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• Can anyone recommend a good lead generation service?
• Do you know of a good website?
• Which are the best magazines to advertise in?
• Does anyone have advice to help me get more listings?
• Do you think I should start going after short sale listings?
• Should I start blogging (or farming, cold calling, networking, etc)?

The responses to these questions are fairly pedestrian: “Ask for referrals.” “Hold open houses.” “Canvass doors.” “Conduct a workshop.” “Blog about your community.”

This may not be earth-shaking advice, but the answers reflect a truth about our industry: there are no magic pills in real estate marketing. It’s hard for me to imagine that anyone who’s gotten a real estate license doesn’t know this already. Yet hope springs eternal.

What Matters Most in Real Estate Marketing

The real question is If these methods work, why don’t they work for everyone?

They don’t work because there’s something missing, and I think what’s missing is support and motivation. Agents want to know that what they’re doing is worth the effort. They want to know it’s going to work. They want to know how to make it work. They need a barometer of effectiveness, someone constantly saying, “I did this and got that.”

Motivation, Not Methods

I think most agents are looking for motivation, not methods. Any agent can pick up a dozen books from Amazon that will give them a dozen different real estate marketing plans. It’s not more methods that agents need. It’s motivation and confidence in the methods they choose.

I got an illustration of the power of motivation yesterday at my local Board of Realtors. The Ethics presenter was a leader in understanding real estate contracts and a 30-year veteran real estate agent. He continually illustrated how he uses provisions in the contracts to separate himself from his competition, allowing him to win clients. I could see the agents in the room getting excited and motivated. More than 50% of them signed up afterwards for his contracts class.

How to Get Motivation

With so many isolated real estate businesses in our online world, how does an agent find a mentor to motivate them?

My advice is to explore what’s available to you. Take classes in person, not online. Talk to your broker. See if you can join or start a mastermind group. Investigate the real estate “gurus” out there who can keep your energy up and make you feel confident in your marketing methods. I started my career following Mike Ferry. I enjoy door knocking, relative to other forms of real estate marketing and prospecting, and his energy kept me moving.

Note: Don’t get swept up in  buying a “guru” program without evaluating it fully. Gurus are skilled at selling their programs. Do the programs work? Yes. Are they the best approach for you? Maybe. For instance, there is a real estate guru out there who does an incredible job showing agents how to use social media marketing to build a thriving business. But if you’re someone who just got your first smart phone, or you only have 10 friends on Facebook, this might not be the best approach for you at this time, as attractive as it is.

Finally, no matter what real estate marketing approach you choose or what motivator you work with, it’s important to read and learn about your industry constantly. The more knowledgeable you are, the more confidence you’ll have…and confidence sells.

Be consistent. Be bold. Be smart. Linda Schneider is a real estate business coach for smart real estate agents who want to be more powerful in their business. Drop by RealEstateBusinessCoaching.com for more about selling skills and real estate marketing ideas to take your business to the next level.

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Then I had one of those V8 moments. (Where you slap your head and say, “Now I get it.”)

I realized I was leaving money on the table by not looking creatively at how to leverage relationships in my real estate business.

So I came up with an idea…a 3-way win-win-win. Maybe you’re already doing it or know someone who is, but if it’s a new idea to you, then give it some thought.

Spice Up your Strategic Alliances Using “Special Offers”

First of all, you have to understand the power of strategic alliances. A strategic alliance is a partnership with a business person who has clients who could be your clients, and visa versa. Many agents think of their lender as a strategic alliance partner.

But in my experience, most lender-REALTOR relationships only go one way… the agent giving leads to the lender, but seldom getting anything back from the lender. That’s because lenders get most of their leads from other agents and they’re not free to refer those leads to you.

But what about your plumber? She knows home owners, and I need to meet home owners. Perfect match. And she needs to meet new home owners who might need plumbing help. I know home owners, especially new home owners. Perfect match.

Now if we can figure out how to introduce one another to each other’s database in a way that benefits both of our databases, we’ll have a strategic alliance.

For example, I could provide an exclusive rebate (if legal in my state) to her plumbing clients. Or I could provide a free book or other “bait” to entice them to contact me to create more leads for my real estate business. In turn, she can provide a sharp discount on her plumbing service for my database. I win. My plumber wins. And both of our clients win.

Once you’ve set up one of these alliances, you can do it multiple times with multiple business partners, including your carpet cleaner, electrician, dietician, painter, auto mechanic, and so on. It takes a little creativity, and you may need to try it a few times to work out the kinks in the system, but if it can work for a multimillionaire like Jay Abraham, I’m pretty sure it can work for you.

Be consistent. Be bold. Be smart. Linda Schneider is a real estate business coach for smart real estate agents who want to be more powerful in their business. Drop by RealEstateBusinessCoaching.com for more about selling skills and real estate marketing ideas to take your business to the next level.