The other day I was visiting an open house when I ran into a REALTOR® friend of mine. We started talking about “the market” when I discovered something amazing about this agent…
During our conversation he said this was the 4th time he had listed this $425,000 home.
He said he first took the listing about 10 years ago. Three years later, when it went up for sale, he took the listing again. And again…in another 2 years when the owner was transferred in his job.
And now… 5 years later… he’s got the listing in his pocket once again.
Let’s see… if my calculations are correct, that’s between $45,000 and $60,000 this agent has made from this ONE home if all his transactions involve a co-broker (one of them he got both sides).
Now, HOLD-ON for just a second…
Did you catch a special “secret” about my agent-friend? Did you notice something about this agent that could multiply your production almost overnight?
Of course, getting the listing 4 times over is noteworthy. And making $45,000 to $60,000 from one home is amazing (by the way, more than 82% of his production comes from referrals, word of mouth and repeat business).
But that’s not the “thing” I want you to focus on. See, the ONE “thing” you should have asked yourself is…
“How did he continue to get those listings time and
time again when he didn’t know the new buyers?”
When I asked him that question, he laughed and said…
“Yea, I know it’s funny. Even though I didn’t know the buyers from Adam I still got the listing again because their agent neglected them and I didn’t.”
“Their agent NEGLECTED them and I didn’t!”… does that tell you something?
Look at these statistics disclosed by the National Association of REALTORS® “Profile of Buyers and Sellers” and other reputable reports…
SHOCKING FACT #1: Approximately 74% of ALL clients select their agent because 1) they had an existing relationship with the agent (not just “knew of” the agent, but a true relationship), or 2) they were referred to the agent from a trusted and influential source.
Think about that. Nearly ¾ of all clients are found…
Not from cold prospecting, floor time, or pestering people…
Not from a fancy web site, blogging or “social marketing”…
Not from a listing sign or open house…
Not from some newspaper or magazine advertisement…
Not from any of those things…
Yet…only 4 percent of all agents have any type of “system” in their practice to build such a deep connection with prospects and clients, they’re the automatic choice for real estate services. Meaning that…
4% of Agents Snare 74% of the Market… While
Everyone Else Haggles Over Their Scraps
Pardon my bluntness… but which group are YOU in?
SHOCKING FACT #2: 66% of Buyers and 68% of Sellers report working with the very first agent they encounter.
Yet less than 4% of all agents have a “system” in place to beat other agents and be the first to capture the client… meaning that, once again, the top 4% “smart” agents capture the lion’s share of the market.
The rest fall by the wayside or struggle and strain using manual prospecting and settling for table scraps.
SHOCKING FACT #3: More than 71 percent of buyers and sellers report they would use the same agent again. Yet less than 11 percent ACTUALLY DO!
The vast majority of repeat business goes to another agent for one simple reason: The original agent did nothing to stay in contact, deepen the relationship, create on-going value, and become the automatic and natural choice for real estate services.
The question you need to ask yourself is…
Aren’t you tired of being at the bottom of the food chain… having to struggle and strain and destroy your personal life, subjecting yourself to economic downturns and interest rate hiccups, settling for the “scraps” of the market… while other agents with less talent, less knowledge and less skill sweep-away clients right out from under your nose?
See… what my agent-friend realized is this:
The single greatest reason why someone will do business with you is because they either KNOW you personally, KNOW OF you in a very positive light, or LEARN ABOUT YOU from a reliable and trusting source (a referral).
It’s all about RELATIONSHIP.
It’s all about building trust… bringing on-going value… demonstrating your competence…and being the stand-out professional people can rely on when they need real estate services.
Think about your own personal relationships…
You don’t fall in love by “dating every 3 or 6 months.” You don’t meet your soul mate and at the end of a magical evening say, “Hey, how bout I call you in 3 months?!”
You don’t stay best of friends with someone by sending them a calendar at the end of the year or a recipe card every 3 months…
So Why Do You Think This Works
In Your Real Estate Practice?
Have you gotten the first “secret?”
It’s shockingly simple, yet only 4% of agents have figured it out and do anything about it!
Now you know why 4% of agents get all the listings and buyers (before other agents know they exist), while the remaining 96% of agents settle for leftovers.
They simply own the market share – they own the RELATIONSHIP.
The good news is you don’t need to be wallowing with the 96% of “masses of mediocrity.” You don’t need to be a victim of ignorance.
You can begin right now… today… and start claiming your just share of the real estate market.
There’s no better way to differentiate yourself over every other agent than to have a deep, nurturing relationship with your prospects and clients.
In fact, this secret became the foundation of how our “Service For Life!® Direct-response Prospecting and Referral Marketing System all got started.
See, we realized… first and foremost… the “secret” to success is to build a deep “relationship” with people in your business: your “house list”, past clients, strategic farm areas, lead pipeline, friends, family and acquaintances… with regular, value-oriented, personal contact.
Then we engineered a special marketing tool with 7 “psychological hooks,” 2 “involvement devices” and 14 “direct response offers” that intentionally involves the reader…connects with them on a deep, personal level… and gives them specific, meaningful reasons to call you or refer your services to others.
It’s like having your own private, personal sales force working on your behalf to automatically bring you new clients, referrals and repeat business.
But remember… this is NOT just about “making contact” with your sphere of influence (I call your “house list”).
It’s NOT about keeping “top of mind” with people like some “newsletter mills” proclaim (fast-food restaurants have programmed my kids to be constantly “top of mind”… but that doesn’t mean I eat there!)…
This Is About a Whole Lot More…
Relationship happens when you provide clearly superior service to people. It happens when you never forget your clients, farm areas, hot leads, friends, family. It happens when you drop the professional snobby posturing, and get personal and human.
It happens when you bond with them by bringing welcomed, value-oriented contact.
It happens when you recognize and appreciate them on a regular basis – and set-up a dynamic for them to reciprocate to you in the form of on-going referrals, word of mouth and repeat business.
It happens when you demonstrate you are a true professional, competent in your skills and with their best interests at heart.
And it translates into cold cash when you specifically show them all the ways in which you can help solve their problems and deliver unique benefits when buying and selling – and give them irresistible reasons to contact you.
Makes sense, doesn’t it?
This “strategy” is not based on a whim… or conjecture… but based on pure fact and a mountain of proof. The question you need to ask yourself is…
Are you willing to start profiting from this strategy?
If so, I will share all the details of how you can use this very strategy in your own business over the next few weeks. I’ll lay it out… step by step in a series of simple articles… so that a child could do it.
The only thing I need from you is a decision and a commitment.
Which brings me to…
Today’s Action Plan:
Nothing happens without action.
You can talk about growing your business… you can talk about a better life… but it’s all wishful thinking unless you’re willing and committed to take concrete action to make it all come about (gosh, I sound like a stern school teacher, don’t I?).
Are you ready to get in the game and have some fun?
If so, I’d be happy to be your personal “Virtual-coach.” With each Article I’ll give you a few “action tips” to put each step of this strategy to work in your practice.
They won’t be difficult. In fact they’ll be fun – certainly lots better than the rejection and humiliation of cold prospecting or dealing with strangers who wish you would go away (and you’ve probably had your fair share of those, I’m sure!).
Today your action plan is to make a decision. Please don’t take this lightly, because this decision will change the course of your life forever.
I want you to decide that you’re truly committed to learning a new and better way to practice real estate… to believe in the marketing.
I want you to start thinking about your business as a “relationship ” business rather than a “single-transaction” sales business (no, you don’t need to become a social butterfly).
I want you to STOP neglecting your clients, leads, friends, family, acquaintances and farm areas – and COMMIT to a relationship-building connection with them.
Commit to this for now… and we’re on our way.
Coming Up Next…
In my next article, you’re going to discover what the top agents in your market hope you never learn – it’s Three Profit-Making Distinctions that can propel your business to non-stop profits for as long as you practice real estate.
So keep an eye-out for my email announcement coming in just a few days.