Moving your real estate business to the next level is a process of incremental improvement, however, there are a number of steps you can take on a daily basis to help fast-track the process.
Leading US real estate coach and Berkshire Hathaway Sales Manager, Jimmy Burgess, has shared some tips that can help transform your business over time.
Surround yourself with doers
There’s a saying in life that you are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.
If you want to succeed in real estate, you want to surround yourself with ‘doers’.
Jimmy says to spend time with people who are actually doing the business in a way that adds value to their prospects and generates opportunities.
“These are people that are actually out there doing the business in a way that adds value to their prospects, and in turn, it comes back in the form of closings, in the form of new relationships, in the form of opportunities in their business,” Jimmy says.
Count your conversations
Jimmy also suggests you need to track everything you do, especially the things that are most important.
He said to keep track of how many conversations you have on a daily basis with prospects, past clients, and your sphere of influence, as the law of numbers applies in real estate.
“When you understand that literally in this business, the average of the 50 real estate-related conversations we have equals one real estate transaction,” he says.
“The second that we start counting these conversations, we can start understanding how many this number works out for us.”
Take inventory of your past sales
Jimmy believes it’s also important to analyse the transactions you’ve had in the past two to five years to understand where your leads and relationships come from, so you can focus on the activities that generate the best results.
He said when you understand where those leads come from and where those relationships start, all of a sudden, you begin to see patterns.
“You begin to see that maybe you’re spending 60 per cent of your time on an activity that’s only generating 10 per cent of your results,” he says.
“When we do those things and we spend the time in a more effective way, I promise the results get better.”
Wake up one hour earlier and go to bed one hour earlier
Jimmy feels it’s also important to use the first hour of your day to get focused on the activities that bring you value and get ahead of those who are still sleeping.
“The best hour I have is that first hour,” he says.
“That’s that hour that I begin to get focused.
“But ultimately, if you want to be more effective, go to bed just one hour earlier and get up one hour earlier.
“Do the activities that bring you value.”
Choose a niche
Jimmy says if you’re not already heavily focused on a certain niche, you’re not likely to be as effective as you could be.
He says agents should become the expert in a specific neighbourhood or area, as the “riches are in the niches”.
“Choose a niche, go all in on that niche, and I promise it will naturally expand your business and your business will continue to grow,” he says.
Learn a new skill
Jimmy says it’s also worth investing time in watching videos, listening to podcasts, and reading books on a subject you want to become an expert in, using his 3-2-1 approach.
“Take the time to watch three videos on whatever topic it is, let’s say that you want to become proficient in geographical farming,” he says.
“What is it that other agents are doing?
“Learn the process of becoming the expert in a specific neighbourhood or area.”
He says after the three videos, go and listen to two podcasts and then read one book on the subject.
“If you’ll do these things if you’ll spend the time to invest in watching three videos, listen to two podcasts and reading one book on whatever subject it is you want to get better at, I promise you’re going to be ahead of 90-plus per cent of the other agents in your marketplace,” he says.
Leave testimonials for other people
Jimmy feels that it is vital to give positive reviews to local businesses and service providers without expecting anything in return, as the law of reciprocity works in your favour.
“Sometimes if we want certain things, if we’ll just do it for other people, it will come back to us,” he notes.
“We put the law of reciprocity to work, which simply says, when we do something for someone, they simply want to subconsciously do something to reward us for what we did for them.
“Really we are in the review economy or the testimonial economy where all the testimonials you get give you the opportunity to continue to compound the ability for you to grow your business.
“If you go out and you leave those testimonials without expectation of them to leave you one, I promise, you’re gonna get more testimonials and ultimately you’re gonna get more business.”
