How To Succeed: In Your First Year / Know Your Archetype
Know Your Archetype
What kind of agent will you be? Explore the four different types of agents and how each type runs their business.
Self Audit
- Direct vs. Indirect Sales. Which of these two seem more natural to you?
- Warm vs. Cold Leads. Which of these two seem more natural to you?
- Of the four archetypes – rank them in order of which you identify with. (Don’t overthink it, which ones jumped out at you as most comfortable for your personal style.)
- Look at your top 2 – why do these resonate with you? Within these two areas, what lead generation activities or strategies could you imagine yourself focusing on.
- Based on your answers above what will the most important factors be for your success? (For example, specific training, tools, type of brokerage.)
Resources
Read the transcript: Part 1
In this session, we’ll explain how to identify your Agent Archetype and understand the 4 main ways that agents go about building their real estate business.
Not all agents are alike. We all get into the real estate business for different reasons, have a wide variety of backgrounds, and all have different goals we are hoping to get out of the industry. But even more importantly, we all come to the table with slightly different personal skills and natural abilities. Knowing these differences up front helps agents understand the options available to them as they work to build their business, and also helps them recognize which systems, tools, and coaching philosophies are, or are not, a match for their personal gifts and sales style.
The Agent Archetypes concept is an extremely helpful way to begin understanding some of the various approaches to the business, and we believe all agents should be taught the 4 major types of agents prior to launching their career.
Agent Archetypes begins with two basic continuums on an X and Y axis
DIRECT VS INDIRECT SELLING
The first continuum is about our sales communication style, from Direct Selling at the one end, to Indirect Selling on the other. The Direct sales approach gravitates to person to person communications. “Belly to belly” or “voice to voice”. They aren’t afraid to pick up the phone or reach out to connect in person. A helpful way to think of this is as a more extraverted individual with an outbound approach to sales.
An indirect sales approach prefers to create inbound opportunities to engage, and is more comfortable to respond to people who have raised their hand with a question than to initiate contact preemptively. They are more comfortable responding to questions or showing inquiries than in going out and initiating contact. Again, it is sometimes helpful to think of these as perhaps more introverted communicators.
WARM VS COLD LEADS
The second continuum relates to our preference towards selling either to people we already know and have relationships with (WARM LEADS), or to people outside of our immediate circles, or strangers (which we refer to as COLD LEADS). Obviously no one lives in either of these ends of the continuum entirely, but agents tend to have spaces they are more comfortable focusing on, and thrive within.
So we have Direct Vs Indirect Selling, and Warm Vs Cold Leads, and we think of this as somewhat of a heat-map for each agent, representing their natural style or approach to the business. Ok, so with that in place, let’s take a look at the 4 agent archetypes and how they differ
NETWORKER
The networker lives in the Warm/Direct quadrant. These agents excel within their database or Sphere of influence. They naturally connect with people. They enjoy building relationships with, and through their networks. Many times this is through kids’ sporting activities or other social groups like church or sporting leagues. These agents have no problem reaching out directly to friends, family and past clients, with a call, a personal note, or even a friendly pop-by to keep in touch. Networkers thrive by serving their large network of connections, and the referrals they receive from them. A helpful way to think about Networkers is as a Socialite, but don’t get stuck in the metaphor. Focus on the idea of direct communications with people within their database.
PROSPECTOR
The Prospector, while still inclined towards outbound proactive communications, is more comfortable reaching out to strangers than to their close relationships. These agents are all about opening doors and making it rain. Prospectors have strong sales and closing skills and are adept at the use of scripts. They are not afraid to call a For Sale by Owner or expired listing and request an appointment. They are comfortable conducting mailing campaigns in geographic areas or even door knocking in a neighborhood. They are strong face to face converters and are not afraid to go out and make sales happen. One helpful way to think of a Prospector is as a Hunter.
CONVERTER
The Converter also prefers to sell and engage people outside of their immediate circle of relationships, but they are less inclined to take a direct outbound approach. Rather, the converter is skilled at efficient and consistent follow up. They are great incubators, and patiently convert potential buyers and sellers through indirect communication channels, like well structured email or text based follow up campaigns. Convertors thrive at online lead conversion through lead capture platforms, but also at spaces like Open houses. Converters are, as their name implies, great at reacting, responding, and diligently converting inbound leads into appointments. A helpful way to think of a Convertor is as a Farmer.
MARKETER
And finally, the Marketer, who lives in the Warm/Indirect quadrant. These agents prefer to engage and connect with their Sphere of Influence and people they know, but would rather do so by creating great top of mind awareness to their network by terrific branding and marketing of their value proposition. Marketers have a natural love for getting in front of people through social media, video, and even more old school approaches to top of mind awareness like billboards and print publications. A helpful way to think about a Marketer is as a Storyteller.
Ok, so there you have the 4 Archetypes. And again, no one necessarily lives exclusively in one or the other quadrant. But most agents can identify where they spend the majority of their time, and where they gravitate. In a similar way, most brokerages tend to have their coaching and training approaches weighted to one or the other quadrant. Some brokerages take a very “prospector” heavy approach to sales (lots of direct outbound cold calls or mailings), whereas others might spend more time coaching a networking based approach to lead generation.
Knowing your personality and preferred approach to real estate sales through a concept like agent archetypes will help you better understand not only how to build an effective lead generation strategy, but also help you in determining which brokerage is a good fit for your business.
As we wrap up this video, you might take the time to ask yourself where you think you lie on this map. Where do you believe your strengths and weaknesses might be, and how will this translate into the style of business and lead generation plan you will thrive within? And what does this tell you about the style of brokerage you will want to affiliate with. Also, be sure to watch part two of this topic, where we dig deeper into the various considerations for each of the archetypes. Thanks for watching.
Read the transcript: Part 2
In Part 1 of Agent Archetypes, we covered the 4 quadrants of the Agent Archetypes concept across the warm versus cold, and direct versus indirect continuums, and discussed the differences in personal approaches taken towards the real estate business by Networkers, Prospectors, Convertors, and Marketers. If you haven’t watched that session yet, we suggest you start there. Otherwise, in this session, we want to dig a little deeper into the 4 archetypes and discuss some considerations agents in each of the types will need to plan for as they build a healthy business.
CONSIDERATIONS
Each of the 4 archetypes not only have different personal preferences and approaches to their lead generation and business plans, but also have a variety of tools, systems, scheduling, and budget needs. So let’s take a look at some of the foundational differences agents need to think through within their archetypes using these 4 basic examples.
The first is your Lead generation plan.
The second is the CRM or Database Management Tool system you use
Thirdly, your personal Agent Website
and then finally your budget.
These ideas are by no means comprehensive, but will help you appreciate the difference in needs for each approach.
NETWORKER
Let’s start with our Networker, who generates much of their business through their Sphere of Influence and Repeat and Referral business.
Lead Gen – Our Networker will want to engage in an active outbound communication plan to get in front of their friends and family to stay connected and provide value in the hopes of winning future referrals and business. Our Networker will want to plan daily time for calls, personal notes, pop-by’s, and lunches and coffees, and likely plan a couple of fun client appreciation parties each year.
CRM – To keep track of relationships, a Networker needs a basic CRM that can help track communications, manage mailings to their SOI, and manage valuable personal information of their top advocates like birthdays and anniversaries.
Website – Networkers need what we call a basic personality website that focuses on the agent’s personal value proposition, testimonials from past clients, and highlights the agent by telling a great story about their love for serving clients.
Budget – Generally speaking, Networkers don’t need a large lead generation budget because of their direct relational approach. Networkers need to budget for lunches and coffees, client functions, and possibly some form of monthly mailing campaign to provide valuable information to their direct Sphere of Influence.
PROSPECTOR
Our prospector is a go-getter, who hits the streets to generate opportunity through activity.
Lead Gen – The Prospector is likely to focus on a proactive and systematized campaign to create new leads. They may engage in a For Sale By Owner or Expired Listing campaign, build geographic mailing campaigns, door knock in neighborhoods, and sometimes even call their SOI directly to ask if they are planning to make a move.
CRM – A Prospector requires a different platform to identify and track leads, and also typically require a lot of script training to perfect their dialogues and sale conversations. Mailing campaigns and FSBO campaigns also require a CRM to help plan and track outbound campaigns.
Website – Prospectors need a basic website, with a focus on their performance metrics, unique selling proposition and sales differentiation.
Budget – Prospectors really need a minimal budget, and exchange expense for time and effort investment as they chase opportunities through their direct sales approach.
CONVERTER
Our Convertor is a diligent and consistent incubator of leads, relentlessly following up until leads are ready to make a move.
Lead Gen – Convertors need a source of leads, because although they are excellent incubators, they are less inclined to go out and simply hustle up business. They can thrive through open houses, investing in online lead sources like Zillow, or through online lead generation systems. They can also make great buyer specialists for teams.
CRM – These agents need more sophisticated contact management platforms with text and email campaigns and long term follow up plans…incubating some leads for up 12 or 18 months and tracking the online activity of hot leads.
Website – Convertors typically need a lead capture website with excellent search function and numerous capture points. They are also likely to leverage social media as a lead generation space rather than a branding opportunity through lead capture tools.
Budget – Our Convertor requires a more comprehensive budget to invest in a variety of lead capture avenues, whether a Zillow budget or several forms of pay per click lead generation tools.
MARKETER
And last but not least, our Marketer, who builds brand and top of mind awareness to generate inbound opportunities.
Lead Gen – Our marketer, like Networkers thrives on repeat and referral business from friends, family, and past clients, but also have a knack for packaging their unique value and selling proposition to encourage potential sellers and buyers to reach out to them.
CRM – Marketers also need a more basic CRM platform, but will likely invest in video, design, and social media related tools and platforms to help them build their brand and stay in front of their fans.
Website – Marketers feature their unique story, brand value, and client marketing strategy on their websites. The Marketer might be more inclined to customize their site to highlight their property marketing plan and other unique selling propositions, or offer terrific consumer focused content through blogs or market reports.
Budget – A healthy budget is a must for a marketer. Whether focused on Social media boosts, video story-telling, or even targeted mailing campaigns around their listings, Marketers invest heavily to position and build their brand equity in the minds of their target audience.
SUMMARY
Ok, that’s a lot of information, and to be perfectly honest, if you absorbed all of that, you are already ahead of most agents in the marketplace. The insight gained from understanding the differences between these archetypes is a huge step towards mapping out a plan for success in your first 12 months in the real estate business.
If all of this doesn’t quite yet make sense to you yet, don’t sweat it. We meet with agents who have been in the business for a decade who, when confronted with this idea for the first time have massive AHA moments about their businesses. There is plenty of time to make sense of it all, and we are here to help dig deeper into any of this if you could use guidance. For now, if the differences make sense, you’re already ahead of the game and better equipped to understand some of the training, coaching, tools and various approaches you will encounter in your first year in the business.
As you move towards getting your real estate career up and running, be sure to take inventory of the systems and tools various brokerages offer you to help thrive within each of these archetypes. Remember that every brokerage has a slightly different approach to lead generation and agent training. Using the agent archetypes idea as a platform to discern whether a particular brokerage is a good match for you is extremely helpful, and it offers a lot of clarity in choosing which systems and tools best suit your approach to the business.
Meet Our Agent Success Coach
DYLAN DE BRUIN
I am the Broker/Owner with Century 21 Signature Real Estate. I started this company to empower agents to run successful, enjoyable, sustainable real estate businesses.
Develop A Lead Generation Plan
Every agent needs leads. Setting yourself up with a lead generation plan is an essential part of being a REALTOR®.