Identifying who you plan on catering to is one of the first steps to success as a real estate agent. In this popular session at Bayut Academy, we share the secrets to mastering this useful skill, from targeting your market to targeting your audiences out of your niche and more.
Dubai is a land of opportunities. With its growing population of expats and remarkable potential in foreign investment, it can be a landmine of growth for real estate agents who have a well-defined target market. But the harsh reality is that diving into your real estate career without a plan is not going to net you the results you desire.
A common mistake new realtors tend to make is rolling with a generic strategy. Or:
- Trying to take on multiple roles
- Catering to all types of clients
- Catering to all neighbourhoods
But this strategy has its own limitations. These include:
- Not giving you the space needed to specialise
- Limits your expertise
- Provides less of a competitive advantage
- Can result in mismanagement of time and effort
What approach works better? We’d recommend the Specialist Approach. It involves three steps:
- Identify your target market
- Cater to your target audience
- Establish yourself in your niche
Why go for the specialist approach?
- It is a more meaningful and impactful approach
- You can connect with your clients easily
- Helps with a seamless initial qualification
- Personalises your first interaction
- Channels your time and energy toward high potential clients.
Now let’s go through the step-by-step process of understanding the Specialist Approach.
Identifying Your Target Market
What Is A Target Market?
A target market is a group of customers with shared similarities who have been identified as the most likely buyers of a product or service. There are two approaches to identify your real estate target market:
- CUSTOMER FOCUS
- LOCATION FOCUS
Customer Focus
This approach involves segmenting your potential customers under four broad categories:
- First-time homebuyers: Usually families looking to buy their first home
- Investors: Buyers seeking income property
- Luxury buyers: Buyers focused on purchasing luxury properties
- Upgraders: Individuals looking to upgrade from a rental home to buying a home, or who want to live in a bigger (or better) house.
Location Focus
For some individuals, location takes priority. This means, as a realtor, you will be focusing on aspects such as
- Community
- Sub-community
- Apartment living
- Townhouse or villa living
Now that you know what both focuses look like, let’s take a look at the attributes of each:
Attributes Of Customer Focus
- Purpose of purchase
- Demographics of clients
- Profession of clients
Attributes Of Location Focus
- You are selling a lifestyle
- You are selling a dream
- You are selling ‘community living’
Think about the attributes you associate with each category and list them down. Here are some examples:
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First Time Home Buyer
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Investors
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Upgraders
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Luxury Buyers
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|---|---|---|---|
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First Time Home Buyer
Requires expert guidance
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Investors
Seeks in-demand locations
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Upgraders
Occupied with their personal lives
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Luxury Buyers
Often owns multiple properties
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First Time Home Buyer
Thorough with specific requirements
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Investors
Looks for proximity to landmarks
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Upgraders
Seeks safety, security, larger spaces and additional storage spaces
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Luxury Buyers
Often only concerned about net ROI or capital appreciation or both
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|
First Time Home Buyer
Commits to extensive research beforehand
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Investors
Aims for high ROI and is price sensitive
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Upgraders
Familiar with locations
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Luxury Buyers
Unique features in property appeals to them if it helps with ROI
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|
First Time Home Buyer
Needs property in specific locations
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Investors
Looks for incentives on purchase
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Upgraders
Specific with their requirements
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Luxury Buyers
Pays attention to detail & data
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If you’re a rookie real estate agent, what exactly do you focus on? Read on to find out our recommendation:
Our Recommendation: A Hybrid Approach
This approach involves combining both customer and location focussed approaches. We believe it’s a more “holistic” approach to identifying your target market.
To break this down, you basically focus on specific locations and customers, being as detailed as possible about both. For example,
I am targeting all first-time homebuyers within Villanova by Dubai Properties. I will be focussing on Amaranta and La Rosa Clusters.
Compare that with
I am targeting all first-time homebuyers in Dubai
Notice how, by specifying the customers, the community and the sub-community you’re targeting, you have a better plan of action. This will make your work much easier.
Activity Time!
Let us now get more in-depth, by identifying your Target Audience.
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Begin by listing your segment – the property types and the locations you’re planning on targeting.
| Geographic Locations | Property Types |
| 1. 2. |
Then, jot down what you believe are your competitive advantages when selling. This could be, the languages you speak, your age, lifestyle or work background. Move on to listing out your passions or interests, the social groups you’re a part of and if you have any specific customers you’d like to cater to.
| Your own Demographics | Your passions/interests |
| Languages spoken: Age: Lifestyle: Work Background: | ● ● ● |
| Are you a member of any social groups or communities? | Are you passionate about or interested in serving a specific type of customer? |
| ● ● ● | ● ● ● |
Now it’s time to look for opportunities. Opportunities can come from anywhere, such as market conditions, specific communities or events. There’s always opportunity if you look for it.
List the opportunities available around you today and how you could take advantage of them.
| What is the opportunity? | How do you think you can take advantage of it? |
| Market Condition: Sellers Market? Buyers Market? | |
| New Communities: New Handover? New Launches? | |
| Events: Golf Championships? Trade Events? Political Events? |
You now can narrow down your target market.
Describe your Target Market in a short sentence Ex: Holiday Home Buyers looking for High ROI in Emaar Beachfront
My Target Market: ____________________________________________________
Part 2 of this exercise is catering to your target audience. Fill in the ways you can capture your target audience.
| Brief description of your target customer: | Age Group: Occupation: Interest: Lifestyle: |
| What is their main goal? | Return on Investment Capital Gain Self-Use |
| What do they value? | Unit Specifications Price Value for Money Unique features |
| Where are you most likely to find them? | Online – Offline – |
Here, fill in the fields below the ways you can position yourself in your target market.
| Study Your Niche | Educate Your Target Market |
| UNIT DETAILS The total number of units: Type of units: How many different types of units: How many units of each type: ROAD CONNECTIVITY Road Connectivity: Closest Landmark: Nearest Schools: Nearest Hospitals: Nearest Shopping Mall: Community Shopping Mall: COMMUNITY FACILITIES AND AMENITIES: Swimming Pool (Adults): Swimming Pool (Children): Fitness Centre: Children’s Playground: Dog Park: Tennis Court: Basketball Court: Football Pitch: Cycling Track: PRICE DETAILS Average price per square foot: Expected ROI: Average Annual Rent: Average Sale Price: Last 6 Months Transaction Details: | How will you spread your knowledge and capture demand covering the following topics: ●UNIT DETAILS ●CONNECTIVITY ●COMMUNITY FACILITIES & AMENITIES ●PRICE DETAILS & TRANSACTION DETAILS (6 MONTHS) |
Target Audience
Your target audience is more specific than a target market. It can be understood as a pre-defined customer, which includes:
- Demographic information
- Behavioural patterns
- Beliefs and internal desires
Basically, you are looking at the person as a whole, rather than just their budget or the number of bedrooms they want.
How do you identify your customer? You could fill in their profile by taking the following steps:
- Know their goals
- Recognise their values
- Understand their behaviour
- Identify their challenges
- Prepare for objections
Position Yourself And Build Your Presence
- Demonstrate your expertise in your niche
- Provide value
- Educate your target audience
- Create content that is meaningful to your target customers
- Walk the talk
- Be consistent with your presence and efforts
Remember, your goal is not to be just another salesperson, but rather be a consultant and provide value to your clients. This is what leads to referrals and success in real estate.
We’ve narrowed down the golden rules of the specialist approach
- Commit to research
- Consider your competitive advantage
- Look for opportunities
- Be consistent with your efforts and presence
Now it’s time for the real question: ARE YOU A BUYER’S AGENT OR A SELLER’S AGENT
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Buyer’s Agent
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Seller’s Agent
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|---|---|
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Buyer’s Agent
You choose the best property based on what’s available on the market
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Seller’s Agent
Markets a property for sale and ensures it is professionally advertised
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Buyer’s Agent
Offers property investment advice
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Seller’s Agent
Conducts a market appraisal based on recent sales
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Buyer’s Agent
Determines the value of property
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Seller’s Agent
Provides maximum exposure of availability
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Buyer’s Agent
Negotiates the best prices and terms on behalf of the buyers
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Seller’s Agent
Creates exposure amongst buyers and buyers agents & negotiates he best prices and terms on behalf of the seller
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Buyer’s Agent
Arranges inspections and viewings of homes
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Seller’s Agent
Guides a seller through a complex selling process
|
If you’re wondering what these are, a buyer’s agent protects the buyer’s interest; a seller’s agent protects the seller’s interest.
We recommend a 60:40 approach, i.e, one where you spend 60% of your time focusing on the specialist approach and 40% on activities that work best for you. This could be either learning new skills or about a new area, prospecting or networking. Take your time out to see what works best.
To summarise this session, the ideal start to your career is shifting your approach from being a salesperson to someone who provides value to your clientele. Focus on building relationships and your network, while positioning yourself as an expert.
Join us for our next session at Bayut Academy to equip yourself with the skills that can take your real estate career forward. You can also check out our Content Corner, where we share all the tips and tools that can help you achieve your career goals.