By Darryl Davis
I'm never about the doom and gloom. My motto and company mission is to help people design lives and careers worth smiling about. I do, however, believe in preparedness. I love this quote from Tim Fargo: "Opportunity doesn't make appointments; you have to be ready when it arrives."
Those of us who were around when the industry went sideways years ago—especially those of us who've been around a good long while and knew a good long list of people that it affected—wished we could have better turned on the light bulbs for agents before that happened; in other words, helped them position themselves to weather whatever the market was going to do. The truth is that there will always be people who have a tough time getting out of their own way. There will always be people whose business model is to attempt to survive buyer to buyer, commission check to commission check.
That's a tough way to live, for agents and their families. The flip side is that there were plenty of agents who put systems in place to continuously prospect for new business and diligently care for their sphere of influence so that even when the market did head south, they were prepared. In fact, many even thrived while their not-so-diligent counterparts fell out of the business, many after years in the industry with nothing to show for it.
My advice? Don't let that be you. Our market is hot right now. Agents are busier and more profitable than they've been in years. That's terrific. It's also a great time for those agents who haven't put systems in place to continuously prospect and work their referral base to put those fail-safes in place.
Recently, I delivered a webinar on the "12 Best Ideas to Generate Listing Leads in 30 Days." I hosted this webinar for our Power Agent Members and guests because I think it's a vital time for agents to "get their ducks in a row." Markets are changing, interest rates will climb and buying/selling trends will shift. The prepared agent will take all of those things and leverage them for the opportunities that they are.
Here are five of those 12 strategies:
- Call current FSBOs. Many agents have a fear of calling FSBOs. Here's my take: When you absolutely know for certain (and statistics back you up—because they do) that you can help a homeowner get more money for their home, sell it in a shorter amount of time and with way less headaches than selling themselves, you're almost integrity-bound to try to get them to list. I recently covered this idea in an article I wrote about why no FSBO should be a FSBO, where I shared articles from national publications regarding the fact that the owners of ForSaleByOwner.com and BuyOwner.com both used real estate agents to get their homes sold. FSBOs need you...give them a call.
- Call current expireds. These folks already see the value in using an agent and are almost always more realistic about price the second time around. Show them the benefits of pricing right from the start, a power-packed marketing plan and a stellar level of skill and integrity, then get them to their goal of getting that house sold.
- Call FSBOs and expireds from six months ago. Most agents overlook this prospecting lead source. Oftentimes, they get close to listing or selling and fall out for some reason. Reach back out and see if they're ready to jump back into the market. You'll be surprised at how many were just waiting for someone to reach back out.
- Call past clients. Your sphere of influence should be your best source of listings and referrals. They already know you, like you and trust you—and you should be contacting them anyway. Statistics show that one in 12 people in your book of business will either do business with you or refer business to you every year—but that's only if you stay in touch with them. They should hear from you via direct mail, card or letter at least six times per year, and by phone or in person at least twice a year. Make right now one of those times.
- Call houses for rent. This is another overlooked lead source. For a lot of landlords, carrying a property that's not renting quickly becomes a liability they can't handle. Start hitting the phones and see if anyone is ready to have that liability taken off their hands.
To not just survive but thrive in any market, I'd also say you have to master your listing presentation skills. That does two things for you: First, it means that you'll have a higher close rate when you're sitting at the kitchen table with a seller, and second, it'll give you the absolute confidence to do the prospecting you have to do to get to that kitchen table. The more skilled you are, the more confident you are. The more confident you are, the less you let taking action (even calling someone) scare you or keep you from putting yourself in a position to be market-proof.
Now is the time to prepare. Will you? Comment below or reach out to Darryl Davis directly on social media @DarrylSpeaks. If you'd like to learn the rest of the 12 prospecting strategies, you can check them out here.
Darryl Davis is a keynote speaker and best-selling author. If you're interested in having him teach your team the time-tested skills and tools they need to produce at extraordinary levels and continuously build a strong listing inventory, click here.
