Is it possible to find a formula for real estate success? Mark McLeod believes that in some strange way there is: volume multiplied by consistency multiplied by quality.
Over the years I have seen a significant number of agents attempting to build businesses without having each of these three aspects in place: volume, consistency and quality.
This is a voluminous business, and he or she who communicates or interacts with their communities using many different mediums and channels always wins.
Sounds simple, doesn’t it? Well, I believe it is. Pick up the phone and make more than 200 calls every single week. Ensure you make the contact be about the person you are calling, not about you, and watch your business grow.
Conduct a minimum of five open for inspections every weekend and remember, they are your retail outlets. The more outlets, the more customers. Use text messaging to get cut-through messages to your customers and always make sure to make these messages informative.
The key here is simple: talk to more people. This is a relationship-driven business and here is my favourite thought: make a list of all the people you have a relationship with whom you have never spoken to.
Consistency is the fuel of growth and without it you are just hoping for success. The great ones know it and understand it. The lesser allow an ‘instant results’ mentality to break consistency down.
There are few reasons why agents become inconsistent:
- Laziness
- Lack of investment
- Capacity kicks in (they are too busy doing stuff to get other stuff done)
However, I believe the main reason is misguided expectations of the task. For example: ‘I did the letterbox drop and got no results from it. I made 50 calls and didn’t get a single listing.’
The only expectation you should have is the one of the task itself being consistently forever. Infinite patience generates measurable results.
Now, quality. This is the part of the formula that seals the deal. Ask yourself this question every time: is this piece of material I am putting out the best in market? If the answer is no, then you are probably running with the pack. Remember, marketing is not just about the document or image; it’s about the experience you give all your customers – buyers, sellers, landlords and tenants – remembering they are all the same person.
IS YOUR PERSONAL BRAND ONE OF QUALITY?
Remember, we don’t judge Qantas by how the kangaroo on the tail of the plane looks but by the experience we receive in the lounges or in the air.
These are only a few thoughts about parts of the formula. Each thought on its own won’t provide a significant enough platform to build a great business, but combined they will thrust your business into the stratosphere.
Who would have thought there could be a formula for real estate success? It sounds simple, doesn’t it? But, as I’ve said many times, simple can so often be extremely difficult!
