SEVEN STEPS TO GUARANTEED REAL ESTATE SUCCESS

In over thirty years of working with real estate agents, I have never met one who was not successful if they mastered the 7 Steps for Guaranteed Real Estate Success. The 7 secrets follow a 7 step process. None of the 7 steps are particularly difficult but they do take some work. Every one of the steps when followed is a big ingredient for success. By analyzing the 7 steps you will have a great idea where you need to work to get to the next level and will possess the secret for real estate success.

STEP ONE- HAVE A PLAN
The road to real estate success starts with a plan. If you are going to be successful you have to have an idea where you are going. What are your goals? Success can mean different things to different people. If you are going to be successful you have to have an idea of what success will be. It can be measured in units, volume, something acquired, time off or almost anything you can imagine.
There are many different planning methods, some very elaborate. Do not worry about the right planning form. Over the years I’ve had people come to me with elaborate plans with step after step of what they were going to accomplish down to the smallest detail and others with just a one-page plan. Sadly there have been many with no plan at all.
So what is the best planning system or format? The best one is the one that works for you. What is the best way to keep you on track and focused on what you want to achieve? Only you can answer that question.
General thoughts Plans
Should be in writing
Should include analysis of what you’ve done in the past
Should have goals for the next 12 months covering: (Good plans also often have shorter time periods even down to every day for some and out as long as 5 years for some-remember the best plan is one that works for you. The most important part is that you have a plan and that it is actually in writing.)
Prospects
Appointments
Sales
Listings
Ratio of listings taken to listings sold
Systems for handling all of the above
Skills and things to be learned
A budget
Fun things
 
Should include what you are going to do to get prospects
Should cover the number of prospects you need to get an appointment Should cover the number of appointments to get a sale or listing Should cover marketing of the listings you are going to get
Should cover how you are going to stay in touch with prospects and clients Should cover enhancements to your business
Should cover accountability for doing the things you have planned
Answering questions about your business can be scary. If you look at your business like a business and come up with a plan that you believe in, you have taken the first step to guaranteed real estate success.

STEP TWO-PRODUCT KNOWLEDGE
Product knowledge (My definition-knowing all the factors involved in real estate, including what your company offers, what your MLS offers, knowing about activity and development in your local market, technology, sales skills, closing skills, negotiating skills, people skills and anything else that effects real estate in your area such as investment real estate, land development, etc.) should be an obvious ingredient for real estate success. Too many agents learn just enough to be dangerous and the stop learning. Even very successful agents have a tendency to stop learning. Product knowledge can overcome a lot of deficiencies and open the door to opportunity.
Questions to consider
Do I know all the programs my company offers?
Do I know the benefits of those programs for my clients and prospects? How are my sales skills?
Can I close?
Do I know what to say in every situation?
How are my negotiating skills?
Do I use the MLS software to its maximum for the benefit of my clients? Do I understand all the contracts and forms that clients have to sign? Am I proficient in email?
Do I use the web to my benefit and for the benefit of my clients? Do I know what is going on in my market place?
Do I know the advantages and benefits of living in the areas I serve? Can I talk about the local school systems?
Do I know how my area compares to other areas?
Can I explain the financing options to buyers and sellers?
Keeping up with product knowledge is a never ending process. The better your product knowledge, the more of a competitive advantage you will have. Knowledge is definitely power in real estate.
 
STEP THREE-PROSPECTING
Prospecting is the name of the game in real estate sales. It is the "location, location, location" of real estate sales. Without prospects a real estate salesperson is unemployed. The nice thing about prospecting is that there a many different ways to do it. The important thing about prospecting is that you have to do it. The bad thing about prospecting is most people don’t do enough of it.
Successful real estate salespeople are almost all master prospectors. Almost every real estate seminar you go to is about prospecting-although many give it another name because if they called their seminar real estate prospecting no one would show up. Figuring out how best to prospect, is the way to set yourself up for a long and rewarding real estate career.
If you build it, they will come all too often is the way agents approach real estate. I have a license so clients should flock to me is often how agents think. They know I’m in real estate so they will naturally buy and sell with me. They bought from me 5 years ago, so they will buy and sell with me the next time. I have a flash for you-It doesn’t work that way.
Prospecting questions to consider.
Do I set time each day or week to prospect?
Do I have a prospecting plan?
Do I have at least 3 different sources of business?
Do I ask everyone I know or deal with for referrals?
Does my prospecting generate enough leads for me to be successful?
In order to get to the next level or any level you have to generate enough prospects. Looking to improve your business quickly, increase your prospecting activity. If you prospect you will get leads and if you get leads you will get people to work with and if you have people to work with you have an opportunity to make sales.
 
STEP FOUR-APPOINTMENTS
Appointments, without them you have no business. Duh! You might say. Do you approach each day or week with a goal for appointments? Do you get enough appointments to reach your goals?
Way back in the early 80’s when I first started managing real estate offices successfully, I focused on one simple thing-appointments. My high tech method was to put up a board with each salespersons name on it and 3 columns labeled sales appointments, listing appointments and open houses. Every day I made the agents write down how many of each. I would chase them around the office, nagging them into recording their appointments and they would make fun of me- imagine that, but eventually appointments became the focus of their business.
Every Friday we had a sales meeting and I would go around the room asking how many appointments and open houses they had for the weekend. I got some great excuses, inflated numbers, wonderful stories and great results. If they had no appointments for the weekend they were labeled as unemployed. After awhile by just focusing on appointments, my office in a decrepit old building became number one in the area in per-person productivity and one year was actually number 1 in the Coldwell Banker system nationally.
The moral of that longwinded story is that if you have appointments your odds of having business, go way up. Make it your business to have appointments. Real estate sales is a numbers game. The more appointments you have the better chance you have of succeeding. Pre-qualify your prospects-yes!, but when in doubt take them out. Even if your appointment doesn’t buy they may have friends or sellers may be impressed by the way you show their home. Increase your odds of success with appointments.
 
STEP FIVE-FOLLOW UP
Follow Up or Foul Up
Follow-up is essential for success in real estate. The key to follow-up is to develop systems to make sure nothing falls through the cracks. The time honored scraps of paper method just does not cut it for maximum results. Don’t feel bad if you use this method because my research shows that approximately 43% of all agents use this method.
What should I follow-up on?
Leads
Appointments Buyers
Sellers
Transactions
Past customers My plan
What is the best system for follow up? The answer to this question depends on you. The best system in the world is the one that works for you. There are several very well known contact managers (Systems that you use to keep track of your database) that work for real estate agents. I personally use a $45 dollar program that does everything I want it to do and I can legally put it on as many computers as I want. The point is that you want a follow up system that works for you.
The benefits of good follow up are enormous. The odds of doing business are dramatically increased when you follow up on leads, appointments, buyers and sellers. Transactions go smoother when your follow up is done right. Communication problems are reduced. Not following up on past clients is one of the biggest crimes committed by agents and is punishable by lost sales, lost listings, lost referrals and more than likely loss of sleep.
Reviewing your plan will keep you focused and give you a chance to change directions if needed before another year slips away.
 
STEP SIX-SYSTEMS
Systems are probably the least exciting of all the steps, but good systems lead to better time management and efficiency-something almost every agent could use. Real estate agents do a lot of things that are repetitive. Often each interaction becomes an adventure.
Where can you use systems in your business? Really the question should be where can’t you use systems in your business?
Daily plan
Phone calls
First meeting with buyers
Pre-listing package
Buyer showing appointments Feed back for sellers
Marketing plans
Transactions
Keeping in touch with leads
Keeping in touch with past clients Tracking business
I’m sure there are other places where systems or checklists would make your life easier. Going on vacation becomes much easier when you have systems and checklists to give to your backup. Selling your business when you move on can have more value when someone can take over your systems.
 
STEP SEVEN-ATTITUDE
The seventh step to guaranteed real estate success is attitude. A positive attitude is one of the most powerful forces known to man. Life is so much easier when you believe in what you are doing. Believing in what you do, allows you to do amazing feats. Thousands of books have been written on attitude. Attitude is the great equalizer. Attitude allows you to do the things you have to do to be successful. Everyone in life gets both good and bad breaks. The key is to take advantage of the good breaks and to look at the bad breaks as learning experiences.
Warning-Do not hang out with negative people!!! Questions to answer-
Do you believe in your company? Would you list with you?
Are you worth what you charge? Are you the best person for the job? Would you sell with you?
Who is responsible for your success? Are you open to new ideas?
Are you willing to do what it takes to be successful?
Do you love what you are doing?
Do you sleep at night knowing you did your best?
Can you bounce back from a bad day? Is there anything holding you back? Do you have a good support system?
OK you’ve learned the 7 Secrets for Guaranteed Real Estate Success, now what are you going to do? Take action! Do something! Baby steps! Call someone, meet someone, and analyze what happens. Work on mastering the 7 steps.
Build on your strengths. Address your weaknesses. Figure out what has made you successful and do more of it. Figure out what is holding you back and address the issue.
Do not be overwhelmed by the things you have to do. Keep it simple. Just changing one little thing can have a huge impact. Adding one type of prospecting can double or triple the number of people you have to work with. A couple of new checklists could save you hours. A more positive attitude can change your life.