Cole Slate directly addresses camera:  Sure, traditional methods of marketing work. But if you really want to be the agent of choice in your community, you need to build relationships with the people who may be using your services. I'm Cole Slate, team lead and a Realtor with the Cole Slate Team at EXIT Real Estate Gallery in Jacksonville. Let's take five minutes to talk about how to offer value to your community so YOU are the Realtor of choice.

The approach to farming today is changing. Sure, you can still find success knocking on doors, but with smart doorbells, homeowners can see who's at the door. If you don't look familiar, they will likely not answer. Mailers? They can end up in the trash. Of course, a customer relationship manager or CRM is still your first priority, and there are other ways to build relationships in your farm. 

I live in a large, planned community called RiverTown, and that is the area I farm, along with my wife, Laura, our Team's Sales and Operations Manager, Amanda Houser, and our content creator Mack McIntyre. The neighborhood is about 20 percent built out, and eventually we will have 5,000 rooftops. Here's what my team and I do in RiverTown.

First, we keep the residents informed. We've started multiple Facebook groups for our community, one being The RiverTown Real Estate Recap. We monitor those asking to join to ensure they live in the community. In the group, we share news of a new grocery store or business opening, as well as real estate market statistics. I do my best to serve as an ambassador or unofficial spokesperson for the community. This means sharing updates on our Facebook page about new homes, building updates, community events and more. For example, we have an event called Food Truck Friday in our neighborhood, so I share it on the page. In large part, due to social media, I have gained the credibility as a reliable resource to people inside and outside of RiverTown, for recommendations on local vendors, restaurants and more.

Along with the resident Facebook group, I have created clubs within the neighborhood that align with my interests and hobbies. For example, I'm a University of Florida graduate, so I created the Rivertown Gator Club. Residents who are in the club arrange watch parties at the neighborhood amenity center or their homes. We also carpool to big games. I also eat out too much for my own good, so I started the Rivertown Grub Club. Once a month, we'll go as a group to try new restaurants. I'm not selling my services during any of these meetings. This is purely to build relationships. 

Events are particularly important for getting to know the neighbors. I attend all of the different events that our community hosts. More than that, we host a monthly video news show. The idea is to emulate the closed-circuit TV news shows we all endured during our elementary school years. Amanda and I get on camera and we talk about different clubs and share positive stories of neighbors helping neighbors. We also highlight local businesses and interview the business owners or talk about local youth sports. Right now, we share that video on our private Rivertown Facebook page and we call it “Love the River Life,” because we highlight the lifestyle of our community. We're currently branding the news show, and the brand, LoveTheRiver.Life. 

The keys to farming today don't lie in the old school methods of farming, although they are still important. But true success comes from the relationships you make during your farming efforts.