After a year that resulted in historic highlights, the real estate industry is still as competitive as ever. As many of the sector’s top companies look to outdo last year’s performance, the path toward achieving those goals rests on the shoulders of their agents, who are undoubtedly aiming to do the same.
While there is no silver bullet for improving your performance as an agent, an old saying states, “success leaves breadcrumbs.”
RISMedia spoke with several high-performing real estate professionals at some of the top brokerages listed in its 34th Annual Power Broker Survey to pick their brains on their strategies to maintain the solid momentum they built last year.
Jordan Grice: How do you measure productivity and what are you doing to stay productive when it comes to sales, lead generation and networking?
Tim Allen: I’ve sold a couple thousand houses and if I was just selling houses I would’ve retired or gone out of business long ago. It’s just boring to me, sitting in front of someone and going out with a scripted line or coming in there with an agenda. What I really like to do is meet people. I want to get to know them. I want to know about their life, their family, and their goals. That’s what is most important to me. I love what I do, and I still get excited about it, I get excited about being with my team.
JG: What do you do to create a client experience that leads to referrals and repeat business?
TA: My phone is on all the time because my cell number is on all our ads, and I engage that person and I find out a little bit about them, but then I drop knowledge on them. Most of my clients and team are smarter than me, but in this one little niche that I handle, I don’t care if you’re a billionaire or a mogul, I’m an expert in this. You drop these little tidbits of knowledge on them and they’re like ‘oh, Tim knows what he’s talking about.’ There’s so much that we do that’s nuanced, so I think getting this engagement, a rapport falls into a relationship.
JG: We are certainly living in an era where technology and innovation are fixtures within the industry, so what tools and resources do you find most valuable to your business and why?
TA: I’d say social media. I remember I was behind in that, but social media is everything now. It’s a form of entertainment and communication and getting followers. These are things I’m learning from my team. We actually worked with an influencer down in L.A. at one of my homes. We wanted to get it rented, and we went to this influencer who shot it out to all those people and we rented it to an incredible athlete. That’s how we got that client. If we put an ad in the paper that client would’ve never seen it.
JG: What advice would you give to agents that are looking to follow in your footsteps and step up their game this year?
TA: It doesn’t happen overnight, and I think first and foremost, you have to have a plan. My plan is less scripted than others, but have a plan and stick to it. Surround yourself with great people, and prioritize character, skill set, work ethic, and the right attitude. Then put those people in positions to succeed. When you have that, get creative and take risks. Be available, pick up your phone and know when you hang up your phone too. Those are the basics, you gotta stick with the basics.