Thinking back to what business looked like over the last two to three years, the picture that comes to mind looks different than how business is operating today. The market was hot, and houses were selling faster than the industry could keep up. One of the biggest challenges real estate agents faced was helping buyers compete on offers in a dense buyer population. Today, agents face new challenges as they work to keep their pipeline full.
Looking at the history of the real estate market, a shift shouldn’t come as a surprise. As long as agents are proactive and prepared, business doesn’t need to slow down. The most successful agents have a business built to sustain itself as the market shifts by continuing to market themselves, have a continuous influx of leads and have strategies to nurture each lead so they can convert them into clients.
Marketing is essential. The typical reaction during a shifting, slower market is to cut costs and reduce marketing efforts. Don’t make this mistake. Yes, agents must manage expenses, but rather than simply cutting costs, investing in the right opportunities to build brand awareness is essential. A market shift allows for a reset to incorporate a new marketing strategy such as using video creatively, creating brand presence on a new social platform or re-engaging your farming area with new marketing strategies. Agents need to be where their customers are, leveraging social media and traditional marketing strategies to ensure their community knows they are the go-to resource.
Lead generation is crucial. As the market has shifted, many agents have found themselves in a foreign landscape battling for listings, dealing with buyers being priced out and struggling to keep the pipeline full. Agents need to make sure their lead generation efforts are top-notch and that they have a continuous influx of new potential clients. Get back to the basics by reconnecting with past clients to generate repeat business, and don’t shy away from asking for referrals. Make new connections in your community through organizations such as HOAs, small businesses, schools and churches, and build a strong referral network by partnering with ancillary companies such as mortgage brokers, contractors, appraisers and other home service providers.
Lead conversion is vital. Marketing and lead generation are the first steps to sustaining a thriving business, but having strong lead conversion systems in place is vital. Leads generated through different sources all require different strategies to ensure that the lead doesn’t get lost and converts into an actual client. Online leads are a high-volume, low-conversion game, but the potential ROI of converting even a small handful of these leads is high. Engage each lead immediately. Repeat/referral business is a low-volume, high-conversion game and requires a more personal touch. Both games are equally important, and converting leads from all lead generation sources will help agents continue to succeed.
Meagan O’Leary is the education director for Elm Street Academy and oversees the education strategy and execution across the Elm Street ecosystem. The Elm Street Education Team brings effective and energetic training to the ever-evolving real estate industry and beyond. For more information, visit https://elmstreet.com/.
