Yesterday I touched on the mindset real estate agents need to maintain success through tough times. As I mentioned, realtors tend to be the type of people who are committed and passionate anyway, but these qualities are even more important when the market isn't exactly your friend. As well as a positive attitude and making sure you stay on top of your pipeline, there are a few other things that savvy real estate agents do when things are a bit tougher than usual.
One of them is network. In a tough real estate market, people are unlikely to be knocking on your door. So to get business, you're going to have to network. Some people hate networking, but unfortunately it's a critical part of business so real estate agents should learn how to be good at it. Pinpoint relevant events and go to them with the mindset of how can you help the people there, and sow the seeds of what a great realtor you are, and when the time comes, your new contacts are more likely to want to help you in return.
Another underutilised tool, and this is underutilised generally, not just in tough times, is the referral or testimonial. Similarly to networking, some real estate agents don't like to ask customers for referrals, but similarly to networking, it's one of those things you need to do anyway. Testimonials are a great way to let other prospects hear about what a great job you do – and it's a lot more believable than you tooting your own horn all the time.
Good real estate agents also know their lag time and so can better manage this through quieter periods. Sales take time, and closing a sale happens quite a long time after your first meeting with a prospective customer. Those real estate agents most likely to succeed know the lag time between these two events, and they know that awareness of this is essential to achieving real estate goals.