response sales and guerrilla marketing do best… trigger emotional hot buttons.
Truly, it’s about painting the vision and moving the prospect towards that vision and away from pain or discomfort.
The vision that Moffatt paints in his post is one of bumbling Realtors.
To be honest, I think the root of the issue is that many agents with a license have done their hours and learned how to fill out forms and, basically, not get sued. They’re taught little to nothing in regards to real marketing, sales, or even business management. Then they’re cast into the world to sink or swim, profit or fail.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m very much in favor of the “sink or swim” philosophy but to adopt this as an industry standard does nothing positive for the industry… in fact, it’s one of the reasons Realtors face such poor stereotypes and public opinion (see above link and the comments there for point).
I should probably clarify here, I’m not pointing my finger at NAR. Success is ultimately up to the individual, however NAR is offering no kind service to their own. Truly, it’s hurt the industry and leaves the doors wide open for someone to come in and sweep things up.
Those who get it will most definitely prosper. The others, not so much.
Before I get off topic much more… 
Your success stems from your ability to find and market the hell out of a property’s USP. If you find yourself struggling on the sales side of the spectrum then you know you haven’t marketed well enough. Good marketing makes sales superfluous.
Weigh in with your thoughts, folks.
{ 18 comments… read them below or add one }
This kinda stuff cracks me up. Realtors are idiots ‘cuz they’re not marketers? Really?
Marketers are marketers and RE agents are RE agents.
I’ll tell ya what’s stupid. Any agent who’d hire a marketing guy who calls him stupid.
Frankly, I can’t market my way out of a wet paper bag. But I bet most of my clients can buy and sell that marketing dude before finishing their morning coffee. Stupid indeed.
jeff, much of a realtor’s job is marketing. marketing of their ability to buy/sell homes, marketing of the home itself, marketing for referrals, etc.
let’s face it, all entrepreneurs, realtors included, are in the marketing business whether they like it or not (even if think they can’t get out of a wet paper bag)
Mark — We’re on the same page. I’m not a mechanic either but drive a lot. Would that guy call me an idiot ‘cuz I don’t know my way around fuel injection?
Realtors to real estate. If they can market too, more power to them. If they can’t they need to talk with folks like you.
Again, we’re on the exact same page.
I can’t comment on Ed McMahon’s agent’s abilities – or lack thereof – but I can guarantee you one thing… if the house isn’t worth anything near the asking price, it’s not going to sell no matter what your USP is.
@doug: keep in mind that folks are paying well over $12/gallon for Fiji Water while complaining about $4/gal for gas. That’s pure USP positioning right there.
ted ciuba, a copywriter, sold his house for way over value and had a list of offers to boot. how? he wrote a letter detailing how caves, similar to the one on his property, were used by the underground railroad and as weapon caches during the civil war. folks came and always asked to see the cave which was a deciding factor for the buyers. again, usp at work.
if you’re selling without usp then you’re definitely forcing yourself to compete on price because ya ain’t got nothing else.
What’s the USP for a 10 year old track home with one of four floor plans? No additions. Maybe they threw in a granite kitchen counter before listing.
USP?
@bawldguy: granted sometimes you have to dig deep
notice in the USPs above they revolve around the “story” of the product, not necessarily the product itself. so, the story may lie in the architect (or previous owner) of the home, the land before it was developed, the seller himself (refer to the wedding dress sold on ebay for $4k with 6 million hits… because he wanted to buy ball tickets and beer), sometimes it can even be the most mundane thing…
for example, schlitz beer used to be at the bottom of the list when it came to beer sales. then claude hopkins created a campaign that highlighted the filtration process and the systems in place to make sure the beer was “pure.” schlitz didn’t want to run the add initially because “all beer is made this way.” but they ran it anyway… and because they were the first to talk about it and claim “pure beer” they owned it and they rocketed in sales.
similarly, could the story be in the construction of the home or in the builder?
without knowing more it’s tough to say, but hopefully you’re getting some ideas of where to look for story and usp…
@doug: might wanna change your email address or anti-spam measures. the one you’re using continually asks me (blog owner) if i’m a human sender every time a comment is posted.
Absolutely phenomenal answer, Mark. If pros answered every question the way you just did, most of their problems would disappear.
Truly magnificent.
@bawldguy: thanks man. i really appreciate that.
just to highlight something i said that i should have explained a bit more to give you an even better perspective of usp development: ted ciuba “wrote a letter detailing how caves, similar to the one on his property, were used by the underground railroad”
notice the use of “similar to.” in no way in his letter did he ever claim that the cave on his property was used by the underground railroad… he created the perception of uniqueness through “guilt by association” by telling how similar caves were used.
@bawldguy Your analogy of a car driving being able to drive but not needing to know about fuel injection doesn’t parallel a realtor being able to function without being able to market.
You MUST market as a realtor even if your only marketing is to put the listing in the MLS. Now that is pretty lame, but actually what most realtors do. You have to “inform the market” somehow, someway. You don’t have to know anything about fuel injection to drive a car.
Mark, good job sticking to your guns on this one. Most realtors ARE marketing idiots and wouldn’t know a USP if it hit them upside the head. You can call them idiots because you are a marketing guy, it is harder to call your colleagues idiots.
And bawldguy, i’d submit that for the track home that is one of four floorplans, the USP is condition, lot, location in the neighborhood and PRICE. I’d start with those. Maybe there is a better view from the porch, too ;-> but price is definitely a part of the USP and more so in commodity homes.
Happy selling…I mean marketing.
Hey Kevin — I never ever said agents don’t need to market, or shouldn’t market. I said they’re not marketers — any more than I’m a mechanic. Yet I still drive a cool complicated car because I know a mechanic with the know-how I don’t have.
Agents DO NOT have to know marketing. They have to know someone who does, then follow their advice.
The point was that agents were idiots because they were horrible marketers. There’s a team in SD whose gross sales dwarf Russell Shaw’s team. They market, but hire pros to do it.
@ bawldguy I hear you, but i could outsource everything in my life including cooking, cleaning and driving. If i’m a realtor, i could outsource all aspects of my business, and good for the team you reference who does.
But as a realtor and a professional, i think you do have to bring some game. You should have some primary skills including communication, negotiation/sales, and marketing. If you don’t want to implement the marketing ideas, at least have them and outsource the implementation.
Sure, you can get away with getting all your marketing knowledge from other idea sources, however, i view marketing as a core competency. If you don’t have it you had better have another skill that more than makes up for it.
My $.02
Kevin — You should have some primary skills including communication, negotiation/sales, and marketing.
Agree with the first two, but marketing is an entirely specialized discipline. If I take you literally, only those who can service their own car would be allowed to drive.
Here’s a question for you:
If you market for yourself and I outsource, with you doing 100 transactions and me doing 100 transactions — who did more deals?
You remind me of my ex-wife’s dad, who was disgusted I didn’t know how to change my own oil. Those who don’t change oil still drive, and agents without the ‘core competency’ of marketing still make two comma incomes.
There are literally legions of agents making silly good incomes without even a clue as to what solid marketing is — except for the fact they have a marketing dude on call.
Also, I’m envious of your marketing skills. I just don’t have the gene.
don’t think i necessarily have a marketing gene, or that i’m even very good at it, but i do think i should be since i believe it is a large part of the business.
Maybe i just have a ‘do-i-yourself’ inclination or am a control freak or both.
I will say, though, that marketing is one of the more enjoyable aspects of the profession because it is the creative part…i wouldn’t want to give that away.
Now bookkeeping, accounting and taxes…i’ll gladly outsource. ;->
@kevin: yes, i’m all about outsourcing the bookkeeping. no way do i want to mess with that stuff.
should an agent be the chief marketing mind? not necessarily, though he may need to be because we ain’t cheap
even if the role is outsourced, the agent should have enough of a grip on marketing to be able to hold the outsourced person accountable and be able to say “whatcha talkin bout, willis?”
going back to the bookkeeping (wait, did i just choose to go back to bookkeeping?!) i need to at least have an understanding of “how it all works,” what my goals are and be able to converse about it with the person responsible.
now, i think we’re all in agreement that marketing is quite possibly the most critical factor in the success of a realtor.
going back to Moffatt’s post that got this conversation going, it’s a shame that most folks don’t see marketing as such… often to their detriment and that of their client
In order to be truly exceed in real estate you need to be a Marketer first and a real estate agent second. Yes, you need a UPS for you own brand and your listings. To ensure longevity in your business you always need to be marketing yourself and your business. Your properties will sell themselves based on price, exposure, location, condition, and your marketing efforts (UPS) up front… You as an agent do not directly sell homes! We can not make someone buy a home. The market and these factors are what sells homes… I am constantly implementing new internet marketing campaigns into my business that will generate future business. This is a must
Sorry… USP… It has been a long day marketing