This article shares three areas of focus and 21 activities that will make it happen.
Area 1: Focus on your number of real estate-related conversations
Industry averages suggest that for every 50 real estate-related conversations you have, one transaction will be the result. Your averages may be higher or lower, but by using the 50 conversations as an average, we can begin to develop a daily conversation goal to meet your desired annual transaction goal.
Here’s an example of the formula you can use to identify your daily conversation goal. For this example, we will say the goal is 24 transactions.
- 24 transactions x 50 conversations = 1,200 real estate-related conversations needed for the year.
- Dividing the 1,200 conversations needed for the year by 12 months then we can see we need 100 conversations per month (or 25 per week or 5 per day), based on making the calls during weekdays.
By focusing on meeting your daily conversation goal, your transaction numbers will increase. Here are seven ways to generate the real estate-related conversations you’re looking for:
1. Check in with past clients and sphere of influence
Your past clients and sphere of influence already know, like and trust you. Simple check-in calls to stay top of mind with these people will create opportunities for referrals and repeat clients.
2. Prospect expired listings and For Sale by Owners (FSBOs)
These are homeowners that have raised their hand stating they want to sell. Calling these homeowners and adding value are valuable conversations that will lead to listings.
3. Use buyers as bait
Identifying your hottest buyer prospect that desires to be in a specific neighborhood and calling the homeowners in that neighborhood is a great way to either find the ideal home for your buyer or your next listing. Simply call with a script like this:
This is [Agent Name] with [Agent Company]. I’m calling because I’m working with a buyer that wants to purchase a home in your neighborhood. We haven’t been able to find a house for them yet, but if we do, they may be willing to pay a premium. Have you heard about any of your neighbors that might consider selling?
They will let you know if they are thinking about selling, but if they don’t, a great way to end the call is something like this:
I’d be the worst real estate agent ever if I didn’t at least ask you if there is a price where you might consider selling.
These are the types of calls that lead to transactions.
4. Host open houses
Open houses create an environment where conversations with potential buyers and sellers come naturally. There are very few activities in today’s market that will generate high-quality real estate-related conversations better than open houses.
5. Buy lunch, not leads
Instead of purchasing online leads, focus instead on buying lunch for a past client or someone in your sphere of influence a couple of times a week. This is a strategy that helps the quality of your conversations go up.
By buying lunch and spending time with someone, you put the law of reciprocity in motion. This law says that when we do something nice for someone, they will do their best to do something nice for us. The nicest thing anyone can do for an agent is to send them a referral. Focus on deepening your existing relationships and they will help your business expand.
6. Create ‘little help’ social media real estate posts
Asking on social media for a little help finding a buyer the type of home they are looking for is a great way to generate conversations with potential listings. The post would look something like this:
Little Help Please! I have a buyer looking for a home on the east side of town with a minimum of three bedrooms and priced under $500,000. If you know of someone who might be considering selling, I would love to see if this buyer and that potential seller might be able to have a win-win transaction for both. Please direct message me if you or someone you know might have the perfect home for this buyer. Thanks in advance for the help!
These types of posts generate activity and conversations. They also keep you top of mind if they hear of anyone considering buying or selling.
7. Purchase online real estate leads from providers like Zillow, Realtor.com or other pay-per-click ads
The purchase of online leads is always an option when you are looking to increase the number of conversations you are having on a daily basis. These are typically going to require more conversations per transaction than other activities, but the diversity of conversations will help you identify your most effective ways to generate the needed number of conversations.
Area 2: Add 25 people per week to your database and systemize communication with them
A growing database is a leading indicator of a healthy, growing business. But it’s not just about adding names and contact info. The key is to have a database where each person in the database is optimized for systematic communication. When your database is growing in numbers and is set up for consistent communication, the future growth of your business is inevitable.
Here are seven things to focus on when adding people to your database to increase conversion:
1. Add as much detailed information about the person and their situation as possible
The more detailed the information is in your database, the more personalized your future calls can be. Calling someone’s children by name when asking how the family is doing deepens relationships and creates more trust from the potential buyer or seller. Also remembering upcoming life events like a daughter/son’s wedding or graduation elevates you in the eyes of the prospect.
2. Set up every person in your database to receive automated property details
Automating the outgoing emails on new listings that the potential buyer might be interested in or homes that are sold like the homeowner’s home is another way to add value and to stay top of mind.
3. Set every homeowner up on Homebot
Homebot provides a detailed monthly email with a valuation update, equity analysis and ways to manage the equity the homeowner has in their home. This is an outstanding tool to position you as their resource for information on the local market and their home.
4. Send all homeowners an unsolicited video CMA when you add them to your database
An unsolicited video CMA is a way to personalize your communication on a regular basis. This involves recording your screen and going through the current value of the home while speaking to the homeowner via video. Emailing this to the homeowner provides them with the flexibility to watch the video at a time that is convenient for them. It also gives them the ability to revisit their past CMAs by having them available in their email inbox.
If you’d like more details on this strategy, check out this article: Here’s how I generated $11M in listings in 3 months
5. Send potential buyer clients a video overview of a home that might fit their criteria to set yourself apart
Adding buyers to your database is important but adding value to them is what sets you apart from other agents they may meet. One of the best ways to stand out is to find a listing that fits their potential buying criteria. Just as we discussed doing an unsolicited video CMA for homeowners, I would suggest doing something similar for potential buyers.
Record your screen with an aerial view of the home to show the location of the home in relation to amenities that might be important to them like the place they work or the schools their children would attend. Also, share comparable sales information to show the value of the home.
By taking this extra step for potential buyers in your database, you can lock them in as clients for life.
6. Segment the database as much as possible
Segmenting the people in your database by utilizing tags or titles is a great way to be able to send pertinent information to the people who are most interested. Segmenting buyers and sellers, homeowners by the neighborhood they own in, or areas buyers want to own in is a helpful way to send specific emails to specific groups of people. The more personalized your communication, the more response you can expect.
7. Set a to-do for future contact
Without a calendar reminder to check in with a prospect at a future time, many opportunities will be missed. Based on your recent conversation immediately add notes to your database and a date in the future to follow up with the prospect.
Area 3: Take 2 listings per month
If you control the listings, you control the market. Focus your effort on generating listings and the buyer sides will come. The following seven strategies will help you generate two listings each month.
1. Add value to expired listings and For Sale by Owner (FSBO) owners
Expired listings are beginning to become more prevalent as the market shifts. FSBOs are also lingering on the market longer than they have in the past few years. Developing a systematic approach to add value to these homeowners will generate listings.
2. Host open houses with a specific strategy to attract listing prospects
Open houses generate listing opportunities when you include one slight modification. This strategy involves letting all the homeowners in the neighborhood know via phone, door-knocking or direct mail about the open house you will be having.
Let them know the open house will be from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. (for instance), but you will have the home open from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. for any homeowners in the neighborhood that would like to avoid the crowds during the published time for the open house.
The homeowners who stop by during that time are often comparing the house to their home and many of these neighbors are considering selling.
3. Circle prospect for listing opportunities
Statistics say 15 percent of homeowners will consider selling within three weeks after a neighbor’s home is sold. Calling the nearby neighbors with details of a recent sale is a great way to uncover additional listing opportunities.
4. Call out-of-town lot owners
Out-of-town lot owners are rarely emotionally tied to the lots they own. Calling this group with updated valuation estimates and asking what their plans are for the lot is often low-hanging fruit for listings.
5. Put homeowners in Homebot
As mentioned above, Homebot is a great tool for keeping in touch with homeowners. The analytics that it offers give you insights into who clicked on the links to see the report. It also lets you know if they make modifications or view the information more than once. These are all signals that that homeowner is someone you should check in with to see if they are considering selling.
6. Assist people with life events that bring about a need to sell
Many homeowners are not considering selling right now because they have mortgages with low interest rates or they bought their current home at a reduced price compared to today’s values. To find listing opportunities, focus on life events that lead to homes needing to be sold.
These include probate listings, job transfers, engagements, births of children or divorce. By focusing on helping people during these life events, you will gain listings.
7. Send unsolicited video CMAs
This was mentioned above as a first step when adding a homeowner to your database, and I am mentioning it twice due to the impact it can have on the number of listings an agent takes. Agents who are serious about taking more listings should implement this as a daily practice.
Act on these steps and your best year ever can be achieved.
