TWELVE TACTIS FOR REAL ESTATE AGENTS IN TOUGH TIMES

TACTICS(4-6)

Tactic #4. Find The Motivated

• Know the Numbers - Your Numbers and the Market Numbers
• The Minute Key Signs Show Up:  Ramp up your lead generation and change your messaging!
• As leads become fewer you must:  Attract more, get to them first and convert them faster!
•  Your messages must be appropriate to the conditions.
•  Make more direct offers that will attract responses.
• Do the sellers you are talking to really need to sell? Will they price their home to sell? Will they get it in the proper condition?
• Do the buyers really need and want to buy?  Are they going to listen to you? Do they understand that there are good buys in every market?    

Own The Outcome:

• You can never be sure what it will take to find enough motivated clients to achieve your numbers.
• Be willing to do whatever it takes.
• The easy business will have disappeared.
• Start with no spending.
• Play ‘red light, green light’
• Hold lead generation expenses accountable.

Two Truths:

• Lead generation does not have to cost you money!
• Offer-response messaging will get the best results in the shortest time.
• Get proactive with direct prospecting.  First to those you know, second to those who have indicated a need and third, to those who have contact you.
• GIVE THIS EFFORT AT LEAST THREE HOURS A DAY!!!

Your Message Matters:

• People respond if there is some direct benefit to them.
• Give them a reason to call.
• This is offer-response lead generation.
• Make an offer - response can either be direct or indirect.
• Make offers for immediate response.
• It is a numbers game!

Get in the Path of Business:

• Don’t cocoon.
• Don’t stay in the office.
• Get out of the house.
• Take it to the streets.
• Ask, seek and knock.

Tactic #5. Getting to the Table That Matters - Lead Capture and Conversion

• The bigger truth about lead generation is that it is actually ‘lead conversion’.
• Leads are scarce-so conversion becomes critical.
• It is a 3 step process: Capture-Connect-Cultivate.

The Two Battles:

• The Battle to get to the listing table
• The Battle at the table to get the listing
• Lead conversion  requires more than just winging it.

Capture:

• Your capture system will insure that you get enough information from the lead that you can contact them.

Connect:

• Your connection system will generate a timely, scripted response, which will naturally lead to a conversion, which then allows you to assess their needs and establish a relationship.

Cultivate:

• Your cultivation system will record your follow-up contacts, assure the building of relationships, and keep you on the path to appointments.

The Conversion Process:

• The three C’s of conversion - Capture, Connect and Cultivate - deploy both scripts and systems.
• The only question will be which comes first.

Tactic #6. Catch People in Your Web - Internet Lead Generation

• If people visit your websites and you never know who they are, what has it gained you?
• Many agents get caught up in the internet excitement and don’t really think clearly about their strategy.
• They become frustrated at what it is costing them and how little business they are converting from it.
• If they don’t leave any trail you can follow, they’re just a ship passing in the night.
• Be sure your site has a way for the consumer to register and a reason to do so.

Baiting The Hook:

• You have to give them a reason to register.
• Your site must have ‘thin bait’ that attracts people to your site and keeps them there for a while.
• Then you must offer something more, the ‘fat bait’ for them to want to register.
• Once they have registered, fast response is critical.
• You ca use email and text messaging.

Long Term Cultivation:

• Today’s buyers begin their research early.
• Your systems will need to be able to retain and grow these relationships with a sustained effort.
• But, don’t assume that it will always take a long time or many contacts.
• Check their pulse and get them started on the active search process.

Return on Your Lead Generation Investment - The Truths:

• The cost-per-lead converted is not very different from most of the fundamental lead generation approaches.
• Internet lead generation does not cost less.
• Technology and the internet are no longer a choice.
• Their relative importance, position, and cost in your lead geneeration program is a choice.

Tactics 1-3: Get Real Get Right, Re-Margin Your Business & Do More with Less

***TACTICS #7-12 COMING SOON***

Excerpts From SHIFT:

The Keller Center Real Estate Research Report 

Consumers and Commissions - What’s Your Value Proposition?

Recent research in the Keller Center Research Report discusses commission objections from consumers.

Dr. Ann Mirabito of Baylor University suggests that it is difficult to determine the value of real estate services, and therefore clients are unsure if they are getting a good deal with their agent.

Read how you can satisfy and surpass clients’ expectations in “How Consumers Respond to Commissions,” in the inaugural edition of the Keller Center Research Report.

Other Related KW News:

The Keller Center Releases Real Estate Industry Research Report

Gary Keller donates $5 million to Baylor University to advance the study of residential real estate

Keller Center for Research in Residential Real Estate Marketing Launches Ground Breaking Initiatives

Keller Williams Realty Case Study now part of Stanford and Yale’s core MBA curriculum

Why Run YOUR Real Estate Business At Keller Williams Realty?

Need Help with the Licensing Process?

Read The Dozen Secrets Every Real Estate Agent Should Know

By Dave Jenks, Vice President of Research and Development and Jay Papasan, Vice President of Publishing and Executive Editor, Keller Williams Realty

Amidst fears of a financial market freefall, the real estate market is emerging as a bright spot. Indicators are pointing to an end to the bust; in fact, real estate may be poised for a bounce.

While consumers are scrambling to diversify their saving and investment accounts and retreating from paper assets (e.g. stocks) into hard assets (e.g. gold), the savviest among them are looking deeper than morning’s headlines and realizing that real estate is a solid investment option in the current market.

Home prices have corrected and fallen back into alignment with historic trends. The inventory of homes for sale is finally shrinking from the June 2008 peak. Also, based on year-over-year comparisons, housing affordability is now higher than it’s been for the past five years. All signs point to the real estate market turning the corner. So for investors seeking a safe haven in this financial storm, housing emerges as a surprisingly good choice—an undervalued hard asset with upside potential.

As the following chart illustrates, the unsustainably high run-up in home prices between 2001 and 2005 is coming back in to alignment with the historic 4 percent trajectory in home price appreciation. Indeed the market has corrected. While it is quite possible that the market will continue for a time to “over correct,” the important point to realize is that no one can ever predict or time the floor—until after the fact when opportunity has been lost.

Now is the time to buy and the reasons are many:

• Real estate remains one of the most stable long-term investments with relatively modest fluctuations in annual gains.
• The extensive housing inventory in most markets is providing great choices for investors.
• Mortgage money is available to financially stable buyers and interest rates remain attractively low.
• Real estate investments tend to bring a greater annual return on investment (ROI) than stocks, gold or commodities, because they are leveraged (buyers put 20 percent down, and receive appreciation on the entire value of the property).
• Just as the late 1980’s and early 1990’s provided a massive opportunity for real estate investors to make great buys and build wealth, the current market will do the same. Smart money is already back in the market buying up the distressed properties.
• There is a simple formula for investing in real estate – Criteria, Terms and Network. That formula and the step-by-step process for using it are clearly described in the best-selling book, The Millionaire Real Estate Investor.

Why Run YOUR Real Estate Business At Keller Williams Realty?

Need Help with the Licensing Process?

Read The Dozen Secrets Every Real Estate Agent Should Know

Every Monday, Keller Williams Realty’s Millionaire Systems hosts a free audio class for members of our real estate agent community. Each week we interview real estate professionals who are building their real estate businesses by using the systems and models presented in our books. Whether you are a new or experienced real estate agent, or even considering starting a real estate agent career, these insightful interviews provide listeners with a real world perspective of “Business by the Book’!

Call Reluctance

with Connie Kadansky

Did you know that there are 12 types of call reluctance? Do you know what call reluctance really is? In this interview, host Dave Jenks interviews Professional Certified Coach, trainer and international speaker, Connie Kadansky. Don’t let fears hold you back! Listen to this enlightening interview today! 

Keller Williams Realty News:

The Keller Center Research Report - Cash In with Clients: Know What Customers Really Value!

KW MAPS Coaching & Masterminds NEWS: MAPS Coaching Skills Camp Now Available To Agents

Keller Williams Family Reunion 2009: Kevin Carroll Announced As Guest Speaker

Why Run YOUR Real Estate Business At Keller Williams Realty?

Need Help with the Licensing Process?

Read The Dozen Secrets Every Real Estate Agent Should Know