“ Finally, a real estate career book that tells it like it is.
To any real estate professional who doesn’t want to be mired in the mediocre I say, whatever you do, get your hands on this book, now!”
Anne I., Real Estate Broker

My grandmother was a real estate salesperson in the 1960s. In her home state at that time there was an average of one real estate licensee for every thousand registered voters – 1:1000. Today, in that same state, the ratio has increased to more than 1 per 100. Put another way, if you were entering the real estate industry as a new licensee in my grandmother’s day, it was likely that you would be the only salesperson in your neighborhood, the only one among all the parents at your local high school, the only one in your small town. Now, in those same neighborhoods, school districts, and small towns, you will have nine other salespersons fighting for “your” business; because you will be one of ten competing for those same target customers!

Indisputably, there are more people in or going into the real estate industry today. As we said in the previous chapter, all you have to do is to look among your own family and friends to verify that fact. Almost every family in North America has a relative or close friend in real estate, and that is indicative of two opposing forces that continue in dynamic tension. On the one hand, it illustrates the continued opportunities and incredible income potential still available to new licensees in the real estate industry – for where there is continued growth there is continued flow. On the other hand, it indicates an increasingly competitive marketplace; one in which every potential client is fought for and every traditional marketing tool has already been used, if not over-used.

For these and other reasons, I strongly advise against using those marketing tools and techniques of yesteryear and recommend that you go the opposite way. That is, instead of trying to “blanket” a neighborhood or community (with mass marketing), you “warm” to only a very few. Instead of attempting to “saturate” a geographical area, you put away the fire hose and bring out a watering can specifically suited to just one kind of plant. Instead of yelling into a bullhorn so everyone can hear, whisper into a single ear so only he or she can hear.

Decide that you will not follow the path of the real estate “generalists”-- trying to be all things to everyone within range--but you will choose the path of the real estate “specialist.” This path will lead you to a specific, narrow, highly refined clientele who will always choose you and your services because they can neither see nor hear any of the other competitors. This pathway is what I call the “Market Segmentation = Product Differentiation” formula. In my view, establishing yourself quickly in this industry and establishing something on which you can build a long-term future is the only formula for success.

The formula, as stated above, is simple:

“Market Segmentation = Product Differentiation.”

I’ve taught many university-level marketing courses and we usually spend weeks on this subject alone; but you won’t need to invest a fraction of that time to understand and implement what I’m about to tell you. As a professional in the real estate industry, you are already light-years ahead of the average college student by reason of the practical and pragmatic “real world” studies you undertook to receive your license. So with exigency in mind, I’m going to boil down all those classroom teachings I’ve done to what you will need to know to implement a successful long-term strategy in this business of ours.

Here’s the heart of it.

The success of any plan or strategy to build and grow your business quickly and earn significant income more rapidly depends on your being able to do two things: 1. Segment your market and 2. Differentiate your product.

By definition, to “segment” your market means to describe your target customers in increasingly narrow or specific terms. Usually we begin by narrowing our focus geographically, then demographically, psycho-graphically, and behavioristically. (More on this in upcoming chapters).

We define “differentiation” of our product or service as identifying the most unique and specific things about it (or us) that make it (or us) different from the rest. We’ll expand on that theme as well in the next chapters.

Once you have successfully segmented your market, and comprehensively differentiated your product or service to the degree that you have an equation, that is,

“Market Segmentation = Product Differentiation,”

you will unequivocally, with certainty, succeed in your strategy and reap the rewards you seek.

This is not a motivational speech. It’s simply science. I am certain that if you correctly follow the formula for making gunpowder you will get an explosion. If you follow the Ten Commandments’ formula for life you will be blessed. And I am convinced that if you follow this formula, you will succeed in your business. I’ve seen it work to exponential proportions scores of times, and can cite thousands of instances where it has worked for others in real estate and beyond.

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