“Focus On Building A Business That’s Always Flowing Not Stopping & Starting”
THE ENDING FIRST - THE ULTIMATE GOAL: HAPPY PAST CLIENTS
Are you treating your real estate agency as a business, rather than a transactional hobby? Be intentional and set a "North Star" goal of happy past clients. You should want to create "raving fans" - incredibly happy people who you have served in the course of carrying out your real estate agency's business. Start with that end goal in mind!
IDEAL CUSTOMER - DEFINE THEM CLEARLY
If raw materials aren't coming in at one end of your assembly line, there's nothing to manufacture at the output end of the business, right? You want to treat your real estate business as a manufacturing plant, in which you manufacture relationships. With that in mind, what is your "raw material?" It's that ideal customer! Who is that ideal contact, sometimes referred to as an avatar in the real estate industry? There's nothing wrong with building relationships with the types of people you like. If you start with a clear avatar in mind, your marketing becomes much easier.
STOP HOARDING - LEADS VS. PROSPECTS & RELATIONSHIPS
If you don't define your ideal customer in the beginning, you will inevitably end up hoarding leads. If your CRM is loaded with leads going nowhere, then you know exactly what this means! If you stop hoarding, you'll start looking at leads who are ideal customers and therefore, most likely to become prospects who you can build a relationship with. Prospects are people who give your business what it desperately needs to keep the flow going, which is a steady stream of relationships that are building. Compare that to a list of leads in a piece of software -- and it becomes priceless!
WARNING - THE TRANSACTIONAL TRAP
Chasing and hoarding leads can sometimes generate short-term profits, but that is setting your real estate business up for failure. What happens if a recession hits and you suddenly find the tail wagging the dog? This is the main reason why you want to set up a business that flows and continues going strong, regardless of external circumstances such as a recession.