We have all been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and are adapting to stay at home orders and social distancing. While some businesses are temporarily closed, others have reduced hours or have made significant changes to their procedures and operational standards.
The real estate industry has its own set of challenges. Homes are still being purchased and sold but if you are like most agents, your business has changed and your days look different.
Are you wondering what other agents are doing during this time? You might be surprised!
Focusing On Their Sphere List
Most people are working differently, spending more time at home and experiencing an unexpected change in their routine. You aren’t the only one with some extra time!
For many, the unexpected downtime has been an opportunity to reconnect with friends and family members with phone calls, text conversations and social media interaction.
Take advantage of the opportunity to reach out to your sphere with one to one messaging or by being more active on social media platforms. There are strong and loud voices right now and few of us need another one of those! Make sure your messaging is calm, helpful and politically neutral.
Reaching Out To Leads
Your buyer leads may feel like they want to hold off buying and your seller leads may decide this isn’t the best time to have strangers walking through their homes. Those who don’t need to buy or sell right now may decide to wait a little while but that doesn’t mean you should stop communicating with them.
Send buyer leads home listings that might interest them and updated information on interest rates. Send sellers sheets on recently sold comps in their area and an explanation of how your company has adapted to make home showings safe for homeowners.
For sellers who need to sell now, offer to help them work with an iBuyer for a simple sell with a quick close.
Checking In With Closed Clients
If you haven’t been following up with your closed clients, use this extra time to do so. You can send one to many messages outlining local guidelines or links to health department websites. Be a calm voice in the chaos and point your closed clients to reliable information sources.
Reach out with one to one text or social media messages to let them know you hope they are well to begin a conversation.
If you don’t regularly send your closed clients Comparative Market Analysis reports, you can start doing it now. Homeowners love to see how their property has appreciated since their purchase. These reports are a simple way to deliver good news and stay connected.
Sharing Qualified Leads With Referral Partners
Take this time to reconnect with your referral partners. Confirm that they are still in business, still accepting referrals and check on any changes to their business hours, services or operations.
If you can refer any business to a partner, take the time to do it. Connect people you know with service providers and let the providers know that you have passed their information along to an interested party.
One of the best ways to be remembered for referrals is to be the agent who can be counted on to send referrals!
Learning & Leveraging New Technology
Most agents are learning how to use technology during this time out of necessity. Online meetings have become standard. Set up accounts and make sure you know how to use the platforms. Learn how to use technology to create video or virtual walkthroughs, take the time to learn how to edit photos and how to collect signatures electronically.
If you aren’t using a CRM (Customer Relationship Manager) this is a great time to start! You will have time to get your contact lists organized which, if you are using a system like sGrow CRM will be the hardest part. Talk to us today about moving from working out of spreadsheets, notebooks and your phone to a robust platform that has been proven to simplify real estate agent’s days and grow their businesses.
Cleaning Up
If your phone isn’t ringing quite as much this week, use the time to clean up. Clean up your work space, your lead list and your inbox. Make sure your social media profiles are all complete and up to date. Have you been meaning to update your website but haven’t been able to get to it? This is a great time to finally take care of some tasks that have been set aside.
There is always some clean up to do!
The real estate industry isn’t going to go away but like so many other industries, it is changing. We are all adapting to a new normal and learning to live with uncertainty. Let’s control what we can control by focusing on the positive and using our time wisely!