Section 1:How to Stay Competitive In Any Market Cycle

While this is one of the most challenging times ever in the real estate industry, with lawsuits, low inventory, high mortgage rates and more, it is still working hard and staying on top of all developments that will carry the day for true professionals.

In a wide-ranging discussion, moderator Anthony Lamacchia, broker/owner and CEO of Lamacchia Companies, was joined by Darice Eppinger, a REALTOR® with Keller Williams Tri County, and Chris Sears, president and CEO of JPAR® – Real Estate, Texas. Main points made included: 

• The importance of staying informed about the market. Panelists emphasized the need to stay updated on market trends, statistics and local neighborhood nuances. This helps them make informed recommendations to their clients. 
• Taking ownership of your business. The discussion also focused on the importance of viewing real estate as a business and taking responsibility for its success. Panelists encouraged agents to focus on serving the consumer well and building their own brand. 
• Daily discipline and staying on offense. The need for daily care, discipline and staying proactive in the business was emphasized, while the importance of bringing energy, engaging talent and owning the results in order to thrive in any market was highlighted. 
• Building relationships and staying in touch with clients. Panelists discussed the importance of staying in touch with clients and creating conversations. They mentioned strategies such as sending housing information, checking in with clients and even bringing gifts during the holidays. 
• The role of brokerage owners in supporting agents. The importance of brokerages providing agents with the tools, technology, training and support they need to succeed was stressed, along with highlighting the need for brokerages to be the agent’s partner in serving the consumer. Overall, the panel focused on the strategies and mindset needed to stay competitive in a changing market cycle and to provide excellent service to clients.

Eppinger amplified how she stays informed with what’s happening.

“I read the trades and keep in touch with all the statistics that are sent to me by my local MLS,” she said. “And I certainly keep in touch with what’s happening very locally in neighborhoods around me because depending on specific nuances of each of those neighborhoods, it really depends on if that market is still shifting or if we’re still seeing the kind of inventory and overbidding that we had in 2020, 2021 and 2022.”

Lamacchia, while moderating, also provided his expertise on various topics, including this one.

“We have our MLS reports and break them down even further,” he said. “When the market’s flying, it’s easy to get lazy about looking at those things. But as soon as there’s a market change, you start asking, what’s going on?”

Working for themselves was another topic that was discussed in depth. 

“That’s part of what attracts people into real estate, but it’s also part of what screws them up once they’re here because they’re not consistent with their actions, they’re not consistent with their tasks,” said Lamacchia. “What are some of the things that you’re doing to stay disciplined, to stay on track?”

“You step into being your own everything,” said Eppinger. “I’m the marketer. I’m the planner. I’m the community person. I’m the social media person. I’m the financial person. I have definitely made errors along the way. And earlier this year I switched brokerages to one I felt best supported me in that regard. I think it’s really important that the agent knows how to be the agent owner and develop a business they love and can have and grow as they see fit. But the truth is, you have to focus on continuing to get your messaging on who you serve, why you’re serving them, and what’s taking place in that market.”

Sears stressed the importance of each agent taking ownership of their career, regardless of whether they work for brokerages.

“What this business is about is serving the consumer well, and the agent is at the forefront of doing that,” he said. “If an agent comes into a service business thinking that they’re working for a brokerage, or working for somebody else other than themselves, they tend to slough off responsibility. It’s a part of human nature. So taking ownership of your business and your branding as an agent to serve the consumer well and build a whole brand around that is really what you should be focused on in any market. 

“And if you do the fundamentals every single day, then the market doesn’t matter as much because you’re focused on serving your targets. And no matter what the market is doing, there are people who are buying and selling real estate. There are people who need a place to live; that’s not changing. There are three things an agent needs to focus on day by day. Number one, you need to bring the energy. Number two, engaging your talent in directing all of your resources toward finding and then serving the consumer. And number three, just own the results. Make sure you’re hitting your targets, contacts, leads and appointments every single day. Then you’ll be insulated from the big shifts that happen in the marketplace.”

Lamacchia asked about some of the things panelists were doing to stay in touch with people. Eppinger noted her specific strategies.

“I’m doing a monthly newsletter with probably a 45% open rate,” she said. “I invite people to a community event, and do a lot of networking. I do email campaigns, but also like to press the flesh. I’m extroverted, so I really like to get into a large room and go around and shake hands. And because I’ve been doing that consistently for many years, I have a nice referral base. And I continue to do things through my local Chamber of Commerce and women networking groups in the area.”

Turning to Sears, Lamacchia asked about the top one, two or three things he sees most successful agents doing.

“It’s a mix,” he replied. “So you have your target audience, and your targets are the people in your database, the people you’re trying to connect with, the people you’re trying to touch. And then you have your channels, the channels of communication, and you’ve got to have multiple channels and touch them. Then you have text, video and every different social media platform. 

“It’s ridiculous how many platforms there are. But it’s about connection. The people who are doing it well are picking three or four channels of communication and targets. Mastery of those targets and channels is imperative. They say 10,000 hours of delivery practice develops mastery in any given subject.”

Lamacchia agreed wholeheartedly.

“Consistency, consistency, consistency,” he said. “That’s the hard part that some agents struggle with. I can think of probably five of our top 30 agents whose businesses didn’t go down in 2023, and all admitted that they had to work harder, had to make more contacts, get in touch with more people and so on. We recognize that recruiting is even more important now. Acquisitions are more important. Well, the same thing for agents. 

“Agents don’t have everybody calling and saying, ‘I want to sell my home and buy a bigger one.’ So you have to make up for that. You have to talk to more people. Two to three years ago, you talked to 10 leads. If you did a good job, you could probably sell five of them homes. To sell five homes today, you probably have to talk to 30 people. A few years from now, that number will come back down again. It’ll get easier again, because it’s impossible for the market to stay slow forever.”

But now, when times are challenging, it takes mental toughness to win, as Sears explained.

“Consistency is key, but ask yourself this question: Am I committed, or am I just interested? If you’re just interested, then when the going gets tough, or you don’t feel like it, you’ll slack off and won’t do the things it takes to build a thriving business. If you’re committed to building a thriving business, then dig deep on those times where you need to dig deep, where you need to get yourself motivated and focused on contacts, leads and appointments. 

“Be committed to building yourself as a brand and building me a book of business. That’s number one, end of story. That’s how it’s going to go day by day, one day at a time. All you need to focus on is one day at a time. Don’t be the person who made a resolution and is backing out of it.”