Jess Lenouvel

4 Fears That Are Holding You Back From Picking A Real Estate Niche

Let me guess…you’ve heard time and time again you’re supposed to “niche down” as a real estate agent. But as hard as you try, you just CAN’T bring yourself to pick a real estate niche.

The resistance creeps in.

The reasons why you just can’t fill your mind.

And no matter what your intentions are…you always go back to serving anyone and everyone who will hire you.

Sound familiar? 

You know deep down that choosing a real estate niche is the difference between any other agent and someone building a real estate empire.

When you niche down:

  • Your marketing gets easier.
  • Clients start coming in like wildfire.
  • And you become that go-to agent that everyone and their mother wants to work with.

But even though you know it’s the right thing…you stay stuck in generalist territory.

If you’re anything like most members before they join The Listings Lab, your fear of niching down most likely comes down to one of four things.

The 4 core fears that hold agents back from picking a real estate niche are:

  1. You’re Afraid Of Turning Away Business
  2. You’re Afraid Of Feeling Boxed In
  3. You’re Afraid Of Choosing The Wrong Niche
  4. You’re Afraid Because You Don’t Know How To Choose A Niche

Let’s explore these four fears that could be holding you back from niching down and building the seven-figure real estate business you deserve. 

But real quick, let’s take a minute and understand what I’m talking about when I say niche. 

What Is A Real Estate Niche?

When it comes to real estate and talking about niching, it’s helpful to think of your niche as your who and your what

You need to be able to answer the questions:

Who is your target market?

What is the solution you provide them?

In the age of the internet, the role of the agent has shifted dramatically. As agents, we’re no longer simply the keepers of information. And our clients aren’t just looking for someone to open a door for them.

Those days are long gone.

Which is why it’s SO important that we’re clear on the tangible value we provide – and who we provide it to.

And one more quick note about the niche…

I am NOT talking about geo farming, here. Your ZIP code is not a niche! 

Some better examples of real estate niches could be:

  • First-time buyers
  • Downsizers
  • Upsizers
  • The LGBT community

You get the idea.

Now that you’re clear on exactly what I mean when talking about your real estate niche, let’s get into some of the four core fears that might be holding you back from picking one. 

You’re Afraid Of Turning Away Business 

This is probably the most common reason why so many agents resist choosing a niche. 

And while it may seem like you’re limiting yourself when you focus on a niche, it’s actually the opposite. 

Here’s why. 

When you target a specific group of people all with a specific problem, it makes your real estate marketing strategy 1000x easier. 

Because here’s what you need to remember…

As a real estate agent, you actually have two jobs.

You’re a real estate agent. 

AND you’re a marketer.

You can’t be a great real estate agent if you’re not at least a pretty good marketer.

You can be the best realtor in the world…but at the end of the day, if you don’t have enough clients to serve, then it’s kind of a moot point, right?

When you niche down, you’re able to target a specific group of people and speak directly to them. 

In their own words, creating an emotional connection, and touching their hearts and minds. 

And it doesn’t just affect your marketing.

It helps you create a service perfectly tailored to your ideal client avatar. 

And when you know how to anticipate every need your ideal client has, you become the best of the best.

You become the expert at solving THEIR specific problem – and people start to notice you for it.

When clients start seeking you out for your expertise, you’re able to charge more.

Inbound clients aren’t the type to haggle on commission.

Choosing a real estate agent niche completely shifts the power dynamic and it completely shifts the way you run your business. 

You start doing your best work because you’re working with people you LOVE and you’re creating life-changing solutions for those people. And those life-changing solutions create a whole lot of buzz and referrals for your business. 

There’s so much real estate noise out there, and picking a real estate niche helps you cut through it. 

You Don’t Want To Feel Boxed In

The second common fear I see that holds agents back from choosing a real estate niche is fearing they’ll feel ‘boxed in’.

Here’s what you need to remember about picking a niche…

Choosing to tailor and market your services to one specific ideal client doesn’t necessarily mean you can never work with anyone who falls outside that category.

I’m not asking you to get rid of half your clients!

It just means your marketing is going to be dialed into one particular type of person, which makes attracting clients so much easier. 

If you happen to attract someone who falls outside of your usual ideal client, you can still choose to serve them if you think you’ll be able to get results. 

In the age of the internet, we HAVE to be able to step up our marketing as agents, and picking a niche helps us do that.

Gone are the days when we choose to specialize in a location and get clients using old-school techniques like handing out fliers and cold-calling.

Successful real estate agents instead implement highly-targeted, leveraged marketing strategies to reach their ideal clients at scale.

The other thing to keep in mind?

You’re not stuck with your niche for life.

Your niche is going to evolve, expand, and refine itself over time.

Don’t hold yourself back from picking a real estate niche because you think you need to be married to it for life. 

You’re Afraid Of Choosing The Wrong Niche

As I just mentioned, you’re never stuck with your niche, but even so…maybe the fear you’re going to mess it up has kept you from niching down.

Your niche is going to grow as YOU grow. 

For example, as a new real estate agent, you might say you want to help first-time buyers. 

But are you going to want to work with first-time buyers for a decade?

Probably not.

Your niche may also evolve while the market evolves.

Say you start out serving upsizers. Those clients might not be upsizers forever. They might end up being downsizers. Over the years, you might see the needs of your market shift, and your services will evolve with them to continuously best serve your clients.

But just because your niche may not be yours forever doesn’t mean you shouldn’t put some serious thought into your real estate niche. 

How To Pick A Real Estate Niche

You want to put time and effort into researching and evaluating your niche. 

Here are two things you want to take into consideration.

Your Demographic and Experience Level 

If you’re 25, you’re probably not going to want to serve downsizers. 

Why? 

Because you’re not at the stage in your life where you’re going to be able to resonate with them on a deep level.

You won’t be able to fully understand all of their pains and problems.

Your niche is going to work best when your ideal clients feel like you genuinely ‘get’ them.

For example…

  • Are you a military spouse? Military couples will be drawn to you.
  • A total family man? Families looking to relocate might be a great niche for you.
  • A successful real estate investor? Investing clients will look up to you and feel you have the expertise and authority to guide them.

Take a look at your personality, lifestyle, and experiences to see what kind of ideal client avatar would be a match for you. 

Your Market Needs

The second thing you’re going to want to take into consideration is the demographics in your market.

For example, say there are 10,000 people in your market every year who are upsizing, and there are only 1000 people each year who are downsizing.

Well, you’re going to want to pick the upsizers.

You want to make sure your niche is large enough so you’re able to hit all of your financial goals.

You Don’t Know How To Choose Your Real Estate Niche

Maybe the reason you haven’t been able to pick a niche isn’t so much because you’re afraid, but you simply just don’t know how.

I remember feeling this exact same way.

All the advice I was hearing at the time was telling me the way to pick a real estate niche was to go the geo farming route.

But deep down, I *knew* that wasn’t right.

So I decided to get really clear on:

  1. Who I actually wanted to serve and who was going to resonate with me
  2. And what was actually happening in the market from a demographic standpoint.

Once I got clear on those two things, the niching process actually became a whole lot easier.

Profitable Real Estate Niche Ideas

To get your wheels turning, I want to list some examples of niches that work really well, and that the members in The Listings Lab have had a lot of success with.

  • Upsizers
  • Downsizers
  • First-time buyers
  • Seasoned investors
  • Corporate professionals 
  • The LGBTQ community
  • Divorcees
  • Families
  • Expats/Relocating professionals
  • Empty nesters

The important thing is that you’re using the exact term that your target market uses.

So make sure your ideal client self-identifies with whatever term you choose to address them.

That way, they’ll be able to see themselves in your marketing content and think, “YES! That’s me”. 

By finally committing to a real estate niche, you’ll be able to:

  • Attract more inbound leads, effortlessly 
  • Become the go-to agent for your ideal clients
  • And build a more streamlined, scalable business

Want to learn more about how niching down helps you bring in a steady stream of leads?

Download The Listings Lab Guide and learn how to fill your calendar with appointments – all without using fake or sleazy tactics.

Download The Guide Here

Master Social Media Headlines And Increase Client Engagement

Social media headlines, and headlines in general, are one of the most important parts of content creation as a realtor.

Think about it this way.

You could create the most amazing content.

Filled with valuable education, juicy real estate tips, and wisdom for your potential clients.

But if your headline is just “meh”…then nobody is going to read it. 

Your social media headlines are the initial hook for the rest of your post. 

And if they don’t adequately grab the attention of your ideal clients, all of the incredible content you’re creating is going to waste.

You have to remember…

There’s a LOT of content out there. People can’t possibly consume all of the content put in front of them on a daily basis.

They only have so much time and attention to give. Which means they have to make a snap judgment about your content, and a lot of the time that snap judgment is based purely on the headline. 

Your Headline Has One Job 

While having your followers judge your entire post based on the first line isn’t ideal, it IS the reality.

You could have fantastic content but none of it will matter if your headline doesn’t do its job…

To entice the reader to consume your content. 

So you have two choices.

You can feel frustrated and victimized by the fact that your content just isn’t getting the engagement it deserves in our media-saturated world.

OR, you can buckle up and take the time to learn the fundamentals of social media headline writing, a fundamental skill if you want to master your marketing as a real estate agent.

I hope you choose #2 and start viewing your headline as the MOST important part of your content.

They are the biggest and the greatest marketing piece that you have in order to get that attention…and then keep that attention. 

On average, five times as many people read the headline as read the body of the copy. So once you’ve mastered your headline, you’ve spent 80 cents out of your dollar, just through the headline alone. 

When you look at professional copywriters, they’ll spend HOURS just coming up with a solid hook, often rewriting the headline up to 100 times.

4 Types of Social Media Headlines to Hook Your Followers

Now, if you’re thinking, “Jess, hold up. There’s NO way I have time for that”…don’t worry. 

I’m not going to ask you to spend all your precious time writing headlines. 

In fact, in this post, I’m going to give you some proven copywriting formulas so you can shorten the time it takes to write engaging headlines. 

With these formulas, you’ll be able to create high-converting headlines with a fraction of the time and a fraction of the effort. 

Let’s get into them! 

When it comes to headlines for your social media posts, there are really four ways to get the interest of your audience.

These four headline types are as follows:

  1. Headlines that promise value
  2. Headlines that spark curiosity
  3. Headlines that subvert expectations
  4. Headlines that call out the reader

Some headlines will lead really heavily in one particular direction or the other. And some of them might even be a hybrid of two of those principles at once. 

Let’s dive deeper into how to use these formulas to get your followers hooked on your content. 

Headline Type #1: Promising Value 


Value-focused headlines are probably the most straightforward of the headline formulas. 

All you need to do is promise a specific, tangible outline in your headline. You can also add a framework or a timeline to jazz it up.

The basic gist of your headline should be, “How to achieve [X RESULT]”

Some examples could be:

  • “How To Sell Your Home in 5 Days Or Less”
  • “How To Be The Winning Offer In A Low Inventory Market”
  • “5 Renos To Do This Year To Increase The Value of Your Home”

Your reader should immediately be able to see what they’ll gain or learn from reading your post! 

Headline Type #2: Sparking Curiosity

Curiosity-driven headline formulas are going to be a little different. These headlines rely on information gaps. 

These gaps entice your audience to read even further. 

A good two-step template for these social media headlines is to tease them with an outcome and then promise them a solution in the copy…but without revealing what it is!

Some examples might be:

  • “Want To Sell Your House For $100,000 Over Asking? Do This 👇”
  • “Is Your House Not Moving? This Might Be Why….”
  • “Stop Doing THIS Thing If You Want To Sell Your House Over Asking”

Unlike the first formula, you’re not spelling out the value or tips you’ll provide. Instead, you’re piquing their curiosity so they click that “Read More” button to find out exactly what you’re talking about. 

Headline Type #3: Subverting Expectations

The third type of formula is an expectation-defying headline formula. 

You may have seen this classic expectation-defying headline, as it’s been around for ages.

Maybe you’re familiar with the example of “They Laughed When I Sat Down At The Piano, But When I Started To Play!” which was an ad that was created all the way back in 1926 by John Caples. 

As you can see, this headline formula has been around for nearly one hundred years. 

But it’s REALLY been popularized in recent years with online media’s heavy focus on clicks and virality. 

You’ve probably seen BuzzFeed articles that end with things like, “and you’ll never guess what happened next” or, “what happened after will blow your mind”. 

Essentially, headlines that subvert expectations are all about creating a one-sentence plot twist. 

You set up an expectation in the first part of the headline, and then you pull the rug out from under your readers with the second part. 

This might look like:

  • Top [#] Tips From [A Surprising Source]
  • I.e. Five Job Interview Tips From A Hostage Negotiator  

Another strategy might be promising a certain result, but using an objection that you commonly receive tacked onto the end.

Such as:

  • “How To Create Content That Sells (Even If You Got An 5 In English)”
  • Or, “How To Sell Your House For $100,000 Over Asking (Even Without A Renovation)”

It’s all about getting your readers to think, “Wait a second…what’s she going to tell me here?!” by ending your headline with something they weren’t expecting!

Headline Type #4: Calling Out The Reader

The last one is call out headline formulas.

And a quick disclaimer, you want to use these with caution.

These headlines work by invoking a pain point in your audience in the most direct way possible. 

And when you hit the nail on the head, they’re extremely effective.

But if you miss the mark with your messaging, they can seriously fall flat. 

This is why we preach the importance of honing your marketing messaging by doing ideal client avatar interviews. 

If you’re not crystal clear on the pain points your ideal client is experiencing, this type of headline won’t be effective, so make sure you know your avatar inside out. 

Some examples I might use in my real estate coaching business could be:

  • “Stop Posting Just Listed, Just Sold Posts”
  • “You’ll Never Reach 7 Figures By Relying on Referrals, Here’s Why”

Another way would be to phrase it as a provocative question. Maybe you ask your audience, “Are You Brave Enough To List Your House In The Winter?”

There are a million different ways you could do this, but it has to be geared towards the specific pain points and desires of your ideal audience.

Pro Tip: When you’re using the “calling out” headline formula, you want to use as much empathy and care as possible.

You don’t want to sound too preachy or judgmental.

But I do believe there’s a place for brutal honesty in your marketing. Just make sure you’re doing it from a place of love for your ideal clients.

Whether you opt for a headline that promises value, induces curiosity, subverts expectations, calls out your reader, or even a headline that’s a hybrid of the four – these formulas are guaranteed to bring in results, every single time. 

You’ll find yourself getting MORE engagement on your content (because people are actually reading it!) and saving time when it comes to creating real estate content for social media. 

And if you’re ready to dive deeper into building a powerful marketing machine for your real estate business, download our Listings Lab Method Guide to start effortlessly attracting more leads than ever before (without feeling sleazy or fake!).

How Justin Loncaric 10x’d His Real Estate Business And Created Time Freedom With The Listings Lab

Curious about the results some of The Listings Lab members are getting in the program?

While we’ve got a whole page dedicated to client love, today I wanted to spotlight one member in particular. 

That member is Justin Loncaric.

Justin Loncaric is a Burlington-based real estate agent and the founder of JL Realty Group. He’s a husband, a father, and an entrepreneur who helps Burlington-based families move up to their next home using his signature Home Run Method.

Since implementing the strategies taught in The Listings Lab, Justin’s had some fantastic results.

Results like:

  • Going from $150,000 GCI to $1.3 million in less than two years 
  • Creating the space and bandwidth in his schedule to start a second business
  • Building a powerhouse team that he can truly lean on 
  • Got out of debt and has completely secured his children’s education fund

And so, so much more.

We sat down to talk with Justin and talk about his biggest lessons, aha’s, and takeaways since joining the program.

What was the moment Justin decided to join The Listings Lab? 

Before Justin joined The Listings Lab, he was doing about $150,00 GCI in 2019.

Now, you might think that’s not a terrible income for an individual.

But Justin had a team of three, and he was struggling to make ends meet. 

When Justin met Jess at The Listings Lab office back in 2019, he had an epiphany.

Despite having been in the real estate game for a long time, he realized…

“Oh crap, I’m doing things wrong”

It was at that moment that he needed to make a tough decision and admit he needed support. 

Putting his ego aside and trusting someone else wasn’t easy, but he decided to jump in head-first to the program.

These were just a few of the biggest things he was able to accomplish. 

He developed systems

Justin said his biggest takeaway from the program was the systems he developed that had previously been missing from his business.

As he described it, he and his team were “flying by the seat of their pants”.

Justin’s experience coming into the program is NOT abnormal.

When many agents come to us, they’re disorganized. They haven’t learned how to treat their real estate business like a real business. 

If you feel like you’re constantly flitting from one thing to the next, constantly hopping on phone calls, and putting out fires, you’re likely operating from a reactive mode.

You’re constantly in busy mode. But by staying in this mode for too long, you’ll eventually be headed on a one-way track for realtor burnout. 

By implementing systems, Justin was able to ditch the hustle and free up his days.

He cemented his vision

Justin came from a real estate family.

He’s been in it for 41 years, his parents do it.

And while he deeply admired his parents, he knew he didn’t want to recreate their real estate business.

He saw his mom work crazy long hours, working in the field till she was in her seventies.

While he lives and breathes all things real estate, his dream was different.

He envisioned retirement. Spending more time with his family. Being able to get off early and make his kids’ hockey practice.

He didn’t want to spend the final years of his career working to the bone, but rather working to develop more passive income streams.

In his words, he wanted “to make my money work for me rather than have to work for my money”.

Justin decided to choose to do real estate differently, and embrace a new model.

He embraced team growth

One of the biggest shifts Justin had to make to start creating his new real estate vision was this…

He had to realize that he wasn’t the person that had to be doing everything.

Through implementing The Listings Lab curriculum, Justin was able to realize that skillfully delegating to his team resulted in:

  • Happier clients
  • Better response times
  • A higher level of support and service

He no longer felt like he was flying by the seat of his pants. He began working with his clients in a very systematized way.

Now, Justin has a team that he trusts 150%. 

But to get there, he didn’t just quickly post and ad and hire haphazardly.

Hiring takes time and effort. 

Hire slow if you want a team who’s around for the long run. 

He gained the bandwidth to start a new business

You want to know what happens when you get clear on your vision, and then develop the systems and team structure to make it happen?

You create more space in your day. 

You transform your life in ways you never could have imagined. 

There’s no doubt about it – Justin’s a different person now.

He’s been on an incredible weight loss journey, he’s shown up for every single one of his kids’ hockey commitments, and he’s nearly 10xed the growth of his business…

But that’s not all.

He’s even increased his bandwidth to the point where he’s been able to start a second business.

This business idea was something that had been on Justin’s mind for 3-4 years, but he’d NEVER been able to execute it before.

Even though he had team support, he’d never learned how to properly leverage his team. So after going through our program, he was able to operate his business in a way where his team actually gave him his time back.

Justin was able to create a second business, Listing Loans, a pre-listing renovation financing company.

What made Justin so successful? 

There are a myriad of reasons why Justin’s been so incredibly successful in real estate. But let’s get into a few of the biggest reasons why Justin got such phenomenal results implementing The Listings Lab curriculum. 

1. Coachability

Across the board, all of our star Listings Lab students are highly coachable. 

Coachable individuals can open their minds to a new way of doing things.

They go all-in when they invest in a program, determined to do whatever it takes to make things work. 

They don’t do some of the assignments, they do all of them.

They don’t haphazardly listen during coaching calls, they take notes.

They don’t ignore advice from their coach because they think they know better.

Being coachable isn’t always easy. Especially when you have an extensive real estate background like Justin.

But when he signed the contract on the dotted line, he made a commitment.

He said to his wife, “If we do this, we’re going to do everything they tell us to do. There’s no second-guessing, no middle ground.”

They went all-in on the process and got incredible results because of it.

2. Left his comfort zone

Whenever you commit to a mentorship program, the process WILL test you.

You’ll have your moments where you think, “What the hell am I doing?”

It’s in these moments that you have to trust the process.

While Justin had his moments of fear and doubt, the end result was worth all of those scary moments.

Asking for help is never easy. It requires you to exit your comfort zone. 

3. Leave your ego at the door

If you want to truly see results from any coach or mentorship program, you have to be willing to leave your ego at the door.

I started working with my coach when he was just 27. 

But did I tell myself I knew better than him because I was older? Or that I shouldn’t listen to him because on paper, I had more business experience?

No.

I had to be willing to admit that I didn’t have all of the answers, and he did.

Even though Justin had decades of real estate experience and grew up within a real estate family, he too checked his ego at the door.

He was willing to admit that he wasn’t where he wanted to be. And that he needed support.

There was a time when Justin told himself he’d be happy making $100k a year.

But he dug deep and got honest with himself…

Why WOULDN’T he build the big, automated business that would help him find freedom and build a legacy for his kids?

Now, Justin’s a 7-figure real estate agent with a burgeoning second business.

Do you want to learn more about how you can get results like Justin?

➡️ Apply HERE to join us in The Listings Lab 

10 Powerful Reminders For The Aspiring Millionaire Real Estate Agent

Do you have dreams of becoming a millionaire real estate agent? Do you want to create a real estate brand that gives you unlimited income and impact?

If so, you’re in the right place. 

There are certain things that all 7 figure real estate businesses have in common.

In this post, we’ll be covering our top do’s and dont’s for agents looking to scale to the seven-figure mark, what you should (and should not) be focusing on, and the types of shiny object syndrome that can come up and distract you from the path to seven figures. 

Let’s go! 

Remember It’s Not About You

Probably one of the most important lessons for aspiring millionaire real estate agents is this:

Your brand is not about you. 

A lot of the time when agents start working on their brand, they ask themselves questions like:

  • What do I want to talk about?
  • What do I want the brand to look like? 
  • How do I want it to feel? 
  • What feels good to me? 

Newsflash: that is the OPPOSITE way to build a really powerful brand.

Remember: your brand is not about you, it’s about the people you’re looking to attract. 

It’s far too easy to get caught up in your own stuff. Your own fears, your own limiting beliefs, their own ideas, your own desires and preferences.

And often what happens is rather than attracting your ideal clients, your branding ends up attracting other agents. 

Get clear on who you’re speaking to, and make sure you’re building your brand with that ideal client avatar in mind. 

Understand How Your Clients Want To Feel

Once you’ve started to get clear on your avatar and you understand the importance of building your brand around THEM…it’s time to ask yourself the deeper questions.

One of the biggest ones is this:

How do your ideal clients want to FEEL? 

To answer this question, you need to get clear on a few things.

What’s happening in their lives at the moment? What kind of transition are they making, and why? 

Because THAT is what you’re helping with them.

When you know where your clients are now, and the problem they’re experiencing…

And you know where they want to be, and the results they want to experience…

You can position your services as the bridge between where they are now and where they want to be. 

If you’re not clear on the above, you’ll find that you’re spinning your wheels on marketing without getting any real results. 

You can be doing ALL the things – posting on social media, posting your listings, sending out emails. But it will only feel like you’re shouting into a void unless you get clear on how your clients want to feel. 

Create A Signature Package That Solves Their Problem

Once you’ve gotten clear on what your clients want to feel…

It’s time to create a service package that helps them feel that way.

For example, maybe you know that your client is a high-end client who wants to feel prioritized. High-touch service is important to them. They want to feel like they’re being taken care of.

In that case, you might want to include multiple touch points with your team so that you’re constantly checking in with your clients. Things like small gifts, regular check-in calls, and responsiveness with emails/messages could be a core part of your service.

Many people mistakenly assume that the more things they include in their package, the better. 

It’s time their package is a basket and they’re just trying to cram as much stuff into that basket as possible. Sometimes they might be throwing things into the basket that their clients don’t even want…all in the name of “value”.

This is not how you should go about creating your real estate service packages. All this does is create a race to the bottom about who can offer “more” for less money. If you ever want to become a real estate millionaire, you’ve got to ditch this mindset. 

In reality, your package should only include what’s absolutely necessary to solve your client’s problem and get them the results they desire.

What is the most efficient way to get them to where they want to go?

That is a far better question to ask than, how much can I include in this package? 

Develop Your Signature Brand Story 

Number three is to create a brand story that’s easy to spread. This is not your grandmother’s realtor “About Me” section. This isn’t the vanilla, “I went to such and such a school. And then I got married and I had kids. And then I decided to get into real estate!”

That may be your story. But you need to be you need to do better than that. 

At the end of the day, there are three things a brand story needs to be: 

  • It needs to be marketable
  • It needs to be compelling
  • And it needs to be memorable

Part of the reason your brand story is so important is because the human brain LOVES stories. 

Stories are 22 times more memorable than facts. So if you’re just spitting facts and market stats…you’re not going to seem noteworthy to your ideal clients.

But a powerful brand story on the other hand, it sticks with people. Especially if you’re willing to get a little bit polarizing or vulnerable in your content.

Once you’ve crafted the perfect brand story, be sure to repeat it over and over again. It becomes who you are. It lives in your listing presentations, your buyer presentations. It’s the story that you tell when people ask, how did you get into this business? It’s the story that everything else is created on top of. 

Show Up Authentically Online

If you want to be a millionaire real estate agent, you’re not going to get there by copying somebody else. You’re not going to get there by showing up like every other agent or hiding your true self in order to be “professional”.

A lot of the time, all of the branding techniques agents use – the fancy transitions, the videos cut to music, the clips with scrolling branding – all you’re doing is cheapening your brand.

Because at the end of the day, people are only looking to see a couple of basic things.

  1. They want to know you’re really freaking good at what you do.
  2. And they want to know that you’re a good human being.

That’s it!

Marketing is NOT about playing a part.

Your potential clients will be able to sniff out inauthenticity from a mile away. 

So commit to being your true self online.

If you’re the funny friend in real life, be humorous! 

If you’re the dog mom who’s obsessed with your pup, gush about them in your content.

If you’re a family man, show the behind-the-scenes of balancing work and family.

Don’t edit out the parts that make you real, that makes you human. 

It can be easy to focus ALL of your content on business, clients and showing how hard you’re working, when that’s not actually what your clients want to see. 

Prioritize Emotional Connection 

Millionaire real estate agents understand that 97% of marketing is emotional.

It’s not about facts, it’s about feelings.

People make decisions emotionally first. And only then do they back the decision up with logic.

This doesn’t mean the logical side of your business isn’t important. Of course, no one’s going to want to work with you if you’ve never done a deal or don’t have the experience to back up your claims.

But at the end of the day, people are only going to reach out to work with you if they feel a strong emotional connection with you.

Building that like, know and trust factor isn’t about posting about all the business you’ve acquired through “just listed, just sold” posts.

It could look like sharing your most embarrassing story with your audience, and having a laugh together.

Telling stories and being real creates transparency. And that’s what builds a brand.

I want you to think about your favorite influencers. 

I’m willing to bet there’s a few people online you follow who you’ve never met in real life – but you feel like you’re friends.

THAT is the vibe we want to be going for. We’re not looking for people to put us on a pedestal.

Do Not Discount Your Services

Millionaire real estate agents never discount their services.

If you’re building a seven-figure real estate brand, and you want people coming to you asking you how they can work with you…

I can guarantee you – they won’t be coming to you because you charge a lower price.

They’ll be coming to you because you actually solve problems.

There will always be someone willing to do it for less than you. 

You get to decide – do you want to be the Chanel of real estate, or do you want to be Dollarama?

If you want to be a million-dollar real estate agent, you have to act like it from the beginning.

Be A Pleasure To Work With 

I truly believe that one thing all successful agents have in common is that they’re truly a pleasure to work with. 

And I don’t just mean with their clients.

I mean with everyone. 

They’re kind and generous to other agents, to contractors, to stagers.

They don’t see other agents as a threat or competition.

If you’re one of those agents that makes everything more difficult than it needs to be, nobody’s going to want to work with you.

A lot of agents overcomplicate things feeling like they need to “earn” their commission. So if they get an offer on the first day, they’re not going to accept it. They’re going to be difficult and aggressive because subconsciously, they feel like they haven’t worked hard enough. 

But even if a deal is easy or effortless, you’ve done your job!

When you’re easy to work with, people from all over the place are going to refer you and want to continuously do business with you.

Millionaire Real Estate Agents Don’t Create In A Vacuum

One of the biggest mistakes that will prevent you from building a 7-figure real estate is not listening to your people. 

A lot of people will try to go out and build a brand without really understanding what their ideal clients want. They’ll go out and hire a branding company, or a marketing agency, to create logos, visual imagery, and content.

But it’s not based on a solid foundation. 

If that branding is not based on intensive market research, it’s never going to land.

Don’t create in a vacuum.

Marketing isn’t about sitting behind your computer and keeping yourself busy fiddling with your website and making pretty quotes in Canva.

It’s about having REAL life conversations with your ideal clients. Conversations about their hopes, dreams, fears, desires. 

Put in Long-term Processes & Systems

Millionaire real estate agents are not successful simply because they have a good list. 

They’re successful because they’ve built a COMPANY.

If you’ve ever considered that one day you might like to sell your business, or even pass it on to your children, this is incredibly important.

You need to be developing systems and processes so your company is not just dependent on you and your contacts.

A sellable business means you have a consistent, predictable lead flow. You’re not just relying on referrals from friends and family!

When you follow all of these ten steps, you’ll have a legitimate business that is predictable, profitable and unlimitedly, scalable.

You’ll have all of the foundations to make your first million dollars from real estate.

And if you’re looking for deeper support, this is exactly what we help agents with in The Listings Lab.

Check out what our past clients are saying HERE, and apply if you’re looking for mentorship to go from 6 👉🏼7 figures as an agent. 

Apply For The Listings Lab Program Here

5 Elements To Include In Your Real Estate Agent Instagram Bio

An appealing Instagram bio and compelling profile are one of the most important parts of any agent’s Instagram strategy.

Why? 

Because you only have three seconds to gain that follower.

Let’s say your ideal client stumbles upon a piece of content that you create. They might think to themselves, “Woah, that was good stuff. I’m going to go check out what they’re all about!”

From there, it’s just a matter of seconds before they decide whether or not you’re worth the follow.

The reality is, that 95% of the real estate agent Instagram profiles I come across are incredibly vague. And unfortunately, there’s a ton of copying in the space, meaning everyone’s sort of profile kind of blends together!

Getting your profile set up the right way is crucial because if it’s not done properly, a bad profile could sabotage your content creation efforts.

You could be creating the most *amazing* content – that’s getting shares and saves from new eyes! But if they click back to your profile and they’re not sold, they’re going to think your post was just a one-hit-wonder.

You want to make sure your real estate agent Instagram bio and overall profile is:

  • Clear
  • Coherent
  • Specific
  • And not too sales-y!

Common Real Estate Agent Instagram Bio Mistakes

Often, people’s profiles tend to swing to one end of the spectrum.

Either 

  1. A) their profile is vague that you’re not even sure what they do.

Or

  1. B) their messaging is so in your face and sales-y that it actually repels ideal clients.

We want to avoid both of those scenarios!

5 Key Elements For Your Instagram Real Estate Bio & Checklist

To do so, make sure to include these five elements in your Instagram bio and profile to attract your ideal clients like wildfire.

Choose A Compelling Photo

The very first thing to consider is your Instagram profile picture. Of course, you want this to be a photo of YOU!

Not a logo. 

Remember, people buy from people. Make sure you’re presenting yourself as a human being rather than as a faceless company. 

Choosing a logo will feel very corporate and cold. Social media is all about SOCIAL networking, so showcase the humans behind the brand. Even if you’re a team/brokerage, showcase photos of the founder and team in both the profile picture, highlights section, and on your grid to build that connection. 

Follow these tips when it comes to your Instagram profile photo:

  • Make sure your head is centered/not cut off
  • Choose a photo where you’re smiling (not scowling!)
  • Choose an image that makes you look approachable. While headshots are nice, you don’t want to look SO polished and done up that you don’t seem authentic. 

This is the first impression your potential client has with you, so make it count!

Include The Proper Keywords & Messaging in Your Bio

Firstly, you want to make sure that you’re including the word “Realtor” in your bio, as well as the area you’re servicing.

This is important for two reasons:

  1. Because we want people to immediately understand what you do.
  2. Because often people will use the “search” function on Instagram – and we want to make sure that your profile comes up if they’re looking for a realtor in your area.

Secondly, you want to make sure that you’re using an “I help” statement.

You want to make sure that you’re treating your Instagram profile like an entrepreneur…not an influencer. Which means making it crystal clear how you support your ideal clients. 

You can use this format for your “I help” statement: I help [Ideal Client] in [Region] achieve [RESULT].

For example – “I help luxury sellers in NOLA sell their mansions for millions”

If that was your niche, your ideal client would immediately know they’re in the right spot, you’re qualified to help them, and hitting that “follow” button would benefit them. 

Remember, your profile is more about your client than you!

Include A Helpful CTA In Your Instagram Bio

If someone lands on your profile and they like what they see, we want to make sure that we’re giving them a clear next step. 

How can a follower take that next step and learn more about your services?

Having an enticing CTA (call to action) is what turns your Instagram profile into a profitable sales funnel.

Some ideas for CTAs could be:

  • Booking a free consultation
  • Downloading a free guide
  • Consuming long-form content (like a blog or podcast)

Whatever’s going to entice your follower to click through and deepen the relationship with you!

Make sure you avoid putting a very general CTA, like checking out your website. We want to make sure we’re funnelling our followers to a direct location. 

Bonus points: You can embed your Facebook pixel on the link that you choose. This will include a tracking code so you can eventually retarget those people down the road! 

Perfect Your Instagram Highlights

The Instagram highlights section is probably one of the most under leveraged features by so many agents.

When you set up your Instagram highlights properly, it can actually act as a sales sequence. 

Your highlights can take your new followers on a journey, and help convert them from a follower to a fan.

Here are the specific Instagram highlights you want to include to attract more ideal clients: 

  • Your story: What’s the story behind your brand? How did you get started as an agent? Give your new followers a quick intro/backstory so they can learn more about you. 
  • Mini trainings: this is all about showcasing the value you give your clients and demonstrating your knowledge & expertise. 
  • Social proof: this could be testimonials, case studies, or screenshots from happy clients. It could also be media features – anything that showcases you as an authority or demonstrates the results you get your clients!
  • Your methodology: What’s your process for getting clients’ results? What makes you different from other agents? Outline your method for helping clients get from A to B. 
  • Personal/fun: We don’t want to only post about business 100% of the time. This is the highlight where you can show the human side of your brand. Think travel, your favorite restaurants, your family, hobbies, pets – whatever makes you, YOU!

When you take the time to properly set up your highlights, you’ll have a 24/7 sales sequence that’s always working to nurture your new followers!

Your real estate agent Instagram bio and profile is one of the most important marketing tools. It’s where you’ll make a first impression on your potential clients and encourage them to take the first step in a hopefully long and fruitful relationship with you!

So make sure you’re properly optimizing your profile by adding in all these key elements for Instagram success.

Want more tips on mastering Instagram as an agent? 

Read this post on Instagram for real estate agents and our top do’s and dont’s!

And if you want more tips on how to build your real estate marketing machine, our Listings Lab Method Guide will teach you how to fill your calendar with appointments without manual prospecting or sleazy tactics. Download it here. 

Real Estate Calls To Action 101: Don’t Make These CTA Mistakes

Are you being strategic with your real estate calls to action?

A call-to-action is what helps your potential clients take the next step…and I’ve been seeing a lot of mistakes surrounding them these days.

I want to shine a light on these call-to-action mistakes I’ve been seeing on social media because I think so many agents don’t even realize what they’re doing wrong. 

Intentional real estate call-to-actions are one of the most important pieces of your marketing. You’re asking people to engage with your content, to get on your email list, or book a call to work with you.

So if your call-to-action falls flat, you’re never going to get your audience to take the key actions needed to grow your business! 

In this post, you’ll learn:

  1. What Is A Call-To-Action 
  2. Soft Call-To-Actions
  3. Hard Call-To-Actions 
  4. When To Use Each Call-To-Action
  5. The Biggest Mistakes Agents Are Making With Their Real Estate Call-To-Actions

Let’s go. 

What Is A Call-To-Action?

Put simply, a call-to-action is when you’re asking your audience to take an action in your real estate marketing.

You’re asking your follower not only to consume the content but to take the next step. That next step might be something small, like sharing the post with a friend, or something bigger, like booking a sales call with you. 

There are different real estate call-to-actions we can use, depending on your overall goal. 

Soft Call-To-Action

Soft calls to action are going to be those lighter, easier actions for your audience to take. 

A soft call-to-action might sound like: 

  • “Comment below if this has happened to you!”
  • “Double-tap if you agree!
  • “Save this post so you can reference it for later”

Essentially, soft calls to action are usually focused on getting engagement from your followers.

Not only is engagement key for making sure your content resonates and gains traction in the algorithm…

But soft calls to action also get your followers in the habit of taking action on your posts.

If your followers are in the habit of responding to your soft calls to action, it’s far more likely they’ll respond when you post a “harder” CTA. 

Hard Call-To-Action

Your hard call-to-actions are going to be those actions that are more direct and promotional in nature. 

These might sound like:

  • “Book a call using the link in my bio!”
  • “Send me a DM to hear more about this offer”
  • Or even, “Sign up for my masterclass using this link”

Hard calls to action are usually focused on conversions – whether that’s converting a lead into a prospect, or getting someone to opt-in using their email address for a free offer. 

When To Use Each Call-To-Action

The kind of real estate call-to-action you use is going to be highly dependent on the type of content you’re posting.

Check out this blog for a refresher on the best types of real estate content for social media. 

For example, it always feels SO icky when a personal, vulnerable story is followed by a hard, promotional CTA.

There’s something very strange about reading a heartfelt post about someone’s family, only to have it end with, “be sure to contact me for all your real estate needs!”.

Pairing a hard call to action with storytelling, personal, or connection-driven content will always feel disingenuous to your followers. 

Instead, you’d want to opt for a soft call to action. Something that drives connection and engagement – rather than promotes your services. 

Whatever you do….just please don’t end your post by telling your followers, “a referral is the biggest compliment that I can get”.

When you see so many other agents posting similar things, it’s easy to get caught up thinking all of your calls to action should be promoting your services. 

But just because there are a lot of people doing it doesn’t mean it’s right! 

Now you’re probably wondering — when IS the right time to be posting harder calls to action? 

Of course, if you’re running ads, you’ll be running them with a direct call-to-action for your followers. 

But in organic content, you really want to limit your calls to action to authority content. 

Authority content often looks like PR features, case studies/testimonials, or posts that outline your process/solution. 

In this case, it’s totally appropriate to slap a direct CTA at the end of your post, after you’ve given some value. 

The Biggest Mistakes Agents Make With Their Real Estate Calls To Action

We already mentioned how pairing a personal and vulnerable post with a hard call-to-action is a huge no. But here are a few other call-to-action mistakes I’m seeing agents make on social media.

Thinking A Call-To-Action Is A Post In Itself 

Spoiler alert: it’s not!

If all you are doing is posting a picture of yourself, or of a house, with a one-sentence caption like, “Give me a call for all of your real estate needs!”…

…that’s not really a post. 

That’s *just* a call to action.

There’s no value. No substance. 

Posting Too Many Hard Call-To-Actions

The biggest mistake you can make is to bombard your audience with too much promo content and hard calls to action. 

Remember the three most important buckets of real estate content for social media you need to be posting are: 

  • Personal content
  • Authority-building content
  • Social proof content

If you’re constantly filling those three content buckets, and every once in a while throwing in a hard call-to-action, you’ll be way more successful with actually getting your followers to respond to what you’re putting out. 

Being Irrelevant To Your Audience 

The other thing that’s important to remember when it comes to calls to action is that people only move once every three to seven years. 

So if you’re constantly only throwing out hard calls to action, and you’re not giving a tremendous amount of value – well, you’re not giving people enough of a reason to stick around.

This is a big reason why personal content is so important to drive connection with your audience. 

People will follow you for years if you’re telling good stories, if you’re showing up giving valuable mini trainings, and if you’re giving them a behind-the-scenes look at your lifestyle. 

But if you’re only pumping out content that is relevant to them when they’re selling or buying a house, that’s where you lose people. 

If you take anything away from this post, I want you to realize that when it comes to real estate calls to action, less is more. 

If you give tremendous amounts of value in your content – even without ANY direct calls to action, you will get inbound business. 

Real estate calls to action directly impact the relationship we have with our potential clients, so make sure you’re being strategic about them! 

Got questions about CTAs? Leave them in the comments!

Do you want to learn more about building powerful marketing strategies that help you effortlessly attract leads and fill your calendar with appointments?

Download The Listings Lab Guide for Exponential Growth 🚀