[BEST PRACTICES]: Here are Six Ways to Grow Your Business in the Midst of a Pandemic
In these uncertain times, agents and brokers must ensure buyers and sellers are getting enough information to make the best-informed decision. But this can be challenging when the decision is being made today without a physical property inspection.
I learned a lot throughout this COVID_19 pandemic as it pertains to the future of work for sales professionals starting by real estate agents and brokers. This crisis allowed all of us to identify the untapped opportunity that only a crisis can help emerge to the surface.
No one has an answer as to what a “new normal” post-COVID will look like for our businesses and our industries. Throughout the past week I discussed with some of our pilot-customers and here’s what came out.
The billion-dollar question is: What else should I be doing during COVID-19?
Today is a great time to get ahead and set yourself up for success during and after this pandemic ends. Some of the activities you should be doing are:
- Keeping in touch with current clients
Write a personal email, you can even share your morning routine. This is the time to be relatable Writing is one of the easiest ways to stay in touch with all your existing clients.
Given that you are at home and so are they, lead a Zoom Q&A about what this crisis means for their dream which is to ultimately purchase a home. You have an opportunity to stay in touch on special occasions. If you know something, I encourage you to share it with them, it could be exclusive special offers, etc.
- Prospecting for new clients
Consistency is Key: In order for this hiatus to actually work on your behalf and be successful, you must turn off the distractions since you’re at home. Turn off the Internet even if that’s necessary and use every other method available. It’d be a good old pen and paper that you could use and just cold call your leads.
Focus on the outcome and don’t forget to nurture relationships over time.
- Looking for ways to automate your business
Automation is not a buzzword at least not after this crisis as it pertains to our industry. Automation is the de-facto difference-maker today between being in business and going under due to lack of proper process in place as it relates to customer engagement.
Automation is about being that single, unified experience for agents looking to engage with renters, buyers or sellers and derive actionable insights easily.
- Using technology, like VR tours of your homes
Show the location and dimensions of things such as windows, benchtops, cupboards, etc., which are not shown on floor plans.
- Completing your Continuing Education online
You’re at home, therefore seize the opportunity. All course content is entirely online, meaning you won’t have to deal with pesky traffic going to class, or paying for expensive textbooks.
- Getting multi-state licensed, if in the right area
The benefits of becoming a multistate licensed real estate agent are limitless. Getting your license in multiple states will help you succeed by giving you the ability to operate in other areas outside of your city.
It’ll also allow you to keep up with competition as many agents are licensed in multi-states. And finally, it will give the ability to work where you want while not being restricted to just one small area.
We’re not going to be in a state of emergency eternally as States and Countries are starting to alleviate the shelter-in-place measures. Take this time as a God-given opportunity to sharpen your skills.
But do NOT assume that everything will be the same after this pandemic. We must expect everything to change otherwise we won’t be able to stride when we must and we won’t be able to position ourselves to thrive when it’s time.
I want to challenge you here: Imagine a world where post-pandemic, real estate agents pull their listings from Zillow as Nike did on Amazon. No one before Nike did think it was even remotely possible.
Now if agents put themselves in a position to do that and remove their listings from major lead generation platforms, what does it means for the industry?
Thereby what types of services would be available as it pertains to marketing and more importantly to engage, prioritize the influx of leads all brokers get?
We must assume that nothing will be the same. Here’s the bottom line:
The brokers who lacked adaptability during this pandemic will never recover from this hiatus. A lot of your competitors (other agents and brokers) simply underestimated the pandemic. As a result, they were not prepared to face a crisis of this magnitude properly.
There is a saying that I believe to be true now more than never:
“Opportunity is not a lengthy visitor” — So it’s up to you to take advantage of this situation that we are all going through. The consistent ones will prevail.
Frontdoor is a company tackling hard problems by developing relentlessly helpful and habit-forming products that free agents and brokers from spending most of their time responding to routine requests, and their clients get faster answers.
