The real estate brokerage industry is saturated with real estate agents in almost every market across the U.S., in today’s blog I will show you how to help yourself standout and grow your business. I have spent over 25 years in the real estate brokerage industry, I have worked business development and conducted real estate auctions, sold residential and have focused on commercial brokerage the last 20 years. From this, I have seen what truly works and also what agents just do because everyone else is doing it.
Let’s start with what people see from you everyday, your BRAND. Your brand is you, what you let people see, from the marketing you do to the way you show up at the office or meetings (including dress attire) and it matters. You need to create a brand that is unique to you and that will showcase your expertise, exceptional customer service and highlight your creative approach to marketing. Be sure you always use consistent posting and visual imagery to create a memorable first impression, both on and offline.
The industry as a whole has a bad reputation for either a slow response time or no response at all, this has always amazed me because we work so hard to pull in potential new business but when they call we are slow to respond or not respond at all. This is a real opportunity to set yourself apart. Here are some critical stats for you:
1. Speed-to-Lead (First 5 Minutes is Crucial)
78% of clients end up working with the first agent who responds to them.
Contacting a lead within 5 minutes makes you 21 times more likely to qualify them than waiting 30 minutes.
(Source: Lead Response Management Study by InsideSales & MIT)
2. The First Hour Matters
Leads contacted within 60 minutes are 7 times more likely to have a meaningful conversation compared to those contacted after an hour.
(Harvard Business Review)
3. Drop-Off in Engagement Over Time
Waiting just 10 minutes to respond can reduce your odds of making contact by over 400%.
After 30 minutes, your chances of even connecting with the lead can drop by more than 50%.
4. Same-Day vs. Next-Day
Agents who follow up within the same day are nearly 100x more likely to connect than those who wait until the next day.
Another great way to stand out is by providing exceptional service, I know this sounds like a no brainer but there was a survey done a few years ago on real estate agents (there study did not break up data on CRE agents). The report shows a 68% dissatisfaction rate among buyers/tenants with their real estate agents which was primarily attributed to the following factors: Poor Communication; Perceived Lack of Advocacy (felt the agent just wanted to close a deal); Unmet Expectations; Value Concerns; Desire For Control/Independence. Imagine yourself as the client and how you would want to be treated, and treat them the same way. The ability to do a great job and make the client happy will result in repeat business and referral business.
Leveraging technology can be a bit intimidating if you are not tech savvy but using the available technologies can easily put you ahead of many in your market, especially be curious about the AI tools that are being rolled out as they can help you save a lot of time, create efficiencies in much of your business and keep you extremely organized. There are tools for almost every aspect of our business from automated business development, CRMs, client tracking and follow-up to content creation, the more you automate and save your time with these tasks the more business you can create.
I touched on communication a bit above in regards to response times but I want to go a little deeper here. Communication is most commonly defined as the process of transmitting or exchanging information, ideas, thoughts, or feelings between individuals or groups through verbal, non-verbal, or written means. Being an agent that is clear and direct in your communication will leave little room for misunderstanding or miscommunication, and lastly being a great listener will build your clients trust and willingness to do more business with you.
Being part of the real estate community by attending networking events, community events, joining local organizations as well as volunteering within your community as it will build trust and visibility and gives you insight of what the community wants, allowing you to guide your clients better.
In my first real estate business the internet was in it’s infancy stages so we were not able to utilize many of the tools we have today so we had to get creative, we built our entire first business on 3 tools, cold calling, following up religiously and the secret to all of this was when we got someone on the phone or booked a meeting we sent a handwritten note thanking them for their time, when we implemented this our business took a big step forward. NO ONE ELSE was doing that simple step of “old school” communication.
This last bit of advice is something to build your business on, always maintain professionalism and authenticity, when you take the initial meeting with a client the first few seconds can be the deciding factor, dress professionally, solid handshake a eye contact can never be replaced. There is only one you so authenticity is key, clients will remember the agent who is relatable, honest and genuinely invested in their success.
These tips and knowing your market better then anyone else are the foundation of a very successful career in real estate brokerage.
