| |||||||||||
By Leon Y. d’Ancona, B.T.L., M.T.L., RRESI
Real estate is an industry where the competition is fierce and the spoils go to a few. Most brokers and owners understand that knowledge is the power that will make them succeed.
Arguably real estate is the most populated profession in America and Canada. In Many cities there are well over 20,000 real estate “professionals”. Our studies show that in most places over 50% of these people do not make enough money to sustain their career.
As a broker, team leader, or broker owner here are four things that will guide you to success, especially in these difficult real estate times.
People are still buying homes
“They don’t stop drinking milk in a recession”. This is true of homes as well. People need a place to live. Look at the total value of sales last month in your MLS. Then determine what your market share should be. In many MLS less than 1/5 of one percent market share is more than enough to produce a profit. Twist and torture data to make it say what they want, or fail to look at the details.
Who is your competition?
Because real estate is also the most documented industry in our capitalistic free enterprise system, it is easy to know the precise market share of your competitors both affiliated and unaffiliated. Armed with this information you can make an informed marketing plan.
Your MLS provides you with details that others don’t have because they do not bother to get the information. Knowledge can dramatically affect your income. For example; can you direct your agents to the most lucrative sales that are happening this month?
Think about the power of telling your agents “for the next three weeks we should try and list free standing homes in the High Park area with a selling price between 4 and 5 thousand. The reason is that were 17 homes in that range that sold last month. There is no reason to believe this trend will not continue.
Could your firm use some star power?
The right agent knows how to get an encore. Successful agents do not just land deals - they bring in referrals. Knowing how well they perform will help you choose the right people. No two offices are the same and Brokers have their individual flare and talents. Picking the right agents from among 20,000 to suit your company profile can take years but there are ways you can quickly reduce your call list to about 200 calls to about 200 hundred perfectly suited sales people. Such a list can be produced in minutes with the right tools.
Knowing exactly what your competition is doing allows you to garner greater market share. Here is just one example of getting a listing that would otherwise be lost.
“Imagine being able to say to a potential seller “I understand that you want to list with Remonk Real Estate who is the biggest in this area but do you know their average sale is $189,376.
Our average sale is $412,013 which is what we are hoping to get for your home. Don’t you think we are more qualified?”
Here is another:
“I agree with you that Luxury Super Sales Corp. is a great company. But my research shows that their average days on market is 214 days. Ours is 62.5 days. Do you really want to have your house up for sale that long?
The Superb Broker is no accident. Watch this column for more tips and tricks and before you know it you will be among that elite crowd.
