PLEASE, please, don't just read this, really consider doing these things if you have not already. We live in a different world that requires different methods and different thinking and different efforts to achieve success. 2012 will be another challenging year, requiring extra effort, new thinking and a winner attitude to overcome the fact that there are too many people in the real estate business for the actual transactions taking place. The pie is sliced really thin, so we all have to get MORE SLICES or MORE TRANSACTIONS to survive. Here are 10 ideas that will help you.
1. Take a look at your contact manager - You should be sure that you have a strong contact manager that functions as a CRM (Customer Relationship Management) solution, where you can have notes on every contact you have made, where you can have alarms to notify you that it is time to follow up again, where you can keep on top of family, friends, past clients, prospects, current listings, current buyers, so you are on top of making the most out of every contact you have. You have to ASK for referrals, you have to REMIND them you are looking for people who are talking about moving or have already decided to move.
2. Build your contacts. Put every name that comes your way into your contact database. Every open house visitor, every person you know or have met, every buyer, every seller, of course current customers, past customers, church members, soccer team parents, everyone that you come in contact with are sources for referrals and they all must be in your database. Your data base will determine your level of success. Build it and keep building it every week. Collect business cards everywhere you go. Pass out yours and ask for theirs. It must be an automatic thing, like breathing.
3. Create an email marketing program. Do this by categorizing your contacts into different groups (not too many different groups) and then plan an email a month where they learn something, find some benefit from reading your e-mail and where you can ask for referrals if they know someone who is thinking of moving or buying a home. You can also create a monthly newsletter that you send out that gives smart tips for home buyers, a column on HOW TO SELECT THE RIGHT REAL ESTATE AGENT in every issue with tips there too, some personal insight to you, your work, your successes, your family or your life, so they can get to "know" you and maybe some information about the area that you focus on and how it is growing and doing better and new developments in the area. This takes time, but what could be more important than communicating with your potential source of leads every few weeks in a way that they benefit from your communication and appreciate hearing from you.
4. Your Website Needs To Be To 2012 Standards. Spend a little time surfing the Internet and looking at what other agents in your community have for a web site. Make a list of the information the visitor has available to them on the site. Look at the sites that make the clearest statements, that navigate the easiest and then ask yourself, "How does my web site compare to these sites I have seen that I like? Do I offer the same experience that my competitor sites offer?" Today, nearly everyone goes to your web site to "check you out". It is there they are going to look for a confirmation that you are an experienced professional, well informed, totally capable of meeting their needs and have more to offer than the other agents they are considering. This may require an investment to upgrade your web site. Today, it is a necessary investment. Your web site is like your store. The customer experience when they come into your store has to be a good one or they won't come back. It has to be clean, well lit, good displays, good service, easy to see what is for sale and a very pleasant experience. Your web site is your store it has to be the same. Remember, your web site has to answer the question, "why select me as your agent, why am I your best choice."
5. Have a New Expireds ATTACK Program where the first thing you do each day is to work the list of expired listings, quickly and aggressively. There is gold in those waters, you just have to pan for it every day and you will come away with gold every week. If you want ideas on how to do this, go to Google and you will find a lot of ideas and techniques and you also can go to www.realtor.org and get some ideas.
6. Manage Your Time Wisely where you create a THINGS TO ACCOMPLISH LIST each weekend for the upcoming week and where you break it down day by day for the week, so you know what you must do each day. Review your previous week each weekend and see what you did well and what you didn't do well and ask yourself, "how can I learn from this past week?" Work on a schedule, whether you work at the office or from home, when do I start my day, when do I take my breaks, when do I have lunch, when do I end my day? ROT (Return On Time) is an important consideration when creating efficiency and generating maximum income from your efforts.
7. Have a FSBO ATTACK Plan where you develop through trial and error key words and key phrases that allow you to trigger the right responses from the home owner who is trying to save money by attempting to sell the home themselves. But you know, time is money and if they haven't had offers they have turned down (they may be asking too much) or if they have been on the market for some time (they may need better promotion and/or a better price) and there is also the wisdom of Staging The House For Sale by doing some exterior work so it looks more appealing from the street and some interior work so it looks less cluttered, better lit and more appealing which you can do to help make it a better product and more appealing and competitive in the marketplace and get it sold and get your commission included in the sales price so it will cost the home owner nothing.
8. Consciously Build Relationships Make a plan to meet X (an amount) of new people each week where you are going to chat, share something about yourself with them, get their contact information and communicate with them with a follow up and some down the road communications to build a relationship. Getting the right listings and finding home buyers happens best when you have a lot of good relationships. Having the right people and good relationships with those people will make all the difference in the world. Join networks of people like charity organizations, Clubs, hobby groups, where you can increase your COI (Circle of Influence) and go back through your database reviewing all the people you know asking yourself the question "who here, in my database, should I improve my relationship with because they could possibly become a referral source for me?
9. Keep Learning find yourself some mentors, develop relationships with people you can learn from. People who have built great networks for themselves, people who have been successful as sales people, people who have been successful as business people, and/or people who are liked a lot all are good resources for you to use to help you be better. Beyond seeking out those people also go to some seminars and learn what is the latest in real estate sales, what the most successful are teaching and doing. Stay on top of your game.
10. Appreciate your strengths, celebrate your successes and identify where you can grow and do better. Knowing your weaknesses and working on them is an essential requirement to becoming one of the best in the game, which is who you should want to be. For sure, you want to be ALL YOU CAN BE. But along the way, while you are looking at the things you need to change, the places you can do better and the mistakes you have made, take some time to appreciate what you have accomplished, where you are and what you are capable of achieving. APPRECIATE your achievements and who you are.
May 2012 be your BIG year.
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