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The new market arrived overnight for some teams. For others, it came after warning signs and preparation. For both, the market shift presented challenges and opportunities.
The strongest teams, however, are getting stronger as a result.
Through countless conversations with team leaders over the past year in my role as head of industry for PLACE, I have noticed five similarities in top teams’ responses to the new market.
1. Getting lean
In 2021, when the market was full of opportunity, bidding wars and leads, many lost their grip on business fundamentals and failed to hold their dollars accountable. This was pretty much universal. When the market cooled in early 2022, the top teams didn’t hesitate to adjust quickly.
Team leaders who carried success into the new market reevaluated their revenue, growth and bottom line. They identified unnecessary expenses and made serious changes. Even those who were late to notice the writing on the wall managed to stop the bleeding in time to make their businesses lean enough to outlast a challenging market.
Protip: A key element of managing expenses I learned from my business partner and CFO Ross Clawson is to optimize your operating leverage by leaning into systems and automation. This eliminates the need to hire more and creates a greater capacity for current staff.
2. Converting old leads
Many teams paid big bucks for leads from 2020 to early 2022. That has been greatly curbed over the last year. The top ones haven’t lost sight of those leads who still live in their database. Today’s top teams are actively improving their database turnover rate, committing to lead generation practices, and deepening their sphere of influence.
Protip: Ensure ISAs and agents are diving deep into the team’s lead pond and following up with those contacts continuously. Consider measuring length of conversations as a KPI.
3. Recruiting heavily
When top teams saw the storm ahead, they recruited. By Q1 2023, many teams had new agents actively in production. Others who began attracting talent early this year are only now seeing the fruits of their recruiting efforts — but they are seeing them.
Protip: Attract top talent by offering competitive, supportive resources and training for today’s market. It’s a skill-based market and they need good training and resources.
4. Returning to rhythms
Motivated team members are uniting in response to uncertainty. They’re in the office together and in a cadence of sales activities, lead-generating, call sessions, power-ups and team meetings with all hands on deck.
Protip: Prospecting together is crucial to establishing a culture of productivity and on-the-spot training. This can be virtual or in-person, and the top teams have an element of in-person team times together.
5. Training intentionally
Every client has the same overall concern — the economy. Serious teams are studying market conditions together and learning how to talk to their clients about them. They’re embracing new trainings and scripts that address interest rates, low inventory and inflation while practicing more difficult conversations together to prepare for every potential outcome.
Protip: Hold monthly team meetings focused on local market data, macroeconomic updates and how they specifically impact the market your team is in.
Most importantly, remember that the market doesn’t dictate if a team is successful; it dictates how.
Vija Williams is head of industry for PLACE and the owner of Vija Real Estate in the Seattle area. Connect with her on LinkedIn and Instagram.
