The real estate industry is by nature a competitive landscape. Emotions run high in the business of acquiring “home” and large sums of money are often at stake. It’s a crowded industry and, at the moment, a tight market in many areas. In order to get–and keep–your foot in the proverbial door you must find ways to stand apart from the crowd. Here are eight things to do for more real estate business:
BE FAMILIAR & TRUST-WORTHY
When making one of the most important decisions of their life, consumers want to know they can trust the real estate person they’re working with. Familiarity leads to a feeling of trust, so being familiar and trust-worthy go hand-in-hand. How to accomplish this? Start by being active in your community. If you’ve lived in a place for a long time and your kids have gone to school there, that’s a great start. From there branch out into community events and groups, plus advertising in your local publication or even billboard advertising. Whatever you can do to promote trust and familiarity in your name and image is what you’re shooting for. Remember, you are providing a service people want and need. Become a familiar, friendly face and then proceed to do what you do best, which is providing great customer service to your clients.
FOCUS ON YOUR EXPERIENCE
Even if you’re a relatively new agent, chances are you’ve done things that add to your bucket of useful real estate experience. Make sure you highlight those skills to your real estate business specifically. For example, if you’ve worked as a real estate assistant or marketer, make sure you build around those sets of skills. Another way to gain valuable experience is to work on a team or give your time to a top-producing agent that needs help. Being mentored when you’re just starting out is critical and an effective way to use your mentor’s experience to add credibility to your reputation.
KNOW YOUR STUFF
Learn, learn, learn. And take classes that are offered up, many of which are free. Your local MLS will typically offer classes for navigating the MLS system. Mortgage professionals and home warranty sales reps often offer free classes with a broad range of topics relevant to real estate. Do your homework when it comes to studying the numbers in the neighborhoods you hope to represent…..things like how many months of inventory is available, average time on the market, average amount of listings per month, average cost per square foot, average time to close, number of offers going over or under asking price, and so forth. Knowledge of these statistics help you provide better service to both your buyers and your sellers. Knowing what’s “normal” in your area is key.
PROVIDE TESTIMONIALS
A recent report showed that 49% of consumers say a personal connection with an agent is more important than ever. Consumers are looking for confirmation from other buyers and sellers. Testimonials–online, in print, and as part of your email communications–can get that job done nicely.
HAVE A DIGITAL PRESENCE
In today’s real estate world, having a digital footprint is a must. This comes in the form of a professional website, email marketing, blogging, and regular social media engagement on at least one to two platforms.
BE QUICK
The early bird gets the worm when it comes to real estate. That means returning calls or texts as soon as possible, jumping on new leads, and being available to show a home at a moment’s notice. Today’s consumers want agents that can help their transaction to go quickly and smoothly. Agents are especially valued when they have a reputable pool of adjacent services to move the transaction to completion — things like inspectors, lenders, home stagers, home warranties, landscapers, construction services, moving services, and the like.
ASK FOR THEIR BUSINESS
Surprisingly, asking for someone’s business in an open and forthright way is often overlooked. Make it known to anyone you are working with that you want their business and will make their needs a priority. With buyers, that is providing customized information on market inventory and being available to show homes–especially ones that are new on the market and fit their needs–as soon as possible. For sellers this means convincing them that you know their market best and providing incentives for them to list with you rather than another agent. In all cases, following up on a consistent basis with your clients or prospective clients is essential.
STAY IN TOUCH
The best agents keep their clients informed and involved throughout the entire transaction process. This should seem obvious. Often overlooked is keeping your finger on the pulse during the listing phase and during the showing phase. Your sellers should not be calling you to get an update – you should be calling them and keeping them informed on the level of interest, who’s looked at their home, and anything else that’s pertinent to the listing phase. When working with buyers, be in it for the long haul. Some buyers are ready to buy fairly quickly. Other buyers may need more time, sometimes several years. You would be surprised how many buyers will come through for you, even after a year or two. Real estate is often a game of the proverbial “tortoise and the hare”. Be the tortoise.