Four Horsemen for Success
I am going to address four key components every real estate agent should be doing to become successful… I also thought about making this title “running scared.”
What do I mean by running scared? You have stepped into an entrepreneurial type of business, but unfortunately in the real estate business, there is a very high failure rate– it can be 50 percent after the first year and up to 85 percent after the first two years.
“Running scared” mentality really goes for any type of startup business. What does this mean? When you are starting out, you MUST bring a level of intensity and focus in terms of what you are doing.
4 Horsemen for Success are:
1. Warm or Cold Calling for Listings
2. Internet Leads
3. Social Media
4. Your Own Sphere of Influence
How hard you attack those four items and how hard you run with that, will ideally propel you into that 15-20 percent that start in the business and become successful.
You can execute on the 4 Horsemen Four Success without a lot of capital, but just with the investment of your time. Let’s delve into each element a bit more…
1. Warm or Cold Calling for Listings
There is no simple or easy answer to obtain listings. Postcards are passé. Who you need to be calling and talking to – For Sale Buy Owners, people with listings that have expired or one that was withdrawn. You need to be allocating 2 hours of your time to calling. Let’s do the math…
2 hours a day, 20 days in a month = 40 hours
10 people an hour, you are talking to 400 people.
It’s that type of effort that is going to secure results. From those listings, you will run open houses and secure some buyers out of that. Where do you find the people? On Craigslist, Zillow FSBO, RedEx to name a few.
At Dalton Wade Real Estate Group, we have scripts that we supply everyone with and we are also happy to do roleplaying calls.
2. Internet Lead Generation
These can be sourced via your own web site, or through Dalton Wade, from purchasing leads from Zillow.
If you need to do these, you need to do them well and follow up consistently and diligently. You need to relate to people and to let them do the talking. Ask them what their needs are. You must put yourself out there and try always to be bonding with people.
When working internet leads, you are somewhere in the four percent conversion rate for an average. Get good at working internet leads. You will never get to sell a house if you are not good at warm calling or consistently working the internet leads.
3. Social Media
Social media is a very powerful tool if used correctly. It ties back into the two first legs.
It is not about posting cute photos on Facebook. When you are a new agent competing with other agents, you are trying to let the world know that you are good – that you are the expert for you market.
Part of your strategy is that you are going to create your web site. That is step one – and step two should be creating that dynamic content. You should think about setting a goal of posting two blogs per week. One can be geared toward the buyer and the other can be geared toward the seller.
This way, if someone is looking for a realtor, they stumble across your blog and see that you are providing useful information. You are helping them and they will look to you for additional help.
People can view you online and see that you are knowledgeable in the field and see that you are the expert. Don’t be surprised if prospects Google you. If they do not find anything, they are not likely going to pursue calling you or taking the next step.
4. Your Own Sphere of Influence
I like to think of this as offline (people you already know or are getting to know.)
This is your family, friends, friends of friends and really the general public in your day-to-day life.
Think about the times when you are standing in line at the store and having a conversation with the cashier. Think about conversation pieces – is it a pin that you’re wearing that reflects your agent status? Is it a branded item such as a jacket or a tote? You can become a walking billboard!
Again, what are you trying to accomplish?
A reasonable goal on average is two transactions a month. That is 24 transactions a year. Where are they coming from and how are they getting there?
Break your day down and focus on what you are going to do. Here’s a starting example.
- 2 + hours of cold calling
- 1 + hours of writing for social media posts and blogs
- The remaining hours will hopefully be spent on showing homes and additional networking
The number one problem I find with newer realtors is that they have a lack of focus and the confidence– just go for it and execute!
I am here to talk and answer your questions. Reach out at Phil@daltonwade.com.
