Sound too good to be true?
It’s not. There is a huge shift in consumer behaviour underway, impacting the way we buy and sell everything.
Innovate or die, and death isn’t an option.
This is a huge opportunity for you.
If you’re reading this site, chances are that you’re the type that will be attracting business away from agents who just don’t get it. The few who step up will dominate their market.
There are many of us who are generating significant amounts of business online. Just look at Daniel, Mariana, Jonathan, Teresa, me, Ines, Jay, Kris, Bill, etc. (and please don’t be offended if I left you off, this list is far from exhaustive, and isn’t meant to be)
Two of my good friends are just starting out in real estate this month. They’ve asked me what I would do if I was a new agent; I want to share my advice with you.
First, let me tell you that you should take my advice with two grains of salt. If you’re doing the opposite of what I say, and it’s working for you, go for it. Read what other people say (the authors here at AG are a great resource to draw on) and make up your own mind. This is just what works for me, and it’s working really well.
Print ads suck. Content is king
Concentrate on writing great stuff, making videos that people want to watch and send to their friends, and leaving insightful comments on sites relevant to your area and niche. This isn’t rocket science, but many people want a shortcut.
Work hard. Harder than you are now
Speaking of shortcuts, I’ve never met one I liked. If you’re lucky enough to find one, don’t take it. Work hard. Learn the lessons. To quote Gary Vaynerchuk, control your hustle.
Don’t play Mario Kart on your WiiFit or PS4 or whatever it is grown adults are spending all night on.
Instead, write. Read and outside of your space; biographies, biz books, philosophy etc. Stretch your mind.
Darin Parsinger and I have been talking on twitter recently about what a productive morning could look like, for a Realtor who was really working hard and getting their media groove on (you say social media, I say media).
I said: 2 hours writing, making videos and podcasts. 2 hours contacting clients and customers, preferably face to face or on the phone.
Darin today tweeted “I’m tweaking that formula. 1-2-1. 1 hour create content. 2 hours phone. 1 face to face meeting a day.”
Personally, I think we need to have more than 1 meeting per day, but you get the idea. Spend a solid 3 or 4 hour chunk of time developing and generating business. Every day. Then do it some more.
Spend time every single day listening on twitter using the local search features (search “home near:Waterloo” or “apartment near:90210”). Outwork everyone.
Be everywhere
I had coffee with a buddy of mine who is also an agent in Kitchener (hey Kevin!) who started video blogs last year. He’s making great content, and I suggested that he also have a blog, and write articles about his niche, in addition to the videos.
It’s cool to be found on youtube, but it’s cooler to be found on youtube, hubspot, linkdin, myspace, squidoo, twitter, facebook, 5 or 6 niche blogs, flickr, gowala, kabudo, mazungo… you get the point.
Be easy to find. (the new school version of Don’t be a secret agent)
Rome wasn’t built in a day…
…and neither was my blog. I started writing when I got my license at the very end of 2005. I didn’t start getting leads right away, but I kept creating content.
Patience is an underrated virtue, and it is often the difference between good and wildly successful. Have the patience to wait for your efforts to be ready.
My mentor Jim Rohn talked about the farmer who plants in the spring; you won’t harvest in the summer, no matter how much you want to. Most people give up in the heat of the summer, with all the mosquitos and the sunburns. They never make it to harvest; they quit, even though it’s just a little bit further.
Basically, that’s it. Create content, put it all over, work really hard, and be tenacious. Check out the video for some additional thoughts.
(photo credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/faisalsaeed/212339449/)
