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How to avoid a Christmas slump

By Hannah Blackiston
17 November 2016 | 10 minute read
santa stressed

We’ve all heard that listings dwindle in the lead-up to the silly season as sellers bunker down for present giving and turkey eating. As an agent, do you need to accept that your commission cheque will be smaller over the festive months?

Not according to speaker, author and mentor Christina Guidotti. REB spoke with Ms Guidotti about the agents who’ve impressed her and the database size you need to have a successful summer.

“I just bought a property in Sydney [and] since my settlement, I have spoken to my agent three times on the phone, not because I wanted something, but because he had something to give me. He had information, he invited me to a community event, he invited me to an office event, he thought there were a couple of neighbours he thought I should meet. Wow wow wow!” Ms Guidotti said.

Delivering a level of customer service like this will not only help you secure repeat clients, it will also increase the size of the most important part of your database – the customers who know you.

 “If you put in the consistent work over a couple of months and build up a good database of 2,000 people that aren’t strangers, if you called them they would answer your call and they would know who you are ... 2,000 people who, when they think of selling, they think of you,” Ms Guidotti said.

These are the contacts who will help you get through the months where there are more agents competing for fewer listings, and you won’t have to work as hard to secure business, Ms Guidotti said.

“I had a client that I was on the phone to last week and she had listed 19 properties for the month. Now, that wasn’t the thing that was amazing. The thing that was amazing is she’s pregnant, about to have her third child in three weeks. Her name is Georgi Bates from Cunninghams [NSW] and I honour her. She’s well positioned ... most of those are from repeat business.”

In the same week, Ms Guidotti also took a call from an agent who claimed they were struggling because “the marketplace is not listing because it’s before Christmas”.

But she said a strong database with repeat clients will make this time easier to weather.

“That’s all it takes. Real estate is a people business and that sounds very cliché but it’s true,” Ms Guidotti said.

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