How Real Estate Agents Can Sell More Homes By Studying Demand
at Friday, January 30, 2009
The recession has left many agents struggling for home sales. The point in time has come for many agents to reinvent their businesses. The problem is that most agents don't know where to start or what opportunities to pursue. In this article, I'll tell you exactly how to find opportunity in your market.
To start, you must stop and try and find the money in your market. This means you need to study demand. Most small businesses don't study demand. They have an idea for a product or service and then run out and create it. Then when the product is created, they attempt to sell it. This process is completely backwards and is one of the reasons why many new businesses fail. You should try and sell the product or service first. If it sells, then work you tail off to build or create what you've sold. Don't spend months creating something that may or may not sell. Short cut the process by selling it first.
The same holds true for you in your real estate sales business. Don't decide to specialize in a certain market or segment of the market without studying the demand. One agent, in Ohio, told me they wanted to specialize in selling homes priced $400,000 to $800,000. Their reasoning was that they would make more commissions from a smaller number of home sales. This makes sense on the surface.
Many agents are trying to sell homes in the wrong market segments. For example, one agent I know is still trying to sell high end homes when the demand for these homes has evaporated.
Think about what would happen to this agent if they continued on with this market segment? They would spend hours writing new advertisements to attract buyers and sellers. They would secure a few listings and then spend more money advertising these homes. They spend hours hosting open houses and broker opens. Months later these homes wouldn't sell and this agent would be frustrated and broke. To be successful today, you must study the demand in your market. Spend some time researching the following:
2. In what price range are most homes sales occurring?
2. What price points are the majority of sales?
3. What specific areas are these homes being sold in?
4. What is the average square footage of the majority of homes sold?
5. Who is buying these homes?
6. What agents are listing or selling these homes?
7. What marketing strategies are agents using to get new clients today?
Your MLS is a fantastic tool that you can use to research your market and study demand. Within an hour, you should be able to see what is selling and what isn't. Don't pay attention to homes listed for sale. Focus on sold properties. Study each one. See if you can spot any commonalities. I'll bet you will. Once you find the commonalities, quickly engineer your business around this opportunity. This type of property or market segment might not be where you want to focus. Unfortunately, if you want to be successful, you don't have a choice. You must follow the money. Otherwise, you'll be fighting a losing battle.
To start, you must stop and try and find the money in your market. This means you need to study demand. Most small businesses don't study demand. They have an idea for a product or service and then run out and create it. Then when the product is created, they attempt to sell it. This process is completely backwards and is one of the reasons why many new businesses fail. You should try and sell the product or service first. If it sells, then work you tail off to build or create what you've sold. Don't spend months creating something that may or may not sell. Short cut the process by selling it first.
The same holds true for you in your real estate sales business. Don't decide to specialize in a certain market or segment of the market without studying the demand. One agent, in Ohio, told me they wanted to specialize in selling homes priced $400,000 to $800,000. Their reasoning was that they would make more commissions from a smaller number of home sales. This makes sense on the surface.
Many agents are trying to sell homes in the wrong market segments. For example, one agent I know is still trying to sell high end homes when the demand for these homes has evaporated.
Think about what would happen to this agent if they continued on with this market segment? They would spend hours writing new advertisements to attract buyers and sellers. They would secure a few listings and then spend more money advertising these homes. They spend hours hosting open houses and broker opens. Months later these homes wouldn't sell and this agent would be frustrated and broke. To be successful today, you must study the demand in your market. Spend some time researching the following:
2. In what price range are most homes sales occurring?
2. What price points are the majority of sales?
3. What specific areas are these homes being sold in?
4. What is the average square footage of the majority of homes sold?
5. Who is buying these homes?
6. What agents are listing or selling these homes?
7. What marketing strategies are agents using to get new clients today?
Your MLS is a fantastic tool that you can use to research your market and study demand. Within an hour, you should be able to see what is selling and what isn't. Don't pay attention to homes listed for sale. Focus on sold properties. Study each one. See if you can spot any commonalities. I'll bet you will. Once you find the commonalities, quickly engineer your business around this opportunity. This type of property or market segment might not be where you want to focus. Unfortunately, if you want to be successful, you don't have a choice. You must follow the money. Otherwise, you'll be fighting a losing battle.
About the Author:
Rob Minton, who reinvented his real estate sales business to sell multiple homes to a handful of clients has written a very practical book on how real estate agents can sell more homes For a limited time, you can download his entire book for free by visiting Renegade Millionaire Strategies for Real Estate Agents
