This guest post was written by Larry Easto who is a
best-selling business writer, and publisher of Real Estate Marketing Link

Once upon a time, there was a real estate agent named Norm.

Norm was not like other real estate agents. He was more interested in hearing purchasers’ stories than what kinds of homes they were looking for. Once he’d heard their stories, he would then ask what they were looking for. 

Similarly, when talking to home-owners, he would simply swap the same stories they had exchanged many times. Eventually Norm would ask if the owners had thought about moving. He already knew their stories…and as a result, understood what housing would be most appropriate for their stage in life.

Norm never showed properties: he introduced the owners and purchasers to each other. He invited the owners to tell stories about living in the house and invited the purchasers to tell their stories about their lives.

By encouraging his clients to tell their stories, Norm was applying the age-old technique of story-telling to real estate marketing. Strategically, this helped build relationships with his client and identify their needs and wants.

When owners and purchasers swapped their stories, it was not just social chit-chat. It allowed the parties to establish a rapport that helped minimize, if not totally avoid problem-causing misunderstandings.

When owners like prospective purchasers, they will be less anxious about selling the home that they love. They believe that once sold their home will be in good hands.

Similarly, when purchasers like the home, its stories and owners, they can see themselves living there, adding their own stories to those they heard about the home.  

In the current real estate market, it’s virtually impossible to follow Norm’s techniques in bringing owners and purchasers together.

But even in today’s technology-driven world, people still love stories. This means that story-telling can be just as effective now as it was when our ancestors told stories around the campfire.

Listening to people’s stories is a perfect way to establish rapport and also identify clients’ needs and wants. We all like people who listen to our stories. By listening to prospects stories, you help them like you. And the more prospects like you, the more likely they will choose you as their agent.

While physical things like HVAC systems and appearance are features that distinguish property from another, they can be changed. 

Intangibles such an interesting history–or a collection of stories–helps make a house a home and distinguish it from other similar properties.

The moral of Norm’s story…the ancient technique of story-telling can be a very effective real estate marketing tool that will help you learn about clients and serve them better.