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Well April Fools Day has come and gone, and each of you may be wondering with 3 months of the year already passed, what can I do to try to salvage my year.
It has not been easy, in fact 2022 was not easy, nor any year previous to that actually been easy. This is a tough business, there is nothing easy about it regardless of what the “Experts” say, what consumers think, or for that matter what far too many agents think.
On one hand it is a shame that too many people entered this industry because they thought it was easy, or fun. Well fun it may be but easy it never is. Over the years those agents who interviewed with me and were told what to expect, and then went somewhere because a broker told them it was easy, usually found out the hard way.In order to be successful in this real estate business you needed to become a rainmaker! That is you need to generate numerous contacts and create relationships with people who want to work with you. Proof? For years leads have been generated, sometimes without a consumer’s knowledge, and other times because a consumer called about something. Historically an agent’s response to these leads, after maybe trying to reach them, was that the lead was no good.
It was not so much that a lead was no good as much as the timing was wrong, the call was uncomfortable, agent and consumer were not on the same page and so many more excuses. Being an order taker accounts for some business, and it should, but the main focus should be for an agent to make it rain.
The harder and smarter an agent works, the harder the rain will fall!
So, it is not too late to start making rain for 2023 and have that rain continue through the balance of your career, but how?
First off you can’t be afraid of the rain, you need to embrace it, run out and enjoy it, get wet, get soaked, run through the puddles. You will find that once it starts raining on you, it just does not stop. Secondly, figure out what will make you get started up again. Is it a threatening call from your broker, is it a threatening letter from a credit agency, is it the need to take a vacation, or has the car broken down, or maybe it is just the need to return to the successes of the past years.
Getting that figured out will allow you to start to seed the clouds that bring the rain you need to survive.
Find all your old clients and customers. look through your files, then contact each and everyone of them and ask them how they are doing and how you can help them. As you are doing this, set up a CRM that can help you in the future. Get all those contacts into a program that will allow you to access easily and often.
Reconnect with all those relationships from the past. Regardless of how old you are or how long it has been since you last spoke with them, get in touch with them now!Social media does not work for everyone so have a varied plan that will allow you to get to as many people as you can. Remember you need plenty of seeding (contacts) to make rain.
Get out of the house and out into the world. Let everyone know you are there to help them, make new friends, join a new group, sponsor a youth sports team, find someone who will allow you to place a sign on their building. Go to your favorite coffee shop, grocery, sandwich place and ask to put out some business cards, or flyers. Find an area that you like or one you worked in before and create a farm that will allow you to promote yourself as the neighborhood professional.
Get that mailing list ready and utilize postcards or flyers to send your message home. Maybe some magazine subscriptions for those high valued clients that may be able to do more for you. Don;t forget the children of past clients and customers either, they make purchases also. Make your way through the expired listings in MLS, and reach out to them, the time may be right for them to get back into the marketplace. Don’t forget those pesky For sale by Owners, who believe it is easy, stay in touch so you are ready when they find out it is not that simple.
Create a message of caring. Identify what is special about yourself and market YOU! You understand agency and representation. Make it part of your presentation, discussion and everyday discussion.
Remember a potential seller who has been contacted directly by a buyer or that buyer’s representative is not interested in the seller, who is representing the seller? Be the one! And when a buyer finds that home “on their own” and is working with that seller who is representing the buyer? No one, they are on their own.
You have the knowledge, you have the experience, you have the ability. But, do you have the desire to do what you need to do to become a RAINMAKER?
If the answer is yes, then get out there and do it now. Today is the best day to get started.
And remember rain comes in many forms, maybe a drizzle is where you are comfortable, maybe a nice steady rain works best for you or maybe you need a monsoon to make you happy. In any case, be the rainmaker that you want to be!
