The “Pareto Principle” states that eighty percent of results come from twenty percent of efforts. This is widely known in real estate as the “80/20” rule, wherein roughly twenty percent of agents make up eighty percent of sales. This dynamic is understood as becoming part of the “vital few”–or, the twenty percent. Clearly, you want to firmly plant your business in the land of the twenty. And there is no better way to establish that trend for yourself and your business than by identifying and prioritizing the 20 percent of tasks within your control that will lead to 80 percent of your sales results. Following are some tried and true methods on how to become one of the vital few:
REMEMBER MY NAME
At the end of the day it’s all about name recognition in real estate. A successful agent is well known and a well-known agent has immediate name recognition. To achieve name recognition in real estate you must establish a strong brand identity and consistently promote it through a multi-channel strategy that includes online and offline efforts. This includes a professional website and social media presence, community involvement and client referrals. Having the right temperament for real estate is also a critical component and often one that you either have–or don’t. You’ve probably noticed that the most successful agents are adept and comfortable at unabashed, unapologetic self-promotion, a.k.a. “self confidence.” This has fed into the wider narrative that real estate agents are type-A personalities with a good dose of flair and flamboyance. Indeed, high performance in any sales-related position seems to require these traits.
STAYING IN TOUCH
Statistics claim that roughly 70% of buyers forget their agent’s name within a year. This is likely due to the high percentage of agents who fail to follow up with past clients leading to lost referrals and repeat business. The National Association of Realtors noted that 90% of agents fail to follow up with past clients.
The best ways for agents to stay in touch with past clients include the following:
- Provide value through regular emails and/or newsletters.
- Provide regular market updates.
- Provide vendor recommendations.
- Celebrate milestones.
- Engage on social media.
- Send personalized emails or texts on special occasions.
- Host client appreciation events.
- Stay in touch via automated systems like email and text.*
REFERRALS & REPEAT BUSINESS
It’s estimated that 82% of all real estate transactions come from repeat and referral business. And an astonishing 87% of sellers said they would recommend their agent (that is if they can remember who the agent was). While 89% of homebuyers say they would use their agent again, only 16% of a typical agent’s business actually comes from repeat clients. This is most likely connected to the failure of agents to stay in touch with past clients. This creates an unfortunate gap between potential and actual repeat business. For agents that have 16 years or more under their belt roughly 60% of their business comes from repeat clients and referrals. This number could likely be much higher if follow-up was made a bigger priority.
Though 61% of sellers claimed to be “very satisfied” with their agent only half of these sellers used the same agent again. Again, this is most likely due to a lack of follow-up. The trick here is to not be part of the 90% who fail to follow up, regardless of where your clients may have moved.
The most impactful ways to become part of the “vital few” comes from name recognition and follow-up. This in turn leads to referrals and repeat business. If you want to be part of the vital few you must prioritize follow-up. Your career depends on it.
HOW WE SUPPORT YOUR EFFORTS TO FOLLOW UP WITH CLIENTS*
At Fidelity National Home Warranty we make it easy for you to stay in touch. We do this by providing the following information via email to you on a monthly basis after a home warranty has been obtained for your transaction:
- Annual closing anniversaries, which reminds you to reach out to your clients who closed on a property a year ago
- Service updates which categorize services that were performed and the cost amounts for repairs done through a home warranty with FNHW
- A description and confirmation of the home warranty included in your previous month’s closings
- A Thank-You email to agents new to FNHW which establishes further communication and support from FNHW
- A valuable assortment of free, customizable marketing tools for your use
- A once-a-month newsletter that reports on relevant matters in real estate and online content to use for your own newsletters (Agent Tips &Tricks).