Here are 5 we all need to “lean into”, in this real estate market. This isn’t your typical, do these 5 things and you’ll be successful blog… yes, there are 5 things we’re going to cover and yes, doing them will set you up for success – so what’s different? All these areas of your business work synergistically, leaning into a lead generation is no good if you don’t have an organized database. Just as having an organized database doesn’t help you if there are no leads in it! You need to lean into all 5 of these to find the success you’re looking for in this market. 

1. Find one pillar of lead generation and master it

Real estate is a lead generation business and as agents, we have access to a variety of different lead sources. We can work our sphere, call expireds, circle prospect, buy leads, run our own ads, use referral sites… the list goes on and on. While all of these give us “at bats” with potential clients. The type of conversations, follow up, and knowledge required vary by source. In a low inventory market, with high demand – there are a lot of consumers trying to buy a small amount of houses, with even more real estate agents working hard to be involved in those sales. Buyers and sellers are no longer just working with the first agent to answer the phone. Because of this, it’s important to hone your skills on one type of lead generation rather than spreading yourself thin. Become the expert on those conversations, hammer down a tight knit follow up sequence and lean in!

2. Relationships over appointments

Building on top of leaning into one type of lead generation, we need to lean into building relationships. Now don’t get me wrong, we still need to meet with clients… but, we need to listen to them and lean into the conversation,  build trust and rapport, don’t just go down your LPMAMA scripts sounding like a robot who only asks for appointments. 

It has always been common for sellers to interview a couple agents and for a while, buyers seemed to work with the first agent to answer the phone or meet them at a property. But, we have been seeing a shift, buyers aren’t just working with the first person to answer their call – sales resistance is higher than ever and if you aren’t putting building relationships over your agenda of qualifying questions, you will start to see no shows to your appointments and more buyers ghosting you for your competitors.

I spend hours each week auditing calls from agents across the country, I all to often come across this scenario:

I spend hours each week auditing calls from agents across the country, I all to often come across this scenario: Buyers are telling you about how they want to buy a house that their whole family can enjoy, they mention how their kids have all graduated college and most have planted roots in other states, and how having this big estate style home will be the place to reunite the family over holidays and special events, they are gushing to you about how much this next purchase means to them and will affect their family and rather than leaning in…. You respond, “So how many beds and baths?

After completely ignoring the bait they were giving you, whether you were aware of it or not, the client usually seems disinterested and the conversation never seems to have the same pep. Sound familiar? Lean into the relationship, not the appointment and you won’t find yourself running down that path of conversation and you will see your appointment no show rate drop down drastically, especially with leads you meet online. 

3. Organize your database

Okay, you’re generating leads, you’ve gotten pretty darn good at handling those conversations and you are really focusing on building relationships. Great! Now you need to make sure your database is organized.

 What does that exactly mean? I’m glad you asked. For us, an organized database is one that has a standardized staging system that indicates when the client is likely to buy or sell. It has very detailed notes about who your clients are and what services they need. It is highly segmented even further than when they will likely transact – you can do this by using tags and ponds. Through this organization and segmentation you will be able to follow up and market to your database with more narrowed communications, making them feel more personal, ultimately making it easier to build real relationships with these potential clients.

4. Lean into video

We have really been trying to drive home the point that consumers are, more than ever, looking for genuine, professional and communicative agents to work with. What better way to convey all of those qualities than in video. Phone calls are great, I am not saying stop calling your clients, but we know leads don’t always answer… so rather than sending the, “just tried calling you text”; send a video email or text to communicate your message. This will help further the relationship with your potential clients, outside of your phone calls.

5. Stay in front of your clients, but in a different manner than most of us are used to

Here is where I want you to double down on video. No longer can we just set clients up on a search and text or call them every week asking, “Hey, did you see anything you liked? Let me know and I can set up some showings for us.”

Inventory is low across the country, chances of them seeing even one house per week that fits their needs is lower than it ever has been. So, that message we all send above isn’t just pointless, oftentimes it is infuriating to the clients and if you are one to dangle “off markets” in front of them, it makes you look like you have your foot in your mouth if you are not delivering on that promise. 

If there are no houses for them, send them a video telling them! Send them a video of you doing an activity to find them a house, letter writing, door knocking – even if you are door knocking for client A, you can use that video and send it to other potential clients to show them how hard you work to help your clients find homes. Send them a video of a market update, a video checking in on something specific, like a birthday or family event, or if there are homes on their search, pull out the top 3 and send a video of you sliding through the photos and sharing why you think they would love it!

Leaning into these 5 simple activities will help you stay ahead of this market and solidify that you are here to stay. As always OSIRS is here to help.