No matter where you look in real estate training, the message is the same: “Promote yourself.” Build your personal brand. Become your neighborhood expert. Put your face on postcards, bus benches, Facebook ads, and more.
But here’s the uncomfortable truth. When all the agents in town are promoting themselves, you’re all saying the same thing.
“I’ll sell more houses.” “I’ll get you to buy at a higher price.” “I’ll try harder.”
It’s like being in a crowded red sea where everyone is fighting for attention, but no one is truly different.
That’s why I’ve built my entire career around different ideas. Don’t just sell yourself. Sell the program.
A program is a system. process. The kind of product that sets you apart, creates curiosity, and gets sellers to call you. Of course, reliability, knowledge and trust are still needed, but they are the backup for the program, not the main character.
Let me explain how I learned this and why I believe it is the most important marketing principle missing from agents.
Cincinnati: Make every agent a listing agent
I got my start in real estate in the 1970s working for my father’s company in Cincinnati. Like most new agents, I tried to sell myself. My pitch was that since my father owned the company, listing with me would give the seller more advertising. Performance was poor and sellers were not impressed. They knew the other agents very well. I kept losing the list.
So I created a program.
I printed a flyer that said, “Cincinnati’s New Program — Every Agent Becomes a Listing Agent.” That headline alone got me a call. When I entered the living room, the seller did not ask about me. They asked about the program.
At that time, fees were almost 7% across the board. My program was simple. Instead of keeping 4 percent and giving 3 percent to the buyer’s agent, we gave the entire 7 percent to the agent who sold the home.
The only real question the seller ever had was, “Greg, if I give you the full 7 percent, what do you get out of it?”
My answer is: “Now I don’t have to be lazy. I have to go find a buyer and I get 7 percent. If I don’t buy and another agent buys, that’s fine. You can buy the house through me and I’m sure you’ll refer me to your friends.” Sellers always said the same thing. “I’m sure you will.”
result? 10 consecutive posts. Almost overnight my career took off.
The only reason I had to quit was because my dad called me and said, “Greg, the other agents at the company are furious. They’re saying the CEO’s son has gone bad.” I had to unplug, but that lesson stayed with me forever. Your competitors will hate it if you break the mold, but your sellers will love it.
Phoenix: 990 chances
In 1981, I moved to Phoenix and joined Realty Executives, a large brokerage firm in Arizona. That’s when I created 990 Opportunity, another program that changed my career.
It worked like this: We listed our home the traditional way. If the house was sold to an MLS agent buyer or my buyer, the commission was 6 percent (3 percent to the buyer’s agent and 3 percent to me).
But I also gave the seller “990 opportunities”. If they want to keep their home open, I provide professional signage and home flyers using my branding.
When unrepresented buyers passed by, sellers referred them to me. If you sell your home to that buyer, your total fees will drop to just $990.
This is important. Even the seller who paid me $990 received my full representation through the closing. I treated these sales as marketing expenses because they turned my sellers into my best promoters. Neighbors constantly asked why I was holding an open house if it was listed with an agent, but my seller happily explained the 990 program.
As a result, sellers became my marketing engine. Approximately 1 in 8 of my items were sold using the $990 method, while 7 out of the remaining 8 were sold using the traditional method with a full 6% commission. What I gave up on the commission discount sale, I got back many times over through referral business and full commission.
Then I doubled down. I began directly promoting this program and telling the world that there was a way for sellers to receive full representation and pay “just $990.” That message opened the floodgates.
My business grew explosively, building a national franchise with 121 offices in 22 states and over 4,000 agents, which I then sold to a publicly traded company for millions of dollars. All thanks to one disruptive program: 990 Opportunity.
Paradise Valley: Luxury Program
After selling the franchise, I developed my next program, the 22 Step, 29 Day Luxury Home Sales System. I launched it in Paradise Valley, an upscale community where I lived.
Here’s what happened: When the seller walked in the door, he wanted to hear about the program. My credibility and track record were still important, but only as a value adder and not the main reason they put me on the list. This program caught their attention, piqued their curiosity, and they chose me.
It worked extremely well and within two years was able to occupy more than 40 percent of the community of 8,500 homes. I built a team of 10 licensed agents and together we earned millions of dollars in commissions each year.
This program ultimately led me to be ranked #1 in Arizona and #19 in the nation in the annual rankings of Realtor Magazine, the official publication of the National Association of Realtors. This realization confirmed what I already knew. Programs generate business at a level that personal branding alone could never do.
Common points
See a pattern? Every advancement in my career has come from leading programs. Not my smile. Not in my long experience. It’s not my sales record.
The program is as follows.
Memorable: Seller talks about it with friends. Adaptability: Adjust as the market changes. Scalable: Other agents can also use it under your guidance. What it’s worth: The program can be sold. You can’t do that with a personal brand.
Consider Tesla. Rolex. apple. We sell cars, watches, iPhones, etc. Salespeople are important, but it’s the product that attracts you. Why is it different in real estate?
Why share this?
If you want to build a real business, not just one that will disappear if you stop working, you need something of value that you can sell. Something beyond your name, photo, and reputation.
The program is a real estate mousetrap. And this is the truth. The old saying, “Invent a better mousetrap and the world will pave the way to your door” is false. If no one knows about your mousetrap, you’re not going to get anywhere. You have to market it relentlessly and creatively.
Once you try it, you’ll see what I’ve learned over the past 50 years. The program creates curiosity, curiosity creates property bookings, and by providing sellers with a unique and improved home selling process, they can build a scalable, salable, fast-growing, and highly profitable business. Because it’s not about you.
Greg Haig is the CEO of 72SOLD and a real estate broker and attorney who has specialized in real estate law since the 1970s. Connect with him on Facebook or LinkedIn.
