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3 Real Estate tasks you should outsource in 2019

Business Management

Dec 19, 2018

I know this business owner who has a brick-and-mortar yoga and athletic wear boutique. She also has an amazing e-commerce website on which she spent a whole lot of time and money. While the website still takes a good chunk of her time, it does practically no business.

Because she’s too busy to market her website and too frugal to hire someone to help her.

Unfortunately, she is one of many small business owners who feels she has to wear all of the hats. Sort of like real estate agents, right?

She is, however, sitting on a goldmine in that website. She knows it but feels helpless to do anything about it.

The best way to get rid of the stress of having too much to do and little time to do it, of feeling helpless to keep up with everything, is to outsource.

“There are times when you should think about shifting the workload to others, so you can devote more time and energy to the areas that will best grow your business,” according to Amy Vetter at Inc.com.

She goes on to say that small business owners should consider outsourcing anything that requires “specialized skills,” such as accounting, graphics or website design and copywriting. Tasks that are “routine, procedural or recur in cycles,” such as posting to social media and answering emails.

While there are numerous tasks suited to outsourcing, three stand out as especially valuable to the busy real estate agent.

Blogging

The best way for an agent to compete with the big Google first-page leaders is by publishing lots of hyper-local content to their blogs. By “lots,” the experts recommend posting at least once a week, but more often is better.

Experts also say that for Google to consider your content valuable enough for first-page placement, it needs to be long—at least 1,000 words, but, according to Sam Hollingsworth at Search Engine Journal, the “average content length for Page 1 results is around 1,900 words.”

Do you have time to pound out 2,000 or even 1,000 words per week to post to your blog? And, if you do, it means you’re neglecting other parts of your business.

Outsource the project to a professional writer (from the U.S.) that has experience in the real estate industry.

Yes, it costs money, but the fees are tax deductible and, if you hire the right person, you’ll see a definite return on your investment.

Social media tasks

It’s not enough to write and post to your blog; you also need to promote the posts. Social media platforms (especially Facebook and LinkedIn) are the best places to do this.

Again, social media marketing is one of those time-consuming tasks that are better handed off to someone else.

If you make the big bucks, hiring a social media manager is a brilliant idea. This person can not only promote the blog posts but come up with a social media campaign that includes ads, contests and other real estate lead generating tactics.

If you lack the funds of a top producer, consider hiring a virtual assistant. You can find them at online freelance platforms such as Upwork.com or by Googling “real estate virtual assistant.”

The beauty of hiring a virtual assistant is that he or she can handle other repetitive tasks, such as CRM maintenance, responding to emails and transaction coordination.

CRM management

To most agents, the CRM is the lifeblood of their real estate business—it’s the tool that helps agents consistently build and maintain relationships.

And, relationships are the name of the game in real estate, right?

It takes a big chunk of time to maintain your database, according to Hubspot Research’s State of Inbound 2018. More than 27 percent of salespeople who took part in the research said they spend more than “an hour a day on data entry work instead of selling.”

One hour or more. That is time that’s better spent having coffee with a past client, calling warm leads or working your sphere.

Then there are the agents who just can’t seem to find a spare minute in their day. How much business do you suppose is lost each year because agents don’t have the time to keep up with CRM maintenance or the will to hire someone to help?

Real estate’s top producers have an exercise that will, spending significantly more on their CRM than other agents.

Determine exactly what you need to have done and how often, when outsourcing the management of one of your most valuable tools. Here’s a list to get you started:

Implement segmentation
Add new contacts and leads
Add notes and updates on contacts
Update leads according to their location in the pipeline
Schedule follow-ups
Manage transactions

Then, go about finding and hiring someone. A virtual assistant, knowledgeable about CRMs, would be the ideal hire.

By outsourcing tasks that don’t require you to be hands-on, you’ll free up more time to spend on those that do, like building and maintaining relationships.

Another time saver is to automate your Just Listed Just Sold postcards in 2019.

Go now and get started with this incredible game-changer.

Need help targeting the perfect niche of buyers or sellers? Use our mailing list tool to create the ideal list (it’s easy) or call our support team for assistance at 866.405.3638!

PLUS: When you have time…here are 3 free ways we can help you STILL CRUSH IT this year!

1. Become a Listing Legend Free eBook.

Ready to take a vertical leap in your real estate career? If you’re looking for inspiration…and the tools and methods to dominate a market and go to the top in real estate…you’ll find them in this free book. – Click Here

2. The Free 2019 Real Estate Business Plan.

Treat your business like a business it is vital to long-term success in this industry. Some agents may put together elaborate business plans, yet there’s something powerful about keeping it simple. Check out our one page Online Real Estate Business Plan – Click Here

3. The 12 Month Done-For-You Strategic Marketing Plan.

The Real Estate Marketing Planner is a powerful 12-Month-Guide that strategically defines what marketing to do when. Four key market segments are included, Niche Marketing, Listing Inventory, Geographic Farming, and Sphere of Influence – Click Here

4. The Free Online ROI Calculator.

Consistency and automation are the keys to success. Discover how effective direct mail marketing can dramatically increase your bottom line. Enter your statistics in our Free online ROI Calculator and click the ‘CALCULATE MY ROI’ button to see your results instantly! – Click Here

Also…check out these cool tools

Three Click Postcards – Just snap a home photo & create a postcard all from your mobile phone

MLSmailings.com – Automated Just Listed, Just Sold Postcards

Market Dominator System – Become a neighborhood brand

The Power of a Recommendation. Our business flourishes from recommendations in the same way yours does. We would be very grateful for your recommendation of our products and services – Recommend us here

Want to Refer a friend or colleague? Refer them, Here. THEY get a Free $25 Gift Card and YOU become their hero. BTW, you also get a $25 Gift Card too (now that’s what I’m talking about)!

Achieve Work-Life Balance

Business Strategy

Oct 18, 2018

How to Prioritize, Delegate & Focus on What Matters

The most common misconception about real estate agents is that what you do is a piece of cake. You set your own work schedule, have plenty of free time and still rake in gobs of money.

In fact, this misconception is what leads many right to the doorstep of the real estate industry.

Sadly, the truth is that there is no “flexible schedule,” especially for the new real estate agent. It’s even rare for many established agents. And, according to a Market Leader study, established agents make up a group known as “the least happy” in the industry.

Sure, as time goes on the schedule may ease – typically to a 10- to 12-hour workday, 7 days a week.

But, it’s the agent who needs to learn flexibility, not the schedule.

Once you get this, and understand how to prioritize, delegate and, most importantly, let go of the small stuff, life in real estate land will be so much better.

As we move into the holidays, clients trail off and your schedule will lighten up. Many agents take advantage of the lull to plan next year’s business. It’s also a good time to plan on — and commit to — balancing the two competing halves of your life.

“Delegation” isn’t a dirty word

According to a NAR statistic, 14 percent of agents use an assistant. The reason for this low number is that many agents tend to tie the timing of the hiring to a certain, albeit elusive, income target. “I’ll hire an assistant when I’m making $75,000 a year,” or something similar.

Or, perhaps by transaction count: “Once you hit 40-50 transactions per year, your production will be capped at that level unless you hire an assistant or someone else to help you manage your business,” claims Bernice Ross at Inman.com.

She does have a point, though – your production will be capped.

The truth is, there’s no chicken or egg thing going on here — most agents’ incomes increase when they hire an assistant.

This makes sense when you understand that your assistant relieves you of the mundane tasks that currently take you away from money-making endeavors. Answering the phones, checking email and making copies of transaction paperwork don’t make you money and they suck time.

The same holds true for writing your own blog posts (hire a writer), telephone prospecting and follow-up calls (hire a licensed assistant), posting to social media (hire a social media manager) and marketing (hire a marketing assistant).

It’s overstated but true that it takes money to make money. Free yourself from the mundane and you’ll free up time that will help you be more productive and maybe even take a day off.

Consider taking on a partner

Ok, so you’re not ready to fork over the bucks it takes to hire help. Have you thought about partnering with another agent? If not, consider this:

“You can take vacations – real vacations – ones where you do not work. In addition, you can take days off and if you’re sick you don’t have to answer the phone. In short, you will experience a higher quality of life,” says Kelle Sparta, real estate trainer, and coach.

There’s a lot to consider when you’re thinking about taking on a partner or forming a team.

Pick up a copy of “The Millionaire Real Estate Agent,” by Gary Keller for some tips. You’ll also find information on structuring teams and partnerships at Realtor.org.

Tools and systems

Your tools and systems should be working for you, not the other way around

Sure, choosing the right tools and systems for your business is a chore in itself, but technology can help set you free, therefore it’s time well spent.

Automating the more important aspects of your business, such as ongoing branding with your target market, will play a big role in helping you find that balance between your work life and your private life.

Two of our most popular and effective ways to help you automate continuous contact with your target market are,

1. The Market Dominator – A 12 x 15 poster size, 2-sided, direct marketing piece that is delivered to your exclusive carrier route on a monthly basis, establishing you as the go-to professional in that neighborhood.
2. Automated Just Listed/Just Sold Postcards – This done-for-you service integrates with your local MLS then generates postcards for your listings when they are active and sold.

As we move into the slower pace of the season, take the time to create targeted mailing lists and set up an automated campaign to get those marketing materials flowing to the right people.

Schedule “me” time

“You have to make a little time for the things that ignite your joy,” Laura Stack, author and productivity expert in Denver tells WebMD.

And, what better way to “make a little time” than by scheduling it?

Keep a log of your daily activities over the next week or two, paying close attention to those days on which nothing much is going on. Come on – we know you have one of those. By moving the activities of that day to another, or even spreading them out among six days, you can conceivably, actually, blessedly take a day off every week.

Make a commitment to remain unplugged on that day. That means taking no business calls (oh, yes, it will be painful) and no internet. In fact, get out of the house and leave the phone at home.

Guess what? The real estate world will continue to turn without your help for 24 hours.

If a full 24 hours to yourself is unthinkable right now, consider grabbing a smaller block of “me” time. Start with a half hour – get out and walk, workout, watch TV, do the laundry – anything but real estate.

Then, over the course of the next few weeks, expand that block of time by 15 minutes or half an hour.

One Detroit agent we spoke with weaned herself off the 12-hour day by leaving work 30 minutes earlier for a week. The next week she left an hour early and gradually built it up to where she eventually took an entire day off each week.

“Instead of just letting life happen, people who achieve work-life balance make deliberate choices about what they want from life and how they want to spend their time,” claims Harvey Deutschendorf at fastcompany.com.

Commit to achieving a successful balance between your work life and your personal life and put yourself in the happy agent percentage.

Start automating your Just Listed/Just Sold postcards with MLS Mailings today and begin the process of freeing up your time for what matters most.

Need help targeting the perfect niche of buyers or sellers? Use our mailing list tool to create the ideal list (it’s easy) or call our support team for assistance at 866.405.3638!

PLUS: When you have time…here are 3 free ways we can help you STILL CRUSH IT in 2018!

1. Become a Listing Legend.

2. The 12 Month Done-For-You Strategic Marketing Plan.

3. The Free Online ROI Calculator.

Also…check out these cool tools

Three Click Postcards – Just snap a home photo & create a postcard all from your mobile phone

MLSmailings.com – Automated Just Listed, Just Sold Postcards

Market Dominator System – Become a neighborhood brand

Want to Refer a friend or colleague? Refer them, Here. THEY get a Free $25 Gift Card and YOU become their hero. BTW, you also get a $25 Gift Card too (now that’s what I’m talking about)!

Attract More Buyers with Virtual Staging

Home Staging

Apr 6, 2018

Based on a recent NAR survey, 77% of buyers stated home staging made it easier to visualize the property as their future home.

In fact, the majority of agents agree home staging decreases the home’s time on the market and increases the sales price (up to 15 percent).

With options from hiring a professional, to doing it yourself, here’s why more agents are choosing virtual staging.

Search the internet for virtual staging and you’ll find lots of articles on how “dishonest” the practice is and how “deceived” potential buyers feel when they visit the home and the staging they saw online isn’t there.

But, read who is writing these hit pieces – professional home stagers – and it’s easier to take them with a grain of salt. Besides, many agents are successfully using virtual home staging and have great tips to offer.

The vacant home

Regardless of the type of market or home, staging is a must for most vacant homes—even if it’s staged only for the listing photos.

But, there’s more to it than marketing. Vacant homes send a message to potential buyers: this seller is desperate.

At the very least, buyers may assume there’s an urgency on the seller’s part to get rid of the home. Hello, lowball offers!

Most buyers first view a home online. Therefore, having at least virtual staging in place avoids the “vacant home syndrome” that may lead to low offers.

What virtual staging is, and isn’t

Virtually staging a home for sale involves digitally enhancing the home’s rooms with furniture and accessories.

Many companies offer the service and it’s quite easy to use. All you, as an agent, need to do is send high-res photos of the rooms your client wants to be staged to the staging company. Depending on the company, you can have the finished product within 48 hours to a week later.

Costs vary as well. BoxBrownie.com charges as little as $32 per photo. While other companies can charge up to $100 or more per photo.

Virtual staging isn’t a DIY project. Sure, you can purchase software, but it isn’t the same software the pros use and, without a staging background, it’s not wise. Unless, of course, you think homeowners going FSBO is wise, then, by all means, go for it.

Unlike most of the out-of-the-box virtual staging software, the professional virtual staging software doesn’t virtually remodel homes. It presents the home’s architecture as-is and design the staging around what is actually present.

The photos are high-resolution and far more realistic and professional-looking than you’ll get with consumer-oriented software.

So, how do you keep a potential buyer from feeling manipulated?

Hard feelings may ensue when what a potential buyer sees in person isn’t what was presented online. Buyers may feel deceived, or like the victim of a bait and switch type of con.

Kiawah Partners in Charleston, S.C. has a brilliant solution.

“The company shows two versions of the photos: the room as it was originally photographed and the virtually staged room with the word ‘visualization’ prominently watermarked in the corner of the image,” explains Realtormag.com’s Erica Christoffer.

“The potential home buyer can see that the kitchen currently has beautiful dark wood cabinets and dark quartzite countertops, say, but can also see what it would look like if the cabinets were painted white and the dark countertop was replaced with a white marble,” explained Tiffany Jonas, Kiawah’s advertising and marketing manager

The company also includes a disclaimer in the property’s MLS description.

At vacant properties, the empty rooms contain large photos of the virtually staged room, “mounted on foam board and sitting on easels,” according to Cristofer.

“The potential home buyer can plainly see the original, real room in front of their eyes and, in the mounted photo, how that room would look with different furnishings and finishes,” Jonas told the magazine.

Other agents who employ virtual staging have the most popular rooms staged several different ways. “To help buyers visualize, for example, how a space could serve as a study, an exercise room, or a guest room, depending on one’s needs,” according to Boston Globe correspondent Marni Elyse Katz.

What to look for in a virtual staging company

Choosing a virtual staging company is rather like choosing a professional real estate photographer—it’s all about the photos.

Of course, you’ll want to ensure that the photos are realistic. You’ll also want to ensure that they take into account all the other aspects of stunning photography. These include lighting, scale, color, and composition.

A virtual staging company should also offer experience in home décor and styling. This includes the ability to create tasteful combinations of furniture and accessories, wall colors and flooring.

Finally, consider what you get for the money you are willing to spend.

We recommend BoxBrownie.com, not only for their skills and affordability but for the extras they offer, such as professional copywriters, to really make your listing sing.

Another way to attract more buyers is to send the Still Renting postcard from the First Time Buyer/Renter Series to at least 100 renters in your area. Need a mailing list of renters? Click Here.

Always know that we are here to help you in any way we can.

Call our support team at 866.405.3638 if you would like help creating a new mailing list or marketing materials.

3 Steps to Epic Success

Agent Success

Nov 6, 2017

The Success Mind-Set

Success begins with the right mindset. Real estate sales is not just a job; it is a business. A business that requires planning, organization and systems to maintain balance, accountability and forward momentum. The following details the 3 steps to epic success.

Step 1: Have a Plan

Planning is critical to realizing your goals, generating consistent income and creating an exit plan. The proper exist plan ensures you have a valuable “book of business” that you can sell when you are ready to retire. Your plan should:

be written out and clearly defined
have a realistic and comprehensive budget
be based not only on your goals, but also on your family’s goals (very important to maintaining the support system necessary during long days or tough weeks!)
outline the number of transactions you need to reach those goals based on commission dollars, list-to-close ratio and fall-through rate
outline the number of contacts, appointments scheduled/.attended you need to realize your transaction goal
break your numbers down into daily, weekly and monthly activities so that you ALWAYS know where you are in relation to your goal

Be sure to share your plan with a manager, coach or partner so that you can set up a system of accountability.

Step 2: Employ Smart Marketing

In today’s competitive arena, effectively marketing yourself and your business requires both consistency and laser focus.

Countless agents send single marketing pieces to thousand of consumers, with no intention of following up. This approach is a waste of time, energy and valuable marketing dollars.

The truth is, you should be in contact with your sphere of influence at least every 30-45 days. One month, send a postcard, letter, newsletter or flyer. Many of our customers find the Listing Inventory Series, Content Cards, and Market Dominator among their favorites.

The following month, call with a friendly event reminder, helpful hint, or just to say hello.

During the third month, arrange to see them via a networking event, social gathering or in-person visit. Drop off a small token, informational item or card. Then start the “rotation” over again.

Such consistency creates vital ‘top-of-mind’ awareness. This awareness becomes “the key to the kingdom” when growing your referral base and creating a reliable income.

Gone are the days when agents could afford to take a “shotgun” approach-casting a wide net in the hopes of “catching a few”.

Response rates increase dramatically when you speak directly to the needs and interests of a particular group.

Wise agents seek out demographics or geographics that they relate to or have a history of success with.

The more comfortable you become speaking to a particular group or segment, the more you become recognized or thought of as a specialist in that field.

Targeted marketing examples:

First-time homeowners – Try MapMyMail to quickly create a list of local renters. Send a postcard that explains the advantages of home ownership.

Builders – Offer to help builders eliminate their #1 worry: standing inventory. Create a list of every builder in your area and send a flyer explaining how you can find their perfect customer.

Find a new niche – With our Lifestyle Interest data, you can reach consumers who are just the demographic you want to work with. Think Golfers, Boaters, Fitness Lovers and more.

FSBOs – There are many effective search products for this demographic. Fear leads many agents to steer clear of FSBOs, which eliminates at least a portion of your competition.

Investors – Find high income earners that would be great potential investors.

A New Geographic Farm – Find an area in your market that is beginning to see turnover, but doesn’t currently have another agent with more than a 10% market share. Start connecting month after month using the Neighborhood Update/Free Offer series. This series will present yourself effectively as the turn-to agent in your market.

Step 3: Put Solid Systems in Place

Without systems, you’re like a hamster on the wheel-spinning without really getting anywhere. Systems are the only way to maintain the delegation, automation and streamlining that will continuously work on your business. Systems allow you to:

manage your time effectively
create a consistent standard of service
assure clients that their needs are being met by a “team”
provide checks and balances for fine tuning your business
promote efficiency and accuracy
reduce training time when bringing on new team members

What systems should you have in place?

time management
lead generation/prospecting
pre-listing/listing presentations (download some of the free reports we have for these)
end-to-end marketing
closing
price reductions
automated Just Listed/Just Sold Postcards
measurable return on investment tracking

The success mind-set requires dedication and a commitment to the activities that earn you top dollar and allow you to “feed” the career you’re building.

Related: 3 Tools That Drive More Business

Need our help? Contact our support team today at 866.405.3638. They’re more than happy to help you.

Creating Real Estate Longevity

May 29, 2017

The Secret is in How Many Times You Show UP

By Julie Escobar

If you’re like MOST agents? You want it NOW. Right now. Success in a “just add water” -instant gratification in a cup kind of time frame right? And I can appreciate that. If I could just win the lottery I’d be that way too – one ticket – lifetime of riches. Unfortunately – that’s not a very realistic (or practical) plan is it?

You’ve got to put the time in and PERSEVERE. You’ve got to show up not just ONCE, but again and again and again. You know that old saying out of sight – out of mind? It’s especially true of customer relationships in today’s market. In fact, Statistics tell us it takes at LEAST three impressions for a consumer to recognize your name, seven to associate your name with your business, and twenty seven for them to like you, know you, trust you enough to do business with them. I know – it’s not instant gratification – but it is the smart business practice if you want to be in real estate for the long haul.

So, let’s take a look at three smart strategies that can make succeeding faster (YES!), easier (Phew!) and more effective (Sounds good!).

1. Make it easy on yourself. Delegate. You get paid to get face-to-face and voice–to-voice with customers. Your job is to wow them with what you can do for them – how you can make that easier, more profitable & fewer headaches. Hard to do that when you’re still printing, cutting & stuffing envelopes. Put a system in place to reach your customers and potential customers (sphere of influence and geographic farm area) at the very least every 4-6 weeks. The Direct Marketing Association and top agents lean more towards every 21-30 days. It doesn’t have to be a lot – but it does have to be consistent. We’ve worked hard to make that easy for you with hundreds and hundreds of ready-to-go campaigns that you can choose, calendar and then have peace of mind that this part of the puzzle is done – find out more here: Postcard Campaign Specials.

2. Use social media wisely. The wonderful thing about social media is that it gives you the ability to communicate one-to-many. Creating a blog or Facebook page to keep your sphere or neighborhood farm updated and informed is not only effective – it’s POWERFUL. Here’s a little inside advice from a friend and Social Media Expert Stacy Stateham:

“I’d like to say to start with Facebook, but don’t. Start by spending a few hours figuring out who you are likely to be most successful with. What kind of people do you want to connect with?
Forget your real estate business for a minute and think about them. What do they like? What are they interested in? What will keep them coming back? Now, bring your real estate business back into the equation. How can you match their interests with your business? Laser focus on that core audience and build all of your marketing around them, both online and off.Say you want to attract successful 50-60 something’s. The might be interested in food and wine, they might like to travel, they’re concerned about their nest egg, they may have adult children and possibly grandchildren. Oh yeah, and they buy real estate.

Next -start with Facebook. Use the friend finder to search your email addresses, connect to the people that make sense, and start a business page. When the business page is complete and has a full page of content, invite your contacts. It just takes a few minutes a day to log into Facebook, comment on what people are saying, and post something relevant to your target audience on your business page. What’s relevant? Keep your posts to 2/3’s non-real estate related, and 1/3 about your business. They like food and wine, so post things about local restaurants and gourmet food shops, great kitchen upgrade ideas, and feature a home with an awesome kitchen. They like to travel so talk about places to visit within driving distance, events in nearby cities, then how to buy a vacation home, explain reverse mortgages. They have kids and maybe grandkids so talk about how to help kids start adult life with healthy credit habits, college saving funds, and about how to gift a down payment on their kids first home. And so on…

You’re not limiting yourself to seniors, you’ll get first time home buyers because young people ask their parents for advice, you’ll attract other foodies who like to travel, and other people with similar interests. You’re just focusing on where you are most likely to be successful. If you’re a younger hipper type, target people like you – post about all the other things that interest you, plus a 1/3 about real estate topics that related to your core audience.” — All great advice thank you Stacy!

3. Network. With the shifts in the economy & market – now is the perfect time to connect with smart, like-minded area business professionals and share ideas, strategies and – SPHERES. Area CPAs can send you clients who are looking for good investments. Attorneys handling divorce, estates and real estate holdings can send you buyers, sellers and leads. Human Resource managers can use your expertise to help their employees find homes and put down roots in a community. In return – you have the ability to send your clients their way as well. Great for you – great for your networking partners and great for the customers. In times like these – people NEED referrals they can trust. It makes them feel safe, cared for and re-affirms that they are making sound decisions for themselves and their families. THAT is the kind of thing that cements relationships and creates a client for life.

Some things to think about for this week. Put the 3-7-27 rule of marketing to work in your business. And know that if you need some help showing up – OVER and OVER – cost-effectively, easily and without stress, our team is there for you. Visit us online at www.prospectsplus.com, or call us at 866.405.3638 today. We’ve got you covered!

Exceeding Expectations and Secrets to Success

May 1, 2017

With Top Agent Carmen Wieck

By Julie Escobar

It’s so powerful to learn from our customers, hear their stories and be able to share their insights and ideas
with others. Every time we do, it’s wonderful. We often get a behind-the-scenes glance into what brought them to our great industry – and what they do that allows them to flourish.

What a treat it was to learn more about our VIP customer Carmen Wieck. Her story inspired us, and I know it will inspire you too. Here’s what we learned:

Q: Carmen, can you first tell our readers a little about yourself?

A: I was born and grew up in communist Romania, and 1989 was a big turning point in my destiny. I always felt I was missing something big, but I never knew what it was. After graduating from the Academy of Economic Studies, I had a very short period of “trial and error” in finding the right career path for myself. I was a lieutenant in the Romanian Police, dreaming of “bringing justice for all.” I also worked for the government, dreaming of “making a difference” until I finally found that working in marketing for private multinational companies was where I fit best. I was so fortunate to work with exceptional managers in several blue chip companies such as Coca-Cola, Procter & Gamble, Kraft, Frito-Lay and Ipsos Research.

While I was living in Croatia working for Coca-Cola, I met my husband, who’s from Wisconsin. Life took a big turn for both of us, as we started a family and moved around the world with new job assignments. A few years ago, we decided that the best thing for our two daughters was to benefit from the educational system in the United States, so we moved to Florida. One of the best decisions for our family!

I know from several hands-on experiences that navigating the real estate environment can become overwhelming and emotionally wrecking. Moving so many times from country to country gave me enough personal exposure as a customer… and not always very pleasant. After more than 18 years in the corporate environment and one too many traumatic experiences in real estate, I decided to become a REALTOR® and bring my contribution to restoring the belief that this profession can be conducted with high ethics and, more important, with genuine care about the needs of customers.

Q: What is your go-to marketing tool for branding yourself in your market and driving new business?

A: I’ve “toyed around” with several marketing tools when it comes to marketing in real estate and had my fair share of no’s and wows! One thing I would say is that driving new business starts with exceeding expectations on your existing business. That will always secure your “organic” growth, which should be the foundation for your long-term business.

For tapping into new business opportunities, I’ve learned that a combination of passive and active
prospecting works best for me. For example, a combination of three touchpoints direct mail campaign for Expireds (which I adapted to fit my brand and personality from existing marketing materials/postcards from prospectsplus.com library in such a way that fits my branding and personality) followed by direct contact (calls or door knocking) can prove really productive.

I consider Just Listed/Just Sold postcards a must. However, don’t just sell it or list, put a spin on it and have an unexpected approach or added value. Give your target a reason that matters TO THEM, not to you. I absolutely dread the postcards I receive in my mail from agents stating, “Thank you for making me the #1 agent in your neighborhood.” To me, that is such a turnoff. As a customer, I don’t care that you are #1; I care about my motivation for selling and buying and how you as a real estate agent fit in my motivation! Again, the prospectsplus.com library is such a great source of inspiration. My first Just Sold postcards using a template from ProspectsPLUS! generated two listings!

Q: How do you believe agents can differentiate themselves from other agents in today’s competitive market?

A: Exceeding expectations, going the extra mile. Anybody can put a listing on the MLS now, even FSBOs (with the flat fee companies that offer this service to FSBOs for a nominal fee), everybody offers free CMAs, everybody has a marketing plan that includes internet, maybe open houses, maybe Just Listed postcards, maybe flyers, etc. All seen and done by all REALTORS® to a certain extent.

In a market that’s becoming more and more of a commodity, where everybody knows at least one REALTOR®, true differentiation in added value on trending aspects of real estate is what sets you apart. For example, offering a complimentary Staging Analysis and Assistance, complimentary home protection plan during listing, complementary inspection or appraisal before listing, complimentary full cleaning of the house before listing, etc., depending on the property, owners, their motivation, etc.

Q: Any outside-the-box ideas you’d like to share for building your book of business?

A: Yes. Use an introductory video for your pre-listing package. Tell your short story, show who you are, instill confidence and energy. It helps homeowners get more comfortable and relaxed about meeting you before you show up at the door.

Find something that’s your “thing,” and embed it into your touchpoints with your customers to show genuine care. For example, I LOVE baking, and my whole family loves my signature apple-raspberry pie I make from scratch. So I bring my signature pie for my clients at closing and drop by at their one-, two- and three-year home anniversaries and bring them the pie. One time I had the extended family of one of my past clients waiting for me at the house, just to make sure they got to taste the pie while it was still warm.

Q: How often do you connect with your sphere and farm, and what kind of results do you get from that?

A: I recently started the Market Dominator for my farming area. I find this approach indeed standing out from the crowd – the content, the quality of the printing, everything spells out professionalism, exceeding the “norm” standing out from the crowd. I recently started this; it’s basically a monthly touchpoint approach with my farm, and I do expect to see results in the next few months.

With my sphere, I make sure I stay in touch and call, drop by or send a card for special holidays or birthdays, usually three to four times a year.

Q: Any fun advice to help agents master this business?

A: How one becomes a successful real estate agent? Same as one becomes a butterfly: You must want to fly so much that you are willing to give up being a caterpillar.

Q: Last, where can our readers send a referral if they have someone in your area?

A: My focus is in Broward County, and I can be reached at carmen.realtorflorida@gmail.com or 786-449-9882.

Wonderful, Carmen! Thank you so much for sharing your inspired story with our readers. You’re amazing!

If you’d like to stand out in your market and soar past your competition the way Carmen does, please don’t hesitate to contact us today at 866.405.3638. We can put you on the path to success.

10 Things You Need to Know About Your Book of Business

Jan 16, 2017

Finding the Diamonds in Your Database

By Julie Escobar

As my old friend Floyd Wickman used to say, there are acres of diamonds in your book of business or “sphere” – but the trouble is, most agents are willing to do what it takes to mine for those diamonds.

Many agents don’t even have a ‘book of business’ or a true database. They’re either new to the business or ‘never got around to it’ or for some – they’re so busy working ‘in the business’ to ever work ‘on the business.’ But there’s acres of diamonds in building a sphere of influence client list of people who know you, like you and trust you. Because frankly – those are the people that are going to list and sell their homes with you – buy from you –and refer friends and family to you. First – you’ve got to reach them. Consistently. Effectively. With purpose.

First, look at should be in your book of business. Read last week’s post: The Year of the Sphere.

Secondly, get a handle on your business plan. This is the one-page easy plan shared by Floyd Wickman.

Download a copy for yourself or your team here. Then USE it. Make sure you are reviewing every month so you know when you are are on track — and off!

Next, Invest in these ten strategies for building a powerful base.

Get it all on ‘record.’ Whatever database management system you choose, be sure that you have entered at the very least the basic information such as name, address, phone number, email address, social media addresses if you have them for every past customer, friend, family member and acquaintance that you can think of. Sound like a lot of work? It is – but SO worth it. And I’m not saying you have to do it yourself. Delegate it – that way you can stick to what you do best – getting face to face with the folks in your market.
Fill in the blanks. The more RELEVANT you are – the more REFERRALS you’ll receive. So once you’ve got the basics down – take note of more personal information about the people in your database. What do they do? Where do they live? What makes them unique? What else do you know about them that you can reference? Who’s in their family? You know the old saying – the ‘devil is in the details!’ The more you know the easier it will be for you to connect with them on topics that are relevant and important to them.
Clean up old records. At least twice a year go through your database and cull old contacts, and clean up missed or incorrect information. Connect with your database and let them know that their business is important to you and that you’re just doing a little ‘housekeeping’ so that you can be sure they are always kept in the loop and double check their information. You can even make them a fair trade offer of a free report or certificate of some kind.
Data mine for ‘like’ minded people. One of the best things an agent can do is to really take a good long look at what their ‘best customer’ looks like. Who do you like to work with? Seniors? Singles? First time homebuyers? Expireds? FSBO’s? Once you know that – and can determine who you both like to work with and the type of people you have the most successful relationships with – you can data mine to find more of the same. Find list options for data mining here.
Add new personal contacts. As sales professionals we come into contact with new people every day that are potentially great future clients or customers. Make it a point to add at least one new person per day or five per week to your book of business – more depending on how fast you want your business to grow. Many agents I know make this database building a positive habit by dedicating one hour a week to the health and maintenance of their list. Every time they meet a new person at the local Starbucks, networking meeting, business event, PTA, restaurant – even the grocery store and have an opportunity to collect a business card or information – that person goes into the ‘book’ and the nurturing begins! Some of the best agents spend an hour a week sending a personal note or firing off an email just to say what a pleasure it was to meet and if they need anything – just call. (Making notes on the back of those business cards or in your phone after meeting a new person will help jog your memory for details when you are entering them into your database at a later time.) Think about 10 people THIS WEEK you could add if you tried: Teachers, Bankers, Restaurant Owner/Staff, Accountant, Attorney, Landscaper, Gas Station Owner, Grocery Store Manager…the possibilities are endless! (If you did that EVERY week you’d be adding more than 500 people to your book of business each year!)
Add past lists: If you’ve sent out Just Listed or Just Sold postcards and have purchased a list of homeowners contact information who received those postcards – be sure not to forget those folks. You can add them in and start the process of taking them from ‘prospect’ to ‘member’ of your sphere by building those relationships over time. Think about this – every time you send a Just Listed postcard with a purchased list – you are adding to your database. But most agents only send that one card, the Just Listed to that list. Think one list = unlimited opportunities. Contract Pending. Price Reduced. Just Sold. Listing Inventory. Check out our new ThreeClickPostcards.com – where you can order your Just Listed/Sold/Contract Pending cards — right from your phone!
SHARE with them. Direct mail is a great way to ‘touch’ your book of business at least once a month. From powerful postcards with relevant offers to a monthly newsletter packed with valuable content – staying in TOUCH is the key to staying TOP of mind. We’ll even help you automate the process with a set-and-forget system that allows you to put your marketing plan in motion and then focus on those personal contacts and the three tasks that are most important in your business: prospecting, presenting and CLOSING. Visit www.prospectsplus.com/specials today to learn more about these options or call our team at 866.405.3638 for help deciding what might work best for you, your list and your budget!
Invite them into the conversation. Savvy agents are firing up their social media strategies on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube and Pinterest and inviting their community of followers to join in the conversation. Create a Facebook page for your neighborhood farm and post community information that’s relevant to your buyers and sellers such as school information, local business information, fun facts and more. Agents are breaking out their iPhones and creating video walking tours of area hotspots, news for the week, reviews of local businesses, types of homes to look for in their area and all kinds of fun and interesting information. Pinterest has people pinning and posting all about staging ideas, inspirational quotes, homes in the area, community events, blog posts and more.
Follow up. Break your list up into manageable numbers and commit to follow up calls every week. Most experts recommend scheduling a daily appointment with yourself to prospect. Don’t underestimate the value of face-to-face connecting as well. Community events, school functions, networking opportunities and just being active in the community that you service will help keep you visible, allow you a chance to arrange follow up conversations and ask questions, be the resource people need and you will generate referrals in the process! It can be as simple as letting them know that you are there to help anytime.
Lather, Rinse, Repeat. Well you get the idea. Treating your database as the saleable, valuable resource that it is means not putting it away for 11 months out of the year. Commit to these ten strategies monthly and your career will thrive – and you won’t have to always be wondering where your next commission will come from.

Need help? Call us at 866.405.3638. Our team of marketing professionals can help you put your plan in place for success.

Building Your Brand and Business

Nov 14, 2016

With Geographic Farming Done Right

By Julie Escobar

Geographic farming has roared back to the marketing forefront for agents in our industry in ways we haven’t seen in years. Why? Because – when done right – it works.

And what exactly is “done right”? It’s when agents who are committed to consistency step up to make themselves known in a neighborhood in real and meaningful ways – getting out into communities, shaking hands, meeting people, making introductions and making a difference.

To talk about one creative tool for geographic farming, the Market Dominator, I sat down with Dominator Director Todd Robertson to learn a little more about the system, the agents who are using it and what it takes to really make an impact on a market area.

Q: Todd, you work with agents across the country who are growing their market share by doing smart geographic farming. Can you tell us a little about the Market Dominator?

A: Sure! This product evolved out of necessity. Agents around the country were asking for a consistency program that would allow them to truly dominate a neighborhood or piece of geography. After six months of research with our team, we came up with the product for our agents called the Market Dominator, which utilizes Every Door Direct Mail with the USPS. At 12” x 15”, it’s the largest legal size that can be sent through the mail, so it doesn’t get overlooked in the mailbox. The content is created every month by our team of writers, who do an outstanding job of weaving in the eight best practices of direct mail. And agents love it because it’s either 100% done for them or 90%, meaning they can make some changes to the back. And with our national sponsors on board now, we can literally send it for the price of a first-class postcard. The other great thing about it is that it’s a two-year campaign… kind of like joining the gym, your personal trainer makes you go.

Q: We both have been in this industry for a long time, and we both know that marketing alone is not what takes agents to the top of their game. It’s follow up and relationship building. Can you tell us some of the powerful ways Market Dominator members are going above and beyond to support their marketing mailing efforts by connecting with the folks in their farm neighborhoods?

A: In terms of what our best agents are doing supplementing the Market Dominator to increase their success rate in their numbers, we’re seeing them do things like canvassing their farms with door hangers, introducing themselves to everybody in the neighborhood, being consistent in sending out new on the market or Just Listed postcards when they get a listing and holding open houses in their carrier routes and making a splash in the area with signs and balloons on every street, every artery when they do. That way, when the Market Dominator shows up in that mailbox, the homeowners will see it and say, “Oh yeah, that’s Susie. I see her all over the place; she’s the neighborhood specialist.”

Q: We’ve talked about the tremendous opportunity agents have to reach out to the businesses that surround or are in their farm area to build reciprocal referral relationships. Can you share your thoughts on that?

A: Some of our Market Dominator members have given us ideas that we never thought about before that we try to share with our new members. One of them is to go after the local businesses in and/or around that carrier route. It’s really an outstanding strategy, because they can utilize the extra 20 Dominators that we give them each month in a clever way.

One of our great agents up in the Northeast simply takes her 20 and goes to every business where people have to wait, such as a hair salon, oil change shop and restaurants. She said the best was actually auto dealerships. What she would do in auto dealerships is first go in and make an introduction to the general sales manager that goes something like, “Hi, I’m Susie with XYZ Realty. I’m the neighborhood real estate specialist in this area. Would you mind if I leave a couple of these in the lobby of your service department?”

What’s great about that strategy is, number one, she’s prospecting the service manager, who becomes a mover and shaker on her SOI list – meaning she visits every month and has offered to let him or her know if a great listing comes on the market. Think about how most cities have what they call “auto dealership row,” where several dealerships are all on the same street. If you’re like Susie, you go right down that strip and pass out two or three Dominators in each dealership, meet some incredible new people and start establishing relationships in a pretty short period of time.

Number two, she’s leaving valuable content, with her name, face, contact information and calls to action in a place where a lot of people congregate. Think about when you have to have your car serviced, and you’ve had to wait anywhere from an hour to a full day in the guest services lounge. What are most people doing when they’re waiting? They’re looking at their phones or whatever magazines are sitting there, right? Imagine if two or three Market Dominators were sitting there with Ritz Carlton quality, filled with great information for people to peruse. Agents who are utilizing this tiny local business strategy with consistency, who have mastered their presentation skills and aren’t afraid to follow up, could find themselves with anywhere from two to 20 extra closings per year.

Q: What about agents who are afraid to follow up, either in person (door knocking) or on the phone? Any advice for them?

A: Some agents just want to send their marketing out, then sit back and see what happens. In my mind, to be great in real estate you have to be obsessed, or you end up being average. By “obsessed,” I mean you’ve already made a commitment to your neighborhood farm, so why not stretch yourself a little and go make an introduction? One way or another, knowing that you’re simply providing a great service to help these people buy or sell real estate is powerful motivation to meet people.

I also would say if somebody is still afraid or hesitant to follow up, spend a couple days and get so good at your listing presentation, get so great at overcoming objections, so great at your value proposition that you can’t help but have a relaxed sense of confidence. This will do a couple of things for you: It will get you excited to go out and meet people and prospect, which is the one thing most people hate doing (usually because they aren’t as confident in their presentation), and it will force you to fine-tune your skills, which will help you enjoy a long-term career.

Q: Consistency and sticking to a plan is a powerful combination for success in our business. Will you share why making the Dominator part of a consistent marketing plan is a smart strategy?

A: In terms of doing any marketing, consistency has to be part of the plan – whether it’s in real estate marketing, building wealth or getting in shape. The Market Dominator gives agents what they told us for many years they wanted: a two-year campaign. According to the National Association of REALTORS®, if your competition is going to do any marketing, history says they quit after the third contact. Yet we know that most activity doesn’t happen until after the fifth contact. So staying in the game for the duration is vital.

Q: Any last words of advice for our readers?

A: First, I would say that if you’re reading this article or reading our magazines or blogs and looking for real estate strategies and insights, you’ve already separated yourself from the competition. Because for you and me to get great at anything, we must remain a student of life. So I congratulate you on taking that step. Whether it’s the Market Dominator, one of our other great products or you just want to call our home office and brainstorm, our team is always willing to help you find the real estate marketing product that best fits your needs, your market and your area.

Thanks for the information and insight, Todd!

If you’d like to learn more about the Market Dominator System, visit www.prospectsplus.com/dominator, or call Todd directly at 855-383-6646.

It Comes Down to Commitment

Oct 24, 2016

Inspired Insights from World-Class Real Estate Speaker and Coach Darryl Davis

by Julie Escobar

When you are looking for straight-talk strategies for building not just a business — but a successful book of business, it’s always a good idea to go to someone who not only knows how to help agents succeed at exceptional levels — but one who just tells it like it is. For that? I reached out to my old friend Darryl Davis. He’s an author, speaker, trainer, coach — and one of the funniest guys you can talk to. His analogies and ability to weave a story into a message are epic. It’s part of what makes him such an effective speaker – it’s also why I wanted to interview him for this topic!

Q: Hey Darryl, thanks for sharing your insights with us again for this edition. Our focus this time around is really building a strong business base. Can you share some thoughts on that?

A: Building a business? You know I’m a FSBO/Expired guy – but when we are talking about building a business foundation? Know that there are two types of contacts to focus on.

First there is your geographic farm. These folks don’t know you yet, so it’s your job to help them with that. For this group, you’ve got to stay in touch monthly. Your name, your face, your brand, your results each and every month. Of course, you guys make that easy for them with products like the…

You’re building trust and establishing yourself as the agent to call.

Secondly, there’s your sphere – or those folks that know your name, face, what you do, and trust you enough to do business with. This breaks into people you haven’t worked with before, (family, friends, acquaintances) and those you have (past sellers or buyers). For these folks to remember you, remember that you’re in real estate and that well, you know, they should call YOU before the guy down the street when they have a real estate question or need or an amazing referral, you need to stay in touch. I usually recommend at least 4-6 times per year with this crowd with things like:

I’ll give you a great tip: Every single January I’d send a copy of the HUD statement to everyone who has every purchased a home through me in the last year with a note saying, “Congratulations on owning a home! I’ve taken the liberty of making a copy of your HUD statement so you have it handy to give to your
accountant. Hope things are going great! I’d love to hear from you if you need anything.” Wow – see you just saved them time and stress and made a contact that personal to them. Win-win-win.

For every other client/customer of mine? At the first of the year I would send an updated market analysis to with a note that said something like, “Just as you would check your stock portfolio, 401K, etc., it’s also a good idea to do a check in on the market analysis of your home investment. As always, I’m here to help if you have any real estate questions or needs!”

Stay top of mind with these folks by sending them something to help them stay connected to you and recognize that you’re there as a resource. And don’t be shy about picking up the phone and saying hello and asking if people need anything a couple times per year. Or creating opportunities to see them in person.

Q: Darryl, I loved your message in our last magazine where you talked about listing INVENTORY being the name of the game, not just listings. Can you share a little more about that?

A: What I’ve been teaching is that agents need to look at their business as if they were running a store. With a store, you’ve got a location, employees, and you’ve got to stock and manage your inventory. So, say you were selling candy? You must have enough candy on the shelves when customers come in right? Otherwise people are going to buy their candy somewhere else! So if you’re a real estate agent your inventory is real estate. I tell agents to make a chart January-December on the bottom and the numbers 0-20 on the left side. Next, plot it out. Say your goal is to get four listings per month and build your inventory. Now you have get four listings in January, but you sell two. You know you need to replace those two, plus get four more for February and so on. Creating a visual to see whether your graph is going up (the right direction) or down (further from your goals) helps you think like a business person. And that? Is a big key to success. Because there are a LOT of agents running around with a fly-by-the-seat-of-their-pants approach to their real estate career – which is fine if you want to always wonder where your next commission is coming from or if burn out is your thing. But top agents who want to be at this a long time and have a lot to show for it, understand that applying true business practices and mindsets is the win-win they need.

Q: You hit the nail on the head. One topic that seems to come up a lot with agents is the idea that they just don’t have the time to focus on databases and marketing and details! What would your advice be in terms of time management?

A: First, I would tell them to be crystal clear on their priorities. In real estate, it’s easy to get distracted with things that don’t forward your business. I’ll tell you a little story. There’s a woman named Rachel Lust who is a Hula Hooper. If you look her up on YouTube, you’ll see she has hundreds of thousands of views and likes. She did the halftime show for the Chicago Bulls. She is the most famous person in the world of hula hooping. She’s got a line of videos, hoops, clothes, you name it. Do you know what Rachel does for two hours a day, six days a week, no matter what? Yep. She Hula Hoops. Why? Because literally NOTHING else matters if she’s not good at her trade. It’s the same with agents. If you aren’t prospecting, looking for listing inventory, and taking new listings – the rest doesn’t matter.

I’ll give you another example. I ran the NYC Marathon. Now here’s what you might not know about me: I HATE exercise. Hate it. Five days a week, I had to get up in the morning and run, and one day a week I had to cross train. For five months, I had to do this. Didn’t want to do it. Didn’t feel like doing it. It was uncomfortable. For me to meet this commitment I made, and log in the two hours of running every day, I had to get up two hours earlier to make it work. Here’s the thing: I couldn’t fit running into my life, I had to fit my life around the commitment to run.

That’s how you’ve got to look at what it takes to make it at high levels in this business. You see the agents that say, “I’ll get to prospecting after I check my Facebook, and my emails, and my this or that.” Time management is not the problem there. Commitment is the problem. Everything you need to do lines up behind the commitment.

Say you’re having a party. That means there’s cooking, cleaning, preparing all that has to be done. But you’re running late–right? Now you say you’ve got two hours of work to do in just thirty minutes. Do you do it? YES! That? Is a BREAKTHROUGH. Because when you REALLY have to get something done you do it. Manage your activities, and what dictates those activities is your commitment. People who are passionate about commitment don’t have time management issues. They are focused, clear, and committed. They don’t just do commitments – they are commitment.

Q: What additional advice do you have for agents who want to really knock it out of the park this year in real estate?

A: That one is easy. Systemize your business. Run it like a business. Think like Rachel Lust. She has moves that she has absolutely mastered with that Hula Hoop. Then she masters another, and another. It’s like dancing. If you only know five dance steps – you don’t look so good out there on the floor-right? In real estate there are definitely some dance moves to master. Moves like…

Prospecting
Listing Appointments
Customer Service
Working (playing) with Buyers (I call this a break from real work)
Negotiating offers
Use of metaphors and analogies (these are what set you apart – give you distinction)

All of these moves take commitment, solid commitment. Figure out what you real commitment is. What you really want to accomplish, then let everything else line up behind that goal. I just caution you to make it more about the people – the lives you help – rather than the money. When you do it right and your passion is for the people you can help, the money comes.

Awesome stuff Darryl. Thanks for sharing. If you’d like to learn more about Darryl’s training courses and products, please visit www.DarrylSpeaks.com – and read his bio below.

About Darryl Davis

Darryl became a real estate agent at the age of 19 and quickly climbed the ladder to become a top producer, averaging six transactions a month. He became a licensed broker and manager of a new office that became the #1 listing and selling branch within its first 6 months of operation. He’s been named one of the highest-rated speakers at the National Association of REALTORS® convention for the past several years and is the ONLY real estate speaker who is a best-selling author with McGraw-Hill Publishing for his book, How to Become a Power Agent in Real Estate. He is the founder of The POWER Program®, a yearlong real estate coaching program that has proven results of agents doubling their income over their previous year. He’s also the creator of the nationally acclaimed three-day program S.U.R.E. Results, where agents generate an average of $33,504.82 over their previous year. And as creator of the nationally recognized term “Next Level^®,” Darryl strives to bring his students and attendees to their “Next Level^®” of success by training them on how to have more fun and less stress in their business and personal lives. To learn more about Darryl and his training tools and services, visit www.DarrylSpeaks.com, or contact him at 1-800-395-3905.

To learn more about staying in consistent touch with your sphere and farm (as Darryl teaches), visit www.prospectsplus.com, or call our support team at 866.405.3638 today.

Listing INVENTORY is the Name of the Game

Feb 29, 2016

Insights and Strategies from Real Estate Coach Darryl Davis

By Julie Escobar

Since the dawn of real estate, it seems we’ve been hearing phrases such as, “Listings are the name of the game” or “List to last.” While those sayings are as true today as they’ve always been, we caught up with our old friend and real estate coach Darryl Davis to learn why “just listings” aren’t enough to propel your way to the top and stay there anymore. Today’s agents need to focus on building listing INVENTORY if they want to stay in the game and compete at the highest levels. Here’s an excerpt from our interview:

Q: Darryl, you’re teaching your students and coaching members that they need to step up their game in terms of building (and keeping) listing inventory. Can you share a little more about that with our readers?

A: Sure! First, I like to share the WHY – WHY it’s important to build and maintain listing inventory. I’m a big analogy guy, so I sometimes ask agents to think about their friends, family members or neighbors and what they make. You know, a lot of times you don’t know exactly how much other people make, but you have an idea, and sometimes you think to yourself, “I know I make more than that, but they have more than I do or don’t seem to struggle as much as I do.”

Two words explain that: cash flow. See, those other folks are usually salaried people with consistent income, so they can budget and plan their lives around that. In real estate, we don’t have that. Most agents run their business in surge-and-drought mode – right? But it doesn’t have to be that way. If I asked every agent reading this if he/she had a consistent $5,000 (or whatever your number is) every month, would it make your life less stressful? The answer is 100% yes.

Q: That helps put it in perspective, doesn’t it? So there’s the WHY. Can you tell them HOW building inventory solves their surge-and-drought problem?

A: Yes. I like to tell agents to focus on listing inventory rather than listings like this: Imagine you’re selling shoes instead of houses. If you want to sell shoes for a living, you’ve got two choices: One is to get a store, some racks and some shoes, and promote your store… right? The second is to find a buyer who wants to buy shoes, put him/her in your car and drive around to every shoe store in town until he/she finds the perfect ones. Get the picture?

Here’s the thing: Every time you put a buyer in your car to show a listing that’s not your own, you’re basically taking that buyer to another agent’s “shoe store.” You’re essentially becoming an “employee” of sorts for that other agent. Bottom line? No inventory = no business.

Q: Great analogy. Can you expand on that?

A: Think of it like this: You’ve got six listings or, for this purpose, we’ll go back to shoes. So you’ve got six pairs of shoes, and you put four under contract this month. YEA, right? That’s terrific! Well yeah, it is – BUT look at your inventory. You went from six to two. When you close on them, you’ll have a surge of cash, of course, but if you don’t replenish your inventory, then you’ll head into a drought. To create continuous cash flow, you have to at least MAINTAIN or, better still, INCREASE your inventory.

Let’s say you’re brand-new, and you want to build inventory by one per month. You start out month one with one listing. Month two you get another. Month three you get another, but you close on one. So that means month three, you have to get TWO to make up for the one under contract and keep your inventory up. If the average commission is $5,000 per listing sold, and you start with zero and focus on building your inventory by one per month, you should be able to earn $100,000 within 12 months.

Q: It helps to put it in dollars and cents, doesn’t it? It’s more than just the money though – it’s about managing time as well, right?

A: Exactly. When you think like a businessperson instead of solely like a salesperson, you can balance your time. I’ll give you an example: I’ve got a student who earns a quarter million per year and takes two full months off every year to spend with family… two full months! Now if he owned a shoe store instead of a real estate business, would he close down those two months? Of course not. He’d hire a manager to handle things. In real estate, if you don’t have a “store,” or inventory, that can sell while you’re away, you can’t take time off. No inventory = no income, no time off. Lots of inventory = consistent income, ability to take time off.

Q: Love that… treating your business like a business. What a concept, right? Darryl, you’ve always been amazing at teaching agents how to succeed by marketing to FSBOs and expireds, but recently you’ve been sharing why it’s important to stay top of mind with a book of business and geo farm as well. Can you tell me more about that?

A: Because the worst of the housing market crash is mostly behind us, we’re going to see more and more people come into the market in the next few years. Because of that, it’s important for agents to have a consistent marketing campaign. People need to know your name, your face and what you do for a living. I still say working with FSBOs and expireds is a great way to generate listings fast – simply because they’ve already identified themselves as the hand-raisers. That said, think of your business like a wheel – the more spokes you have, the more efficient the wheel works. You eventually hit a point of diminishing return, or too many spokes, but it’s important to find the balance. One or two spokes isn’t enough to generate business momentum.

I’ll give you another example: I have a student named Marty who makes a six-figure income. He lives in South Carolina, but his business is on Long Island. He goes to Long Island once a month to take listings and meet clients. He can do that because one of his “spokes” is a mailing campaign that he sends out consistently to his sphere and farm promoting himself, his business and his listings – all while living in another state! THAT’S the power of staying positioned consistently with the right marketing tools.

Q: Wow! That’s incredible. One of the things our readers tell us is tough for them is following up. They’re either afraid of it (picking up the phone) or don’t make it a priority. Can you share some secrets to success in that area?

A: I would say focus on the activity rather than the results. Why do people fail? Because they don’t see immediate results. So they do what? They QUIT. When you switch your thinking to focus on the ACTIVITY, not the results, it helps you get past the fear.

Think of it like baseball averages. Ballplayers know the more times they get up to bat and take a swing, the more likely they are to get a hit. After a while of playing, they know their numbers… their average. The same is true in prospecting – you’ll get to know your numbers. So maybe out of 10 calls, you get five connects and two appointments. I tell my students that their goal should NOT be to get the appointment; it should be about building relationships. Why? Because it takes the pressure off. Focusing on getting an appointment is a win/lose scenario. If you don’t get it, your reaction is, “I lost. I’m bad.” When you focus on building a relationship, every call is a win. The truth is, you’re not going to get an appointment unless there’s trust. By building relationships, you build trust – and the appointments will happen by themselves.

Going back to the last question, one of the things I like best about consistently sending out mailings is that it helps agents “warm” those calls – which makes follow-up easier, because you have something right off the bat to talk about.

Q: I love the title of your new book, How to Design a Life Worth Smiling About. I just downloaded it and can’t wait to read it! Can you tell us about it?

A: Absolutely. It’s got a lot of fun content in it, and people seem to love it. You know, I ask agents all the time, “When a homeowner lists their house with you, what do you think they want as an end result?” I get a variety of answers, of course. “To sell the home.” No. “To get the most money.” No.

Tune in, and take it all a step further. When you’ve been in the business a while, you’ll often hear homeowners say something like, “If these walls could talk.” They’re not selling a house – they’re selling their HOME. Shelter is the second most important thing to people. They’re leaving the comfort of shelter and going into an unknown. When you’re the agent who can tune into that and realize that every client you help is heading into a new chapter in their lives – and you are a part of that – don’t minimize the powerful impact. Great agents help change people’s lives for the better. When you get THAT… you’re no longer selling.

Q: Darryl, any last words of wisdom?

A: The money we make is actually the thermometer as to how many lives we’ve helped. Focus on the lives you can help, and the money will come.

Awesome insights, Darryl. Thank you so much for sharing with us. I look forward to reading your new book and, as someone who’s known you more years than we care to count, I know all of your students, coaching members and audience members are fortunate to learn from you. Your ability to help people both laugh and learn is extraordinary.

About Darryl Davis

Darryl became a real estate agent at the age of 19 and quickly climbed the ladder to become a top producer, averaging six transactions a month. He became a licensed broker and manager of a new office that became the #1 listing and selling branch within its first 6 months of operation. He’s been named one of the highest-rated speakers at the National Association of REALTORS® convention for the past several years and is the ONLY real estate speaker who is a best-selling author with McGraw-Hill Publishing for his book, How to Become a Power Agent in Real Estate. He is the founder of The POWER Program®, a yearlong real estate coaching program that has proven results of agents doubling their income over their previous year. He’s also the creator of the nationally acclaimed three-day program S.U.R.E. Results, where agents generate an average of $33,504.82 over their previous year. And as creator of the nationally recognized term “Next Level^®,” Darryl strives to bring his students and attendees to their “Next Level^®” of success by training them on how to have more fun and less stress in their business and personal lives. To learn more about Darryl and his training tools and services, visit www.DarrylSpeaks.com, or contact him at 1-800-395-3905.

To learn more about staying in consistent touch with your sphere and farm (as Darryl teaches), visit www.prospectsplus.com, or call our support team at 866.405.3638 today.

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