Bad Day Blues: Get Energized Again!

Does your brokerage have a policy to help get salespeople out of a bad day? Sometimes all it takes is a few hours in fantasy-land – before the silver screen.

Slipping out of work for a few hours to immerse yourself in a movie can change your mood and overall outlook dramatically. Salespeople should definitely take time to recharge their batteries periodically. Selling can be a 24-7 job – some “me” time needs to be carved out to maintain sanity! So encourage salespeople to disappear into the land of Hollywood’s dreams for a couple of hours when they’re having a day only Godzilla could love. Turn off the cell phone, power down the Blackberry, and they’ll come back re-energized and ready to sell!

 

Counteroffer Strategies with Buyers

We’ve all had buyers who won’t respond to a counteroffer in a realistic fashion. So what do you do to help keep the deal moving? Here are two tips to keep your buyers in buying mode:

 

1. Try reverse psychology. Tell the buyer to forget about this house then and move on to a new one. If they seriously want the property, they will probably respond to the counteroffer with a more pragmatic approach.
2. Jog your buyers’ memories about why they liked the property in the first place. This is where your note-taking comes in handy!

Prospecting EVERYWHERE

Do you wear your Realtor badge every day? It can be a great way to let people know what business you’re in wherever you may be. Real estate is an ongoing topic of conversation for most people, as they’re interested in it. Wearing something that identifies you as “in the business” can be a real ice-breaker. Sometimes you’ll just get general questions, but these informal conversations can be a great way to develop new clients!

Marketing ROI: Making the Most of Marketing

You’re marketing the heck out of yourself and your listings, but do you really know what’s working? You don’t if you don’t track your marketing efforts. It takes little time to do, but the payoff can be huge.

 

1. Assign a code to each marketing piece you develop. For instance, the ad you run in the local paper could be LOC01, with the number changing for each ad.
2. Keep a log of each code and where the ad is running for your reference.
3. This is the most important part – ASK your clients for this code! If you have a “contact me” form on your site, add a field for this code.
4. After you have a critical mass of data – say 1 to 3 months – review which marketing efforts have had the most impact.
5. Keep it up! Marketing isn’t something that you do once.

Time Management 101

As a real estate professional, you’re responsible for every aspect of your business. And it doesn’t seem as if there’s enough time in the day to do everything! Try getting a handle on your to-do list with some time management basics.

Make a list of everything you need to do in a week. For example, your list may include sales calls, showings, open houses, paperwork, and marketing.

Break down how much time you spend on each aspect each week.

Map out when you do each task – is it every day, once a week, etc.  

Now you’ve mapped your week out into blocks. Review these blocks and see if they make sense. If you do a little bit of marketing each day, maybe it makes better sense to take 2 hours on Wednesday morning and devote that time to marketing.

Now, take your revised blocks and fill your days with them. Make sure you leave free time in there too – nothing will blow your time management plan faster than getting off track on Day 1 and becoming frustrated.

And recognize that this plan is a map – it’s designed to guide you through your days. It’s not set in stone, and you can – and should – revise it to make it work with reality. Review it regularly and make modifications to help keep your days running smoothly.

Moving Negotiations Along

Have you had negotiations fall apart over a small issue, like leaving window treatments or a light fixture? It’s one of the most frustrating aspects of real estate sales, but it’s also something that you can learn to get past.

 

Purchasing and selling a house is an emotional transaction for both parties. Respect that, and allow for emotions. But as the salesperson, your goal is to close the deal. Keep your eyes on that goal and help both sides move beyond minor details.

-          When negotiations start to get mired in small details, suggest putting them to one side and moving on to larger issues. You can come back to hammer out those smaller issues when the rest of the deal is settled.

-          Always represent your client in negotiations – even if you don’t agree with their position. You can try to change their mind privately, but when you’re at the table with the other side, you and your client must present a united front.

-          Keep information to yourself. Anything that you don’t have to share with the other side, don’t! And on the flip side, learn as much as you can about their position.

Referrals: Are You Getting Enough?

When you close a deal, do you make sure to keep in contact with your clients and ask for referrals? A warm contact is always better than a cold call, so don’t overlook this great prospecting opportunity.

 

What may be stopping you from getting more referrals:

-          You’re not asking. Make sure to explicitly ask your clients if they have any friends or colleagues who may be in need of your services. Provide your clients with your brochure, card or other marketing pieces to make it easy for them.

-          Relying solely on the client to make the contact. It’s great to ask your clients to pass your card out, but the true goal is to get the contact name and number yourself – so you can initiate the first conversation. Sometimes clients are hesitant to share this info – reassure them by letting them you’ll call once, and no more, unless the referrals expresses interest.

-          A deal fell through, and you don’t feel comfortable asking for a referral. Regardless of the details of the deal, if you have a good relationship with your clients, you should ask for referrals. Use your gut instinct when determining if you should or should not ask – you can probably tell when it’s not a good move!