- To be a top producer, you must learn to communicate, generate leads, make contacts, have confidence, react quickly, be responsible and collaborate with others.
It’s a time when real estate agents across the country reflect on what they can do to make next year the best year of their lives. The market has been very strong, giving many agents the opportunity to increase sales transactions and earn more income than they have had in years.
Of course, technology plays an important role in an agent’s growth. When we study agents across the country, we see that it is the agents who combine old-school strategies with new-school technology to redefine the term best producer.
If your goal is to make next year the best year of your life, you might want to focus on these seven business building strategies.
1. Become a communication master
Real estate is not much more than a conversation. Of course, there are many facets of a transaction, but each of them is accomplished through conversation.
The fastest way to master the conversation is to learn scripts and dialogues. There are dozens of free scripting books on the Internet. And, they all work as long as agents know how to communicate effectively.
The best way to become a communication master is to master scripting.
2. Learn how to generate leads like a pro
There are only a few ways to get listings or leads. You can buy them, or you can gannoy them.
You can buy them by taking overpriced listings, cutting your commission, or running ads or direct mail to attract leads.
Or you can generate them just by picking up the phone and making phone calls. If you want a more profitable and sustainable way to generate business, do it yourself.
3. Make lots of contacts — every day
The definition of a contact is talking to an adult who owns a property. Thus, contacts are nothing more than conversations.
Stop thinking that making contacts is bad. You come into contact with people every day, so being more deliberate about making those contacts can only help.
The more people you talk to, the more business you will do. Don’t complicate it too much.
In most cases, buyers and sellers will choose trust over knowledge. An agent who is less knowledgeable but seems confident will likely get the business over someone who seems knowledgeable but lacks confidence.
Buyer and sellers crave certainty, and the confident agent is the one who puts them at ease moving forward.
Imagine going into surgery and being given the option to choose one of two surgeons: both surgeons are highly educated, have tons of experience, and come recommended.
A surgeon speaks very calmly, answers all your questions by looking you in the eye and is very reassuring.
The other surgeon speaks very quickly, seems shaken when asked too many questions and his hands are shaking nervously. Keep in mind that you are about to have surgery and a firm, confident hand is important.
Which surgeon are you going to hire?
Of course, the one who has confidence because the surgeon’s confidence in himself gives you confidence, and when you have confidence, you have certainty.
5. Accept that real estate is a game of speed
In the past, a top agent was typically portrayed as having the best market knowledge or lead generation habits.
Today, an agent can be the fastest to answer their phone and quickly reach senior agent status. It is common to see new agents obtain a real estate license and sell upwards of 35-40 properties in the first year. Typically, they do this by buying leads and having a fast response time.
Of course, market knowledge and the right lead generation strategies are important, but don’t underestimate the need for speed. By the way, a response time of five minutes is no longer fast enough. The exact time is in real time — right now.
6. Be responsible
Many real estate agents get their license thinking that real estate is a career where you have the freedom to make your own schedule. And of course, that’s true if you’re okay with part-time production.
Freedom is something earned, not just granted when you get a license.
When you observe the best agents, notice that they seem to have simple habits that they follow every day, and in most cases they have an accountable partner that they communicate with and check in with daily to make sure they are meet their commitments.
Responsibility in real estate seems like a bad word. But in the outside world, it’s fine. If you go to a gym, it’s responsibility. If you are married, have a loved one, have a child or an animal, you are responsible.
Those who are responsible for lead generation seem to earn a lot more than those who aren’t.
7. Collaborate with volunteers
Stop trying to be the resource and start being resourceful.
The real estate game is moving faster than it ever has, and it seems to be getting harder every year to keep up. It’s important to surround yourself with a group of realtors who are willing to be transparent and share what works and what doesn’t in their business.
Having three to four agents in your office or across the country to collaborate with will pay high dividends to your business.
For example, there are several agents at Century 21 Expert Advisors in Charleston, SC that work with a parent company in Myrtle Beach.
When something works in a market, they quickly share that information with other agents so they can all duplicate their great results.
The latest example was an email that went to their database and generated a few “come list me” opportunities. Once it was proven to work, an agent sent it to another group member and they duplicated the results.
Collaboration is often overlooked. Stop trying to reinvent the wheel when someone else is ready to share theirs.
If you want to be a top producer or just want to take your business to the next level, execute some of the strategies above. Pick one, do it, and move on to the next.
You have so much untapped potential, and sometimes accessing that potential is easier than you think.
Greg Harrelson is the owner of Century 21 The Harrelson Group in Myrtle Beach. Follow him on Twitter.
