How top producers get more listings
Updated: Jan 5, 2022
I often encounter real estate agents say: "I don't want to sound like a salesperson", or "I don't like selling". I want to talk about something that I see most successful agents do. Maybe it's not so much a doing as much as it is a being in a particular state of mind.
I am talking about real estate agents who get 10 or more listings per month while everyone else in their market complains about how difficult it is to get listings right now.
Is getting listings out of reach for you? or is there something you do wrong that's holding you back from getting a steady stream of good listings?
Obviously what you're doing has a lot to do with it, but that's not all that matter. It's not just what you do, but it's also the way you do something (your state of being while doing something). I took 10 real estate agents during a training event one time and made them all call for sale by owner leads. One brand new agent was booking appointments using the script we gave him, he was always smiling, excited, eager to learn and optimistic. When he dialed the phone his attitude was different than the other 9 agents. He was expecting to get good results. He had this belief in the process and therefore his attitude transferred over the phone and converted sellers leads into happy sellers who can't wait to meet this agent. The other 9 agents had this pessimistic attitude, many of them made a sour face when given a script to use, thinking: "I don't like using a script, it makes me sound like a salesperson", and therefore they didn't get any qualified appointments during the session.
When we played the recorded video of the happy agent, everyone in class could clearly see the difference in his approach, it was almost like he made sellers happy because he was so excited and happy.
This is just a small sample of the hundreds of real estate agents who went through the same training exercise. About 1 out of 10 agents (10%) given the actual how to do it system, all thee students were given similar leads, same source, same script, calling with the same phone system and yet 1 out of 10 was getting very good results.
NAR statistics and other studies (MLS) show that about 10% of the agents in any given market make about 75% of the money in our industry. Meaning, 1 out of 10 agents has something that the other 9 don't have.
So what is it?
What is the real difference between the 10% and all the rest? And do you have what it takes to join the 10%?
Here is a short list of what the 10% have that you could acquire:
A happy attitude. It's not about doing what you love (that's a lie we tell our children), but loving what you do! and knowing how to fall in love with what we do, meaning finding things to love about the process, about the system, the "what to do" portion.
Consistency especially when you're bored or don't get the results you expected. Success takes time, because skill building takes time. So how do you know that you're on the right track? Simply check your consistency in being able to do what you must.
Falling in love with selling. Many people get their real estate license but only 27% of those who get licensed stay in the business (73% quitting ratio). Most people in the 73% of quitters have one thing in common: They hate selling!
Hunger for success. The 10% top producers develop this hunger for success. They refuse to settle for anything less than extraordinary.
Doing what it takes. You don't have to love everything you do, but you sure must fall in love with the things you must do. Doing what it takes (see the list below) is the only way to join the 10% of agents.
Being proactive. The 73% who quit, are mostly (if not all) passive about their business. They do a lot of studying, learning, training, reading, talking, but they take no action or very little action. Success requires MASSIVE action and the ability to fail and keep on going.
Resilience. Stay on course and keep on going even when the going is hard. Top producers find ways to keep themselves motivated, keep themselves excited about their business, about improving, growing, and they don't fear failure, but embrace it. Success takes time and sometimes it takes longer than that. Staying on while taking massive amounts of action will get you to the top.
So if your mindset is any different that what I listed up here, if your attitude is not aligned with this list, all you gotta do is begin today. Open a new page. Say: "Never again!" and keep moving forward.
I will list a few of the most important "What To Do" list of activities to focus on daily. Remember, it's not just doing it that gets you to thee top, it's how you're doing it and your attitude about it.
Prospecting. If you hate this word, you're not built for this business. Period! So the sooner you get over it, the better. Prospecting is your ability to actively contact people and talk to them about real estate with the goal to book a qualified listing appointment. Prospecting means you're not waiting for the phone to ring, but you dial the phone instead. Outgoing calls instead of incoming. Now, I'm not saying that incoming calls are not part of the plan, they are, but you can't bank on them, meaning if you wait you die. Prospecting includes calling everyone in your database every quarter, calling past clients, sphere of influence, calling around your listings and sold (or around company listing and sold), calling for sale by owners, calling expired listings, visiting (drop by's) your database, cold door knocking around your open house and listings, farming the area, networking, meeting other players in your market who do business with the local market aka attorneys, accountants, architects, builders, contractors, home inspectors, roofers, plumbers, electricians, etc. Prospecting is also communicating with people on social media, texting, emailing. But calling and talking face to face is on the top of the list.
Lead follow up. If you hate selling, you'll never follow up. So if you're not following up, you probably hate selling and as long as you do, hate selling, you'll never be a top producer. Following up on leads you're creating while prospecting, leads are situations you create with potential home sellers and buyers, with one goal in mind: Booking an appointment. And until an appointment is booked, you must continue to follow up. Now it's important to cover what is a lead, otherwise you'll be following up on dead leads. A lead is someone who is looking to buy or sell and is ready to begin the process now. If they do, want to sell or buy now, you follow up until you have an appointment with them. On the other hand, if a seller says: "I will b looking into selling in 6 months or so", that requires a different action, not the follow up I'm talking about here, but a less frequent follow up, until you get closer to the "date". I am not gonna go over how to do the follow up here since I am sure you can learn that on your own by actually following up and finding creative ways to stay in touch.
Marketing. Everyone likes this word much better than prospecting. If you are one of these people, who like marketing better than prospecting, you are probably a passive agent and you need to be on alert. Marketing is something you can create once and then automate it and/or hire someone to do it for you. WhenI talk about marketing, I am talking about sending postcards to your database, around your listings and sold, and basically sending it twice a month (on the 1st and 15th each month). It must be done long term and in a consistent manner. You can never stop. Not if you want results. Marketing is also getting your name out there, on social media, on google, on forums, on groups, on YouTube. For that you must be consistent and create tons of pieces (again, this should be done by someone else you hire). Create videos that entertain, create educational videos, industry related videos, and make sure people like and more importantly share your posts (give them a reason to do it). You should also write articles (or hire someone else to do it) and post it on the net. Write about things that can help a home seller in your market to sell their home. Marketing is a full time job when you'r ready at that level, you will get your phone ringing often (but never enough to stop prospecting, and if someone sells you on the idea that you shouldn't be prospecting, that is a good sign you should fire them).
Improve your listing presentation skills. I am talking about role-playing the script, role-play handling the listing objections, be prepared! Don't go on a presentation thinking you deserve it without preparing for it. You should have a professional pre-listing package, you should have an action plan, you should ask the right questions before your presentation, you should choose the right comps, you should be dressed with a million dollar outfit, drive a nice clean car (if you don't have one, part far away from the house). Know how to control the presentation, when to pause, when to ask or answer questions, how to read through the sellers body language, how to read their personality style, how to present to all 4 types (the driver, the expressive, the amiable, the analytical), how to close, how to ask for signature, how to handle the price objection, the commission objection, the term objection, the "other agent said" objections.
Follow a tight schedule. With Block times. Don't do the go with the flow schedule, that's a disaster. You must follow a strict prospecting and lead follow up schedule and leave the rest until you actually get listings. Hire a part time assistant to help you with marketing ASAP, also a VA is a good solution and anyone can hire someone for $5 an hour to do many of the tasks needed. Don't do un proactive activities!!! Do only what causes you to book appointments with sellers. Focus! Don't chase putting out fires. Leave that for the universe. Focus. You must be on plan.
Follow a business plan. If you don't have one, why don't you? Get one! Do it now. And once its there, follow it. If something is not on your plan, don't do it! Stick to the plan. If the plan is good it's designed to get you focused on what makes you money which is booking appointments and presenting your plan to sellers aka listing presentations. A plan should reflect your income goal broken down to actual activities (how many conversations you must have daily to get a listing appointments, how many appointment you need to get. listing, how many listings you need to get the income, etc).
Every top producer has a coach and if they don't have one, they had one who helped them get to the top. Don't think that every coach is the same. You must find someone who fits your style. You need someone who can get you to do more than you do by yourself. Someone. who inspires you.
If you need a coach to help you with all of this šcontact me at ran@ranbiderman.com
If you are licensed in MA, RI or NY contact me at ran@circle100.com