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Don’t believe the lies. This market has an abundance of opportunities. But many unsuccessful agents allow untruths to shape their belief system, which in turn leads to a lack of action. That lack of action inevitably results in failure.
This article debunks the myths holding many agents back from the successful businesses they desire.
Lie No. 1: Top agents get all the business and there’s no room at the top
The 80/20 rule, applied to real estate, says that 80 percent of transactions are generated by 20 percent of the agents. I’ve found this to be true in nearly every market I’ve studied. I’ve also found that not a single top-producing agent started at the top.
Everybody starts as a new agent. Every current top agent didn’t believe the lie that there wasn’t any room for someone like them to break into that top 20 percent. They believed it was possible, and they executed on a plan of action to grow their business.
Let this also serve as a warning for the top agents reading this article. Your current positioning is not guaranteed in the future. There are agents with businesses that are growing every day, and unless you protect your current market positioning, it will be taken from you.
Stay diligent. Keep innovating. Keep adding new and fresh value to the marketplace. The ability to take your business to the next level is readily available. Stay humble and hungry. If you keep growing yourself and the level of service you provide, that next level of success is right around the corner for you as well.
Do you believe it’s possible to become a top-producing agent or to take your business to another level? Your belief system in what is possible is the most powerful ingredient in your future success.
Lie No. 2: The market is too difficult to gain market share
It is a fact that there have been fewer transactions closed this year than there were for the same period last year. But opportunities are all around us. Many unsuccessful agents believe that this challenging market makes it too difficult to gain market share. Nothing could be further from the truth.
The real estate market is fluid, and market share is constantly moving from one agent to another. Successful agents realize this change in the market is creating a unique opportunity to gain market share, and they take advantage of it.
So, what can you do to propel your business forward right now? Simply do what others are not doing. While others coast and rest on their past successes, make more calls than you’ve ever made to your past clients and sphere of influence. While others coast, host more open houses and produce more video content than anybody else.
When you do the things others are not willing to do today, you will have success others won’t have tomorrow.
Lie No. 3: Cold calling doesn’t work
The lie that cold calling doesn’t work is an excuse unsuccessful agents make based on their fear of the phone and not based on facts. But not all cold calls are the same. There are certain types of calls that yield better results than others, and focusing on these calls leads to increased success rates.
Making effective calls is driven by three key factors:
Calling with information that is desired or not readily available
What information does a homeowner want? They want information on sales activity that affects their home’s value. They want market insights and a professional opinion of how the current market statistics affect their home’s value.
The first step is to call with information that adds value to the person you are calling.
Calling the right people
Who are the people who would find the most value from the information you have? Neighbors will be curious about what a home on their street sold for and how that sale affects the value of their home. Out-of-town owners will value professional opinions and market details that affect their property’s value since it may not be readily available to them due to being located outside of the market.
Calling the right people with the information they desire sets the stage for even more success.
Calling at the right time
According to HubSpot, the best days to call are Wednesday and Thursday from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. and from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays and Tuesdays outperform Fridays through Sundays as well.
When you call the right people with the right information at the best times, success will follow.
The agent that has the most real estate-related conversations always wins. Don’t believe the lie about cold calling. Make the calls and reap the rewards.
Lie No. 4: Marketing is too expensive
The lie being told is that you must spend money on expensive marketing to get noticed. That may have been true in the past, but today is a new day. Building a desirable personal brand that attracts your ideal clients with limited expenses is more achievable than ever.
Social media marketing is free to extremely inexpensive, depending on your desired results. Videos can be shot on your iPhone and edited in free apps. Free tools like Canva make designing professional flyers or promotional items easily accessible.
Don’t make the excuse that marketing is too expensive until you have exhausted all low-to-no-cost marketing activities. Marketing has never been easier and less expensive than it is today.
Lie No. 5: Direct mail is dead
The reason why so many agents still send just listed/just sold cards is because they work. The key to direct mail is consistency. Every mailer you send to a specific group of people compounds the effectiveness of your past mailers.
Finding ways to make your mailers stand out will increase their effectiveness. Sending larger sized postcards, colored envelopes, utilizing handwritten font technology, and including QR codes are a few ways to differentiate yourself and your mailers.
While others say direct mail is dead, top agents continue to create opportunities for new listings and buyer representation through direct mail.
Lie No. 6: Top agents keep secrets on how to generate business
The ability to learn strategies and how to execute on them to build a successful real estate business has never been more readily available. A Google search for how to generate listings will provide millions of articles and videos sharing exactly what to do. A Google search for ways real estate agents can market their businesses to their sphere of influence reveals thousands of effective strategies.
Don’t believe the lie. We don’t lack ideas on how to generate business, we lack an abundance of agents that are willing to take action and execute on proven strategies.
Lie No. 7: Success in real estate is only available to a select few
Anyone can succeed in real estate if they are willing to put in the work and bring value to the marketplace. There’s no specific group of people with finite characteristics that dominate this business. Successful agents come in all variations. Some are old, and some are young. Both men and women succeed in this business.
It is a matter of what you believe about yourself and your ability to succeed. Do you believe you can succeed in this business? Do you believe there is another level for your business? And lastly, are you willing to take action at the level needed to build the business of your dreams?
It is not a question of whether success is achievable, you can see it everywhere you look. It is a matter of whether you are willing to do the work to achieve the level of success you desire.
Finding success in this business is almost always harder than you thought it would be. It almost always takes longer than you thought it would. It almost always involves painful setbacks that make you question whether this business is really for you. But every bit of the struggle will be worth it.
Don’t believe the lies. You are in the right place, at the right time, and in the exact business that can help you build the life you always dreamed of having.
