A man from Oklahoma started his real estate adventure more than thirteen years ago. Michael Reese carried with him every single day what he learned from his mother — “there is no gray area.”
In just two years in the industry, this man already sold more than one hundred houses. How did he do it?
He believed that you don’t have to be the best Realtor, you just have to be the best marketer — quite a concept for someone who just embarked on an adventure.
People will probably ask: If you don’t focus on being a Realtor and put your energy on being the best marketer, how can you sell houses? And what do you market, the property, the service or yourself?
Reese was awarded the BOB (Best Of Business) Award in Frisco, Texas and has been a member of the prestigious 30 under 30 Group for Realtors throughout the United States. People probably wonder how he did it. It is a simple matter of adding value and creating a great customer experience.
Starting off strong
During our interview, Michael shared concepts that can benefit rookies in the real estate industry:
1. Don’t be the best Realtor; instead, be the best marketer. This intrigued me because a lot of other people who have been successful in the real estate industry would definitely tell you to be the best Realtor you can possibly be.
But for budding agents starting on an adventure with real estate, Michael Reese has different advice: be a marketer. As a newbie in an industry with thousands of competitors, your network has not yet been built, your credibility not established. The only other logical solution is to market oneself.
How does one do that? Market yourself through your work. If you flip houses, do so with style and include your own signature. Market yourself by being and making sure your initial customers are satisfied with your service.
The more people you are able to put in the frontline, the better. The people with the most clients have the most money.
2. There is no gray area. Another intriguing concept that was introduced to me during our interview was what Reese learned from his mother — there is no gray area. You either do it or you don’t. It’s either a yes or a no.
If it’s a no go, what will make it a yes? This is probably the reason why Michael has also explored the role of a “solution seller.” If he encountered a bump in the road when it comes to selling, he identified what made his customer decide to give him a “no” and then worked on what would make his customer say “yes.”
When you identify what customers like and do not like, you work it to your advantage. Start from there.
3. Know your stuff. One thing that I found really funny — and helpful — was his statement, “Anybody can look smart for 15 seconds in a script, but when you come off that script, you better know your stuff.”
This is an absolute truth and something that I personally believe in. Know your stuff.
Anyone can give you a script to use to entice customers, but when their questions start coming in, you’d better have some damn good answers. This is how you establish your credibility.
Let’s take the world of telemarketing as an example. The first fifteen seconds of the call is the most crucial. This is where you get your customer’s attention. However, what they forget to tell the telemarketers is that once you get your customer’s attention, you have to sustain their interest.
When they ask questions, you get to answer them, return to the point of interruption and then probe some more and present solutions. Make sure your solutions are based on the customers’ responses.
This is the same in the world of real estate. You get to know your customers, probe and provide solutions.
Don’t sell — market yourself, market your product, market the property. You’ll find out eventually what a great adventure marketing in real estate is.
Reese shared a memory that happened to him when he was a teenager: He was asked by his school not to sell the candy his mother bought for him in bulk at the store because he was outselling the school itself and cutting into their profits.
Together with his best and long-time friend, Jay Kinder, Michael Reese coaches for real estate agents from around the country. His goal is to serve others to help them embark on a crazy adventure, reach their wildest dreams and exceed their own expectations.
What worked for Reese was the way he markets himself, his work and the properties he sells. It worked for him. It could work for you.
Listen to the entire interview.
Pat Hiban is the author of NYT best selling book “6 steps to 7 figures – A Real Estate Professional’s Guide to Building Wealth and Creating Your Destiny” and the host of Pat Hiban Interviews Real Estate Rockstars an Agent to Agent Real Estate Radio Podcast with Hiban Digital. Follow him on Instagram or Twitter.