If someone slides into your Instagram or LinkedIn DM and asks what you do, and your answer is "I'm a real estate consultant" or "I sell properties in Lagos," you have just closed a door that could have opened a business relationship. The way most Nigerian realtors answer that question is the reason most of their social media conversations go nowhere.
Why Your Current Answer Is Not Working
Most new real estate consultants think the goal of introducing themselves online is to describe what they do accurately. So they say "I sell properties" or "I'm a real estate agent" or something equally flat, and they consider that a sufficient response. The problem is not that the description is inaccurate. The problem is that it gives the other person absolutely nothing to hold onto. There is no way for the conversation to continue naturally from a one-line label, and so it simply stops.
Think about what happens on the other end of that exchange. Someone sends you a message asking what you do. You say "I'm a real estate agent." They say "Oh, okay, cool." And then the conversation dies. You never find out if that person was quietly looking to buy a property in Lekki. You never find out if they had a friend who just got a relocation allowance and needed somewhere to live. You never find out if they were a diaspora buyer looking for someone trustworthy to help them invest in Nigeria. All of that potential gets buried under a one-line response that invited no further conversation.
This happens across hundreds of social media interactions every single week for Nigerian realtors, and the opportunity cost is enormous. Social media direct messages are one of the most underused lead generation channels available to a real estate consultant, not because the channel does not work, but because most people do not know how to use it properly.
The Simple Formula That Changes Everything
There is a straightforward structure for answering the "what do you do?" question in a way that keeps the conversation alive and opens the door to a business relationship. The formula is this: I do X for Y people who Z.
That is the entire framework. You describe the service you provide, you identify who you provide it for, and you describe the specific situation or desire that makes those people need what you do. When you put those three pieces together, you give the other person enough context to understand your relevance to their life, and enough room to either connect with what you said or tell you honestly that it is not for them.
Here is what that looks like applied to a Nigerian real estate consultant. Instead of saying "I'm a real estate agent," you could say, "I help first-time buyers in Lagos find verified properties on payment plans so they can own a home without the risk of falling into the hands of fraudulent developers." That is the same work described in a completely different way, and it opens the conversation rather than closing it.
You could adapt the same formula to match your actual specialisation. If you work with diaspora clients, you might say: "I help Nigerians in the UK and Canada buy investment properties in Port Harcourt remotely, so they can grow their wealth here at home without having to be physically present to manage the process." If you focus on the high-end residential market, it might be: "I work with corporate executives and business owners in Abuja who are looking for premium residential properties with valid title documents and long-term capital appreciation potential." Each version is specific to a real person's real situation, and that specificity is what makes someone lean in instead of moving on.
Why Specificity Matters More Than a Broad Description
When a new real estate consultant says "I sell all kinds of properties across Lagos," they are technically being accurate. But that description does not connect with anyone in particular. Nobody reads that and thinks "that is exactly what I need." Specificity does a job that breadth cannot do: it makes the right people feel immediately seen and understood, which is the beginning of trust.
In the SEAT framework, which is the strategic content and communication system for building a personal brand in Nigerian real estate, the S stands for Specificity. Your brand, your messaging, and your social media presence should all speak clearly to a defined audience with a defined need. A consultant who is known as the go-to person for verified off-plan properties in Ibeju-Lekki is far more referable than one who is known as "a realtor who does everything." When someone in your network meets a buyer who is looking at Ibeju-Lekki, your name is the one that comes to mind. That is the power of a specific positioning, and the "I do X for Y people who Z" formula is how you communicate that positioning in a conversation.
The Second Step: Keeping the Conversation Going
Using the formula is the first step. The second step is equally important, and many people miss it. After you have described what you do using the formula, you need to ask a question that invites the other person to tell you whether any of what you said is relevant to them.
This does not have to be complicated. Something as simple as "Does that resonate with you, or are you in a completely different space?" creates an opening for the other person to self-identify as a potential client, a referral source, a collaboration partner, or someone who is simply not a fit right now. Any of those outcomes is useful information. The worst outcome, which is the one that happens when you give a flat one-line answer, is that neither of you learns anything and the conversation dies before it had a chance to become anything.
The professional approach to a social media DM conversation is to think of it as the very first stage of a sales process. You are not trying to close anyone in the DM. You are trying to find out whether there is enough shared ground to warrant a deeper conversation. The formula gives you a clear, compelling description of your value. The follow-up question gives the other person permission to tell you if that value is something they need. Together, those two steps turn a casual online connection into a real professional conversation.
What a Complete Response Actually Looks Like in Practice
To make this concrete, here is the difference between a response that stops conversations and one that starts them, using a Nigerian real estate context.
Someone connects with you on LinkedIn and asks what you do.
The version that kills the conversation: "I'm a real estate consultant. I help clients buy and sell properties in Nigeria."
The version that opens the conversation: "I help Nigerian professionals and diaspora buyers purchase verified residential properties in Lagos, so they can invest in a market they understand without the stress of title fraud or developer delays. A lot of my clients are people who have been burned before or who are buying remotely and need someone on the ground they can trust. Does that sound like anything you are navigating, or are you in a different space entirely?"
The second version tells the person who you serve, what problem you solve, and why your service matters. It also ends with a question that invites them to place themselves in the picture. That is the kind of response that leads to a follow-up message, a phone call, and eventually, a transaction.
Common Mistakes New Nigerian Real Estate Consultants Make When Talking About Their Business Online
Describing their job title instead of the value they deliver. "I'm a real estate agent" tells someone what you call yourself. "I help buyers navigate the Lagos property market without getting defrauded" tells someone what you actually do for them. The second version is always more useful.
Using industry language that means nothing to a non-professional. Phrases like "I specialise in residential and commercial real estate brokerage" are accurate within the industry but alienating to the average buyer. Write for the person reading, not for a professional audience.
Giving a response that leaves no room for a follow-up question. If your response is complete in itself, there is nothing to ask next and the conversation ends. A good response should create curiosity or invite a response, not deliver a full briefing and stop.
Treating every DM as a cold sales pitch rather than a conversation. The goal of the initial exchange is not to sell anything. It is to find out if there is enough common ground to take the conversation further. Realtors who start too aggressively scare away people who might have become genuine clients if the approach had been more patient and relational.
Not following up when someone does engage. Some realtors get a warm response to a good introduction and then fail to follow up within a reasonable time. Online conversations move quickly and a prospect who was interested on Monday may have found another consultant by Thursday. Follow-up speed is part of the professional standard.
The Bigger Picture Behind This Skill
The ability to talk about your real estate business clearly and compellingly in a social media DM is not just a communication skill. It is a lead generation skill. Every direct message conversation that ends with someone understanding who you serve and what you do for them is a seed planted in your professional network. Some of those seeds become transactions directly. Others become referral sources who connect you with buyers you would never have reached otherwise.
Your Instagram DMs, your LinkedIn inbox, and your WhatsApp conversations are all part of your personal marketing system. The quality of your responses in those spaces determines how much of your potential your digital presence actually converts into real business. Knowing how to talk about what you do is one of the foundational skills that separates a Nigerian real estate consultant with a growing pipeline from one who is posting content without results.
If you want a complete framework for building your personal brand, crafting your positioning, and turning your social media presence into a consistent source of qualified leads, that is what CRESP Module 4 covers in full, including the SEAT framework, your Instagram content system, and your WhatsApp Business setup. Build the foundation at cresp.ezemaximus.com.
