Hit the Ground Hard, After the Holidays

There is no denying that many real estate agents and brokers across the country experience the slowing season in Winter. While many will just accept this as being par for the course, in real estate, your drive to start off the new year with a bang can put you ahead of the game in 2020.

In between hanging those holiday decorations and doing all your shopping, you can use your extra time over the holidays to recalibrate, allowing your business to tear out of the starting gate in the new year.

Explain the Advantages of Buying A Home Now

One of the reasons that the spring season is so crazy in real estate is that people perceive it as the most convenient time to make a move. Conversely if more people understood the benefits of moving during the winter, they might be motivated to make the move now. Create blogs, videos, and podcast episodes to explain the advantages of moving during the less competitive winter season, such as lower costs and less competition to book moving companies. Share your best tips for moving in the colder months. Create this awareness all year round, but especially in the slower winter months.

Leverage New Year’s Resolutions

While many people focus on common new year’s resolutions like losing weight, there are plenty of people out there that resolve that this will be the year that they become a homeowner or move to the neighborhood of their dreams. With tax season right around the corner, remind people that their returns would be better spent on a down payment than something frivolous. Take advantage of this line of thinking while their motivations are still high by planning, promoting and hosting a first-time buyer seminars. Weichert, for example, supplies its affiliate offices with complete seminars in a box—including invitations, presentation deck and handouts–to host such events. This helps you connect with potential prospects early before they make the decision to act and engage with another brokerage.

Grab the Attention Of Sellers Early in the Year

Once the ground begins to thaw, it is a mad dash for agents to get their hands on all the shiny new listings. However, if you initiate relationships with people who are considering selling in the upcoming year now, you will already have your foot in the door when they are ready to list. Now is the best time of year to start holding seminars about how to sell a house. When marketing these seminars, be sure to tap into the common reasons why people may want to sell their house this year including an upgrade in lifestyle, a change in career, or even a change in their family needs. Weichert also supplies its affiliate offices with complete seminar kits to support hosting these types of events.

Focus on Your Existing Relationships

Once you have your buyer and/or seller seminars in place and operating like a well-oiled machine to attract new prospects, you can return your focus to your sphere. This is a great time to personally check in with everyone to see how their holidays were, what they are looking forward to in the year to come, and if there is anything you can do to help them. Remember, it is through the cultivation of your personal and professional relationships that you will attract your best clients. Having a good CRM system will allow you to do this efficiently.

Have a Great Post-Holiday Season, in Every Way!

Do you have the tools and systems in place to take advantage of the winter season and prepare you and your agent team for Spring? From farming materials, such as seminar kits to a powerful CRM to stay in touch with your sphere, an affiliation with Weichert can give you everything you need to compete. Sow the seeds for a great 2020. Make one of your new year’s resolutions to contact Weichert Franchising to find out more about how we can help you and your agents be more productive than ever.

Best wishes for a prosperous year ahead!

Original content posted on https://www.weichertfranchise.com/blog/hit-the-ground-hard-after-the-holidays/

It’s All In The Attitude – The Power of Positive Energy

“Commit to CANI! – Constant And Never-ending Improvement.” – Tony Robbins

If you ask any expert, there are a range of elements that must be present for a business to succeed, whether you are a real estate broker, CEO of a Fortune 500 company, or just starting out on a new venture. Some of these are easy to think of:

• Resources
• Skilled employees
• Effective marketing strategies.
  
  

Others are more industry-specific. But don’t forget the driving force that brings these elements together–the glue of any growing business–which is positive energy and a can-do attitude.

What Is Positive Energy?

It may sound like something right out of an alternative lifestyle book, but it simply means having the right attitude. When you see nothing as an obstacle, but rather challenges to be overcome, you become that positive force that drives your brokerage forward. Think of leadership as a responsibility to inspire, not just give commands. This mental shift will affect everyone in your brokerage including:

• Yourself
• Your team
• Your vendors and partners and those you touch
• Ultimately, your clients
  
  

A positive, energetic attitude has that same effect on anyone you meet, drawing their most positive selves to the forefront. With a brokerage team aligned with your vision and this kind of positive mindset, there is very little you can’t accomplish.

Most successful business owners use this “can do” approach towards their professional goals, allowing them to achieve maximum effectiveness and results in the delivery of their products and services. Even if you’re more of an Eeyore than a Tigger, you can learn just a few behaviors that will make a big difference at the office and in all your interactions.

How Does Positive Energy Influence the Workplace?

An attitude shift is not about being unrealistic or seeing the world through rose-tinted glasses. It’s about creating a culture where achievements, success, innovation, and improvement CAN happen and are celebrated. The interesting thing is that studies have shown that simply by achieving this mindset, business owners receive the following benefits:

• Improved problem solving: Solving issues and developing creative solutions is key to having an agile, competitive business – especially when you’re in an industry as competitive as real estate. Positive thinkers have been shown to have a greater ability to absorb new information, leading to a more rounded perspective and better-informed decision-making.
• Improved resilience: This is the ability to bounce back after a failure or setback– something every business owner must deal with. No matter how careful you are, you won’t avoid every challenging, frustrating situation on the path to growth. Instead it’s learning not to take every problem as a blow. It’s learning to see every problem as opportunity to learn, improve or build better relationships.
• Builds energy and enthusiasm: Real estate agents and brokers work at the top of their game when they’re feeling engaged, driven and competitive – a mindset that is encouraged by having a positive workplace culture. Not only will employees work harder to achieve their own personal career goals, but will actively engage with the big-picture business goals.
  

This is especially important for brokerages with a less experienced team. With a leader setting the standard for positivity and creating a safe work environment where it’s ok to fail once in a while, your team will strive to accomplish goals more effectively, regardless of their formal experience.

• Removes the influence of negative energy: Many of us have been part of a workplace with bad energy. In these workplaces employees lack a team focus and often lack respect for leadership.  Attitude filters from the top down and consistent positive energy from leaders builds trust and respect. It can transform an office and its employees into a place of enthusiasm and willingness, focused on how to grow, thrive and succeed.  It also makes people with negative attitudes stand out, making it obvious that their behavior doesn’t fit in.
  
  

Increase Your Can-Do Attitude, Increase Your Results

As a successful broker, you’ve already learned how to keep your team happy. But why not kick it up a notch? You don’t have to start dancing down the aisles, but many times it’s small things like choosing to coach, instead of criticize. Celebrate the positive, can-do attitude of others on your team. At Weichert Franchise, developing positive team dynamics is a cornerstone of our philosophy and an attribute of our most successful brokers.

For more information on how Weichert Franchising can be a positive force in your business, visit https://www.weichertfranchise.com/.

Original content posted on https://www.weichertfranchise.com/blog/attitude-power-positive-energy-2/

What You’re Really Paying for When You Invest in a Real Estate Franchise

When you’re considering purchasing a real estate franchise, brokers inevitably focus on the costs of the investment trying to understand if gains made by the relationship will ultimately outpace costs of the relationship. While each franchise is different, here are some of the key things you should expect from a real estate company offering a franchise opportunity.

• Brand Recognition: National real estate brands all have varying degrees of name recognition among consumers. Much of this depends on the area of the country you live in. While some level of name recognition in your area is good, equally important is that people perceive that you are part of a larger national organization. They may further understand that a large national real estate company has resources to offer that many independents may not. For instance, Weichert has nearly 500 corporate and affiliate offices in over 39 states, giving franchisees considerable brand reach to leverage in most areas of the country. Equally important however are the assets that Weichert offers you to build brand in your local area. If you still wonder just how transformative a good brand can be for your business, try speaking to a few franchisees about their experience.
  
  
• Lead Generation: Some real estate franchises offer you little more than their names. Look for a franchise that not only has an excellent brand, but supports it with a proven system that puts you in contact with buyers and sellers in your local market. A bonus if it also has referral resources across the country and around the globe. Your ability to derive additional sales from such a system, is one of the key considerations in determining how much you can grow your brokerage under a franchise model.
  
  
• A Franchise Should Give you A Blueprint for Growth: The best real estate franchises will offer a proven system for success and sophisticated tools, training and people that support it. This means the system and its steps are a tested recipe, which you can plug into and follow. Make sure the system has a track record of broker success stories and that you can talk to them about their experience.
  
  
• Ongoing Support: Too many real estate franchises, start with a flurry of activity, but then leave you alone in the woods to find your way on your own. You need to be sure that any training and tools you receive are actively supported by both digital and human resources. For instance, Weichert Franchise Brokers and their agents are exposed to comprehensive, systematic training on the Weichert processes and systems as part of our onboarding program. They have 24/7 access to “Weichert University” our online e-learning portal and our resource centers filled with sales and marketing tools. Plus, they have access to expert, experienced support, through regional business coaches, corporate training, marketing and technical expertise, as well as best practices derived from our own brokerage business and an active network of peers who aren’t shy about giving you the skinny on things. When looking at franchises to invest in, make sure the one you choose offers this type of proactive, energetic support in all areas to help you build your real estate brokerage.
  
  

With the Right Partner, Franchising Benefits Quickly Outpace Costs 

It’s easy to get caught up in the numbers when you’re looking at a franchise opportunity, but it’s important to never lose sight of what each franchise is really offering you in return for your hard-earned money. Pay close attention to the totality of each brands’ offering and remember that what’s cheapest isn’t always the best deal – the returns on your investment and the scope of training and support that is offered are what really counts.

At Weichert, we believe in the power of the handshake, supported by advanced technology and proven processes. With Weichert you have both digital assets and expert real estate professionals that provide you training and coach you through your specific challenges every step of the way. If this sounds like a good fit for your business, we’re happy to chat with you in more detail visit https://www.weichertfranchise.com for more information.

Original content posted on https://www.weichertfranchise.com/blog/youre-really-paying-invest-real-estate-franchise-2/