In a competitive industry (or slower times), consistently earning listings is the way to win.
To build business on the listing side, Bob Sokoler, leader of The Sokoler Team, based in Louisville, Ky., connects regularly with his sphere—"top-of-mind, tip-of-tongue," he quotes.
"Your least expensive lead to acquire is a past client, especially if they've had a great experience with you," explained Sokoler on the Homes.com and RISMedia webinar "Listing Mastery: Outpace the Competition With a New Listing Game," held recently.
During the webinar, Sokoler and Lee Tessier, leader of The Lee Tessier Team, based in Bel Air, Md.—along with Christian Misthos of Homes.com and Verl Workman of Workman Success Systems—discussed driving listings with a multipronged strategy, distilled down into one word: consistency.
"People judge right away what they see," said Tessier. "You have to be consistent and persistent, and master your craft. Make sure you're acting in a professional manner every day, and that your morals are always on display. Make sure you look well and play the part: that [you are] the one somebody lists their house with."
In all aspects of the business, consistency matters, whether establishing follow-up or giving a listing presentation, the presenters said. Each month, Sokoler blasts out one postcard, be it a giveaway or "proof of performance," while Tessier calls clients and hosts get-togethers. The common thread? It's all regularly scheduled.
"You're calling them at least once a month to see how they're doing—not trying to sell them," clarified Tessier. "You want to be the one they're thinking of when they talk about real estate."
To keep up with these touchpoints, Sokoler employs a third party, Vyral Marketing, which allows him to bypass hiring a full-time worker—a crucial flexibility. While he has administrators on payroll, by outsourcing tasks, he also has the ability to adjust his budget as needed.
"You can scale up or down based on the number of clients you have or sales you're doing," said Sokoler. "Farm it out. When the economy slows, or even in the winter months, you [won't have to be] paying people for jobs you don't need."
Sperry Software is another solution Sokoler trusts. With Sperry, he can add a follow-up log to his Outlook, which corrals messages into one record. In his calendar, he adds in appointments to contact his sphere, so he's always consistently following up.
In another consistent play, when clients close with The Lee Tessier Team, they always get moving resources, including two trucks (for free), and boxes branded to the team, bought at BizBox Inc. According to Tessier, the boxes, especially, have helped keep them top-of-mind.
"They're double-layer boxes, so they get passed down to aunts, uncles, cousins, etc.," said Tessier. "We see them go through families. They're sticky and stand out."
When it comes to delivering listing presentations, Tessier believes in consistency, as well.
"Everyone [on my team] has the same presentation folder; everything's uniform," he noted. "It's like McDonald's—you know what you're getting every time."
For more from the webinar, including celebrity endorsements, establishing instant offer programs and social media strategies, check out the recording below:
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