- The key to building a strong business is respecting your clients, having a plan, relentless follow up, social media and working your database.
Coming to you from a city of over 45,000 agents, I can honestly say I have seen it all. I think it’s fair to say that many agents are running businesses with no direction or guidance, but here, I’ve provided some simple tips to help you build a strong business.
5 steps to rocking out a solid business
1. Respect your clients
Sometimes clients do things that you may not agree with. But you have to keep in mind that you must absolutely always do your very best by them — to the extreme almost.
Some may not agree with me. I have seen agents of mine put shades up for clients because they are out of town.
I have witnessed a potential client almost give the listing to my agent and then get a cash offer before signing the listing agreement — and then see my agent tell the client “although I am not on the deal, if you have any questions or feel unrepresented, please let me know.”
In that case, the deal fell through, and guess who got the listing? The one who was there to respect his client!
2. Have a plan of attack
I’m a Marine, so for me, it’s a plan of attack (aka a business plan). Many people in this business just run through it like they are on a marathon that never ends. So they sprint from deal to deal without having an actual plan in mind.
Take some time, and figure out what your yearly goal is.
Once you have that, set goals for each quarter, then set goals for each month, then set goals for each week!
If you can do this, you will be able to attack each weekly task, which will then help you attack the monthly goal, which will then help you attack the quarterly goal.
If you accomplish each quarterly goal, it would be safe to assume your big yearly goal was met.
Tip: You do not have to wait for January to start this 12-month plan. You can do it right now!
3. Execute relentless follow up
We have a saying in my office. “Follow up till they say yes, they die (which would then mean you follow up with the family and figure out the probate for them) or they get a restraining order on you (which in that case you refer the business to someone else in your office for 25 percent referral).
It’s incredible how many agents do not follow up like a mad person.
I believe it takes eight to 10 touches to get a response, and it take over 30 touches to get someone to recognize your name. So why would you call someone once or twice and then let go or give up?
4. Be on social media like you mean it
If you are not on social media, you are out of your daggone (Marine Corps saying) mind!
Social media today is what the Herald was to our grandparents! They got the paper to learn about their world, and today, those same grandparents get on Facebook to see what is happening in the world.
There are over two billion people on social media, so why would you skip that marketing effort?
Do you know that you can hone down to the most specific target audience and show them what you want them to see? And if they are interested they can interact with you? Get on there and post!
Mix up your personal life and your business life. The key is to let people know what you do and also that you are human too. People ask me if their Facebook should be private or public; if it’s a private thing — don’t post it!
Make your info public, allow people to find you and make it easy to work with them. I hate seeing a great lender on Facebook I may want to work with and checking for the phone number that is set to private so I cant see it! Right away I give up.
People nowadays have a very short attention span. Make it easy to work with you.
5. Maintain and connect with your database
By far this is the most important part of all of this! Start with your phone; find an app that will download all your contacts. Go to Google, and research how to get all your contacts off Facebook (there is a way).
Take all those business cards you have collecting dust in a corner of your desk, and put them into an excel spreadsheet.
Now, take all of this, and put it into an email marketing system.
Connect with your database all the time. Email once a day. Post on social media eight to 10 times a day. Make 100 calls a day. Send 50 note cards a week. Knock on 50 doors a week.
Introduce yourself and your business to five new people per day. Do what needs to be done to build, maintain and connect with your database.
If they do not know what you are doing, they will forget what you do — and you will not receive those referrals. Make your database work for you.
Remember that everything begins with the appropriate mindset. If you have a solid mindset, then this will be easier for you. Easier, not easy.
This is hard work, and I hope that this bit of guidance points you in a better direction. If you read parts of this and immediately thought to yourself this was “too hard” or I’m “crazy,” then you may need to evaluate your mindset.
David Adam Kurz is the broker and owner of Kurz Real Estate in Miami, Florida. Connect with him on Facebook.
