You might be thinking that January and February can be slower months for your business because of the holidays and business will pick up after that, but this is actually the best time to set the pace for the rest of the year. If you look at what is actually happening in the marketplace, January, February and March are the months you should be writing higher numbers.
Australia Day is the 26th of January and most agents will be waiting to start working in earnest around mid-February, but if you want to have an exceptional year you need to start building momentum before they do. You should have your OFI campaigns set and ready for February openings on the 7th, 14th, 21st and 28th. If you don’t start early you will have an average year, because what you do now sets the pace for your business going forward. Remember that we have Easter holidays from the 27th of March until the 20th of April in NSW and VIC, and then Anzac Day, which falls on a Saturday meaning you might not be able to do OFIs that day. You will need to have established momentum before you hit those holidays.
Remember the importance of social proof, and that comes from meeting people and establishing relationships. OFIs are vital for making yourself that friend in the business for all your clients from the start. Every person who walks into an open home should be treated as a four-dimensional customer – any one of them could be a buyer, a landlord, a seller and a potential tenant. Make sure you are fully servicing each of those potential clients by doing significant numbers of OFIs beginning in January and continuing through February onward.
You might think the market really isn’t active yet, but when you look at the numbers from November and December you’ll find that a significant number of properties went to auction during those months. Many of the people who sold those properties would have been looking to buy as well in December and January. Traditionally there are not many listings at that time, but you could be selling properties to those people right through January. This is why you want to always be building your buyers hit list and meeting private appointments. You can also have properties pre-listed for February before that month’s campaigns begin. This way you can meet people, generate buyer activity, and drive momentum in the market early.
The best agents take their holiday time earlier in December and return to work earlier as well, and are already campaigning at the start of January with the mindset that January and February are the true beginning of the business season.
As you begin your year, make sure you look into our Josh Phegan Membership, training events and coaching opportunities.
I hope you’ve enjoyed today’s Coaching Tip, and I look forward to seeing you here again next week.