I remember the stock market in the 1990s.  It was the height of the dot.com craze.  Stocks were going wild.  There wasn't a bad stock to be had.  And all of the stock brokers looked like geniuses. 

These stock brokers couldn't sell you a bad stock.  Everything they recommended went up.  There were enough riches for everyone.  Then the dot.coms tanked.  The stock market took a nose dive.  And all of those geniuses were no longer that smart.  Most of them found new jobs because they really didn't understand the stock market or investing.  They didn't understand the natural progression of business or investing over time.  They had gotten lucky and their luck had run out.

The same thing is happening in the real estate industry today.  For the past few years real estate was selling like wild fire.  The minute you had a listing, you had a contract.  But now it has slowed down; it is taking a breather.  There is a lot of inventory on the market and it's not selling as fast as it should.  So what is a Realtor to do to survive in this new market.

The answer, get back to basics.  First realize that what has happened in the past few years is not normal.  It happened, lots of people made money off it, but that is over so let's move on.

Real estate is a business of realtionships.  The more people you know or meet, the better you will do.  So how do I meet people?  There are several ways.

1.  Farming.  As an agent you are invisible.  Your broker has an office and a listing in the Yellow Pages; you don't.  You need to get your name out there.  Start by sending out postcards to your community (farm). Tell them who you are.  Tell them what is going on in the community.  Show them that you are an expert, resource, they can rely on.

Be consistent.  Don't just do this once and give up.  Out of site... out of mind.  You should be doing a mailing at least once a month.  And keep hitting the same farm.  NAR statistic, it takes between 13 weeks and 3 years for a prospect to become an active customer.  You need to be in front these people all of the time so when they are ready to buy or sell you are the person they call.

2.  Networking.  Get out there and meet people.  Join an organization (chamber of commerce or charity) that has committees that perform functions in the community.  Become active. This is how you will meet people.  People respect others that are willing to give back to the community.

3.  Get your web site working.  NAR statistic, 85% of all buyers and sellers first do research on the internet before calling a Realtor.  90% use an agent.  75% use the first agent they talk to.

If you do not have a web site, you are invisible to these buyers.  Get your site working and make sure you enter Keywords for the search engines. This will get you leads and business.


Please call me if you have any questions about this or any other marketing goals that you might have.  We are here to make you a better Realtor.