How to position yourself as a true relocation specialist

Attracting people looking to relocate has always been an essential part of any real estate agent’s job.

But there is one major factor that has changed how people relocate to another city — it’s called the internet.

Instead of calling a few agents at random (and hoping they call your office) most consumers, excited and overwhelmed at the same time, will turn to the web to feverishly dig up everything they can about their new place of residence.

At some point, they will happen to come across your site. You have about 3 seconds to capture their business. Is this what you are going to provide to them:

“We are relocation specialists. Fill out the form. We’ll call you.”

Agggnnnnh (the buzzer sound for a wrong answer).

Doesn’t impress anyone. Why would a consumer give up their valuable contact information with no indication of what they will get in return? What’s the benefit to them?

Don’t tell them you are a relocation specialist – show them.

Here are some tips:

Provide a hyperlocal, neighborhood and lifestyle search engine– add SpatialMatch to your site. Position it as the “Relocation Search Tool.” Explain how SpatialMatch is a map-based engine that can show them all the lifestyle amenities in town and the distance from those amenities to the neighborhoods they are considering. That also goes for job locations, places of worship and schools. You can even create separate pages using SpatialMatch for key locations, such as schools. SpatialMatch’s huge back-end database will immediately fill your site with tons of relevant information on that particular subject (always great for search engine optimization as well).

Provide a list of key local places they need to know – don’t remind them they need to get their license changed or register their vehicles, offer to show them where to go for these requirements.

Provide a list of community organizations – moving is not just a physical endeavor, it’s an emotional one as well. Tell prospects you will provide them with a complete list (or links) of churches, clubs, and other organizations in town where they can meet people and make new friends. (Make sure you don’t violate FHA requirements).

Provide a moving checklist – these are easy to put together. Include a time frame – from the day they move to 3 months before they move. This is just one more item that will make the buyers life much easier. Provide a list of local storage facilities.

Real estate expert Bernie Ross pointed out in one of her blogs that SpatialMatch is a great tool for relocation prospects.

“The more hyper-local lifestyle information you give, the more leads you will generate and the more transactions you will close,” she said.

Get the picture? Imagine a prospect bouncing around the web searching for a real estate agent who will help them through this difficult experience.

When they come to your site and they see this menu of cool hyper-local search tools and all these hyper-local resources, well, their quest for a relocation specialist is over.

They found one.

(Here’s an example of a successful real estate company and how they promote their lifestyle search engine on their home page).