5 Ways to Stand Out in a Crowded Real Estate Market

It’s an unfortunate fact that standing out in real estate can be difficult in a crowded market. New agents come and go so quickly that it can be hard to make a noticeable splash in your space. How can you stand out in real estate when your market feels so saturated?

It’s not only possible to not get lost in the shuffle—it’s as easy as changing your mindset, creating a few new habits, and working systems that others have created for you. Remember, there are stand-out agents in every market; why can’t that be you? If you want to stand out in real estate, here are five tips to get you started.

Why You? Your Unique Selling Proposition

You first need to define why someone would choose you over your competitors. “Why you?” may be the most important question you ask yourself this year, assuming it leads you to your Unique Selling Proposition or USP. What’s a USP? It’s the answer to the question “Why you?” and it’s the first step to standing out in real estate.

What makes you unique in real estate? What does your background and previous experience lend to your real estate career? What do you do better than the competition and how can you prove it? Figure out the answer to these questions and you’ll have the beginnings of your Unique Selling Proposition and the start of how you can stand out in real estate.

Specialization is a Real Estate Super Power

If you want to stand out in real estate, you need a specialty. Learn more about a topic than anyone else in your area and you’ll automatically be the most attractive option for a specific customer base. What you know becomes a set of tools in your belt that can be used to solve clients’ problems, convert more leads, and close more transactions.

Specialization in real estate is a super power. It gives you the ability to do what other, general agents can’t do because they haven’t spent the time to know what you know and lack the experience to navigate your niche in the way you do. If you want to stand out in real estate, specialization isn’t just a good option—it’s a necessity.

Adapt to New Tech

Like every other industry, real estate has been affected by the march of time and the development of new technologies. Chad Nash famously said, “Learn how to leverage technology, because that’s going to put you into this next generation of how business is being done.” In modern markets, technology is something you can’t afford to be on the wrong side of.

The impact of technology in real estate doesn’t mean you should go out and try to adopt every shiny new app or website that comes along. Being discerning and learning your style of dealing with tech in real estate is an essential skill to learn. The lesson here is to keep your mind and options open, adopting the things that work best for you and your team, whatever that looks like for your specific business needs.

Always Be Networking—Work Your Top 50

The people who know and like you best are who you should be keeping top of mind as you consider how to stand out in real estate. This Sphere of Influence (SOI) is essential for building your reputation in any market. Workman Success Systems offers a free resource on SOI building that we call our Top 50 Tracker (you can get it here for free).

The basic idea is this: the 50 people who are most likely to give you a referral in the next 12 months are the most important cornerstone of your business. They’re also essential to helping you stand out in real estate. Word of mouth can’t be discounted in a business that is so much about the relationships we make and the impressions we leave behind. Make it known to the people who have a good impression of you that you’re their real estate person and turn them into such big fans of your work that they’ll bring you up to the people in their lives.

Serve Regardless of Opportunity

In a crowded market, it can be tempting to only focus on clients who are ready to buy or sell right now. But what about the ones who aren’t quite there yet? By offering value to potential clients—even if they’re not ready to make a move—you can establish yourself as a go-to resource and increase the chances that they’ll choose you when they are ready to buy or sell. Providing value to potential clients is another great way to stand out in real estate.

An agent I know told me about a door-knocking campaign where she’d go out of her way to ask how she could help the people she met. Not everyone took her up on her offer, but those that did quickly became extra friendly and more open to speaking with her about her career in real estate. It bore fruit for her—a number of those contacts went on to become closed transactions.

I’m not suggesting that you should door knock in order to stand out in real estate, but the above example illustrates something important: service is impressive and it leaves an impression. People like you when you help them. If you serve regardless of obvious opportunity, good things tend to come your way.

Standing out in a crowded real estate market doesn’t have to be daunting. If you start small, building good habits every day by following the five steps listed here, you’ll stand out in no time. Consistency and hard work are the key. Take this advice and you’ll stand out in real estate in ways you can’t even imagine yet.