Stop Chasing Commissions

sphere of influence

Nov 13, 2017

Average More Transactions Every Year

The difference between always chasing commissions, or having a reliable referral base to count on, depends on your investment in a sphere of influence.

Want to build a business that is strong, sustainable and competitive, and that you can sell when you’re ready to retire?

Start by creating your SOI.

It’s easier than you think – and will help you get on track to average more transactions every year.

Think about this, if you had 250 people in a database you consistently stay in touch with and develop a relationship with, who will they call when they have a real estate question, need or referral?

YOU.

If just 10% of your database sold or referred to you every year, what would that mean for your income?

Building a database doesn’t have to be hard.

It just needs to be a consistent part of your weekly business habits.

Not having a sphere of influence is hands-down, the single biggest obstacle to agent success.

It will keep you in the endless cycle of always chasing new business, without the benefit of ever gaining any traction.

And think about this, statistically, 1 in every 12 people in your SOI will either do business with you or refer business to you each year.

Not bad odds. Is this worth your time now?

Time to Create Your List.

Begin with the following names (including email, address, phone):

Family, spouse’s family, extended family, neighbors, past customers

best friends, close friends, children’s friends parents, church congregation

Children’s teachers, coaches, principal

Family dentist, doctors, optometrists, business coleagues

Employees/owners of retail establishments and restaurants you frequent

PTA board at your children’s school, Sunday school teacher

Manicurist, facialist, hair dresser, dry cleaner

Auto maintenance/repair shop, tire shop, mailman

Once you have compiled your list – Take Action

Start a touch marketing campaign every 21-35 days.

Send our done-for-you newsletters every month. They’re designed to be eye-catching, informational, and are filled with direct response offers that get results.

Or consider a series of postcards such as holiday, recipe postcards, customer appreciation cards, or listing inventory cards that will keep you top of mind until you have the opportunity to see or speak to them.

Even if your list is small, don’t wait to start your marketing.

Momentum doesn’t just happen. But over time you can build something powerful.

The 20 year value of a client is roughly $49,647.

With that number in mind – how many people do you plan to put in your book of business?

Need our assistance? We would love to help you! Call our support team a 866.405.3638.

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.

business plan