What To Do If You’re Starting Out

Click here to watch on YouTube.

If you’re just starting out, welcome to real estate. If you’ve been here awhile, try to remember how you felt when you were new to the business so you can lend a hand. Following are a few core ideas and insights to help you get going in the right direction, or lend direction to someone new.

Consider this question: Where do your customers hang out before they need you? Knowing this will prepare you for staying ahead of the game when they appear at your open for inspections and contact you about properties posted online. Work your warm relationships because they are your best referrals as well as loyal customers. Call the people who have been through your open homes during the year and ask them if they found a property or are still looking. Most agents never follow up with past contacts, but those people are a vast untapped market waiting to hear from you.

You can’t keep your database current if you don’t know which buyers are now sellers, which residents are now landlords, and who might be on the edge of selling and moving. You can’t effectively target your markets if your targets have moved into new categories. You may have thousands of contacts, but if they aren’t organized and categorized and, thus, useful, then that information is just a fat load of useless data, not a fit and responsive resource.

When you are starting out think in terms of building and maintaining momentum. Pick an agent who is doing business the way you want to and shadow them, preferably someone inside of your brand. You need to establish your own social proof as soon as possible and start building on it. Get to five open for inspections on a Saturday as quickly as you can and work up from there. This is where you will meet the most buyers, and can begin to build your database and client relationships. Start thinking about the types of marketing you can use to connect with these clients and categories.

You can also build your new client base by contacting past clients that were originally serviced by agents who have since left your brand. Again, past clients are some of your best prospects and it is highly likely that they have not been called back by anyone since the last transaction was finished. This is where you can start your first call lists.

Before you harvest that data, though, get some expertise around the art of prospecting and conducting successful phone calls. Asking the right questions and getting past customer blocking techniques are vital skills for booking appointments and beginning new relationships.

Everything you do in your business depends on prospecting and effective communication. You need to follow a proven system so that you know what to do and when to do it. Your first hour every day is for prospecting. Afternoons are for meeting appointments. Listing presentations require a system and understanding of client communication as well. In all your interactions your goal is to move the customer forward, whether that is to book an appointment or list their property.

Finally, the glue that holds all of this together is consistency. Follow your systems and do it daily. Set up schedules and follow them. Have a plan and stick to it. Make those calls and book those appointments every single day. Be consistent and your business will grow and prosper.

I hope you’ve enjoyed today’s Coaching Tip, and I look forward to seeing you here again next week.