When real estate consumers visit your website they are typically searching for three things:
- Listings
- Knowledge of the selling/buying process
- Information about what it’s like to work with you
The latter includes answers to certain burning questions common among these visitors, such as will you sell their house for what it’s worth and in the time frame they desire? Will you make the process smooth and easy for them?
Oh, you may be thinking, “so all I have to do is fill my website with my sales stats, my tenure in the business, and brag about community expertise.”
Nope. It’s not that easy
We live in a world where consumers are overly bombarded with sales pitches and have learned to not only tune them out but to distrust them.
Tell them until the cows come home that you’re the “neighborhood expert” or the king or queen of local real estate and they may or, more likely may not, believe you.
Steer them to a website full of helpful information that shows your expertise and provides a sprinkling of strategically placed client testimonials that prove your real estate chops, and now we’re talking.
How to choose testimonials that will attract buyers
It’s easy to get carried away when posting testimonials to your website. Many agents post all of their positive reviews, which results in a TLDR (too long, didn’t read) situation. The visitor becomes overwhelmed and, if they read any of them, it will most likely be the first three or four listed.
Many visitors won’t read any of them.
If you’re wondering which of your testimonials have the most power with consumers, take a look at these takeaways from NAR’s Homebuyers and Sellers Generational Trends study:
- “… an agent who is honest and trustworthy” is the most important criterion used when homebuyers choose their agent.
- When working with a buyers’ agent, helping them understand the buying process “… was most beneficial to buyers 30 years and younger at 84 percent and for buyers 31 to 40 years at 71 percent.”
- When asked about the most important benefits their agent provided, 61% said that their agents “Pointed out unnoticed features/faults with the property.” Slightly less than half appreciated their agent’s ability to negotiate “… better sales contract terms.”
You can find NAR’s entire study at nar.realtor.
Now, go through your buyer testimonials and select only those that mention the aforementioned. For instance: “Jack helped us understand the entire process, from start to finish.”
Testimonials to attract sellers
Now you’ll want to do the same with your testimonials from sellers.
When choosing an agent, homeowners look at the agent’s reputation, evidence of honesty and integrity, and the agent’s knowledge of the seller’s neighborhood.
Once they choose a listing agent, they expect the following:
- the agent to get the home sold within the client’s timeframe
- their agent to suggest an appropriate and competitive listing price
- the agent to aggressively market the home to buyers
Finally, go through all of your testimonials to find the very best, either buyer or seller. This is the one you’ll want to place, prominently, above-the-fold on the home page of your website.
The rest can be sprinkled on your other pages.
Sure, there’s a time and place for self-promotion, but when every page of your website is devoted to describing your accomplishments you become the Selfie King or Queen of real estate.
Skip the self-hype and let your past clients speak for you.
PLUS: When you have time…below are some marketing tools to help support your success.
1. Put Your Real Estate Business a Step Above with Your Own Branded Magazine
Homes & Life Magazine is a customizable magazine, with rich, full-color content, and a sharp, professional esthetic. It includes compelling, direct response-driven articles written by real estate industry experts, combined with engaging lifestyle content. Send out Homes & Life Magazine in Just Minutes – No Minimums Required. Or we’ll ship it to you.
Homes & Life Magazine is the ultimate “Coffee Table Lingerer”! …and, it costs less than sending a greeting card! – Click Here
2. The Free 12 Month Done-For-You Strategic Marketing Plan
The Real Estate Marketing Planner is a powerful 12-Month-Guide that strategically defines what marketing to do when. Four key market segments are included, niche Markets, geographic farming, sphere of influence, and past clients. – Click Here
3. The BusinessBase, SOI building system
The most effective thing you can do to build a real estate business is to become more visible, more likable, and remembered more often. The BusinessBASE™ not only checks all of these boxes, but it is a business building machine. In two easy steps, you can begin to build a robust sphere of influence that will provide you a lifetime of repeat business and referrals. – Click Here
4. The Free Interactive Real Estate Business Plan
The Free Interactive Real Estate Business Plan allows you to enter your business goals for this year and get a breakdown of how many prospects, listings, closing, and so on are needed to reach your goals. – Click Here
5. The Become a Listing Legend Free eBook
Ready to take a vertical leap in your real estate career? If you’re looking for inspiration…and the tools and methods to dominate a market and go to the top in real estate…you’ll find them in this free book. – Click Here
6. The Take a Listing Today Podcast
Watch the ProspectsPLUS!, Take a Listing Today Podcast for actionable content to help you get more listings. – Click Here