TC McClenning has worked in PR and marketing in the real estate industry for 15 years. She has assisted with developing marketing strategies and numerous business writing projects, including news releases, Web site copy, blogs, e-mail campaigns, collateral materials and newsletters, as well as ghost-writing articles and columns. Clients have used such terms as “PR secret weapon” and “marketing machine” to describe her work.
Her new book, All In A Day’s Work for Real Estate Agents: Humorous & Heartwarming Stories, (http://www.worklikeadogbooks.com/) contains more than 100 true stories of funny and crazy experiences that happened to agents in the course of doing business.
Actually, it’s about 80 percent of my business writing – I’ve also worked with small businesses, non-profits and on assignment for magazines. Real estate actually found me, in that I was hired by a major homebuilder when I moved to Atlanta 15 years ago. I have been on the marketing staffs of two builders, worked in a 100-person real estate office and at the corporate headquarters of a real estate company.
I’m actually from the Chicago area and worked for a major textbook publisher right out of college. A couple years later, I decided to make a drastic life change. I moved to Atlanta without a job, not knowing a soul, and it all came together.
There is seldom a dull moment! Real estate has so many different personalities.
I find that when agents truly love what they do, it shows in their work and the way they approach their business. They get satisfaction from helping families achieve the dream of homeownership. I’ve worked with agents who have annually sold tens of millions in real estate and yet they work just as hard now as when they were building their business. You know, the public really doesn’t understand agents don’t work a 9-to-5 schedule.
There is a definite shift: consumers are turned off from advertising, they don’t want to be sold. We get so many messages – from billboards, TV commercials, Web sites …. Agents tell me, “We’ll hang on and get through this; we’ve seen down times before.” But this is a totally different market. It’s a time of great change in our industry, our economy and our country. It’s past time for just putting a sign in a yard and entering the listing on MLS.
Technology is expanding so quickly. Just 10 years ago, having a Web site was a luxury – now it’s a necessity. “Tweeting” was for the birds! Social media has come of age in just a year or two. If you’re an agent or broker who doesn’t like the technology, it’s a lot to get your head around.
My first recommendation is (for agents) to take advantage of all training avenues. Getting up to speed on the many new ways to market themselves, their properties and their company is critical.
Second, is to take the next step by incorporating these new strategies and technologies into their business. Doing this will separate those who survive from those who won’t. Buyers and sellers want to see that you know these tools: if you have four LinkedIn connections, they know you’re not serious. If you haven’t updated your Web site since you put it up five years ago, you are not connecting with what potential customers want today.
While I’d rather spend the time helping my clients, I’m having to allocate time to do this for myself. I attend a teleseminar or Webinar every week or two, I’m completely revamping my Web site to include a blog, client testimonials, a series of free, informational reports and some other features. I’m also a huge reader; I get excited when I read about all that’s developing with social media and other areas. (She recommends the David M. Scott book, The New Rules of Marketing and PR.)
If you don’t have the time, then you need to outsource to a professional. Now that’s hard to hear when money is short. However, your time is better spent selling real estate than writing a blog or setting your bio up on numerous social networking sites. If freeing up your time from the promotional details results in one extra sale a month, it will have more than paid for itself. Even large companies are hiring full-time social media staff. They have seen the trends and made that commitment. Any book on how to run a business will tell you the marketing budget should be maintained or increased in bad times. And yet, it’s often the first area to get cut.
I remember in the late ‘90s, I freelanced for a trade magazine where we profiled one top-producing REALTOR® each month. So I spent a couple hours interviewing each one. Consistently, they all said they had waited too long to hire their first assistant! Now back then, you had to have people actually sitting in your office to be an assistant – now you don’t. You just have to decide, “What is my time worth? How many hours will I save?”
Hiring someone to do your PR and marketing is just the same. You can outsource specific parts of it. They say one in four blogs is outsourced and this number will grow as blogging increases. PR and marketing doesn’t have to be expensive, just effective. In fact, PR is seven times more effective than advertising! Real estate agents and companies don’t always understand that. These days, because of its low cost, PR is even more important … I figure about 75 percent of what we read is “canned news,” which is news submitted directly from companies and business professionals. Utilizing PR is just one more way to promote your business and it is greatly under-used in the real estate industry.
I guess it’s my Midwestern upbringing, but I have a 110 percent work ethic. I strive to provide value for my clients far beyond what they are paying me. I also try to treat others as I wish to be treated – returning e-mails and messages in a timely manner, always delivering projects on time, and sharing my hard-earned experience in advising clients how to best market and publicize their businesses. The result? I’ve been hired to write thousands of press releases, hundreds of newsletters, dozens of blogs and articles, and helped revamp many Web sites.
Also, I have an insatiable appetite for learning and knowledge. I like to say that information is power. If you’re informed, you are already ahead of many others who haven’t put in the time or work to stay up-to-date.
And finally, I don’t believe in a “one size fits all” effort. I tailor a marketing makeover depending upon my each client’s needs and budget. I figure I’m part marketer – part wordsmith – and part educator.
We have so many ways now to connect – this is a great time for women to help each other. Social networking makes it easier to “pay it forward.”
One lesson I’ve learned in my life … never give up … never accept “no” when you know, in your heart, you’re on the right track. I worked two part-time jobs while simultaneously attending college full-time because I knew getting my degree was essential. Later, if I hadn’t made the move to Atlanta, I never would have become affiliated with the real estate field. I instinctively knew this change would set me on an entirely new path. And not having to shovel snow several months a year was an added bonus!
