corona virus

Didn’t Prospect During the Lockdown? Here’s How to Get Started From Zero

Jun 15, 2020

I read something interesting today, an informal survey of agents was conducted by a leading real estate website and they found that, of those who continued trying to generate leads at the height of the COVID-19 crisis, many had success with the following methods:

Nearly half of the 51% of agents making calls to their sphere achieved new business.
A quarter of the agents surveyed used social media to keep in touch with the folks in their database and 35% of them stated they generated new business.

While these two methods weren’t as successful as direct mail marketing, the numbers are impressive. What it really shows is that those agents who chose to remain active, even while sheltering in place, were rewarded.

*Home Values* postcard from *Post-Pandemic Series*

It’s also safe to say that those who decided to use the lockdown as a time to binge movies and food will start at ground zero when their market’s restrictions are lifted.

If you’re among the latter, and you’re struggling, let’s look at a tip to get you off and running as quickly as possible.

Get back to basics

Rightmove, an online real estate portal based in the UK, saw its “busiest day on record,” with 6 million visitors, just two weeks after England eased restrictions on the real estate industry.

These buyers weren’t looky-loos, either, but actually contacting real estate agents at a rate nearly 20 percent higher than this time last year, according to Liz Lucking at MansionGlobal.com.

Here in the U.S. the story is much the same. The new-home industry, for instance, is quite healthy, according to a survey conducted by John Burns Real Estate Consulting. According to the builders surveyed, new home sales in May were up 21% from this time last year.

Existing homes are feeling the homebuyer love as well. According to ShowingTime.com, weekly home showings (as of June 4) are right back where they were at this time last year.

*Mortgage Rates* postcard from *Post-Pandemic Series*

So, how does the agent who stopped marketing and who stopped engaging on social media during the height of the pandemic’s spread, quickly get on track to reel in some of this business?

Get back to basics.

I’m not referring to the “marathon” lead gen techniques that require a long-term strategy. This is about the sprint – some quick, basic strategies to get the leads you need right now.

Those leads are right there, in your CRM

If you didn’t clean up your CRM during lockdown, you’ll need to work around the duplicates and the missing information.

Starting with a phone call to check in is a brilliant idea, even if you only call those in your sphere. Tell them you’re reaching out to see how they’re faring and if there’s anything you can do for them.

Then, figure out how you’ll stay in touch, with every single person in your database, consistently, over the weeks and months to come.

While reaching out on social media is always a good idea (even if it’s just a response to something they post), vary your “touches.” Email newsletters, direct mail newsletters or other direct mail marketing pieces will help you get back to the top of their minds.

Consistency will help you stay there.

Tip: When you do speak directly with someone, get the information you need to fill in the blanks in your CRM.

We’re wishing you a prosperous summer real estate selling season!

*Buying and Selling* postcard from *Post-Pandemic Series*

Send the Buying and Selling postcard from the Post-Pandemic Series to your Sphere and Farm or an area where you want more listings.

Need help targeting a specific niche of buyers or sellers? Use our prospect list tools 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 some Free resources we’ve made available to support your success.

1. The Free Real Estate Mailing List Guide

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The Real Estate Mailing List Guide outlines the top tools for generating targeted prospecting lists including Baby Boomers, Empty Nesters, Investors, Lifestyle Interests, High-Income Renters, Move-Up Markets, and more. The Guide also defines done-for-you marketing campaigns to match these markets. –Click Here

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

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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, Get More Listings, Geographic Farming, and Sphere of Influence. –Click Here

3. The Free One-Page Real Estate Business Plan

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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

4. Become a Listing Legend Free eBook

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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

5. The Free Online ROI Calculator

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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

Do you have a post-pandemic real estate plan?

Jun 8, 2020

Still hunkering down or has your market finally figured out that real estate agents are “essential”?

Congrats if you’re back at work and actually bringing in business. This blog post is for those who are either struggling to generate leads or still on lockdown.

“This too shall pass” is something I find myself thinking repeatedly, every day, during my self-quarantine and I’m hoping you do the same. It will pass. Before you know it, we’ll be looking back on the Pandemic of 2020 as a blur.

Meanwhile, when we’re finally let loose, you’ll need a plan – sort of like the one you make at the end of each year.

Let’s take a look at three steps you can take right now to get ready to take on a post-pandemic real estate market.

Step 1 – Reflection

Take some time to look back on your business, pre-pandemic. Start with the money aspect. How much did you make in the 6 months or so leading up to the lockdown? Were you where you needed to be? Were you able to stay on budget?

Which activities generated the leads that led to those commission checks? Which activities are a waste of time and/or money?

Then, figure out how many times the successful activities were repeated before they worked. For instance, X number of postcards mailed resulted in Y leads, which resulted in [number of] transactions, totaling $Z.

While income is the final measure of your progress from period-to-period, it’s a useless figure if you don’t also examine which activities generated the money.

Step 2 – Being organized is being in control

Now that you know where you stand financially and which activities to resume and which to kick to the curb, it’s time to take a look at the systems you use to keep you on track.

Just as you did with your lead generation techniques, think about the systems you use – your CRM, etc.

Think about each system or process and ask yourself:

Does it provide consistent quality?
Does it save time?
Does it help simplify your business life?
Is it efficient?
Does it lack qualities that you need?

With the right systems in place you should be able to delegate the work to anyone (an assistant, partner, etc.) and receive the same high-quality customer service results.

Overall, your systems should save you time and help grow your real estate business. If they don’t, it may be time to reconsider their use and find something new.

Which systems should you be using?

“Theoretically, you can have a real estate system for every aspect of your business,” according to Bridget James at LCA. “From prospecting to closing gifts. Even down to the proper way to make a pot of coffee for the office.”

For this post-pandemic planning session, however, stick to focusing on the systems that carry the bulk of the workload, like your CRM, for instance. And do read the Lab Coat Agents article for tips on how to create the systems you need.

Some basic systems to consider include:

Checklists – Checklists are a handy tool and you can use them for just about anything. Use them for what to do after you take a listing, the steps you need to take before a listing presentation, what points to cover in a buyer’s consultation, to keep track of lead generation efforts, marketing steps and more.

Automate follow-up – If the fortune truly is in the follow-up, and we believe it is, create a system that will save time when performing this critical task. From drip-email campaigns to direct-mail, concentrating on your follow-up strategies is imperative.

Then, there’s you

Here’s the conundrum: being productive makes us feel good, but we need to feel good – to be in the right mindset – to be productive.

We get it. Focus – the ability to concentrate, on work especially — is yet another casualty of the pandemic for many of us.

One tip we’ve learned from productivity experts is to maintain a daily work schedule. Sure, it may look nothing like January’s schedule. Your workday may be a lot shorter, you may not have showings or listing appointments.

But you still need to generate business, nurture your sphere and work on those parts of your business that became neglected during busier times.

Build your work schedule around the time of day when you’re typically most productive and most capable of concentrating.

Review your pre-pandemic business, fix what needs fixing, and stick to a daily schedule. Three simple ways to build momentum for the post-pandemic real estate market.

Send the Dedicated postcard from the COVID-19 Series to your Sphere and Farm.

Let them know you’re thinking about them and ready to help.

Need help targeting a specific niche of buyers or sellers? Use our prospect list tools 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 some Free resources we’ve made available to support your success.

1. The Free Real Estate Mailing List Guide

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

3. The Free One-Page Real Estate Business Plan

4. Become a Listing Legend Free eBook

5. The Free Online ROI Calculator

6. The Real Estate Marketing Guide “CRUSH IT”

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is CRUSH-IT-Guide-3-d-298x300.jpg

The “Crush It” Guide includes easy steps to launching an effective direct mail marketing campaign, how to create a targeted prospect list, the perfect way to layout marketing materials for success, seven opportunities available to target in your area right now. –Click Here

The work-at-home real estate agent: How to survive and thrive

Apr 27, 2020

Welcome to the world of the work-at-home bunch. While it sounds cool, working from home does have its challenges. You may be facing some of those right about now.

The interruptions from family members, the feeling of isolation from your colleagues, the desire to run out for a coffee at Starbucks. Heck, right about now, you might even be missing that agent who never leaves the office, treating it like his own little social club.

The biggest challenge for many is staying motivated while working in a vacuum.

Self-motivation can be a tough nut to crack, but it all starts with creating the right environment – the home office.

It takes more than a comfy couch and a laptop

From the location within the home to getting the right gear and mindset, setting up your remote workspace takes some planning.

Start with location. If you have kids at home, set your office as far away from their play areas as possible.

Then, consider distractions that may come from outside the home. If your neighbors are using their “stay home” time to work on a car, chop down trees, or any other project that involves loud equipment, set the office on the far side of the home.

Do you have the right gear?

The two most important pieces of equipment you’ll need in your home office include:

The right chair
Good lighting

You will be in that chair for a good part of the workday. If it doesn’t support your back, however, it’s the last place you’ll want to park yourself.

Choosing an office chair is a lot like choosing a new bed. There are so many choices and, especially if you’re in a self-induced lockdown, you may not even get to try it out in person.

This is where reviews come in handy. First, though, read up on the science behind the creation of an ergonomic chair. Then, take a look at this in-depth list of must-haves, created by a chiropractor.

Natural light is the best, but don’t let that stop you if the only office location you have is windowless.

Overhead lighting is a must, according to Sherry Nothingam at Decoist.com. But you’ll need more.

“Task lights are undoubtedly the most essential part of the home office, and no matter what your job is, task lighting ensures that you get it done under the best possible illumination,” Nothingam suggests.

These can include table lamps, which “offer focused illumination,” according to Nothingam. The proper placement of task lamps (to avoid the eyestrain produced by glare and shadows) is important as well.

“For instance, an overhead spotlight situated behind you can result in glare on your computer screen,” according to Remodelista.com’s Christine Chang Hanway.

Place your task light “the side opposite from the hand that you write with” to avoid casting shadows, Hanway suggests.

It’s the little things that will round out your office, helping you remain productive and focused.

If you use a laptop, consider purchasing a stand for it. Elevating your screen helps reduce screen glare which can cause eye strain and headaches.

The folks at Wirecutter.com choose the Rain Design iLevel 2 notebook stand as the best. Then, there’s this one with nearly 5 stars in the reviews at Amazon.com.

Use a desktop computer? Avoid neck and shoulder strain by elevating the monitor “… so your eyes are level with the top of the screen,” suggests physical therapist Jill M. Henderzahs-Mason at MayoClinic.org.

The MOUNTUP Single Monitor Desk Mount monitor arm is popular and the guys at Wirecutter.com recommend the Jarvis Monitor Arm at Fully.com.

Finally, Alexis is always a useful tool. In times of utter boredom, ask her to play Jeopardy. More productive uses of Amazon’s Echo include connecting your calendar which will then be available by voice command.

You can also listen to podcasts, news or use the voice assistant to hold a meeting (Alexa for Business). Ask Alexa to “start the meeting” and, according to Tara Walker, with Amazon, she “turns on the video conferencing equipment, dials into your conference call, and gets the meeting going.”

Dress for success

Be sure to take a shower every day and get dressed. “Treat it like a real job.” At least that’s what the BBC.com’s Brian Lufkin says.

And, whatever you’re wearing, wherever you’re working, please stay healthy.

Send a postcard from the COVID-19 Series to an area where you want more listings.

Need help targeting a specific 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 some Free resources we’ve made available to support your success.

1. The Free Real Estate Mailing List Guide

The Real Estate Mailing List Guide outlines the top tools for generating targeted mailing lists including Baby Boomers, Empty Nesters, Investors, Lifestyle Interests, High-Income Renters, Move-Up Markets, and more. The Guide also defines done-for-you marketing campaigns to match these markets. –Click Here

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

3. Become a Listing Legend Free eBook

4. The Free Online ROI Calculator

5. The Real Estate Marketing Guide “CRUSH IT”

The “Crush It” Guide includes easy steps to launching an effective direct mail marketing campaign, how to create a targeted mailing list, the perfect way to layout marketing materials for success, seven opportunities available to target in your area right now. –Click Here