I Entered Real Estate in 1972, passed my test, thought I would be rich the next year. At the end of my first year my energy was gone, my money was gone, and I was simply a " Frown in a Suit"
What turned my career around was hunger and lots of education outside of my local Town and MLS area, and a Telephone.
IF you would be kind enough to let me share some of my thoughts with you, I promise you will benefit.
Today it is so easy to spend all your time invested with one or two or three buyers and their needs. I mean it's a buyers market right? But what you are trying to sell them is a listing, and what they will buy will be a listing. A home listed, priced correctly and on the market for sale.
I see in my own local market place a few interesting changes that should be looked at. Maybe 8,000 agents chasing about 8,000 closed sales in Bristol and Plymouth Counties. So someone is getting paid very little. Because I know lots of agents doing 30 to 50 closing's this year.
And with a little research what I see is that the majority of agents getting the majority of closings happen to be listing based agents who also sell homes to buyers.
The good ones, the successful recession proof agents year after year, usually have about a 50-50 ratio. 50% of their income comes from both listings closed and buyers sold.
I also have seen some of the nicest agents, decent and hard working, thousands of them in fact. They have quit this industry as a full time agent and they have gotten either full time jobs or part time jobs to supplement their needed income.
They should not have quit the Real Estate business, they should have approached their work differently and done things differently sooner.
Now I know that more than half still love the business of selling real estate so they keep their license active and hope the market rebounds soon.
That rebound is not going to happen and when it does, these agents will be ill prepared to deal with it. As what you will not see for years, is the rapid rise in price that so many agents saw from 2004 to 2007, nor the easy financing that made all deals go fast and look great and go to the closing table. Next you will not find buyers or sellers who have the same habits as the consumer in the future. They will be so far behind the times.
What is the challenge for full time Realtors doing this for their lives work?
It is Simple, basic's need to be applied here for great results.
Control the chessboard, what I mean is stop telling folks how good you are and show them extraordinary service by calling them first to say hello, and you like them, and do they need anything at all. Vendors, Appraisals for estate purposes, any questions help them.
You must restore your relationships with past clients, your data-base, and your friends and vendors. You must become a valid work horse of help, service and ideas to any question they may have about real estate related issues. You must again and again be promoting yourself as the Realtor to call for any question, or need about Real Estate.
It is like any super market attended by shoppers, you must create your own inventory, get heard from folks you know, daily, weekly, monthly. Trust me with consistency the listings will come.
I know you do not like to bother folks, feel funny doing calls, well: just get over that ask them about their families, their jobs (any worries) their vacations, and slip in your message. Just do it, now ! And little by little you will see how they like it?
Your solution to increase your income will be directly related to the number of listings you take.
You need to work 1 to 3 hours 5 days a week at Lead Generation. And that is easier said than done when you do not time-block. MY message and suggestion has to be clear now. If you want to be in Real estate and you want to stay in Real Estate as a career, you need two things, Listings on the shelf and or lots and lots of buyers who shop exclusively with you.
And you need a never ending supply of both. To obtain that supply of buyers and sellers, you should be on the phone, same time almost every day, smiling and dialing and making minimum of 25 contacts with your data base, past clients, new clients, new vendors, and people who have clients and may send you referrals.
"But Your so Busy"
Working with buyers as a buyer agent your day just evaporates into firefighting, setting up appointments, negotiations, and assembling information and communication with your buyers, chasing banks, playing tele tag, and waiting for the right match to pop up on the MLS, and then burning rubber to get their first.
Next you must buy into this. You also must plug into Technology, I myself buy real estate, and when I call or E-Mail the listing agent off his or her web-site about a listing he or she is handling and they do not call me back for hours or days, this is the worse. So, I simply move on and most of the times see that listing with the new agent who did reply to me in a timely manner.
Agents today should have the MLS information at hand, on their phone to service the mood of the calling qualified and motivated client right then and right there, The statement I am not in the office, I will get back to you later, well its fine ; but face it , "its old style."
When I shop for anything I plan to buy, I am like the consumer's of today. I don't want to order it; to back order it. To wait, I want to own it when I am done shopping. Hey I am in the atmosphere and mood to buy now.
I like most people do shop where there is the best selection of inventory. You have to have listings or (inventory) to attract shoppers it's that simple.
To build a healthy self image of yourself, you have to finish what you start! OH, and to stay in the career of Real Estate and succeed at a high level.
You need to finish and complete the Job
. Lead Generation and constant promotion of your Brand, your name, is your JOB.
It's in your ability, and success comes with showing folks you're passion, your hardness, and you're sticking power in the field. Call them all, let them know you're winning and with them as a Professional should they ever need a successful Realtor to work with.
Spring of 2010 Starts Today.
Barry Papagno
OP Easton Ma Keller Williams
508-238-5000 or Barrypapagno@kw.com
"It's your time now". Call for career Opportunities.
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