By: Carol Evenson, guest author
As a real estate agent, your success depends on attracting more clients. If you can grow your reach and appeal to more people in your market, you'll see organic growth in your success. These tips may help you reach your goals for the new year.
Remember Growth is Relative
As a real estate agent, you're an independent contractor with limited resources and trying to grow like a larger business may be a mistake. Instead, focus on your market and the people in your community. You should also use this status to your advantage. Being a small fish in a big pond means you can be more mobile, which will allow you to explore new opportunities more easily. It also means you have the time to forge genuine relationships with your clients. Combined, these two elements will help you grow professionally.
Remember to Budget for Everything
Another characteristic of being an independent contractor is that you're going to have career-related expenses. You'll end up going broke if you just pay for expenses blindly. The best advice is to create a personal household budget and a professional budget together, so you can see where all of your spendings is occurring. Things like home security may cost you a little money up front, but if it helps you sell the house and is within your budget, you can know where to spend your money. This will help you adjust your spending, so you'll have more money for things like marketing.
Hire a Real Estate Coach
If you feel as though you're not making the impact you hoped to make in the market, consider getting professional guidance. A real estate coach can help you with things like delivering a compelling pitch. They often offer negotiations training that helps agents excel on both sides of the transaction. While some coaches are expensive, requiring up to a $1,000 fee, it may be worth it. Many real estate agencies have estimated that sales have increased by a factor of 10 as a result of using coaches. If you can fit this into your budget, you may experience a healthy return on your investment.
Resist Turning Down Prospective Clients
When most real estate agents are starting out, they look for the brass ring. They will turn down those buyers and sellers who don't represent a big commission. That can be a mistake because the commission isn't always your only payoff. Those smaller fish may offer you a bigger deal in a few years if you make a positive impression now. They may also refer you to other clients, which will help you grow your reach organically. Especially if you're new to the business, every client has the potential to offer something of value.
Remember the Importance of Communication
When people feel ignored by any business, their first response is usually to go to a competitor. For this reason, you should return calls and respond to questions at your earliest convenience. Making a client wait on something as important as a real estate transaction is never wise. The only exception is in cases when the client wants some information you don't possess. Taking the time to research the issue is acceptable because your responses should always be honest and accurate.
Use Social Media to Your Advantage
It will take you forever to grow your practice if you're not networking and marketing your services. Using social media is the best way to get your name out there where people will discover you. This is a free resource that simply takes a little effort and an interest in socializing. You start by creating a profile and sharing compelling content. As you begin to attract followers, be sure to respond to them and engage with them. Building online relationships helps you generate leads. When people find you communicative and personable, they will ask their friends to follow you as well.
Advancing in the real estate business requires passion, ambition, and tenacity. If you can develop a marketing strategy and stick with it over a period of time, you will see you reach consistently expand. It won't happen overnight, but you will get there if you persevere.
Carol Evenson is an entrepreneur and professional consultant specializing in C-level training and business growth. She currently works as a real estate agent and seeks to give a hand up to those that helped her during her come up in both corporate and personal real estate. Contact her at carolevenson5@gmail.com