Being a successful realtor can be incredibly rewarding.
But to get there requires hard work, skill, and diligence. If you’re a realtor, you’ll know the challenges all too well. Essentially, you’re running your own small business – which means you need planning, structure, and consistency to ensure growth and success.
A virtual assistant for realtors could just be the one resource that will save you time, drive profitable sales – and radically reduce your stress levels. And those are just some of
the advantages of outsourcing key tasks.
The Importance of a Sales Funnel for Realtors
Whether you’re a rookie or a seasoned realtor, one thing remains the same: you need leads.
Now, you could take the shotgun approach – just put your name up everywhere – and hope something happens. Or you could design and refine a highly effective sales funnel.
In principle, that sounds easy enough. But the reality is that creating a well-defined sales funnel isn’t a once-off event. It requires constant maintenance, fine tuning, and monitoring. And this can be incredibly challenging. In fact, a recent Real Estate Marketing Strategy Survey Report by Placester shows that realtors share some all-too-common pain points:
A glance at the graphic shows you that persistent failure to implement marketing plans is the biggest issue, followed by chronic lack of time – and these are directly related.
Consistency is Key
For any marketing and sales funnel to work, it needs to be sustainable. A pause in marketing now means a pause in sales (and earnings!) a couple months down the line. That’s something no realtor can afford. But juggling prospecting, marketing, sales, endless admin, and follow-ups can be daunting.
Take a moment, though, to imagine what it would be like if you had someone else to handle those administrative tasks and ensure marketing consistency for you while freeing up your precious time.
Setting Up a Solid Marketing Plan
Having a prospecting plan and a sales process is an absolute priority. To start, there are 3 things you could (and should) be doing right away:
- Create a real estate marketing calendar. Plan out your key prospecting activities in advance, and make them part of your routine. Without a calendar-based plan, it becomes too easy to “skip a day” or fall behind. Be sure to include activities like follow-up calls, Facebook posts or ads, mailers to your client email marketing database, and even creating content like blog posts or how-to-guides for clients.
- Schedule your marketing activities. Allocate time to do these tasks as part of your schedule. Set aside time daily or weekly to prospect – and focus only on that. You could use the technique of daily task batching to optimize your available time.
- Develop consistency. The key to long-term success lies in repeating the most productive activities and building on them. Very often, it’s that repeated, dedicated exposure that steers prospects – and sales – your way.
In a very real way, you’re the brand. You’re the face of your business, and that means you’re the point of contact. (A virtual assistant can fulfill this role for you, too.)
10 Powerful Steps to a Thriving Real Estate Business
An SOP checklist also provides you with a practical way to measure performance. Not only can you check the process, but you can ensure that the results are consistent. If you have several employees performing the same task, you’re also able to standardize operations much more easily.
Revisit and Cultivate Past Clients
Think about it. 90% of homeowners in the US are willing to use the same realtor the next time they want to sell or buy a house. So, keep those channels open. Be that person they think of.
Pick Up Leads Online, Where Your Clients Are
In the Real Estate in a Digital Age report by the National Association of Realtors, social media is incredibly powerful. It accounts for 47% of quality leads, compared to 32% on the MLS site and 29% on a realtor’s own website.
Remember, virtually every buyer looks online first, and they ask friends in social media groups for advice. Guess where you should be hanging out?
Follow Up on Every Lead – and Keep Following Up
There’s an old cliché that says: “Every ‘no’ is one step closer to a ‘yes’”. And it happens to be true. In fact, statistics demonstrate that on your first call, you have a roughly 50% chance of landing a sale. But by the time you get to your 6th call (yes, six!), your odds of landing a sale rocket to an astounding 93%!
By not following up, you’re leaving money on the table. Be prepared to develop a thick skin – and keep on asking.
Consider Content Marketing
Buyers (and prospective buyers) always look for useful content online. They want practical, interesting, or emotionally engaging content. And by offering it to them, you’re ahead of the pack. Consider creating:
- How-to videos or articles
- Blog posts or short articles that address frequently asked questions
- Branded memes or entertainment posts
- Tips for home buyers or homeowners
Reach Out to Local Businesses
Take a look at local businesses that might be hiring employees from out of state (or out of city). Those employees need somewhere to live, and developing a trustworthy relationship with companies willing to recommend you can pay handsome dividends.
Know Your Area Better Than Anybody
Keep your finger on the pulse of your area and community. What are the statistics around home sales? Are people currently experiencing a seller’s market or not? What are price averages? What factors most influence the asking price for a property in your area?
By being able to answer questions like these, you position yourself as a trusted expert – and people will want to deal with you.
Focus on That First Appointment
Inbound inquiries are great. So are social media likes. But they don’t pay your bills. They’re just a stepping stone to the most vital activity: getting that first appointment. If you make a decent first impression, face to face, your odds of closing just went up exponentially.
In fact, the number of landed appointments is actually one the most important KPIs for real estate.
Become a Pillar of Your Community
Don’t just develop professional business networks. Also focus on growing your social networks. Become known as someone who genuinely cares about the local community and whom people can trust.
Ask for Referrals
This final point can’t be overstated. Word of mouth is incredibly effective – and every referral is worth its weight in gold!
Leverage Your Real Estate Business
As you can see, maintaining a solid prospecting, marketing and sales funnel requires time and energy – but it’s worth it.
And the best way to free up time… is to get some professional assistance.
Book a discovery call today and discover just how a virtual assistant for realtors can help you level up your real estate business – at a fee you can afford.
