Sales is Different Now (Isn’t it?)

Just got a call from an experienced agent who is trying to help a new agent get started. She had recommended Up and Running. She asked me if Up and Running was up to date for the changing market conditions.

Here’s the surprise. From watching agents operate today, I have to say that Up and Running is ahead of the market! Here’s why.

When the market was on fire, agents could practically stand in one place and have a buyer or seller ‘bother’ them with a sale! Agents could get by without lead generating consistently. They could get by without branding. In fact, the sad truth is, to sell a bit of real estate, they didn’t have to put out a great deal of effort. (I’m not talking about those great agents who work hard every day, modeling the kind of consistent sales behaviors that make the future superstars, of course). 

Market Halts; the ‘On Accident’ Agent Suffers

The bad news is that the majority of agents were caught, like so many deer in the headlights, when the market came to an abrupt halt. Why? Because they didn’t have and practice the fundamentals of top salespeople:

•  a prioritized, proven lead generating plan, worked consistently
• a personal marketing strategy
• a marketing plan
• a technology plan
• a method to set goals and capture and measure results
• the contemporary, non-munipulative sales skills to help buyers and sellers make good buying decisions when they are afraid to make those decisions

Wow! Guess what resource has all of the above? Up and Running in 30 Days. And, only the newest, client-friendly, customer-service oriented practices are explained and endorsed–no ‘old-style’ selling here.

What’s not in Up and Running

Sales is a ‘people’ business. We salespeople know that you can’t sell real estate through technology. You can certainly provide information, you can market it, but you can’t provide empathy and you can’t create trust (the reason people buy from YOU!). In fact, salespeople are being misled greatly in thinking that success in sales depends on having the latest technology ‘trinkets’. Now, I’m not saying it isn’t a good idea to market yourself and your listings using social networking sites, but, it simply doesn’t end there. It just may start there.

Where Do the Majority of Great Agents Get  Their Business?

And, by the way, the majority of real estate agents do not get a majority of their business (closed sales) on the Internet (big surprise, huh). Yes, there are a few that have invested many thousands of dollars, thousands of hours of time and energy–and they have a natural talent for Internet marketing. But, according to study after study, most successful real estate agents get the majority of business from the number one lead generation priority in Up and Running: People they know and meet (past clients to the experienced agent, of course).

Who’s Your Model?

Identify someone who is successful who you feel you can ‘model’. I don’t mean copy. I just mean to figure out their priorities and arrange your priorities similarly. See Up and Running for proven mega-agent lead generation priorites, too.