6 Practical Tips for Real Estate Agents in Trying Times
If – like many of us – you’re feeling fearful in 2023, I want to discuss some things you can do to change your mindset and regain some optimism about what is coming next.
First and foremost, I do believe the economy is going to cycle back toward our side as we approach spring 2024. Now, I don’t think we’re going to suddenly become a huge windfall market like we saw two or three years ago. However, I believe the market shift is going to be a steady one and become one that’s filled with opportunities again.
Some realtors are feeling lost – and it’s okay to feel lost sometimes. I want to provide some tips you can use to stay focused and positive during turbulent times.
Whenever I’m feeling under the gun, like everything isn’t going the way I’d ideally like it to, or I’m stuck in a doom cycle wondering and lamenting about when I’m going to start winning again, I try to look back and think about or find people who I respect. I think about books I have read and other resources that have helped me get through tougher times before.
- Focus On The Value You Provide (That Other Realtors Don’t)
One of the resources I continually go back to is called The Scary Times Success Manual by Dan Sullivan from Strategic Coach. You can get a free download of this if you search the title in Google. However, Dan brings up some tremendous points in the essay he wrote, and I’d like to discuss those with you.
First, the most important thing we can do, which I think is something every new professional does, is to forget about ourselves. At least, as much as we can. I get it: That can be very tough to do sometimes, especially when you’re worried about the next mortgage payment, and so forth. Even so, you have to try to forget about yourself as best you can and figure out how to shift that focus onto other people – your clients.
Think about how you can provide value other realtors are not providing.
In your experience, what does that look like? Is it as simple as letting your clients know you’re there for them and continually finding ways to let them know you care? Maybe you only need to tell your clients about how you see the market and how you think everything is going to play out to assuage any fears or uncertainties they may have.
- Embrace the Year-End “Gratitude Season”
This is September, so we’re in what I like to call “the gratitude season.” For me, this is the time when I feel we’re supposed to be out there thanking all of our past and current clients for the help and support they’ve given us over the years.
Right now, one opportunity is to embrace that focus on others. There are a million reasons to give yourself an excuse to make a phone call or interact with people. You’ve got Halloween coming up, and Thanksgiving is right around the corner.
We’re about to celebrate numerous other holidays in December, and we’re approaching a new year! There are plenty of reasons to reach out and thank someone and take advantage of the gratitude inherent in this time of year when so many people are already looking back at the bigger picture of their years.
The most important thing right now is to focus on other people – and now is the easiest time to do it without feeling self-conscious. Focus on the client relationships and other professional relationships you’ve cultivated and say, “I appreciate you.” Say, “Thank you.” I promise people will appreciate the effort.
Here’s another way you might consider practicing gratitude.
For example, if you’ve been working with investors or somebody who’s done multiple transactions with you, embrace this time and ask them out for a coffee or lunch. When you meet up, take the time to dial in that focus and simply ask them, “How are you feeling right now? What are you seeing in the market?” If you’re meeting up with an investor, ask them, “What are you facing?” You can also ask some other simple questions such as, “What are the dangers you sense right now?” “Is there anything you feel is bothering you or keeping you up at night?”
You’re going to learn a lot from those lines of questioning. Take the time to think about the areas where other people are struggling – but also focus on identifying opportunities they see in the market right now as well.
Trust me, there are still opportunities in the market, especially for investors who have cash and don’t need to go to a bank. Ask them about what got them here and what they consider their strengths to be – and just listen. You may also have some ideas about where you think their strengths are, and this is the time for you to express those, too.
If your client’s in a tough place right now – just like you are – your role is to help them feel great about the future as best as you can.
So, how do you highlight these strengths? How do you minimize the dangers they see by helping them leverage their opportunities and regain some semblance of self-confidence about their strengths? If you can do that, then you are on track to become one of the best professional consultants and advisors you could be for a client.
Sometimes it’s hard to put yourself out there to make that call and ask someone out for coffee or lunch to just talk – but I think you’ll be surprised how many people will take you up on the offer and be downright thrilled about the fact you’re taking a personal interest in their needs and concerns.
- Forget About Your Commodity
Hear me out: When you’re focusing on other people, I want you to forget about the real estate element specifically. I’m unsure how many people care about how many houses sold even in their neighborhood this week because they’re out on the market. Again, to be successful, everything has to come back to focusing on your relationships. When you call to sit down with a client and have a heart-to-heart conversation about what’s going on in their business, what they’re feeling, and so forth, you’ve just set yourself apart from 99% of all the other realtors in town.
The fact is Zillow, and everything else, treats realtors like a commodity. So much of the public believes realtors are interchangeable and one is as good as the next. When you make a concerted effort to sit down and have a heart-to-heart chat with somebody and treat them like someone worthy of your time, you differentiate yourself in the market.
If you’re lucky enough to be working with somebody who is planning to buy a house right now, forget about the sale. I don’t know how many offers you’re going to have to go through. I don’t know how many inspections you’re going to have to conduct.
If you’re working with a seller, how many sales are going to fall through? Forget about the sale, forget about the commission. Do a proper check-in with that client and focus on guiding them through the process.
Even when times are hard, you must try to forget about what we “lost” – not that we ever had it before. We have to focus on the opportunities. Your number one opportunity right now is to take advantage of the gratitude season by committing to connecting with every single person in your database between now and the end of the year.
- Make A List (And Yes, Check it Twice)
After you start talking to people intentionally over the next few weeks, write down the names of anybody who gives you any indication that they want to do something next year. This list should also include people who may have a family member or a friend who wants to do something next year.
I used to make a list around Christmas time. Invariably, I’d have approximately a dozen names of people who I fully expected to do something in the first four months of the next year. From there, I would post this finalized list on my bulletin board and make sure to follow those people regularly. By doing this, I would probably sell eight or nine of them before May rolled around.
You have to forget about your losses and focus on your opportunities.
We all know what the difficulties are, right? If you’re in a situation where you have to go out and get a part-time job for Christmas, go out and get a part-time job for Christmas. Take the stress off your plate.
We’ve had many realtors in Columbus who didn’t quite get what they expected. Maybe they were on a team and the leads started to dry up; as a result, many of them have had to come back and get part-time jobs or do whatever they have to do to make ends meet. Always do what you have to do to protect yourself. I fully respect that approach.
However, as best as you can, continue to look for the future, look for something better, focus on your progress, and focus on what’s possible.
- Forget About the Past and Concentrate on Today
Another tip, which is sort of contrary to me always talking about needing to have a bigger future than your past – but that’s not really where we need to be right now. Now is the time to forget about the future and focus on today.
To be a professional in today’s market, you must focus on the person who is sitting right in front of you and how you can help them today. What’s in it for that person has nothing to do with what’s in it for us. If you had a hell of a year in 2019 and 2020, and you don’t know how that’s going to come back, here’s a hard truth: Maybe it won’t.
You’ve got to put that behind you; it’s the past. You have to forget about who you were and, instead, pivot your focus toward being the best professional you can be right now. It’s easy to get sucked up in events, especially with the Presidential election coming up and the state of the economy, and the like. Again, we can all cry and complain – and I do it as well. At the end of the day, the only thing we can control is how we respond to challenges and difficulties that are presented to us.
I still believe – and I always will believe – that our ability to take a challenge and turn it into an opportunity is something available to all of us if we just keep an open mind and focus on what’s possible. So forget about the events that are happening and focus on your responses. Forget about what’s missing and focus on what’s right in front of you.
Do the best you can over the next three months to focus, forget about your complaints, and where you feel losses where you feel that you were entitled to wins. Shift your focus toward gratitude and what you can do to help other people get through these scary times.
- Now is the Time to Invest In Yourself
Now is the time to make investments in yourself that your competition is scared to make. Are there classes you’re interested in taking in areas you want to learn more about? I guarantee there are plenty of areas that could benefit your business.
For instance, maybe you want to learn more about marketing, graphic design, commercial real estate, or finance. You may want to learn how to get better at Loop or Real Geeks. It might be beneficial to learn how to maximize the leads you have coming in, and how to be an expert at something you care about.
Indeed, there is no better time to upskill than now. If you let the fact that you barely have an hour’s worth of work and you’ve got the whole day ahead of you for nothing to do, I encourage you to be proactive and fill in your spare time with anything that will help make you stronger and more attractive in the market for years to come.
Final Thoughts
As best you can, find the time to block out time. Pick two or three things you want to do to improve and enhance your practice between now and spring. Then, use the rest of your time to reinforce and strengthen your connections. Now is the time when it’s crucial to make contact with every single person in your database. If you do that, I guarantee you that it will pay dividends into 2024.
Realtors are their own business – and you have the freedom to conduct it as you choose. However, I encourage you to always be mindful of how you are Connecting, Practicing, Tracking, and Growing your business. Don’t be afraid to try new things and separate yourself from strategies that just aren’t working. As this market is ever-changing, you have to go with the flow and be prepared for changes to happen out of nowhere.
When you’re prepared to approach a competitive market – and dedicated to focusing on your practice – you’ll be able to cultivate the tools to give you that edge we all seek. You’re valuable. And, if you’re sticking it out in this business, you’re passionate about what you do. Or, at least, you were at some point.
Reconnect to your why and think about how you can continue to improve even when the market isn’t ideal. That’s how you keep winning.
