Major League Baseball player and manager Dick Williams once said, “Playing without the fundamentals is like eating without a knife and fork. You make a mess.” The same could be said for real estate. Many agents start their real estate careers full of motivation and knowledge of the fundamentals, but often lacking the habits and skills they need to thrive in the industry. Over time, their habits and skills may improve, but the basics fall by the wayside. The fundamentals are the things that never go out of style, such as providing your clients with great service, staying in touch with them, focusing on ways to help and doing the activities that generate the leads your business needs to thrive.
Technology May Change, but the Basics Don’t
Many agents, especially those new to the business, may become reliant upon the latest gadgets and apps intended to help them generate leads and give their productivity a boost. While technology certainly helps, without mastering the fundamentals first, it’s difficult to use these tools efficiently or effectively.
Instead of relying on technology to generate cold or lukewarm leads, stay in touch with your clients, look for ways to serve them and ask for referrals. The majority of recent buyers and sellers found the agents they worked with through a referral from someone they trusted. Similarly, consumers today tend to put more credence on the referrals of their family and friends than other forms of advertising. We trust the experiences of people we know over the claims touted in traditional advertising campaigns. When you stay in touch with your clients and ask for referrals, you’ll create a dependable stream of referrals.
Know Your Priorities
Your priorities are the people and activities that help you drive your business forward. Instead of squeezing them into your workday, build your workday around them.
Prioritize your people. Periodically sort your database and reclassify your clients. If they’ve sent you multiple referrals, make them a top priority.
Prioritize your time. Once you know who to spend your time with, plan your day around doing the activities that’ll help you maintain consistent contact with them and generate reliable leads.
Prioritize your activities. Pick the two activities you must do each day, and when you finish those, focus on the next most important activities. Delegate the small and time-consuming activities to an assistant.
Ignite Motivation with Training
The fall is a great time to improve your skills with training and workshops. Don’t think you have time? Nowadays you don’t need to travel to a classroom to learn; you can access trainings and workshops online. We updated our Peak Producer training program to allow our clients to take it anywhere they are, even if they don’t live near where a class is being facilitated. There’s truly no reason to not keep your skills sharp.
When you master the fundamentals, you’re able to provide clients the highest level of service you can offer, which makes them, in turn, want to refer you to their friends and family. Brush up on your fundamentals and you’re sure to thrive in real estate today and in the years to come.
For more information, visit www.buffiniandcompany.com.
