Table of contents:
- Unique Value Proposition (UVP) in Real Estate
- What kind of agent are you?
- Creating your UVP
- How to write your UVP
- How to communicate your UVP
- 30-second UVP examples
If you’re reading this, we don’t have to tell you that the real estate agent industry is ripe with competition.
Sometimes, it feels like a real estate agent exists on every corner and on every street in the area you work. That’s the nature of the real estate business.
With so much competition, how can agents find the best real estate home seller leads before their rivals?
We think a lot about how to find real estate leads. We consider the sphere of influence and how to work that sphere of influence.
Learn how to get seller leads with our home valuation landing pages
We talk about social media strategies using facebook marketing for real estate agents and how that can build your brand and lead to real estate sales leads.
But, sometimes, the simplest things can be the most important. There’s an old adage, “You get one shot to make a first impression.”
That old adage holds to real estate agents the same way it holds to any salesperson.
For agents, the “first impression” is the real estate agent’s unique value proposition. Every agent must have one.
The unique value proposition, or UVP, is what separates the agents that get the best seller leads from the agents that must struggle to generate any leads.
In this blog post, we discuss everything you must know to create a great unique value proposition.
By doing so, you can leapfrog the agent competition, grab the top leads, sell more homes, and continue to build your brand as an effective, results-oriented real estate agent.
What is a Unique Value Proposition in Real Estate?
In sales, a unique value proposition does one thing well: it aligns the value the salesperson provides with what the customer values.
If the customer values service above all other things, the unique value proposition showcases how the salesperson provides customers service.
Before attempting to write a unique value proposition, real estate agents must understand what home sellers value.
Starting with customers can help you determine the best UVP for you.
Different Kinds of Property Sellers
Home sellers don’t exist in a vacuum. They aren’t all the same. Some home sellers might want to take the long-road to selling their home.
Others wish to sell their homes as soon as possible. Still others must sell their homes yesterday!
There are home sellers who flip homes for a living. Then, there are home sellers who aren’t even home sellers!
They may own property that they wish to sell, commercial buildings, or property that exists on land. They may even want to sell land and no property at all.
There are a lot of different types of property sellers out there. That makes your job even more difficult.
Now that you know this, how can you possibly create a real estate UVP? You look inward at yourself. That’s the way you create your UVP.
But before doing that, you must consider your customers. Who are they? What type of property do they own?
What Kind of Real Estate Agent Are You?
The first part of creating a unique value proposition in real estate is to consider the customers. You must realize the differences in customers. Then, you must consider your specific customers.
After you accomplish that, the key is to look at yourself. Inspect and define yourself. What kind of real estate agent are you?
Do you have a niche? Do you operate in a specific way?
Real estate agents must do this before creating a unique value proposition statement because by doing so, they can pair who they are to their customers.
Or, another way to say this is that real estate agents can pair who they are to the customers they want.
When a seller lead lands at your feet, the first thing you want to do is get the lead.
The first thing the lead considers is this: cost benefit = value.
A customer, even subconsciously, thinks about their cost.
When it comes to real estate agents, the cost benefit the customer considers is time.
Should I waste my time considering this real estate agent to help me sell my commercial property? My home? My land?
That’s the question the customer considers. Which is why you, the real estate agent must consider these questions before writing your UVP:/””??”
- Do I prefer selling commercial property or homes?
- Do I want to sell land?
- Do I want to sell to families?
- Do I want to operate outside of my neighborhood?
The above statements discuss a niche. But you don’t have to develop a niche.
You mustn’t be the real estate agent that only sells commercial property or family homes in a specific neighborhood.
What you must do before developing an effective UVP is to think about what you want to sell as a real estate agent.
If it’s a niche, then you consider those niche customers.
If it’s everything, you create a unique value proposition that appeals to the “everyday” customer.
Creating Your Real Estate Agent Unique Value Proposition
The best unique value propositions for real estate agents are those that pair agents with customers. Those customers can and should be defined.
However, sometimes if you’re more of a “general” real estate agent, it’s just too hard to define them.
Let’s consider both before turning to the step-by-step process
Niche Real Estate Agents
As you can probably guess, it’s much easier to create a unique value proposition for a clear-cut group of customers.
If you’ve defined your niche market as vacation home seller, you can write a UVP directed towards those wishing to sell their vacation homes.
If your market consists primarily of commercial property sellers, your unique value proposition will be geared towards those customers.
A niche market allows you to hone your UVP. When we get to the step-by-step process of how to create a unique value proposition, you will see how this works!
General Real Estate Agents
We started this blog by discussing real estate agent competition. There are at least 2 million active real estate agents in the U.S.
Writing effective UVPs for general seller leads is more difficult because most of the 2 million write similar UVPs.
But there are ways to separate yourself by considering who you are as a real estate agent.
For example, if you wish to sell both commercial property and residential homes but you only operate in a specific area, you can add the name of that area to your value proposition.
Let’s take a step-by-step look at how to write a real estate agent’s unique value proposition.
Then, we can dig down into the specifics for each type: general seller leads and defined seller leads.
How to Write a Real Estate Agent Unique Value Proposition
Following these steps will help you come up with your very own real estate agent unique value proposition.
- Determine what you offer as a real estate agent
What do you offer as a real estate agent? Experience is at the top. But experience isn’t the only offering.
Sometimes, sellers might want to work with a angry real estate agent, someone new, who has the drive to make them their number one customer.
Think along those lines. Don’t just consider experience as the lone factor.
What do you offer? Not your competitors. Think about all the qualities that make you a great real estate agent even if you haven’t sold your first home yet! - Describe what makes what you offer valuable
If it’s experience, that’s obvious, right? But, what if it’s not?
What if the value you offer is the fact you went through the process of selling 3 to 5 commercial properties on your own?
What if you come from a different world? Maybe, you were a c-level executive who wanted to get into an industry that allowed you more person-to-person contact?
Or, maybe, you sold your own home and thought, “I’d like to help other people sell their homes.”
Think outside the box. Your offer, to sell property, becomes valuable by attaching that value. - Identify your potential sellers main problem
This is trickier than real estate agents think.
Sure, the main problem is selling the vacation home, commercial property, residential, whatever the property is, for as much money and as fast as possible.
But maybe a bigger issue, and this is where real estate agents can create great unique value propositions with some thought, is selling the property with the least amount of headaches.
Often, time isn’t a problem unless we make it. As a real estate agent, your number one value proposition could be taking away the headaches. Or, preventing headaches.
That’s why people still hire financial advisors and real estate agents. They don’t have to.
Everyone can trade on the stock market themselves. They can also sell their own homes. But they don’t.
People need someone to guide them through the pitfalls and landmines in the stock market.
The same sort of pitfalls and landmines exist when they try to sell their property themselves.
Think along those lines when you create your unique value proposition. - Connect the dots: what you offer + value
Now, you connect the dots. Okay. So, you’re a general seller leads real estate agent who wishes to present the fact that although you don’t have much experience, you’re driven to help your customers.
You offer value because you think “customer first”. You must get that across to your potential customers.
Those customers need someone like you to sell their home, or commercial building. They need you! - Add differentiation
The truth is that you add differentiation with your value. But adding more differentiation never hurts. Think about something that’s unique to you.
Maybe, you grew up in the neighborhood where you operate. Or, you have strong ties to the community in some way.
Or, you went to college in that specific neighborhood or city and never left.
A lot of things can differentiate you from your competition. As a real estate agent, it’s important that you consider those factors. - Study the competition
You must study your competition before writing your UVP. Fighting for clicks for example using real estate ads with other agents can get costly.
Yet another reason you should consider signing up for the Home Value Leads Facebook Advertising program!
That’s a shameless plug, yes, but it also points something out. Your UVP is a marketing tool.
So, you must consider the words you use carefully. This is especially true if you sell everything: commercial, residential, vacation, etc.
If you’re a niche real estate agent, you must consider the competition for your niche specifically. - Get personal
All real estate agents are the same until they tell the seller leads why they’re not. Keep that in mind. Getting personal adds an instant connection.
If you’re a niche real estate agent, make sure that when you get personal, you consider your niche.
For example, if you sell commercial property, make sure when you get personal it’s about the commercial property you’ve sold.
It does no good to describe the ties to the “neighborhood” if you don’t sell residential homes. You must find another way to get personal. - Switch it up every few months
Change is good. Switch it up every 3 months or so. Don’t remain stale. Stale kills your chances of getting noticed.
- Be as clear as possible
You must be as clear as you can. Agents that use fancy words in their UVPs turn off potential clients.
Use simple, easy to understand language. Also, it’s important to be specific. Don’t get lost in the weeds. - Get specific
Even if you’re not a niche market real estate agent, you can get specific. Check out a couple examples.
“My commercial and residential listings sell 30% faster than average”
“I’ve negotiated an average of 3% above over list on both commercial and residential property sales”
Check out a couple examples of great unique value propositions for niche market sellers.
“I average 2% above list on vacation home sales”
“Want to make the most out of your commercial property sale? I specialize in creating bidding wars for properties like yours!”
If you notice, the key is to be confident, use simple language, and let the facts speak for themselves. Go through the steps and then nail down the best UVP for you.
How to Communicate Your Real Estate Unique Value Proposition
You’ve decided on the perfect real estate agent unique value proposition for you. What do you do with it? How do you spread the word? Where do you deliver your UVP?
A unique value proposition does no good if it remains on a post-it-note on your desk. This is how you get the word out.
- Make your UVP part of your brand
Add your unique value proposition, or some form of it, under your image on your website.
Any marketing material you send out to potential customers like flyers should include your UVP.
Make your unique value proposition as much a part of your brand as your real estate agent headshot.
When people see your face, they should automatically think of your UVP.
- Spread the word to your SOI
All real estate agents have a sphere of influence. Make sure your SOI knows your UVP.
A good way is to hand out multiple business cards with your UVP to each person in your SOI.
- Start all presentations with your UVP
Start every presentation with your unique value proposition. Have your introduction slide pop up. Then, go directly to a slide with your tweaked UVP (more on that later!).
- Get the proverbial elevator pitch down
You should have an elevator pitch. Put a version of your UVP into your elevator pitch.
Make sure your unique value proposition fits smoothly in your elevator pitch.
- Tweak your UVP depending on the situation
You should switch up your unique value proposition depending on the situation. How can you do this you ask?
- Create multiple UVPs
You create multiple unique value propositions! Think about it. Not every situation will be the same.
So, you must have a few UVPs on hand for the perfect elevator pitch at that moment and for that day’s presentation.
Don’t settle on a single unique value proposition. Create what you consider your umbrella UVP.
Your umbrella UVP houses all your other UVPs. Go to your umbrella UVP for the banner on your website, your overall marketing, sales material, etc.
But when it comes to specific situations, like the first meeting or an individual presentation, you should have a couple of UVPs on hand.
Be flexible. The unique value propositions under your umbrella UVP should be specific to the situation but still display the heart of your umbrella UVP.
Check out a couple of examples.
Umbrella UVP:
- I sell residential homes 20% faster than average
Specific UVP:
- Your home exists in a neighborhood where I sell 20% faster than average
Notice the second UVP makes it personal? That could be your elevator pitch after meeting someone for the first time.
Or, you could use that UVP with your door knocking scripts. It’s just a slight tweak from the umbrella UVP but it makes your unique value proposition much more effective depending on the situation.
30-second Real Estate Value Proposition Examples
Before getting to the 30-second real estate UVPs, it’s important to understand that everything listed here is for a 30-second conversation.
You can use versions of these in your elevator pitches or initial meetings. But you mustn’t confuse what we list here with a branded UVP, a statement that you put on your website.
Nobody has the time to read 30-seconds worth of stuff under your picture. Are these real estate agent UVPs? Yes, they are. But they’re different than a short, branded, UVP.
If you’re looking to create a 30-second elevator pitch we have a whole blog post guiding you on how to do it.
“Everyone who knows me would tell you that you should hire me for my Energy and Enthusiasm alone! Put it to work for you! As a Realtor practicing in Fairfield County CT, I fully leverage my networking groups, social media avenues and online presence to over 900 websites to place that beloved SOLD sign on your home.”
“I feel very privileged to be affiliated with the global powerhouse of Coldwell Banker, #1 in Sales for over 20 years. I’ve been in your shoes! I’ve bought, sold and built, and had to relocate! I can help you navigate what can be, at times, a cumbersome and frustrating process. List your home with me!”
“When you hire AE Home Group you’re hiring a team of real estate professionals with a diverse set of expertise. When you’re finally ready to find your dream home you want to work with the best and that means working with a team of professionals. We’re not there just to hold doors for you, but to provide you with the knowledge you need to make an educated decision for both you and your family.”
Okay, so, we’ve listed 3 real estate agent unique value propositions that exist in a 30-second elevator pitch situation. Reread the 3 elevator pitch UVPs again. Can you pull out or create a branding statement UVP from each?
Let’s try!
For the first one we could say something like: “I’ve leveraged my vast resources to become one of the top Realtors in Fairfield County, CT.”
We could pull this unique value proposition statement from the second elevator pitch: “I’ve gone through the rigors of selling and relocating. I’m the person you need to guide you through the process.”
For the third elevator pitch, how about a UVP like this? “We’ve seen it all. When you’re ready to buy, we’ll be here ready to help!”
The 3 smaller UVP statements aren’t great, but it’s a start. More importantly, it shows how you work forward and backward, that your UVP isn’t a stagnant thing.
Create an umbrella elevator pitch and UVP and see how you can massage the two together. That’s how you arm yourself with the very best unique value propositions.
Create Your Real Estate Agent Unique Value Proposition
Remember, create your umbrella UVP first. Then, create a few elevator pitches that you can use in different situations. Also, create unique secondary UVPs that you can use depending on the situation.
Make sure everything is tied together. And, never forget, that your real estate agent unique value proposition pairs you to your customers. Good luck!
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