How to capture massive share in today’s tough real estate...

Old school marketing strategy married to AI customization is the secret to success in today’s new and very competitive marketplace, Bernice Ross writes.

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While Andy Florance was being shellacked in the press about the losses resulting from CoStar’s acquisition of Homes.com, the red-hot topics at Inman Connect in New York City were the consolidation of Compass and Anywhere into Compass International, the battle over private listings, as well as the knock-down-drag-out fight between Compass International and Zillow. The big question agents face today is how to stand out in an immense sea of sameness.

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A winning formula that has worked for decades

The simple answer is one that hasn’t changed in decades — your hyperlocal, cutting-edge unique value proposition (UVP) customized to fit your clients’ specific wants and needs. Couple this with clearly outlining the services you will deliver in writing, providing your clients with more than you promised (under promise and over deliver), and walking your talk.

That’s what it takes to build the type of real connection that results in repeat and referral business for years to come.

Sadly, as Next Home CEO James Dwiggins noted as he shared his experience searching for a home to buy in Danville, California, “There were more private listings than there were homes listed on the MLS.”

If Dwiggins didn’t have a friend at Compass who shared what was available, all those sellers would have missed out on having their home shown to an incredibly well-qualified buyer. Making matters worse, the agents who had listings on the MLS never even bothered to call him back.

Incompetent agents will no longer survive today’s brutal market

Jimmy Burgess identified a growing trend that is forcing part-timers and incompetent agents out of the business.

“This is the separation season. The agents who treat this as a full-time profession, the ones who understand contracts, negotiations, market shifts and client psychology, are standing out more than they have in a decade. Consumers want guidance, not guesswork.”

Short attention spans vs. deep customization

In the past, people’s attention spans were significantly longer. You can see it in older books and movies, where creators weave intricate plots filled with complex characters. In contrast, today’s consumers click, skim and scroll at lightning speed. Josh Ries in a recent column really nailed this when he wrote, “Attention is rented by the second.”

The current disconnect occurs when an agent gets a lead, and they overwhelm them with detailed CMAs, high-end property reports, plus information about themselves and their companies, when all they wanted was a short, simple communication.

At the top of today’s prospecting funnel, you need to provide short, frequent exposure to your brand across both your print and digital media. This can also include old school strategies such as open house signs, yard signs and brochure boxes.

The equation shifts when they’re ready to transact

When a buyer or seller is ready to transact, that’s when they want detailed information about how their transaction will work, the negotiation process, as well as help with transitioning from one home into another.

This process begins with your buyer or seller interview. Use these two tools to determine what matters most to your clients in terms of their lifestyle and how they spend their time when they’re at home.

Also, dive deep into their wants (what they would like to have) and needs (what they must have for them to decide to transact. After you have done this, present them with the detailed information about the services you offer and the benefits they provide.

For sellers, include a premium marketing plan. This approach has worked for decades. The premium marketing plan below was one I drafted in 2024, and it’s still as relevant today as it was back then.

The way to use this is to determine which three to five features listed above are the most important to your clients. Next, you will highlight what all brokers do, what your company does that is unique from competitors, and then three things you do that most other agents don’t do.

You must also weave in their “must-haves” whenever you discuss this with them.

The buyer interview

If you’re not doing at least a 20-30 minute buyer interview where you determine the following, you will most likely end up showing them properties they don’t want:

Whether your buyers have been pre-approved
Whether they’re eligible for down payment assistance
How they spend their time in what rooms when they’re at home
How many people are in their household
If they have pets, including their names
What they do for recreation
What their top five must-haves are for them to buy a property

More importantly, you will have missed the opportunity to build the type of connection that earns their trust as well as future referrals.

The winning AI secret you need to implement right now

This is how you stand out in a sea of sameness. My recommendation is that you use the paid versions of ChatGPT and Grok for this process. You will be using the AIs to create marketing and other collateral material that is attuned to your clients’ unique situation. Here’s what to do using the Master and Meta Prompt Methods that I outlined in a previous article.

1. Your master prompt

This is all about you and your business. The more detailed you can make it, the better your result will be. (A minimum length should be at least three to five pages.) Examples of what to include:

Your name and personal bio (using your LinkedIn bio is a good place to start)
Company brand, name and its unique selling points
What types of clients you serve
Team setup: Even if you’re solo, list your title rep, preferred lender, transaction coordinator, etc.
Markets: Where you operate and typical client profiles
Products and services: Do you handle condos, probate, short sales, land, luxury?
Systems and workflows: Your steps for open houses, listing launches, buyer onboarding, etc.
Brand culture and values: What do you believe in? How do you show up?
Your step-by-step systems for completing tasks such as taking listings, conducting showings, writing offers and staying in contact while the property is under contract

This provides the AI with context about who you are.

2. A meta prompt based upon the information from your buyer or seller interview

The meta prompt allows you to customize your marketing, search and strategies based upon who your clients are. Please note, never provide identifying information about your clients. Instead, describe them with different names, what decade of life they’re in, types of professions, etc. Give the AI enough detail to work with, but absolutely, you must maintain client privacy.

To do this, take the results of your Buyer or Seller Interview, delete personally identifying information and load it into the AI. Specifically identify it as your meta prompt. For example, you will want to include the type of property involved, general location, price range, what’s motivating them to move, what they like to do for recreation, etc.

Give the AI as much information about their lifestyle as possible, their top five requirements for them to transact, including the type of neighborhood and schools, if relevant.

Use ChatGPT for more conversational, emotional types of clients. Grok is best for those who want reams of data. My recommendation is to provide your clients with both, which will give you double the customization.

The secret sauce here is that old school strategies are your starting place, but to really beat out your competition, have the AIs make recommendations about how to best work with these clients, what to expect when you negotiate with them, plus any other factors that you would need to be aware of as their agent.

Old school married to AI customization is the secret to success in today’s new and very competitive marketplace.

Bernice Ross is president and CEO of BrokerageUP and RealEstateCoach.com, the founder of Profit.RealEstate and a national speaker, author and trainer with over 1,500 published articles.

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