PROView - September 2008 - (Page Cover3) (NICHE continued from page 5) as to what your newfound emphasis will be on, take a close look at whether you actually have a natural connection with those you seek to help. Will your target audience easily recognize you as a trusted source of information? Will you be in a position to assist them better than anyone else? L. Duke Tieman of Bruce Taylor, Inc. in Safety Harbor has built his practice solely on helping low to moderate income families become homeowners. When asked about his connection with his target audience, he mentions that he knows what it’s like to lose everything and build it back up. By the time Tieman entered the real estate profession he had lost just about everything. He had a true passion for helping others in a similar situation and decided to learn everything there was to know about assisting first-time homebuyers. New into his role as REALTOR® he was asked to assist a family with the purchase of their first home. Soon, his business grew. Now, twenty-one years later, Tieman says he never deviated from his niche in spite of fluctuating results over the years. According to Tieman, consumers will see through any attempts to build business for the sake of building business. Instead, he suggests REALTORS® select their niche for the right reasons and the financial rewards are certain to follow. Next, based on your research, it’s time to build a business and marketing plan. Spell out what you’ll do to prepare for your niche, how you’ll attract customers and the way in which you’ll assist them. Create your positioning statement and make sure it’s clear to your audience exactly what you can help them with and why you are the one they need. A common question is how long it typically takes to build a niche. In the words of Sharon Simms: “The time it will take to build credibility.” So, how long should you invest in your newfound niche before you assess whether the investment is likely to bear fruit? Simms gave an example. Several years ago she decided to build a niche of serving international clients. She earned a C.I.P.S. designation, did extensive research and become a subject matter expert, and went to work. She decided that within five years she would not allow herself to question whether the niche was going to be successful or not. Instead, she set a five-year limit after which she would let go had it not brought her to where she wanted to be. When her first transaction came? After three years of hard work and commitment to her chosen niche. The reason she got into the business in the first place was to sell homes in golf communities, much due to her passion for the game. Has that happened to you? It’s easy for a niche finding you rather than you finding your niche. Adjusting a Niche So what do you do when you find yourself working a segment of the business you never wanted? Adjust it. While it may sound easier said than done, there may be ways to transition over to your intended niche. In the case of the golf-enthusiastic REALTOR®, she could brand herself as the short sale expert to those living in golf communities. Once we start seeing a more stabilized marketplace, with a smaller occurrence of short sales and foreclosures, she may be able to over time corner the more traditional golf community market she once intended to own. How to Maintain a Niche Establishing a niche isn’t necessarily the hard part. Maintaining it in the minds of those you want to attract is. Your niche needs to be supported by a well-configured brand, extensive marketing, and ongoing promotions to cement your niche in the highly competitive marketplace. Everything you use to position your services need to clearly state the niche you serve. A golf community specialist should consider using images and slogans related to golf, her marketing activities should be narrowly focused on those seeking such a lifestyle. If ads start featuring listings that are much different from your niche anyone seeing the ads may immediately misunderstand whether you’ll be suitable for their specific needs. The Death of One Niche and the Birth of Another A niche can, however, be here today and gone by tomorrow. We’ve seen it in other industries. A telling example is that of the travel industry. Not that long ago retail centers and malls were full of travel agencies. Some niche retailers offered cruises while others specialized in low airfare travel. Now? They’re for the most part gone. What happened? The Internet. Virtually overnight, consumers discovered the convenience of exploring far-away destinations online from the comfort of their homes instead of making a special trip to a travel bureau to pick up a catalogue. Some specialists, however, managed to remain in business. Those specializing in unique travel arrangements continued to succeed in spite of consumers going online for their travel needs. They simply discovered a narrow niche and built on it. A good example of niches some travel agents were able to build on: business meetings, dude ranches and cruises for alternative lifestyles. While a niche may work for some time it’s important to always look out for any market fluctuations that may impact your business, and be ready to either adjust or simply move to another niche. Either way, starting a niche will help you stake out the direction of your business. Finding a Niche Vs. a Niche Finding You Sometimes, however, many may find themselves serving a consumer segment they never really wanted to serve in the first place. Case in point, Simms told me about a REALTOR® who as soon as she passed her real estate exam was asked to help a seller with a short sale. Having successfully completed the transaction, neighbors to the sold property now contacted her for assistance. Before long, she found herself working long hours only serving short sale transactions for which she simply didn’t have the passion. PINELLAS REALTOR® ORGANIZATION September 2008 21
Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of PROView - September 2008 PROView - September 2008 Contents Chairman’s Notes Feature Story PROActive Brokerage Design Marketplace Analysis Home Sales Report MLS Update Calendar of Events & Programs MLS Mind Your Manners New REALTOR® and Affiliate Members PROView - September 2008 PROView - September 2008 - PROView - September 2008 (Page Cover1) PROView - September 2008 - PROView - September 2008 (Page Cover2) PROView - September 2008 - Contents (Page 1) PROView - September 2008 - Chairman’s Notes (Page 2) PROView - September 2008 - Chairman’s Notes (Page 3) PROView - September 2008 - Feature Story (Page 4) PROView - September 2008 - Feature Story (Page 5) PROView - September 2008 - PROActive (Page 6) PROView - September 2008 - PROActive (Page 7) PROView - September 2008 - Brokerage Design (Page 8) PROView - September 2008 - Brokerage Design (Page 9) PROView - September 2008 - Brokerage Design (Page 10) PROView - September 2008 - Brokerage Design (Page 11) PROView - September 2008 - Marketplace Analysis (Page 12) PROView - September 2008 - Home Sales Report (Page 13) PROView - September 2008 - MLS Update (Page 14) PROView - September 2008 - MLS Update (Page 15) PROView - September 2008 - MLS Update (Page 16) PROView - September 2008 - Calendar of Events & Programs (Page 17) PROView - September 2008 - MLS Mind Your Manners (Page 18) PROView - September 2008 - New REALTOR® and Affiliate Members (Page 19) PROView - September 2008 - New REALTOR® and Affiliate Members (Page 20) PROView - September 2008 - New REALTOR® and Affiliate Members (Page Cover3) PROView - September 2008 - New REALTOR® and Affiliate Members (Page Cover4)
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