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Oh, January – I can’t decide if it’s my favorite or most-dreaded month of the year. It brings a new year, resolutions, and fresh starts (a.k.a. CHANGE). For me, change is usually uncomfortable and rarely easy. Okay, I just decided that I’m not a fan of January.
However you feel about January, the truth is it’s time for you, as a business professional, to pause and reflect on last year’s production and performance.
- How did you spend your marketing dollars? Which investments paid off? Which ones were disappointing?
- How did your performance compare to the goals you set for the year?
- Which aspects of your business did not meet your expectations, and how will you address those in 2022?
I’ve been a business consultant for more than eight years and have worked with many real estate professionals. In my initial conversation with a Realtor, I can quickly uncover if she views herself as a business owner or independent sales agent. While both mindsets can drive successful careers, experience has proven that Realtors who view themselves as independent sales agents are more likely to miss out on business opportunities – simply because they don’t realize the opportunities exist.
If you consider yourself an independent agent, you might say “that’s true for other agents, but I’m on top of my game and never leave business on the table.”
If you’re an independent sales agent, answer this question:
“What are your top performing lead sources for the past 12 months?”
If your answer doesn’t include Repeat Clients and Referrals, then I’m sorry to tell you that you’re certainly missing If your answer doesn’t include Repeat Clients and Referrals, then you’ve certainly missed valuable business opportunities.
(By the way, if you were able to answer my question, Congratulations! Most independent sales agents are not tracking this information, even though they know they should.)
The NAR’s research from 2020 data proves my point:
- 91% of buyers agreed they would work with their agent again and refer the agent to family and friends
- 40% of buyers were referred to their agent by a family member, friend, or colleague
- 13% of real estate clients worked with the same agent again
If clients enjoyed working with their realtor so much that they say they would work with them again and refer others to them, why aren’t the repeat and referral data points higher?
The answer: the competition is asking for, and winning, their business!
How often do you follow up with your network of past clients? If you didn’t ask at least quarterly in 2021, you can bet you lost opportunities.
The average cost of a real estate lead is approaching $60. Repeat and referral business only costs your time and effort.
If you’d been proactive about growing your repeat and referral business last year, what impact would these new opportunities have had on your business?
Are you feeling uncomfortable yet? If so, then you are having an important “ah-ha” moment.
Your next step is to begin putting pieces into play for your business (as soon as today) that will help you more effectively increase your repeat and referral business. At sGrow, we’ve created a summary of proven strategies to help you:
To discover more ways to grow your referral business, download sGrow’s Mastering Referral Marketing e-book today!
Here’s my challenge to you for 2022: Focus on maintaining meaningful, long-term relationships with your past clients, eliminate low-converting lead sources from your marketing strategy, and start experiencing the benefits of working with more highly engaged clients!