Does it count if I kissed a girl, and then she became a realtor? Over the years we have seen lots of husband & wife teams form. Many of them very successful. However, I have seen a little bit of an alarming trend. Many of these husband & wife teams are forced out of the business or one of them is forced into a more stable salaried position. What I do not understand is that although real estate agents get paid 100% on commission there are many ways to have a steady stream of income.
In order to ensure a steady stream of income we must first look at how we generate our business.
- Sphere of Influence: These are the most qualified leads we receive. They are referrals of people you know. If you increase the number of people in your sphere of influence then you will increase your business. This should be about 50% of your business.
- Cold Calling or Prospecting: Do you make phone calls to FSBOS or Expireds every morning? Are you Consistent with your Prospecting? I rarely Cold Called, and do most of my prospecting in forums like these or internet based such as updating my blogs or my websites. These leads however tend to be less qualified. It becomes a numbers game. The more of these leads the more business you will receive. This should be about 15% of your business.
- Walk ins or Up Calls: Many of us get very little of this becuase most of us do not work in an office setting. Many of us work from home. Although I still believe working in the office is better, many choose to work from home. These are the least qualified leads. Many are just looking kind of like the shopper who just says to the salesperson "I am just looking thank you" except they run you around for 10 days showing all kinds of properties before telling you that they are not ready to buy. This should be less then 5% of your business.
- Internet Leads: These are increasing everyday, and if you plan it right and have a clear marketing message over the internet you will be surprised at how qualified these leads can become. Many of these internet consumers do all the legwork for you before selecting an agent to work with. If you are lucky enough to get quite a few of these leads they will lead to a steady income stream.
Those are my 4 ways of stabilizing your career, and beginning to have a steady stream of income. I have made basically the same amount of money for the last 7 years besides 2005 in which i doubled my average, and last year where I was 50% higher then my average income for the last 7 years.
I start by coming up with a business plan. Not just a template business plan, but one that is specific to your market. This requires hours of research, but will be amazingly beneficial in the long run. You should take the amount of total transactions last year in your target or local market, and look at how many sides you had divide them, and you will get the percentage of market share you have. You must then look at your total expenses, and add 10% just in case. Now you have to set a goal of transaction I try and be very detailed. I look at doing 2 transaction sides a month with an average commission of $8,000. You must also spell out how you are going to increase your business.
- Are you going to spend more time prospecting and how will you prospect?
- Are you going to spend money for advertising, and where would those advertising dollars go?
- Are you going to be more efficient and manage your time? How are you going to manage your time?
- What else are you going to do to increase your income?
Remember you are a business, and you should treat it as such. Too many agents do not treat themselves seriously so why should their consumers? Once you change your attitude, and mindframe you will find it easier to do more effective business.
Get out there, and go kiss a realtor you might like it!!!
David Serle
Vice President/Managing Broker
RE/MAX Services
561-912-3500 Office
561-912-3502 Direct
561-756-3104 Mobile
