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You’re having a great month with several listings and buyers falling over themselves to make offers. Your biggest problems are managing vendor expectations and keeping buyers happy. Wrong! Your biggest problem is how to capitalise on this success so that next month you don’t find yourself with nothing to sell.
Think of it like surfing. When you are busy, you are on top of a wave, and naturally you prioritise dealing with existing customers. But if this comes at the expense of doing your regular marketing, you’re in for a wipeout. Listing has a lead time and is a percentage game. You need lots of potential new vendors in the pipeline or you’re going to be doing a lot of paddling to get back out. (Okay – maybe this analogy is not working.)
The good news is that it is much simpler to get new listings when you already have listings. Everyone loves a winner. You also pick up quick private sales to known buyers. This is how I managed to average two sales a week every month, every year without fail. And, the quality of the listings gets better and better. Vendors want you to sell their property and trust what you tell them because you are the person getting results. This means you can price accurately to the market, which of course increases the speed of sales. And buyers love your honesty, which leads to more referrals …
So how do you find the time?
- Cut out the low-percentage activities like cold calling (Sorry bosses, but this demoralising activity is for newbies and telemarketers)
- Play to your strengths. If many of your listings come from your local contacts in a club or a school or whatever, make sure you strongly maintain the connection and give back in meaningful and visible ways
- Leverage your time. The best way to do this is to remember that people tend to believe what they read. This is the power of testimonials, newsletters (with professional content), and DL cards. Above all, maintain and constantly use a database for everyone with whom you are in contact. That way you are continually reaching the maximum number of people with the least effort
- Finally and most importantly, make the callbacks to attendees at open homes yourself. Do not delegate this activity to an assistant! Most of your potential new listings are people who have come through and whom you have already met. YOU WANT TO BE SPEAKING WITH THEM. And you should want to speak with the genuine buyers. So what if there are a number of tyre kickers? Many will be neighbours and they can be potential referrers too. Every listing will generate more sales if you handle this correctly.
Happy listing!
(Blog courtesy of RP Data)
Gil Davis had a stellar career in real estate for over twenty years. He was a franchisee and top salesperson of L J Hooker then Richardson & Wrench before going independent. His achievements included more than 1,700 sales at an average of 100 properties a year during his last decade in the business, and an amazing 80% market share in his local Sydney area. His largest residential sale was the amalgamation of 18 properties for $27 million. Gil subsequently completed a PhD and now works as a university lecturer, as well as consulting to RP Data.
