4 Ways to Sow Seeds For Spring

As a broker, you know the drill. Business slows down during the Winter months, only to give way to a surge in business in the Spring. However, there are lots of things you can do during those slower months to ensure that your Spring season is the best it can be. If you want to secure a strong bottom line as the temperatures rise, you need to be deliberate in planning ahead to win their business now. Here are four ways that you can set yourself up for success in Q2.

1.Position Yourself As the Expert – Host Seminars.

Spring is a very popular time for first-time buyers and sellers to enter the market. However, they are going to be seeking information and expert advice before they pull the trigger. What better way to get in front of them early, position yourself as the industry expert and start building those personal connections than with seminars. Invite your sphere, your contacts and advertise these events to your local community. See if your mortgage partner is interested in co-hosting and sharing expenses. By setting yourselves up as the ones to help guide attendees through the daunting process of buying or selling, you’ll have a better chance of being the one they call when they are ready to make a move.

2.Get Personal.

It can be easy to fall into the trap of touching base with your database only when things are slow or during the holidays. For agents and brokers like yourself that are dedicated to more consistent production, it is imperative to avoid that misstep. Obviously, there are broad-based ways to get in front of your sphere like mass email, social media content and newsletters, but make sure you also make time to reach out one-on-one via phone or text to improve your results. And if those you contact aren’t in the market, perhaps they have a friend or family member they could refer to you who is, but you’ll never know unless you have those personal conversations.

3.Get Social.

Speaking of social media, there is no longer any question that it needs to be a vital portion of your real estate business. In fact, NAR reports that 47% of real estate businesses say social media results in the highest quality leads versus other sources. There is also no question that Facebook has become the biggest go-to platform for agents and brokers trying to be seen, heard, and remembered. However, don’t forget about other highly lucrative platforms like LinkedIn and Instagram, which are often ignored despite being valuable tools. The key to being successful is to build genuine connections and relationships in which you lead with value, rather than constantly advertise your services.

4. Appear in Their Mailbox.

Direct mail is a great ingredient to fold into your marketing mix. However, for it to be effective you need to do it consistently. During the pre-Spring market, consider sending out postcards with home readiness tips, recap the properties you listed and sold in the neighborhood or take advantage of key milestones, such as Daylight Savings. For your sphere and past clients, you may want to consider more personal forms of contact, like hand-written letters and cards thanking them for being a past customer and asking for referrals.

Consistency Is Essential

One theme that is relevant to each of these strategies is consistency. The experts at Weichert understand that regardless of what you choose, you must be dedicated to following through on a regular basis and utilize multiple touchpoints. You can’t just send one postcard or make one post on Facebook and expect tremendous results, but rather plan to maintain your efforts long term. This is especially true when it comes to the relationships that you are building because they will serve as the foundation for your overall success this Spring and beyond.

Getting the Tools

Hosting seminars, keeping up with your database, posting to social media and sending direct mail all requires having the materials to execute. At Weichert, we offer our affiliates support in all of these areas, from seminars in a box, complete with presentation decks, handouts and invitations to a powerful smart CRM for keeping up with your contacts, to social media content and support and libraries of direct mail postcards to farm. You can spend your time doing, instead of searching for these materials on your own or creating them yourself. If you could use these types of resources in your business, consider becoming a Weichert Franchise, where you’ll have access to all this and much more.

For more information about how to make this your best year ever in real estate, go to www.weichertfranchise.com.

Why Awards and Recognition Matter

A major part of your overall success as a real estate broker and the leader of your team is your ability to properly recognize the achievements of each member and provide ample praise. In fact, a study done by Harvard Business School reminds us that recognition is a fundamental human need and illuminates the benefits of properly implemented practices within the workplace. Yet, if you are new to the role of a broker or have yet to establish a system of rewards and recognition, this guide will help you better understand its value.

Loyalty

As you already know, establishing agent loyalty and retention is crucial to your schedule, bottom line, brand, and overall success. Many brokers feel that attracting truly loyal agents is deeply challenging. However, by regularly showing your agents that they are on the right track and that you are aware of their accomplishments, that challenge lessens. Each time that you outwardly recognize, praise, or award your agents for their accomplishments, you prove your respect for them and validate their work. Studies show that this directly results in an increase in productivity and personal loyalty. As an added bonus, this will serve to improve your individual relationship with each agent.

Motivation

With more and more agents entering the field every day, it isn’t hard for an agent to lose their way and lose the motivation they once had. It is your responsibility to help keep your agents from becoming deflated. One of the most effective methods for motivating anyone is to make them feel that the work they are doing is both important and valued. Just imagine how much more productive you would be as a broker if you had someone whom you respect telling you that you are doing all the right things, and that success is right around the corner.

If you look closely enough, you can always find something positive and real about the work people are doing. Extensive research draws a direct line between overall employee motivation and the genuine praise they receive from their boss.

Culture

Perhaps the most talked-about trend in recent years in the business world has been company culture and how to achieve a positive one that attracts the best talent. What better way to elevate the positive energy and overall feelings of teamwork than making sure everyone feels validated? Extensive research shows that people who have received the appropriate recognition from their leaders possess a greater sense of enthusiasm, which, let’s face it, is contagious. When you are positive and your culture is positive and your team feels valued and supported, then you have already done the hard work of making your culture productive and your brokerage the place to be. Now all you have to do is decorate!

Success Starts With Communication

Understanding the importance of presenting your agents with awards or praise is one thing, but actually doing so is something else. Once you recognize that a member of your team has hit a goal, reached a benchmark, or otherwise done something you want to encourage, you need to vocalize your appreciation. For small achievements, a private word can still mean a lot, but for bigger achievements, make it public. Team meetings and award presentations are an excellent way to do this at scale while also fostering a healthy sense of constructive competition.

Now is the perfect time to recognize your agents’ success in 2019. At Weichert, we have a structured awards and recognition program for our affiliates, with various levels of achievement. It includes coordinated regional award events where companies and their agents can get together and celebrate each other’s accomplishments. National awards are supplemented with regional awards. It’s something the agents (and broker/owners) look forward to and is great for retention.

Culture is one of the most important things in building a successful brokerage. It affects everything you are trying to do, from recruiting to retention, operational efficiency, to just plain making it fun to be part of the organization. A structured recognition program is one of the many benefits and resources Weichert provides its affiliates to help support that.

Looking for more ways to keep your team motivated, drive productivity, and instill loyalty among your agents? Make sure to bookmark the Weichert Franchising Blog where you can gain access to regular and actionable tips or contact us to learn how to become part of the Weichert Franchise Family.

Lighting A Fire: How to Keep Real Estate Agents Motivated

Real estate is both a rewarding and challenging profession. Associates are constantly learning and are highly knowledgeable about local community issues and the national economy. While every transaction is unique, helping people achieve their dream of home ownership is a gratifying experience that never gets old. The passion your agents have for the real estate industry is why many home buyers and sellers choose your company over your competitors. Just like a high-performance engine needs an occasional tune-up to continue performing at optimal level, your agents also need some regular coaching and encouragement from you to stay motivated and achieve the best results for your brokerage.

Get To Know Your Agents

As a successful broker, you probably have a team of agents with diverse personalities. While a pep talk during an office meeting may fuel the enthusiasm of some agents for weeks, others respond to a one-on-one conversation with you about their individual business plans and revenue-based goals. You or your manager should regularly schedule a time to meet with each of your agents personally to discuss their current clients and transactions that are in progress. This also provides the management team an opportunity to learn more about them and their lifestyle. Understanding your agents helps know how to best to motivate each one of them and lend your experience where needed on deals that are in progress.

Acknowledge Their Strengths and Accomplishments

Recognition is one of the most effective methods of motivating your team. Everyone wants to be appreciated and respected, especially younger, or new to the industry agents. These agents in particular will need encouragement as they experiences the normal initial disappointments and exceptional real estate agents, while gently coaching them toward best practices.  Make a big deal of their first sale, and let them know they have a safe, professional home within your brokerage.

setbacks of the selling process. Let them know you recognize that they have the potential to be

It is also important to let your experienced top producers know how much you appreciate them. Reliable agents who always do well can too easily be taken for granted. Allow them to mentor junior agents, as a sign of how much you respect their abilities.

Why Millennial Real Estate Agents Will Want to Work With Your Brokerage

 

Millennials are now the largest portion of our population which means more and more of them are becoming agents, as well as buying or selling real estate. This generation is also now recognized as the most profitable in history. What are Millennial agents looking for? It’s the three T’s: transparency, team, and technology. Read on to learn what it takes to become the go-to real estate brokerage for every aspiring millennial agent in your market.

Transparency

One thing that Millennials are experts at is identifying a company or business with a negative culture or questionable company values. In general, the vast majority of Gen Y wants to associate with companies that are completely open, honest, and transparent. The more you can demonstrate that you and your brokerage operate with transparency, the more appealing it will be to Gen Y. Start by clearly highlighting and visiting your mission statement, slogan, and company values on your website, inside your offices, and through your social media. It is also very important that you are open and honest about the state of your brokerage. Sharing the good, bad, and ugly, along with your plans for the future is a powerful way of instilling trust and attracting motivated Millennials that hope to both make a living and make a difference.

Team

Another very important priority for Millennials is the culture of your brokerage’s team. Unlike the Boomer generation, Millennials are far more likely to seek greener pastures quickly if the culture support model and management style of your brokerage is not to their liking. They seek to align themselves with people that have high integrity and a moral approach to business, who balance their strengths and weaknesses, and who support their individual goals. They also place a great deal of value in professional development. If you currently hold team meetings, consider inviting prospective agents to attend a few to see first-hand how you interact with your team, educate them, and support them. Show them how you foster collaboration, motivate through leadership and encourage an environment of teamwork.

Technology

Finally, it is important to remember that Generation Y grew up surrounded by technology. More than any other generation, they have a steep expectation for tech-savvy tools and resources from their brokerage. Be upfront and forward about sharing all of your high-tech tools available to agents including websites, CRMs, content management systems, social media marketing, lead generation software, etc. The more that you can prove your brokerage will streamline their business, set them apart from the competition, and allow them to work on-the-go, the more Millennial agents you will attract to your team.

Remember the Three T’s

While the three T’s are vital to Millennial agents, they are also important elements for your other agents as well. Weichert embodied the three T’s long before there was a Gen Y. It is part of the core value system that Jim Weichert embraced to build a successful national real estate brand and continues today through the Weichert Family of Companies. We equally coach our affiliate offices to adopt and value the same philosophy. From an unwavering set of core values, people-first philosophy and dedication to providing the best technology and tools available to agents, it’s a winning formula all around.

For more information about how Weichert can bring the three T’s to your real estate brokerage, visit www.weichertfranchise.com.