Your Guide to Great Real Estate Success!!

If you want more listings you have to treat your real estate business as a career. I bet you weren’t expecting to hear that. And it’s true. So, answer me this, is your Real Estate career just a job? Or is it a business? 

How do you decide? If you answer yes to the following questions you are not treating your career as a business.

• You turn up to work ‘whenever’ and wait for the boss to tell you what to do
• You complain to the boss about all the things that are wrong and make no effort to find, offer or implement solutions
• You grumble about your clients and how difficult they are and why don’t they just leave you alone
• You complain about the economy, taxes, low commissions, high fees, advertising, phone calls that never end, cost of clothes, phone bills, advertising, petrol and – you get the picture 
• You let things slide – you’re late making phone calls or returning phone calls, or doing the paperwork unless it is the final sale document – that now suddenly takes precedence over everything else!
• You don’t get things done unless there is a deadline to push you
• You would rather be somewhere else than owning, running or managing this agency, or being a real estate sales consultant.

Need some hand-holding to get your head around this?

On the other hand, if you were completely the opposite and answered with a resounding NO to all those questions, then you are business-minded and have a shot at making this career work for you,

because you are working for it.

Make it a business if you really want to make it big!

In meeting successful business people, it is obvious that they are committed, focused and have a strong will. Additionally, there appears to be an unspoken business mindset that underlies the steps and actions they take to be a business success.

Adopt the following 9 winning attitudes or actions and watch your business accelerate.

1. Be Committed to your Business

You’ve turned on the motor with your intentional drive to succeed. Now it’s time to rev up your mental attitude. Anything worthwhile involves sacrifice, so what will you give up?

If you start on yourself first – coffee, cigarettes, alcohol, bad manners, grumpiness, depression, anxiety, lousy relationship, no exercise and you will feel so much more in control, and that means you can be focused on your business.

It also means looking after yourself so that you can be the person you want to be. After all, if you burn out from too much coffee, no water, no exercise, lack of sleep and irregular, poor-quality food, who will you be able to help, and who will help you?

Know and decide that you will do what it takes to achieve a successful “you” to have a successful business. 
What are you tolerating, and losing time and energy thinking about or taking part in, which you can let go now? 

For some people, they tolerate interruptions from family and friends, they lose time and energy dwelling on the past, or worrying about the future. 

Many people have so many dramas in their personal life, that there is no chance of a calm and successful business life, so it’s essential to clean up these areas as well. And think carefully before you decide against this because adrenalin is addictive, and the adrenalin addict inside you might not want to do that. 

When you decide that you will set boundaries and maintain them, both for yourself, and your working life, and your personal life, then life becomes a lot simpler. You will free yourself to be committed to your business.

2. Be Committed to your clients

Know that you will do what it takes to build a long-lasting and sustainable relationship with your clients. And ‘relationship’ is the operative word. Want more listings? Then this is the biggie.

Research suggests that customers will repurchase if they are satisfied, get value for money, and enjoy some add-on value or benefits along with their purchase. When did you last check on these aspects? What do you offer your clients?

You always remember that without clients, you don’t have a Business.

Yes, it’s a bit chicken or egg, but here’s the thing, no matter what the reasons were for starting your business, (you thought you could do it better than existing Agents perhaps?) without clients, your business is not a business. So drop any other attitude and love your clients.

And if you want more listings, then you need to establish those relationships with every person on your list, so that you are the only person whom they think of calling.

How often do you maintain personal contact with your clients?

Need someone to be accountable to and keep you on track?

3. You adopt a “Stick With It” Attitude

The best real estate sales achievers have spent years focused on their business, developing their market and their client base. 

Malcolm Gladwell explains in his book “Outliers” that it takes about 10,000 hours of dedicated work before you actually become truly successful.

So if you aren’t in it for the long haul, you are in it for the quick buck. This is not okay, because clients are highly capable of sniffing that attitude out and running away from it. 

Yes, you might want a quick turnover, but it will cost you less to retain your clients than to have a quick turnover of clients as well. 

It is much easier, cheaper, and more effective to retain your clients and have them return year after year than to find new clients.

4. To Get (succeed in your business) you have to Give First. 

When you give with a sincere desire to help others, it comes across loud and clear. We all like a giving person, because they make us feel better! We feel like they are on our side, and understanding of our needs. Whatever you give, you will get many times over in return. Simple! 

In fact, there’s some research around this:
Researcher Arthur Brooks examines the benefits of giving in his book, "Who Really Cares: The Surprising Truth about Compassionate Conservatism." 

In terms of physical health and happiness, Brooks notes that people who give more charitably are 43 percent more likely to say they are “very happy” than non-givers, while non-givers are three and a half times more likely than givers to report they are “not happy at all.”

In addition, several large studies have also found that senior citizens who volunteer have a 40 percent lower probability of dying in a given year than people of the same age and health level.

Giving also increases personal as well as national prosperity. Pointing to a survey conducted in 2000 that controlled for education, age, race and all the other outside explanations for giving and income increases, Brooks reports that a dollar donated to charity was associated with $4.35 in extra income.

Of this additional income, $3.75 was due to the dollar given to charity. At the national level, a 1 percent increase in national giving appeared to increase real GDP by about $36 billion. http://www.heritage.org/press/commentary/ed122306a.cfm
Is it time you stopped taking and began giving? You will be amazed at how good that makes you feel.

5. A Business Mindset accepts Business Realities

Tax payments, GST, bookkeeper and accountant’s fees, insurance, rental, staffing, training and development investments (should not be seen as expenses), marketing and advertising and all those associated expenses are a necessary part and parcel of the business. 

I doubt anyone likes these expenses, yet, when you accept them as being part of the overall package of your business, then you’ll make the ‘cost’ pill much sweeter to swallow. 

In fact, your view of these items should be that they allow you to run your business effectively and efficiently, so that you make a greater profit.

Look for ways to cut expenses down, and look for ways to improve your profits with joint ventures, shared advertising and many other ways.

6. Be a Leader! 

A leader adopts a market-leader attitude and is constantly developing her or himself through education, coaching and training. When was the last time you went to training? Did some role-plays? Checked on your resources? Bought new books? 

A leader also inspires others to be their best, and therefore wants their team to receive ongoing training, coaching or mentoring, to further develop resourcefulness, creativity and increase motivation to be a success.

Love to learn about Leadership and How To Be a
Great Leader?

7. Clear the Decks!

Be prepared to let go of people who pull you down, in any way shape or form. (Umm, you may find that the worst offenders are your family.) 

The best way to handle those negative nay-sayers is to stick to topics of conversation that are most interesting for the other party and avoid talking about your business success.

Many Australians still espouse “tall poppy” beliefs and will want to pull you down, put you down, or stamp you out. This is seriously undermining to your determination and ability to take action, so laugh it off and don’t share your dreams with these negative ninny’s!

8. Hold Firmly to a Positive Outlook! 

There are always positives about every situation. Even the worst property. There is a buyer out there who can see the potential, even if you’re having trouble. Here’s a little story that nicely illustrates this.

One day, a donkey fell down the farmer’s well and despite the attempts of the farmer to get that poor donkey out, the donkey was stuck hard and fast. The farmer didn’t want to leave the donkey to suffer, so he and his neighbours began to shovel dirt on top the donkey, which really irritated that donkey no end! 

The donkey shook the dirt off furiously and stamped his hooves, and as that dirt kept piling up, the donkey was actually able to gradually climb up and reach the top of the well, and climb out. 

Everyone was amazed and delighted, and began to hug the farmer and cheer in jubilation. That donkey must have had an ungrateful streak because it turned around and bit the farmer on the backside! 

I wonder what the moral of that story is? Take a moment to think about it…

There are actually three:

1. Hold firmly to a positive attitude and you can succeed, don’t give up on the donkey (yourself, buyers, sellers…)
2. Take good care of your equipment (the well shouldn’t have been left uncovered, and the donkey shouldn’t have been let loose).
3. And always finish something off properly before you celebrate. The donkey should have been harnessed and taken to a stall, rubbed down, and checked over. Don’t turn your back on anything or it will come back to bite you!

Many people, especially entrepreneurs, have trouble finishing things off. They are too busy looking for the next idea to chase after.

Need some hand-holding?

9. Communicate Honestly!

Be prepared to communicate honestly and with maximum attention to the feelings of your clients. That’s right, your clients, not your own feelings.

I’ve known some Real Estate agents who prided themselves on being abrupt and abrasive, condescending and arrogant. After all, what would this client know about real estate? 

This is an information age so many clients do their research on the Internet and are very well-informed. If being adaptable in your communication style is an issue, then training in rapport skills will definitely help you. 

When you are in rapport with someone, they feel like you are like them, and when we like someone we are more likely to engage their services.

If you get people off-side, then buyer’s resistance sets in, and you are likely to lose a listing or a sale. A client who is a little resistant may also end up with buyer’s remorse. You’ll just need to offer them a remedy to fix this.

Need some hand-holding for this?

No doubt there are other mindsets that successful business people hold. I wonder what yours are?

Someone wise once said that if you fail to plan, you plan to fail, so write a 7 point Business Plan for your success, and go back to it often. Treat it as a living entity and treat it with respect to get the most from it.

I. Create your vision for your business
How big do you want your business to be? How long do you want to be in business? How will you get out of your business with more than you came in? Plan for all aspects and plan your exit strategy before you do anything else, so that you always know where you are headed.

Think of these aspects too:

• Who else is needed?
• What roles will each person play? Make sure you include expectations, as expectations that disappoint are usually those that have not been clarified.
• What legacy do you want to leave behind?
• What would you like to do when you exit your business? In fact, it is recommended that you start with the end in mind, and set your business up accordingly.

II. The money you want to create each year, and the likely expenses

Eliminate the word Budget from your vocabulary. Budget implies that you are making enough money to cover your expenses. How about thinking of how much money you’d like as profit, then add that to the expenses and go for that target?

It’s only a simple switch around, yet it is a mindset shift that will help you to focus on what you want to achieve.

Then, break this down into how many listings you need plus the extras you want per week, and the commission dollars you want to achieve. Think about what you want this money to do… 

Is it to provide a roof over your head – will that roof be tiles or colourbond, will the walls be brick or timber? 

Who else will these dollars support? What can you see yourselves doing that’s fun, enjoyable, or community minded because you have the funds to do it? 

Clearly imagine relishing the results of your work and you will find it easy to motivate yourself.

Use a spreadsheet to create projected income and expenditure, so that you can track and monitor results.

Please, if you need help with this, click here now

III. Your ideal Client

Have you identified the type of client you love to work with and which market you love to work in, so you go to work with a skip in your step?

Everyone dislikes a whiner, so why work with clients who whine? Think about the people you like to be with… aren’t they happy, motivated, keen to proactively help you, respectful, listening and simply great to be around? 

And if you are like that too, wow, the world is already a better place. If you want to attract people like this to you, you have to start reflecting that attitude out so that you are like a beam of light, drawing clients like moths to a flame.
This winning attitude is going to help your listings improve.

IV. Your concrete ‘trackable’ activities

What are the things you need to do to achieve your goals? Describe your daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, and annual tasks, as this is a means of measuring your productivity. If you don’t track and measure you cannot monitor and change. You can’t tell how good you are at converting, or how many prospects it takes to get a listing, unless you have the numbers.

Need some hand-holding in this area?

V. Your Unique Buying Proposition (UBP) 

What is different about you and your service, and how does that benefit your clients? 

This is also known as the Unique Selling Proposition (USP) or Unique Selling Distinction (USD), because it is your unique difference that convinces someone to buy from you. I prefer UBP because it is what will convince your clients to buy from you.

Oh, and please don’t tell me that you are professional, have integrity, are trustworthy and are passionate about real estate! 
Why not? Because that’s what every single real estate agent says when describing him or herself. Then when I say, what makes you professional, they can’t answer me. 

What makes you have integrity? Um, I’m good at what I do and I’m honest. Good for you and how is that different to every other real estate agent? 

Remember, you are looking for differences, not to be the same as every other agent or Principal out there. Really, what do you do differently? 

Importantly, you must believe in your Business Plan. 

Why? Because if you believe in it, then you know what your goals are and you’ll do the activities as they are laid out. 
Every time the doubts set in, or the “No, I can’t do it” team starts knocking, you’ve got an answer. It’s just like being prepared to deal with the objections that prospective clients raise during your presentation. 

So a deal falls over. Next!

So you didn’t get the listing even though you had a referral? Next!

So the Client withdraws the property? Next!

Or maybe you’re ringing and doorknocking and networking and still nobody wants to talk to you or list with you or do anything with you? 

Keep going! Keep doing! 

While you continue your activities, remain positive in your mental activities. The more you focus on what you want and do the necessary hard yards, the more you will increase the momentum, just like a snowball that grows larger and larger as it rolls along. 

It’s as though all the energy you put into your business has to reach some invisible flashpoint (and who knows just when that time is, but around 10,000hrs might be the answer!) and then it takes off. For some of you it’s going to be as short a time as 3 months, for others it will take a year or even two or more.

If you are unrealistic in how long it will take to build a growing sustainable business, and you don’t put the activities in place consistently, then that’s not going to propel you towards success.

Often, right when the darkest hour is near, you are incredibly close to that flashpoint. Stop procrastinating, believe in yourself and as long as you are still eating, keep going!

VI. What are your Strengths?

Are you highly positive, an optimist through and through? Or, perhaps you love the details? Maybe you are great with people? Or are you one of those people who never gives up and thrives on a challenge? 

Whatever your strengths are, then map them out and work to your strengths so that you have more wins, over and over again.

VII. Be aware of your shortcomings, your weaknesses

When work piles up do you suffer from overwhelm and get stressed when that happens? Or do you lose energy when work dies down and then allow those old negative thoughts to circle the rat wheel of your mind?

Stay away from negative people, use a positive mantra and keep doing the activities that need to be done. 

• Believe in your business. 
• Believe in your future. 
• Believe in yourself. 
• And commit yourself to working to that belief, with persistence and tenacity.

Need some hand-holding?

You’ve probably heard this before, and it is worth repeating, “the money is in the list”. 

If you want more listings, more sales, more money, more commissions, more repeat business, then understand that THE MONEY IS IN THE LIST.

Did you know that a database of 1000 people can generate $1million in sales? So grow that list quickly and maintain a relationship with those people. Get them to see you as their trusted friend and advisor, who is always ready to help and give a little more. 

There are tons of ways to grow your list and here are my 7 top ways:

1. Networking

Attending networking events is worthwhile on two counts, one you meet people who are potential clients (after you have built a relationship) and two, you get a learning opportunity from the speaker.

If your Agency attends, do make sure you all sit at different tables, because you won’t meet anyone new if you huddle together.

Not sure what to do? Put your biggest smile on your face, extend your hand and walk up to someone standing on their own. They will be delighted that you have rescued them. Introduce yourself and find out all about this person and their business. Ask for their business card.

Be prepared with your elevator pitch! An elevator pitch is the short promo of you and your business that should you find yourself in a lift with a wonderful opportunity to introduce yourself to an ideal client, you can say: 

“Hi, my name is …. And I help property owners to get a better sale price for their property. If you’d like to sell high, can you give me your card please, and I will send you some information.” 

Check the email address is on the card, and send the information later. Too easy!

If you find yourself struggling to get the basics done, 

• Email 
• SMS (Short Message Services) 
• MMS (Medium Messaging Services) 
• and future 3G and beyond technologies 

Quite simply, if you send an unsolicited message using any one of these methods, you will be in breach of the Act.

• Your name (as the authorised sender) and contact details clearly indicated on each message 
• A functional unsubscribe electronic address (e.g. email or SMS address) on every electronic message that is sent. Unsubscribe notices must be honoured within 5 days of their request. 
• The penalties for breaching the Act are quite severe and according to the Minister “penalties up to $1.1 M in one day” are possible for corporate entities. 

• Obtain permission to send emails, SMS and MMS (ask for a signature from viewers at your Open Home)
• Get the person to sign the back of their business card at the email address
• Provide an unsubscribe opt-out function 
• Meet privacy regulations 
• Provide your name and details in emails and SMS/MMS 

• Don’t email with a ‘guessed email address’ which is what many SPAMMERS use 
• Don’t use email harvesting programs, and 
• Don’t email or SMS someone ‘on spec’ that they could be interested in buying or selling a property. 

Need hand-holding with this one?

• Price
• Cost 
• Commission 

Use these words instead: 

• Investment
• Deposit
• Installment 

I passed a Property sign the other day that included the words “Architecturally Designed”, and that prompted the question “What’s the benefit for the buyer?” I was hard pressed to find the benefits as I have seen some architectural disasters – and the memory of those overrides the great architectural designs that must be out there.

When writing real estate signs or advertisements, there is a formula you can follow, known as AIDAR. It stands for:

• Attention – Attract the attention of the reader with a good headline
• Interest – Maintain their interest or pique their curiosity with the benefits of the property.
• Desire – whet their appetite for more
• Action – Make sure that they respond to the ad with a Call to Action; they pick up the phone or come and see you straight away.
• Review – check and monitor the results of your advertising, to make sure it is working. You cannot manage what you don’t measure.

2. Think about a specific property and what you want to say and then ask yourself these questions:

• Who is my target market? 
• Or, what is my profile of my ideal buyer? 
• What kind of person will love this property?
• Does my headline attract my target market and hold their attention? 
• Maintain interest through whetting the imagination with the benefits of the property. 

3. Features and Benefits

Ask yourself, what’s good about living in this home or unit? Then break your answer down into those things that are concrete and touchable such as a water feature pond by the front door – this will be the feature, and what is intangible such as the relaxed feeling that the water feature provides, and this is the benefit. 

For example: 

For an investor, you might want to focus on the features, rather than the benefits because they are looking to be able to assess the monetary value and return on a property quickly, and easily. 

• Does the property give rental yield or capital growth? And write that into the ad – tell your potential investor what they want to know. Then do the sums and have the answers ready when someone calls you. If it’s negatively geared, which investors will it suit, if any? 
• What potential opportunities are there? 
• Is this a property that can be subdivided? 
• Is it zoned Residential B and suitable for a home office? 

4. Build Desire

Build Desire into your ad, through one or more of these four mediums: 

1. A sense of urgency – Vendor needs to sell because… (always include a reason why)
2. Popularity – will appeal to all buyers looking for… 
3. Scarcity – one of a kind because of this price, this location, this….
4. Words that evoke feelings and the imagination – ‘the spaciousness leaves you feeling so relaxed, so easily’. Use emotive descriptive words to hook your client on the emotions they will experience from selling with you, or buying with you.

Be truthful in your descriptors because if you are doing your job properly, buyers will want to do business with you in the future. If you are bending the truth for the sake of the sale, buyers will remember you and won’t want to sell their property through you.

Conclude your ad with a strong CALL TO ACTION by telling readers/listeners/viewers, what to do: 

• Call Narelle NOW on …; 
• Email me now and quote No. 1234; 
• Come and see me now at xy address.

Don’t rely on readers knowing that they need to contact you, tell them to do it, so that it acts as a conscious command to them if they are even slightly interested.

• Almost Deceased Estate
• Only Thongs Needed
• You’ll never see him again
• Something Smells Fantastic
• Huge Home Fits Everyone
• Great Rental Returns

Keeping in Touch – Your Million Dollar Action Plan!

Have you made any promises to yourself and failed to keep them? Things like: I promise to keep in touch with my clients and really build that relationship. Then, read on, because this tale of woe could be yours!

Are you making the one mistake that may be costing you millions of dollars in commissions? I’d like to tell you a story about a friend called Jeanie, who bought her home some years ago. Jeanie was saying that she really liked the Agent who’d sold her the house. 

The service was great and the Agent had even given her a “gift bucket” with handy things for when you first move in, like a can opener, a bottle of wine and some cleaning things. (OK, nothing flashy, but on the day you move in, flowers are nice, but a can opener can save the day, right? She did mention the wine 3 times though….) 

Anyway, the point is that Jeanie loved – and remembered – that gift. But she couldn’t remember the name of the Agent. Next time she sells, she’d love to use that Agent, but she won’t!! 

Like most of us, she won’t go to the trouble of finding the Agent. Ask yourself – is that Agent missing out on some pretty easy commission: about $8,000 to $16,000?

DISTURBING FACT #1: 

More than 71 percent of buyers and sellers report they would use the same agent again. Yet less than 11 percent ACTUALLY DO!*

Another similar story – my sister decided to move to the beach (and who wouldn’t!) Now she really liked the service she got from her Agent last time and could remember the name of her Agent, but not where she was. 

So, she did it, she called up and looked on the net, and finally the Agent was found. Now, if my sister hadn’t been so persistent, the Agent would have missed out on her cut of $14,000!! But should my sister have had to work that hard? And how many others won’t? 

Imagine if this Agent had kept in touch by regularly informing her about local property and other news, so that she maintained and strengthened the relationship. 

Another Agent who should have known better, didn’t send her Newsletter out to all of her past clients for a couple of months. Guess what happened? She ran into an old Client, asking him if he was planning on selling, only to be told “I sold 2 months ago – I hadn’t heard from you!” That cost him $11,400 missed commission!!

DISTURBING FACT #2: 

It takes 8 to 12 contacts per year BEFORE your sphere of influence starts to send you predictable referrals, word of mouth and repeat business.* 

So far, with the 3 Client stories you’ve read about, there was $33,400 in commission that could have gone (and in 1 of the cases, did!!) to some other Agent, just because the original Agent didn’t keep in contact!

How many times have you lost track of clients in your career? How much commission will you lose because you didn’t keep in touch? In a career of 20 years, if you miss out on 10 Referral or Repeat deals a year, that’s about $100,000 a year or $2,000,000 over your career!!

What most Agents don’t realise is this:
THE most important reason why someone will use your service is because they already know you firsthand, or another person whom they trust has recommended you.

Build and maintain and nurture your relationships with your prospective clients and clients. 

Relationships are based on trust. In fact, it’s been reported (in the States, anyway) that 74% of all real estate transactions happen because of a relationship (direct knowledge, referral or repeat business).* 

You cannot in all honesty, expect to build a relationship with anyone without regular, frequent communication that’s of value to your Client!

DISTURBING FACT #3: 

For every MONTH you don’t keep in touch with your sphere of influence or farm, you lose 10% of your database. 
If you don’t keep in touch with your farm and networks, you will be nothing but a stranger in their eyes!* 
Do you remember the last time you had a referral or repeat sale? Was it easy? You can always justify not getting the listing and the sale and the lack of follow-up, “not enough time”, or “nothing to say”. If you deny responsibility, then something has to change, whether that is your systems and processes or your time management or lack thereof. 
Really, is there ever a good enough reason for missing out on the easy business of repeat sales and referrals that can add up to $2million over a 20 year period? 

You simply find a way to keep in touch with your clients and prospects that’s:

• Easy 
• Quick 
• Convenient 
• Inexpensive 
• Monthly (See Disturbing Fact No. 3 above)

The easiest way to do that is with your own personal newsletter sent out once a month. Once it’s written, you just send it out to everybody on your database – and they will always be able to find you! 

Do you have your own personal Newsletter? If you have, Congratulations!! You will already be getting the easy referrals and repeat business that is just the absolute cream of your business! 

If you haven’t, please, please, please get one – beg, steal, borrow, scrounge, write it yourself – whatever you have to do to get a newsletter out to your clients and prospects every month – as Nike says “Just Do It!” 

In fact, I will give you a simple template in a Word Doc format for you to fill in, so that you can’t use that as an excuse. You can download it at the end of this mini-program. 

Remember – every month that goes by without you contacting your clients and Prospects is another month when somebody else is!! How much do you think you’re losing? 

What other promises have you made to yourself, and have broken?

How you market yourself or your Agency, will impact on driving your sales figures up, or as stated above, you will lose position and momentum.

Don’t let that happen to you. Implement these 10 super successful marketing strategies and get the benefits that flow from that, not just in your career, but in your life.

1. Social Media Marketing

The facts and figures on who and how many users there are on Facebook and Linked In, are simply mind-boggling.

Here are a few figures to toss around:

• 660 million people are on Facebook so that’s 1 in 13 on the planet
• In Brisbane 2 out of 3 people are on Facebook.
• Just under half the people in Australia are on Facebook 
• 35 to 49 yr old demographic is currently the largest group on Facebook
• Women over 55 are now the largest growing group.
• Users spend 20 billion minutes a day on Facebook – 1hr roughly for every user.
• Average person has 135 friends which gives leverage for marketing
• Average person is connected to 80 pages
• Currently (2011) over 900 million pages 
• FB fans spent $71.84 more per year than non-fans on their favourite businesses. 
• (Syncapse 2010 figures)

What are the Benefits?

• improved sales
• greater exposure for business x 88%
• increased traffic and subscribers to site x 72%, improved search engine rankings 62%
• new business partnerships x 48%
• 90% of people trust recommendations most, and 70% trust consumer opinions online.
• (Syncapse 2010 figures)

Linked In is akin to a business Facebook site, and has 110 million members.

Julie Mason, also known as The Social Media Princess, makes this statement: 

“Social Media (think of all types of media) = Content 
Social Networking = Relationships”

If you don’t know how to market via Social Media, it is time to learn.

I was at an Internet Marketing Seminar recently and speaking to someone about my ideas, when she let me know that she and her partner had wanted their Real Estate Agent to post an ad on Facebook and use descriptive language, and he refused.

Undaunted, she posted it on a separate Facebook page, and told the story from the owner’s perspective with lots of photos and information and did some Facebook advertising.

Can you guess the rest? Yep, the first buyer came through her page and made an offer, and the second buyer made a slightly higher offer, which was accepted.

It’s time to keep up!

Need some hand-holding?

2. Run Seminars for both Buyers and Sellers

But first, the power of Repeat and Referral Business

Contacts in Your Network such as past clients, strategic allies, spotters, etcetera, can act as your Army on the Ground, either letting you know of someone looking to buy or sell, or passing your information on to people who need your services. 

The main difficulty Agents have with keeping in touch is the time it takes and thinking of a reason for the call. I mean, you all know that it’s business, but you don’t want to ring up every month and say “How are you going?…Want to sell your house today?”

That can become a bit tedious for all concerned, very quickly! So Why Bother?

The reason that you need to actively look after your past Client list is that it is good for you and your business. You should be planning and marketing your business with the view that at least 60% of your business should come from repeat business and referrals. So market to them and reap the rewards.

I want you to think back to how hard you had to work to get those clients – thousands of letterbox drops, door-knocking, probably telemarketing, not to mention the cost. 

Along with all the knock backs you got, you found these little gems scattered along the road. 

So you made the appointment, did the appraisal, slogged through the sales process, and achieved the result. The client was happy, and so were you – your commission was lovely! 

Now, imagine that same client who is ready to sell next time, calls you up and says “Can you come out and see us – we are thinking of moving”.

That was easy, wasn’t it? 

And those clients may move and sell 5 or more times in their lives – and their kids will buy and sell, and their friends will buy and sell, and those clients may buy and sell investment properties.

Do yourself a huge favor and calculate right NOW what one client is really worth to you in commissions over their lifetime!! 
And then multiply that figure by 5 to account for referral business each client will direct your way. 

Come on, stop reading and do the calculations.

Are you focused now?

Well, if you’re not quite focused yet, picture this – you’re standing in paradise with all of that money piled around your feet and people are just coming along and taking great wads of it away. 

What would you do? Just let it happen? Well, that’s what is happening every time you lose a Client. Some other Agent is slipping into your spot and taking money out of your hands!!

And it really is a matter of you doing what is needed to keep in touch with your clients – they will rarely go out of their way to stay in touch with you. So it’s up to you to proactively keep in contact and maintain your value in their eyes. 

How many times have you changed offices? Clients will rarely chase you – if you have changed offices and you didn’t let your past clients know, kiss them goodbye, because it’s rare to see them again!

So What Can You Do?

The first thing you need to do is to get your Past Client database into shape.

This will involve:

1. Enter the Client details that you have into a database (Stop carrying all that information around in your head!) 
2. Make phone contact to confirm those details: address and email address 
3. Get neglected clients back on board 
4. Establish a Contact System that is productive, sustainable and efficient (i.e. the system results in keeping your clients in your fold; it can be kept going forever and it doesn’t take much of your time!) 

Now the results of your labour may not be apparent immediately – but keep thinking of all that money lying around your feet – money disappearing before your eyes! And you let it happen!! Will your efforts to be proactive and keep in touch with your clients be worth it? You bet they will!! 

Run those seminars and get results

A great way to maintain a relationship with your clients and to attract new additions to your list is to run seminars for buyers, and seminars for sellers. 

You offer some refreshments appropriate to the time of day, and then give some helpful information on what they can do to make life easier when buying or selling.

It’s been known that a sausage sizzle in the street can also attract people to come and see what’s going on, and then you can provide information as they meet you and get to know you, and probably even like you!

Need hand-holding here?