Although a cold chill has blown on the real estate market and sales are down across the country there are still many opportunities for quality real estate professionals. When the market was hot, every Tom, Dick and Harry wanted in - now we actually have an opportunity to separate the good from the bad and the ugly.

Here are five proposed strategies that will not only keep Realtors afloat until the next upswing but could actually place them in a better position for when the market does return...and return it will. 

1.  Maximizing Technology and the Internet

Google should be a part of every real estate professional's online lead strategy as placing high on organic search results has become very important to any serious agent.  At the same time integrating your key activities such as marketing, MLS, customer management, etc. need to be integrated into one easily accessible web-based system.

Agents should use this year to make sure that when the next boom arrives they will be able to process the entire home buying and selling transaction digitally.

2.  Building Teams Correctly

The creation of smaller more effective business units or teams within larger companies has been around for awhile, but during the last decade the concept has gained momentum. RE/MAX now estimates that 27% of their affiliates are working on a team.

There are basically two different kinds of teams.  The first is where two or more producing agents combine their practices under one banner to provide greater coverage for themselves and their clients and the second where a lead agent starts building a business inside the brokerage operation. The lead agent then hires administrative staff to increase his or her time in more productive and income generating sales activities.

No matter what the size or how a team is structured, the key to building a successful team requires following the correct steps, getting the right chemistry between all team members and executing on a deliberate business plan.

3.  Solidifying Your Business Plan

In today's competitive and complex marketplace, an entrepreneur's success is far from guaranteed. Moving into 2008 or 2009 without a well thought out and implemented business plan is a disaster waiting to happen.  Yet so many agents fly by the seat of their pants.

A good business plan should include:

• An assessment of your current situation.
• A definition of your business focus and strategic intent.
• A clear vision of what results you want to achieve by objectives.
• A list of action steps that you will utilize to achieve your goals.
• An understanding of why you need regular analysis and occasional revisions of your game plan.

4. Using Virtual Assistants

The ways in which Virtual Assistants (VAs) can help real estate agents become more productive are limited only by one's imagination. And there are few, if any, support functions that cannot be handled by a VA - including functions such as:

• Transaction Coordination
• Listing Marketing Coordination
• Staying in Touch
• Online Lead Management
• Operational Management
• Screen Email and Phone Messages
• Ad Writing
• Website Maintenance

5. Diversifying Your Business

Diversification is the order of the day.  For our industry there are two types of diversification - geographic and product or service.  In these slow times it may be wise to view the needs of your customer base to see if there are other profitable products that may be a good fit to offer past clients. It is also a perfect time for agents to expand their skills and knowledge by getting educated on other transactional aspects such as mortgage, escrow, home owner's insurance, home warranty, remodeling, repairing, painting, landscaping, etc. The advantage of bringing some of these services in-house is the ability to eliminate the expense of redundant overhead and to derive additional income from the same client.  

SUMMARY

As the licensee ranks begin to thin out smart agents and brokers have an excellent opportunity to refine, refocus and re-charge their business.

Good luck and God Bless!