This January marks Inman’s fifth annual Agent Appreciation Month, which culminates at Inman Connect New York in a celebration of agents at the end of January. Plus, we’re rolling out the coveted Inman Power Player Awards, as well as the New York Power Brokers and MLS Innovators awards.
The verdict is in — the old way of doing business is over. Join us at Inman Connect New York Jan. 23-25, when together we’ll conquer today’s market challenges and prepare for tomorrow’s opportunities. Defy the market and bet big on your future.
This post was updated Jan. 8, 2024.
One of the best ways to learn important lessons is from watching the mistakes others make, and right now, many agents are making critical mistakes and leading their businesses to destruction. Here’s how you can avoid those mistakes and fill in the holes they create when committing them.
1. Waiting
Despite buyers and sellers needing a professional agent more than ever, most agents are waiting for “something” right now. They’re waiting for interest rates to come down. They’re waiting until after the first of the year to ramp up their marketing. They’re waiting for the market to improve. They just keep waiting.
I can’t think of a single time in my business when waiting for anything outperformed taking consistent action. Whatever you might be waiting for, stop waiting. Potential buyers and sellers need your knowledge and professionalism right now. Take action, and the results will follow.
2. Making excuses
Many agents are making excuses instead of focusing on adding value to the marketplace. They make excuses about their lack of prospecting calls because of how busy they say they are. They make excuses about not hosting open houses because they only had three people show up to their last open house. They make the excuse that the reason they do not have more closings is escalated interest rates.
Despite all the excuses most agents are making, every market has agents who are thriving and having the best year of their careers.
Are you making excuses or making things happen?
Go against the grain. Instead of making excuses, why not devote yourself to adding more value to the marketplace than you ever have? Why not decide to host more open houses than you’ve ever hosted? Why not geographically farm more households than ever before?
Somebody is going to have their best year ever, why not you?
3. Talking more than they’re listening
Most agents are talking too much and selling too hard. A better plan is to ask questions that provide you with an understanding of the needs and desires of your prospects.
Here are a few questions that can help identify their needs and wants:
- What’s the biggest concern you have about the homebuying process?
- If you could wave a wand and purchase a home on the ideal day for you and your family, what day would that be?
- Which would you say is more important to you, maximizing your sales price or having your home sold by a certain date?
Asking the right questions and then providing value based on their answers is the winning formula. Listening more and talking less will always put you in a position to serve your clients at the highest level possible.
4. Worrying about things they can’t control
Control what you can control. You can’t control how many transactions there will be in your local market this year, but you can control the number of real estate-related conversations you have with potential buyers and sellers.
You can’t control whether interest rates go up or down this year, but you can control how many open houses you host. Ultimately, you can’t control the positive or negative outcome of the Sitzer | Burnett commission trial, but you can control the amount of value-added video content you produce and distribute.
Worrying less isn’t about not being aware of the market or potential changes in the market. It’s about not allowing fear of what might happen to keep you from adding as much value as possible to the marketplace in the present.
The problem is that most agents focus on what might happen in the future instead of what they can make happen today. Focus on your attitude. Focus on your effort. When you focus on the right things, results change.
5. Planning too much
Planning is good. But there comes a time when planning or talking about what you are going to do has to move to action. Are you talking about the neighborhood you plan to geographically farm, or are you farming the neighborhood? Are you planning to ramp up your marketing efforts after the first of the year, or are you producing more content than ever right now?
Build a plan, but don’t forget to work your plan. The second you initiate action, momentum begins to build. Momentum builds energy, and energy attracts business.
6. Not keeping in touch
One of the biggest mistakes I’ve made in the past has been assuming potential buyers and sellers were thinking about me as much as I was thinking about them. I can remember a specific buyer prospect who told me they would be interested in buying in about six months. I told him I would keep in touch and send properties that came on the market as I saw ones that fit the criteria we discussed.
In the first couple of weeks, I emailed him a few properties but didn’t hear back from him. I assumed he just wasn’t ready yet, so I didn’t call him and put him on my calendar to call in three months. When I called him three months later, he told me he actually saw an open house sign the previous weekend, and he was so excited that he just gone under contract on that house.
Lesson learned. Had I kept in touch with check-in phone calls, connected him with a lender and continued to send properties via email, odds are, I would have sold him a home.
Like I was, most agents assume hot prospects they spoke with are deals they will get. You can’t assume anything. You must provide value and stay connected with your prospects. If you don’t, deals will be missed. Recommit yourself to stay connected with your prospects, and the number of transactions you close will increase.
7. Surrounding themselves with negative or inactive agents
You will drift toward the attitudes and activity levels of the people you spend the most time with. It’s not hard to find negative or inactive agents in the current market environment. Misery loves company, and many agents are falling into the trap of surrounding themselves with agents who would rather talk about how tough things are than do the work needed to succeed.
Choose the people you spend time with wisely. By surrounding yourself with positive, hard-working, client-focused agents, you will be in the position to serve at the highest level possible.
Stop waiting and making excuses. Listen to the needs of your potential prospects, and control what you can control. Develop a plan, and work your plan. Keep in touch with all your prospects, and surround yourself with the best people possible.
The world needs what you have. You owe it to yourself and everyone you’ve been entrusted to serve to become the best version of yourself possible. This is the market — and now is the time.
Jimmy Burgess is the CEO for Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Beach Properties of Florida in Northwest Florida. Connect with him on Instagram and LinkedIn.
