When Times Are Tough The Tough Think Outside The Box! What I Have Done To Generate Business In Slower Economic Times!
As a member of ActiveRainfor the past two years I have followed the trials and tribulations of my fellow REALTORS®/real estate agents, as we all struggle and adapt to a very different economic climate. I have listened to the advice of my industry eldersthat toughed out much harder times in the 80's, as well as new comer's that haven't known a better real estate market. In all of this I have learned to adapt, and in doing so had my best sales year ever in 2009.
I have and always will have the heart of a teacher and as such believe that you are blessed when you bless others. My granny used to say ' Cindy, you lift yourself higher by lifting someone else!' and I believe this to my core. So what I am about to tell you will make my Granny proud. In 2009 there were 4 things that I started doing that directly benefited my real estate business and made 2009 my best year yet.
1. I started blogging on ActiveRain consistently and regularly. I know you have probably read this before. Others have said it. YOU NEED TO LISTEN UP. I can attribute 1/4 of my total business in 2009 to ActiveRain and techniques I learned about social networking on ActiveRain.
2. I visited every Estate, Divorce and Bankruptcy Attorney in my area. I stopped by their office and dropped business cards to let the know that I preformed Comparative Market Analysis to assist in establishing Market Value on real estate. This is a service I have always offered to the community as a means to fight rising property taxes. I bill $250 for this service but discounted it by $50 for the Attorney. This is a valuable service I can provide to their clients and has gained me several listings.
3. I capitalized on the time I Spent in the office on mandatory Phone Duty. I've always had a bad attitude about phone duty. I would much rather be out looking for my next client than waiting for some one that may or may not call. In 2009 I changed my attitude about the time I spent in the office on phone duty. First I set a goal to capitalize on each call. Phone duty is mandatory in our small office, so I was there anyways might as well try. I started asking people calling in open ended questions. I made a decision that for every piece of information I gave them I would ask them a question in return. It went something like this: I am Cindy, to whom am I speaking?--------Great the home your are calling on is a 3 bedroom/2 bath was that the number of bedrooms and bathrooms you are looking for?----This home is $$$$$ is this what you were looking to spend?-----ETC. I always ended the call by trying to set a appointment to visit in my office and getting the potential clients contact information by offing to send valuable information their way. This new attitude accounted for a large percentage of my business in 2009.
4. Probably by now you have figured out the fourth thing I did to generate more business in 2009. This was probably the hardest to overcome while it may seem so simple to anyone reading this post. I HAD AN ATTITUDE TRANSPLANT.I started looking at all the positive ways I could be of service in places I had never thought to look before. I got smart and realized the value I have to offer to those that are suffering far worse than I am in these tougher economic times, and my real estate business here in Floresville, Texas has grown as a result.
I hope this post helps some of you grow as well. I would love for you to share the ways that you have changed to adapt to these very different economic times.
May 2010 Be Your Best Real Estate Year Ever! God Bless!
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