In my real estate career, I soon found out that there were great ideas and average ideas. Concentrating on the great ideas made me wealthy. Usually the average stuff is promoted by speakers who have never sold much real estate or writers who have never sold any real estate.
The average ideas take time away from doing the great ideas. Average ideas usually carry with them the promise of working automatically, being fun, or doing easily. They usually have the universal feature that there is no direct conversation with a client. Facebook, Tweets, and non-producing websites are some examples. Can you believe I’m talking about the sacred cows? Yes, you need to be involved in social media, but should it be at the expense of your past clients? This business is a game of producing and closing quality leads with sellers in the shortest amount of time possible. Please think on some of these IMPORTANT priorities:
- Spend less time talking with agents. I know this sounds harsh but too many are negative. I’m pretty positive about one thing as well – they will never list or buy through you.
- Use your affiliates as team members. If your home inspector can’t take your client through a home and help to close the deal, then he/she is the wrong inspector.
- Spend two hours a day calling behind direct mail to hot seller demographics with great value. Get the out-of-state owners and show them how you can be their “eyes,” their counselor, their go to guy/gal, their document manager, their 1031 person, their lender referrer, and many other sources of reference. This is just one of the systems that my coaching clients are utilizing to increase their net worth.
- When you’re on the phone, get the appointment! When you’re in person, get the signature! If you don’t get the appointment or the signature, you have lost time and wasted a portion of your day. If you don’t know how to do it, practice by asking for it and giving service that shows you deserve it.
- Be the last one scheduled for a listing presentation and know how to sell the concept without losing the transaction.
- Stop listening to “gurus” who sold less than you in yearly production real estate.
- Sell your own listings. There are systems that allow you to do this ethically.
- Sell your buyers on answering questions, meeting with your lender, meeting with you, and signing a loyalty agreement before you show any more property.
- Have a Facebook page with a lot of friends but don’t spend more than 15 minutes a day on it.
- Have a series of letters to convert buyer B leads into buyer A leads, converting more of your online leads. If you don’t have services beyond showing MLS property for buyers, get educated. Visit my blog and article archives for numerous references at www.waltersanford.com.
- Make no house calls on buyers.
- Work on a listing presentation that gets a higher commission rate, a longer term, transaction coordination fees, cancellation fees, and fees for extraordinary marketing requested by the seller.
- Curb your desire to write to me on how your board, office, or state doesn’t allow you to implement one of my ideas. Find something else that works for you and do it!
- Sell higher priced property. Generate a wealthier client base.
- Show your listings first, then the best to the worst of the inventory balance.
- If your buyer and/or seller have no motivation, think up something for them. If you cannot, let them go, unless they are reasonable…which they won’t be if they don’t have a real motivation.
- If you have a very motivated client, you can overprice a listing and show more homes to your buyer.
- You can get rich by buying cash flow properties with fixed loans. Stop buying toys and put together a down payment.
- Eat healthy, walk for exercise, and find all the answers in the Bible.
- Call all of your past clients twice a year. 2-5 calls a day should do it for 95% of you.
- Have two hours a day where you return calls and emails. Set definite times; your clients will love it. If you don’t set the time, you won’t get anything done.
- When you have time, fill it with a time-blocked, seller lead generation system.
- Here’s some tough love — it’s not your broker’s fault, it’s yours (almost always).
- The only reason it does not sell is because of price.
- Clients can be wrong a lot. Show them love and point out where they are going wrong.
- How can you help a client without knowing their exact goals?
- Checklists rule! I have one for everything. Yes, I really do. I add to them when I have a great idea. I subtract from them when I am looking at cutting overhead. Display your checklists to your clients to gain their trust. Assistants can use checklists to get the job done way you want. Use checklists to delegate.
- Even when you have a lot of pendings, do NOT stop prospecting.
- Wake up early and go to bed early.
- Pay your income taxes and don’t borrow money on credit cards.
The next time you are presented with a checklist of 30 ways to get social media working for you…refer to this list first.
Walter Sanford has been designing and implementing real estate systems for 30 years. One of the most successful REALTORS® and now wealthy from his systems, Sanford teaches his systems and strategies through his products, seminars, and personal coaching producing the best results in the industry. Do what works, do what is proven. Hire Walter Sanford. Call our office at 800.792.5837, email walter@waltersanford.com, or chat with us online at www.waltersanford.com.