Realtors are failing all of the time and watching the slow drawn out scenario play out over and over again gets me all worked up. Realtors jumping from one brokerage to another or taking on additional work to pay the bills happens every day in our industry. There is nothing wrong with changing companies for a better opportunity or working a second job to make ends meet, shoot I did it for a couple of years and it sure kept me afloat. But what I hate to see is the ongoing dying Realtor because they have not figured out that Real Estate sales are a mini small business in itself and has at least 3/3’s to always be considering. Most Realtors are happy to show homes to qualified buyers and work a purchase agreement. They are also really glad to wait by the fax machine and anticipate an offer on one of their listings, but to me these 2 steps are just a small portion of a successful Real Estate business. A successful business makes efforts to drive, facilitate and maintain long term sales relationships from the time you meet to the time they want to sell after the kids are grown and move away. So I point out the 3/3’s of Real Estate and hope they help your business stay on track and you be more successful.
1/3. Marketing – Real Estate marketing is not only the hardest but most important part to a Realtors business. Realtors have a difficult time putting together an ongoing process of delivering their message and capturing business from it. Marketing as a Realtor is 24/7 and has to be worked every single day to create residual business and this is a major fail point to most outgoing Realtors. Creating a way to communicate with your clients is key and staying top of mind is the key to a long Real Estate career. Otherwise you are hoping for business to fall out of the sky and once you have sold all of your friends and family a house, your done.
2/3. The Business – Next time you sit with a Realtor that is not killing it yet in 2015, ask them a couple of questions: How healthy is your business compared to 2014? What are you outsourcing? What is the ROI on your largest business expenditure? Blank stare with begin. Most Realtors have no idea what their business looks like and most brokers do nothing to create business people out of their agents. Realtors need to think like small business owners knowing their costs, returns and plans for future success. Creating a job is perfectly fine but the long term failure rate is much higher if no business plan and measurable’s are in place. Having a good team of experts around you to manage this is key and hopefully this is on the to-do list for 2015.
3/3. Relationships – Residential Real Estate is pretty cut throat when it comes to protecting your clients. If you do a good job and work hard for your business, these will most likely be fine but in the case of most Realtors, a good relationship management plan is highly needed. We all love to network and meet people for lunch but gaining their trust is tough and needs a plan. Showing homes to your next buyer and fun and all but what makes them call you and work around your schedule for that perfect house tomorrow? And lastly, the closing check is a big deal but after closing, what are Realtors doing to assure you are their Real Estate expert? Being honest with yourself on this and creating a working plan will give you amazing results.
I beat up on Realtors a lot but its for good reason and I am hopeful it helps a bit. When I began my Real Estate career I had not 1 single lead or referral to work and no one in my circle thought of me as a Residential Realtor. I had no mentors or colleagues and to top it all off I had no money. But you know what came from that was a strong work ethic and an understanding that great planning and establishing systems would reward me greatly over time and they have. I am hopeful that all Realtors have the enjoyment I get daily from my business and the people I get to work with.
-curt
