2017 is drawing to a close and the promise of a brand new calendar year is looking mighty appealing to real estate agents right across the country. While we imagine that the previous year has treated you well as regards your business, we’ll also assume that you’re never one to be satisfied or rest on your laurels. That’s the mark of an ambitious professional, and to be admired
Here at Real Estate Leads, we’ve had even more agents get onboard with our online real estate lead generation system this year and we’re very happy to have them here. Being able to have these leads delivered exclusively to these specific agents is obviously very appealing, and why wouldn’t it be? This is a competitive industry to be sure, and any advantage available should be taken.
Ebbs and flows in the industry are to be expected. As we look ahead to 2018, we find it interesting to note that a few elements are at the forefront as agents foresee a need to sharpen their skillset in order to compete in this ever-changing real estate business landscape.
It’s well understood that when the real estate market turns, a good half of the agents exit with it. Being successful as a real estate agent requires resiliency. Many will agree with the belief that any downturn in the market will ‘weed out’ a good many of the agents who entered the business for the wrong reasons.
Independent of what stage you’re at in your career, real estate is a notoriously competitive industry. Most industry experts have a consensus opinion on what’s on the horizon next year, and here are 4 trends that are at the forefront of these predictions.
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Specialist vs. Generalist: Know Who You Are
In recent years, it’s become ever more true that the best agents differentiate themselves by specializing, and then paying attention to the small nuances that most others leave out. With the fact there’s so much diversity in the housing market along with an ever-increasing blend of demographics to target, you really need to put as much effort and introspection into deterring ‘who’ you are as an agent.
Paying attention to the finer details can help set you apart in a crowded marketplace. A whole host of factors – where you’re doing the bulk of your business, the primary resident demographic there, etc. etc. – should factor in quite strongly as you define yourself. There’s no better time than the present to reinvent yourself if it means advancing your career, and that’s especially true right now moving into the new year.
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Focusing on Building Your Digital Brand Will Bring Results
Building your digital brand involves showing off the portfolio of work you’ve built up online. Now more than ever, prospective clients go online to evaluate you and your collection of properties transacted, and the breadcrumbs of information you leave for them is very important.
That’s because they help buyers and sellers make informed decisions, and make them in full confidence with your quality of work and a sense of who you are. A strong, consistent and authentic online presence will help put some distance between you and your competition. We are very much living in the information age, and you need to build and maintain your digital brand and identity to the best of your ability. Aim for educational, inspiring or entertaining bits of content, and once you’ve built that momentum you need to keep it rolling month after month.
Some ideas in this regard:
- Developing infographics on key stats regarding current market conditions.
- Creating a step-by-step guide for first time homebuyers on what to know.
- Building an eBook outlining everything to know if you’re selling your home.
- Leveraging Instagram stories for open houses.
- Using Instagram’s scrolling feature to highlight professional photography
- Blog on how Millennials can make a splash into the market, and not become house poor.
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Harness the New and Considerable Power of Millennials and Generation Z
This is related to the last point above. Indeed, so much has been written about ‘Millenials’, so decoding them isn’t as complex as we might think it to be. Surveys indicate they’re 40% more likely to stay in touch with their agent, and 55% more likely to recommend their agent in comparison to older generations. This of course is entirely dependent on their experience being a positive one.
As regards their younger cohort – Generation Z (born after 1995) we need to first keep in mind that Generation Z is expected to include 2.56 billion people worldwide by 2020. That represents a mammoth amount of consumer power, and not a lot of agents are prepared to accommodate that or the buyer dispositions that will come with it. Add the fact this is a lucrative age bracket that will be flooding the housing market in waves and you really want to be the early bird on the worm when it comes to understanding how they’ll view and purchase real estate.
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Networks Will Be Determining Net Worth
The Vancouver housing market is a good example here. It received international headlines on account of its inflated numbers that raised speculation that a bubble was about to burst. In a crowded market where some agents might only enjoy a pair of deals a year, it shows how valuable it can be to tap into networks for referrals.
All of this is dependent on a strong sphere of influence.
It stands to be your most valuable resource as an agent, and the engine behind your strongest personal and professional relationships within your career. If your SOI extends to 100 people and each of them knows 100 people, that equates to 10,000 opportunities for repeat and referral business.
Indeed, that’s a big deal.
This core nucleus of contacts will typically comprise some 60-80% of an agent’s business, so it is nothing to be taken for granted. It takes time to carefully nurture and keep in touch with each over time and on a personal level. As the market begins to tighten, agents that have developed their sphere of influence best will be the ones that don’t see their bottom line damaged during challenging economic conditions.
Sign up for Real Estate Leads here and receive a monthly quota of qualified, online-generated leads delivered to you exclusively for your exclusive region of the country. It’s an excellent way to supercharge your prospecting efforts and build your stable of clients.
