Should real estate professionals provide local knowledge for nothing?

Tap..tap...is this think on?

As a real estate professional, what happens when you provide local information? Does anyone see it? Does it help your business? How can you tell?

Top agents and brokers don’t just provide local market knowledge, they use it to create information exchanges. Each time they deliver information to prospects and clients, they also gather information and tailor their services to better meet the needs of prospects and clients. In this way, they are able to position themselves to prospects as expert guides and the ideal solution to their home buying and selling needs. The secret is not in providing the most information, but to make it interactive through an information exchange

That's not to say real estate pros should not provide local information. They should provide lots of high-quality local information in a variety of ways.

But they should use it to create and continue dialogs, not just toss it out and hope someone contacts them to learn more. That's blunt-instrument marketing in a highly competitive profession that calls for surgical strikes. Exchanging real estate information doesn’t just create better-informed clients, it helps you better understand your client’s goals and priorities. To create a successful information exchange:

Assess to understand what’s really important to clients. As you discuss the local information you provide, you can usually tell what’s important by listening their, thoughts, questions and concerns. Learning what’s important and unimportant to prospects helps turn them into clients.

Personalize ongoing communications and presentations using the language, ideas and goals prospects have shared. At the minimum, your materials should include your image and contact information, broker affiliation and your prospect’s name and address. An effective way to show clients that you are listening is to personalize materials by adding map notes or other comments.

Differentiate yourself by providing a better information exchange than your competition. Many agents simply place listing and neighborhood information on Websites and leave it open to interpretation. REALTORS® can stand out by delivering more relevant communications. Think of every touch as an information exchange rather than a one-way communication and you will create more clients and referral business.

Don't just sell homes...sell the entire neighborhood.

Great home...what's the neighborhood like? When people think about buying a home, they are thinking about the lifestyle they will have after purchasing. Many buyers choose a community before even looking at specific properties.

So, how do you deliver neighborhood knowledge to start an information exchange? In today's tech-enabled marketplace, agents need to deliver the rich local information wherever and whenever it's needed. Effective local information can be delivered in several forms.

Reports enable quick personalization of local information. Reports are best for personal meetings, proposals and presentations. Information that’s important to exchange includes school ratings, city demographics, sold properties, maps, points of interest and more. Neighborhood reports help homebuyers make better decisions and help sellers highlight what's special about the area surrounding their home.

Mobile – like other real estate content, local information is moving to smartphones and mobile devices. When clients ask questions like: How far is this house from my office? Where's the nearest elementary school? Who lives nearby? Once neighborhood information is available on mobile devices, it’s unnecessary to make clients wait until you get in front of a computer to provide neighborhood information.

Web - based rich local information can help attract visitors and repeat visitors to your Website or blog. If you have attracted visitors with current listings, don’t send them somewhere else for neighborhood information. Local knowledge is a powerful way to retain Website visitors.

Whatever the information, don't forget the interaction. Let us know how we can improve our Website. Email me for a free home valuation. Download my Best Buy list for local condos. Get an instant neighborhood and schools report. Find this information useful? Get Free local information for your own neighborhood.

Learn how you can deliver the neighborhood knowledge your clients want.