The Value of Listings and Goal Setting

 

     Our Listing inventory could be considered our proverbial pot of gold or our inventory on the shelves. The more inventory the better chance of making a sale the better your chance of making a sale the more money you can make. Every year at this time I start my year off by setting my listing goals. Last year I set my listing goal at 150 listings and 75 Ends closed. That ratio has worked for me over the years ( number of listings divided by 2 = number of ends.)  so 20 listings would equal 10 ends. The listings result in the buyer leads even when you sell another company's listing. So it all starts with the listing. 

     I also estimate my income by $1,500 per listing or $3000 per end so I should of grossed about $225,000  last year. 20 listings or 10 ends should generate about $30,000 in gross commission. Remember this is gross commission so you would have to divide that by your own split. example 50% would equate to $15,000 to you. So it would mean 40 listings or 20 ends should be your minimum goal to make a minimum of $30,000. This relates to our service area with an average sale price of $150,000. Now you should and probably will make more if you reach your goals. One year I double ended a $1,400,000 sale where my gross commission was $54,000 with just two ends. Obviously that year I well exceeded my income goals.

      Now let us see how my goals matched my results for 2014. I was involved in 45 transactions totaling $6,683,225 in sales volume for a total of 66 ends. I listed 157 properties over the year. If you divide the $6,683,225 sales volume by 45 transactions the average sale price was $148,493. The lowest was a $12,500 lot and the highest was a $340,000 house. Using my formula  157 listings x $1500= $ 235,500  Gross income. 66 ends x $3000= $198,000 Gross income. My actual gross commissions for 2014 were $241,575. Now I didn't reach my 75 ends but by maintaining such a strong listing inventory I overcame what was a strong downturn in our local market. (Note: Sales volumes were down about 12 % in Nova Scotia over previous years in 2011 I had one of my best years with over 90 ends.)

       I should mention that I do work on average 80 to 100 hours a week and there is no short cut to putting in the time if you want to make the money. As individuals we all decide how much time we have and are willing to commit. The great thing about our business is the potential it offers us all to produce an above average income.

        Now yes I do have almost 40 years of experience which helps but I would gladly trade that for youth and enthusiasm so I don't credit much of my ability to that experience. If I was asked " Why do you do as well as you do ?" I would answer " Mainly because I always answer my phone and I am willing to put in the time." Our customers demand and expect our time. As soon as they suspect you don't have time for them you lose their trust and their support. I always have time for my customers. When they call I always answer the phone. Mine is a life of constant interruption but when my phone rings I try my hardest to not act as if I'm being interrupted but act with the expectation and appreciation of the opportunity that call may be bringing me. Ours is a service business the better the service the more business we will get.

        Last but far from least I want to define the business we are actually in. We consider ourselves to be in the real estate business. That in reality is the service we provide but we are primarily in the marketing business. Our primary function is marketing. Our whole industry seems to burden us with so much detail in relation to agency, contracts, rules and regulations that we can easily lose focus on our primary function which is marketing to attract customers and taking the time to service those customers. In order to market effectively you need a marketing system. You need to market to generate leads and you need to follow up promptly on that lead to convert that lead to opportunity. In todays instant gratification society you have approx. 14 minutes from the time you receive that lead before the opportunity is lost. (They have contacted another agent who has responded) . The third secret to my success is definitely marketing. I would estimate I spend 20 to 30 hours a week on my marketing with a strong emphasis on ranking in the search engines. So if you want to be successful in 2015 set your goals, answer your phone, put in the time and increase your marketing and tighten up your response time. Many leads come in by email I have my email coming to my smart phone with my alert on. When I receive an email or text I respond right away. Even if to just let them know I've received their message and will get back to them. Remember Opportunity may only knock once and with-in 14 minutes it may be gone. Let's make 2015 your best year ever.