Your Mid-Year Real Estate Marketing Check-In
This post originally aired as a podcast!
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It seems the older I get, the more surprised I am by the passing of time. How can it be halfway through 2022 already? Yet, there's no denying that despite the whirlwind of life and business, time continues to move on whether we're ready or not.
So while it might seem like you were just setting 2022 goals, we're already six months into your business and marketing plan. For some of you, listening to this might be empowering because you're completely on track. But for most, my guess is that your path has veered off course a bit. And that's ok!
Despite our best efforts, you can't predict the future and plan for every setback or opportunity the year presents. However, that doesn't mean you can't make adjustments moving forward. So in this episode, let's do an honest check-in with your marketing to position you for success in 2022.
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Before we get into this episode, I want to stop and ask you, "how are you doing?" I don't just mean how are you doing with your sales goals and meeting your metrics, but how are you personally? I feel like a lot of times in real estate there's pressure to do it all and be the absolute best at everything. Unfortunately, this mentality can make you feel burnt out or stuck comparing yourself to other agents. It's important that you take time to check in personally and make decisions that are best for you all around.
Otherwise, when you get into these discussions, they can be stressful or overwhelming. But I encourage you to see this as an opportunity to figure out a marketing plan that works for your business and life. Even for myself as a professional real estate marketer, I've had to pivot and change my original plans for the year. Yet, I don't see that as a negative.
I'm in tune with my business, how I need to adapt to accomplish my goals, and what's working or not working. Checking in shouldn't make you feel like you're failing. Instead, this is you recommitting to what matters and figuring out a realistic way to stay on track. I'm not encouraging you to slack off, but what I am asking is that you're kind to yourself as you challenge yourself to do great things.
I want your real estate marketing mid-year check-in to be a positive experience, so let's get into the steps you should take.
Step 1: Reevaluate Your Business Goals
You've heard me say time and time again that your real estate marketing plan should support your business goals.
So, what were your goals for the year? If your goal was broad such as to "get more business," then you're going to have a hard time shaping your marketing to get results. You'll find yourself hopping from one idea to the next, struggling with consistency, and wasting your time on efforts that don't work.
However, if you goal was to list 5 homes in a specific area, then we know you need to focus on attracting sellers, generating listing appointments, converting your listing opportunities, and closing the transactions all in a specific geographic area (ie modern real estate farming).
Your marketing will be more successful when it's part of an overall business strategy.
If you haven't already, set your business goals for 2022 - it's never too late to do so! Time block a quiet hour where you can focus solely on what you want to accomplish for the year. If you've already done this exercise, look at where you are for the year. If your goal was to close 12 transactions this year, and you've only closed four so far, do you need to readjust? Or is it possible to still reach your goal by doubling down on your efforts? To help you figure out your business and marketing plan, make sure you fill out the prompts in my complete marketing plan, which you can download for free here.
Whether you already have a plan or don't know where to start, this freebie can help guide you!
{Click here to download your copy of the complete REALTOR® Marketing Plan}
Step 2: Analyze Your Closings and Upcoming Business
After you've revisited your overall goals, we can look at your progress working with more customers.
If you don't have this already in a real estate CRM, I'd recommend you create a simple spreadsheet with your transaction activity for the year. We're looking at your closings, how you got that opportunity, and what you have in your pipeline. I'd recommend you create columns that contain:
The customer/s' name
Property address (for closings)
Type of transaction: buyer, seller, renter, etc.
Status: closed, active customer, lead, etc.
Source of business: referral, social media, Zillow lead, etc.
Marketing notes: did you remember a specific activity that led you to this customer? Can you elaborate on the source of business?
The marketing notes portion is invaluable. I have seen many agents over the years cite the source of business for their transactions, but I want you to go deeper. If the customer was the result of a referral, how did you get that referral? Do you do pop-bys, events, or newsletters? Did the referring person connect with you on social because they see your posts?
The more specific you can be, the more you'll be able to determine how your marketing efforts are working. If you see no consistency in your answers, your efforts probably aren't sustainable. You're probably running yourself ragged trying to keep up with it all. Likewise, you might see that your social media strategy is paying off more than you thought. Once you know this information, you can focus more of your attention on what works moving forward.
Step 3: Revisit Your Marketing Plan
Once you know what your business goals are and where you're at with your closings, we can take a look at your real estate marketing plan.
The reason we didn't start here is because I don't want you to be distracted. And to be honest, marketing can be distracting. One minute you realize that you're not posting on social as much, the next thing you know you've wasted an hour scrolling through social with the goal of creating an Instagram Reel. That's why it's so important that you know HOW all of your individual marketing efforts help you reach your goal and we don't just dive right into marketing ideas.
Does your marketing plan support your business goals? Again, if you don't have a formal real estate marketing plan, do yourself a favor and download my free Realtor marketing plan template.
You might need to change your marketing plan after revisiting your business goals and analyzing your closings. Likewise, you might want to introduce a new marketing idea into your plan or take advantage of an opportunity you didn't know about at the beginning of the year.
However, before you make any changes, I would like to remind you that consistency is necessary. Give your marketing efforts time and consistency to see if they work before you try anything new. For example, if you just started showing up on social but haven't gotten any business yet, give it more time. The rule of thumb is often to try a marketing idea for at least 90 days to determine whether or not it works. Yet, some efforts like YouTube marketing or growing a website presence might take more time.
Also, if you've been doing something halfway, it's not fair to judge the effectiveness based on limited efforts. This is why I recommend that you don't spread yourself too thin with your marketing. Do one or two things and do them well before moving on to include more! I'd also recommend that you time-block or schedule into your week time when you'll work on your marketing. Make it an appointment you don't break, or schedule it at a time where you don't think you'll be interrupted.
If you're trying to do your marketing "when you have time," trust me, you won't have time. If all you get out of today's episode is scheduling time on your calendar to focus solely on your marketing, then I'll consider it a win because each of those hours each week will add up!
Step 4: Balance Your Budget
When I say "marketing budget," I want you to think of time and money. How much have you spent on both so far this year? This is another exercise where you'll want to grab a pen and paper or open up a spreadsheet.
Let's start with time. How much time do you spend each week on your marketing? Was it more in the beginning of the year and less now?
This doesn't have to be a perfectly accurate count of time. What I want for you is to come to the conclusion of whether your marketing is a time-suck or something that you've put on the back burner. By quickly reflecting on your time, you'll be surprised at the insight you can achieve. For example, you might see that you've been spending hours every week on a marketing effort, yet, your business is coming from a less labor-intensive form of marketing. Or you might see that you're getting results from a marketing effort that you're not spending much time doing. If you spent more time doing it, could it lead to more business?
If you have all the info in front of you, you can make more rational decisions.
Next, we'll want to look at where you're spending your money and what you consider to be a marketing expense. For example, are supplies for your Open House a marketing expense or monthly fees for your technology? Those are decisions you need to make in your business, but it's important you have a clear idea of where your money is going. You can keep track of this in a spreadsheet or use a program like QuickBooks.
I've met agents who've spent thousands of dollars each month on marketing but still aren't sure of the ROI of their efforts. I've also met agents who aren't spending any money because they're unsure about what to invest in. Regardless of your financial situation, I encourage you to make a marketing budget to include both your time and money. If you can't invest much financially yet, you might need to be willing to invest more time. If you are actively selling real estate, put a portion of each closing away towards your marketing.
By simply knowing how much money and time you have to spend each month, you'll be more confident with your choices. You'll be able to say, "I think that's a great marketing idea, but I need to table it for now because I don't have the time." You'll also be able to say, "I know that I have $X dollars to take advantage of this marketing opportunity." Funny enough, having parameters for your marketing budget will give you more freedom with your decisions.
Step 5: Set Your New Plan Moving Forward
Now that you've taken a step back and reviewed your efforts, you can move forward with your plan for the rest of the year.
This exercise should have opened your eyes to what you need to focus on and given you insight into what's not working. For your marketing plan to be truly successful, it needs to be both strategic and attainable. It won't matter if you have the most innovative plan ever created if you can't execute your vision.
So, make a list of the actions you need to take, give yourself deadlines, and schedule time to work on your marketing. And once you have your plan clearly in front of you, I'd encourage you to monitor your progress monthly from here on out. Simply go back through steps 1-4 to check in on your progress and to hold yourself accountable.
As a reminder, the steps are:
Step 1: Reevaluate Your Business Goals
Step 2: Analyze Your Closings and Upcoming Business
Step 3: Revisit Your Marketing Plan
Step 4: Balance Your Budget
Step 5: Set Your New Plan Moving Forward
Keep in mind this is "your marketing plan" to support your business. It's not somebody else's plan or a plan you'd love to accomplish one day. This is your moment to take action and figure out a system that works for you. I know that for every month that goes by, it's easier and easier to lose sight of a plan. You might be so wrapped up in the individual actions and to-do lists of your real estate business that you don't see the larger picture. That's why it's so important to check in regularly, hold yourself accountable, and not be afraid to adapt.
But if you need help with your entire marketing strategy, figuring out where to start, or just need some feedback on what you're doing, I want to let you know that Agent Strategy Sessions are now available to book with me. We'll start with pre-discovery where you'll fill me in on your business, marketing challenges or goals, and what you want to focus on for the session. Then, we'll move into your Power Hour. So, whether you have no idea where to start or are looking for answers to specific questions, your Agent Strategy Session is designed to move you forward. We'll begin by reviewing your Pre-Session Discovery and discussing your unique business and marketing objectives.
From there, I'll roll up my sleeves and share actionable and practical advice that you can apply to your business right away. Consider me your personal Marketing Director, Coach, Trainer, Consultant, and Cheerleader during our hour together! As we all know, the most well-crafted strategies and plans are worthless if they're not put into action! To ensure that you have a step-by-step roadmap to guide you, you'll receive a personalized Action Plan following your session. Inside you'll find the Action Items we discussed, notes from our session, and any additional resources that I think you'll find valuable.
Click here to book an Agent Strategy Session
& get one-on-one marketing support from Heather
Whether you decide to work with me or not, I hope that today's episode motivated you to stay committed to your marketing and reminded you to always be reviewing your efforts! Because no matter where we are in the year, it's always the right time to improve your real estate marketing!
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I’m Heather Colby, host of the “Ideas for Real Estate Podcast.”
If you like what you read here today, I’d encourage you to take a listen to the episodes. :