Looking to grow your business while also snagging some more free time for yourself? You’re not alone. The latest in our ACE Webinar Series focused on enhancing success and growing your business while saving time and energy.
Sponsored by Homes.com, the webinar featured Joe Sesso, National Speaker and Director of National Sales for Homes.com; Verl Workman, real estate speaker and trainer; Cleve Gaddis, a top-producing real estate agent in Georgia; and Mark Boyland of Keller Williams, The Mark Boyland team. Together, this group of industry pros discussed how brokers and agents can expand their business and reach the right audience, at the right time, all while scoring more free time to spend with their friends and family.
“Leads contacted in the first five minutes are 100 percent more likely to convert,” says Sesso. But this can be hard to do when you’re already out hustling in the field, or spending some much-needed down time with your family. Sesso’s top advice for lead follow-up is to find a system that can do it for you. Homes.com can help you manage your leads, says Sesso, doing the legwork by both calling and qualifying your potentials.
Gaddis’ top tip for agents and brokers trying to garner success without breaking their backs? Think like you’re a couple steps ahead. Imagine yourself succeeding in the future, put in the work to get there, and you’re sure to succeed. “If you sell 20 houses a year, and you see an agent in your office selling 100 a year, I can assure you that the agent who sells 100 looks at the world differently than the agent who sells 20,” says Gaddis. “I’m not saying they work any harder. What you have to do is think like someone who is more successful, and if you do the things they do, I am telling you the success will follow.”
“There’s something to be said for having the swagger of success,” says Workman. This is an extension of the fake it ’til you make it mindset.
So how can you do this?
Think ahead. Success in real estate means doing the activities that need to be done to generate the results you want, explains Gaddis. Put activities into place today that can help you next month and beyond.
Set up systems. “In order to do business on a much larger level, you have to have systems for pretty much everything,” says Gaddis. “Handling incoming phone calls, following up with leads, filing paper work, and more—all these tasks should have a system of support set up so you as a real estate professional can succeed”
Outsource. “Find people who are better than me to do the things I do,” says Gaddis. “It’s all about leverage, finding the right person and the right program to help.” According to Gaddis, this is specifically important on the listing side of the business. Let others do some of the hustle for you, freeing up your time to focus your energy on other components of the business. A system like ACE can help you distribute branded content and reach your audience without gobbling up all of your precious time.
Work smarter, not harder. In the real estate industry, this phrase gets thrown around a lot. But how can you make it happen? Cultivate the right team with defined roles and shared responsibilities. “A lot of people start out and hire an assistant or buyer specialist and it doesn’t work out so they decide not to do that again. It takes time to hire the right people,” says Boyland, who has been in real estate for over 20 years. “Leverage is very important, whether you leverage yourself through people or systems—it’s really the only way to grow your business.” The right team can work like a well-oiled machine, so you can dedicate your time to the tasks you excel at.
View the webinar in full below:
Zoe Eisenberg is RISMedia’s senior content editor. Email her your real estate news ideas at zoe@rismedia.com.
This was originally published on RISMedia’s blog, Housecall. Visit the blog daily for housing and real estate tips and trends. Like Housecall on Facebook and follow @HousecallBlog on Twitter.
