You’ve probably had a year like many others in the real estate business where your strategies have been challenged. What worked in 2019 may not be relevant anymore, even though it was just a couple of years ago.
With COVID-19 throwing a big wrench into all sorts of things, you’ve likely had to pivot with your real estate business. It might seem like you can settle back down and get into a rhythm again, but it’s likely smarter to remain strategic for a little while longer as the real estate market shifts all across the country.
The future of your real estate business depends on your ability to shift and change your strategy, when necessary. While this was brought into focus for just about everybody last year, it’s not uncommon in real estate.
The market shifts regularly and you have to keep up or be ahead of the shift. Here are some of the ways you can remain strategic with your real estate business in today’s changing world and beyond.
Top 5 Tips for Staying Strategic in Real Estate
1. Reevaluate and Better Prioritize Your Time
The one thing you will always have is time. Whether it’s filled with meetings, showings, and other tasks or not, you will always have time.
Prioritizing your time is vital in today’s world as you might need to learn new technologies and you might need to figure out new ways to connect with clients. Whether you have plenty of free time or you don’t have much, making sure the top priority (your clients) comes first is important for your real estate business.
For many agents, their home has become their office, which can make it harder to prioritize their time. It’s not as easy when you don’t have a work and home separation, but you can still prioritize your time in a way that helps you.
There are many strategies from batching tasks to scheduling that you can try. A little trial and error can help you find the right balance when it comes to your time.
Of course, you can also outsource some of the less important tasks or the things you just don’t like doing. Having an expert handle some of the tasks you’re not as good at or don’t enjoy can free up more time to take care of your clients and work with new prospects.
Some online tasks can be automated, as well. Consider the right technology not only to help you stay organized but to also help free up your time.
2. Diversify Your Lead Generation
What worked in 2019 may still work for lead generation today, but some strategies might not work as well as they used to. It’s time to diversify and test out new ways to generate leads.
There’s nothing better for a real estate business than a flow of fresh, high-quality leads. When you want to become a success, you need regular leads coming in each and every month.
One of the things you can do is change the way your search works on your website. You can allow visitors to search for listings with virtual tours to help them find the right home with a tour they can watch from home.
It’s also time to lean into social media marketing and other forms of digital marketing. With more and more people now looking for homes online and some even buying sight unseen, it’s more important than ever to use online lead generation techniques.
From traditional social media marketing to dynamic remarketing ads, you can connect with more prospects online and turn them into leads. With a steady flow of leads online, you’ll be able to grow your real estate business, as the times change.
3. Consider Specializing
Real estate agents that take on any lead and any listing are not always the most successful. Specializing in a specific niche or even neighborhood can help you gain expert status and become the go-to agent for that niche or neighborhood.
There are many specialties to consider and with so many agents out there, specializing is one way to set yourself apart. Maybe you want to work strictly with luxury buyers or sellers. You can also choose to work with first-time homebuyers, investors, those looking for a foreclosure, or even those looking for a fix and flip opportunity.
No matter the specialty you choose, it’s a great way to set yourself apart and remain strategic with your real estate business. Of course, you can choose more than one specialty, if you prefer.
4. Use Staging for Better Listings
With so many things going online today and the real estate industry becoming very virtual, staging is now even more important than before. You can use staging to show off your listings with incredible virtual tours and listing pictures.
Traditional staging is still a great option, but you can also consider the less expensive virtual staging for your listings. This type of staging also gives you the ability to show off the home staged and also without anything in each room. There are many benefits for your sellers and for buyers when you choose virtual staging for your listings.
5. Consider an LLC Sponsorship
One of the more strategic ways to grow your real estate business is by creating a real estate LLC. Traditionally, this is done by taking the broker’s exam and getting your broker’s license. However, you don’t need a broker license to own a real estate brokerage.
With an LLC Sponsorship, you can keep all the commissions and create your own brand without a broker license. You can hire agents and start to build your own team as a brokerage when you choose the LLC Sponsorship plan.
If you want to grow your real estate business to the next level, creating an LLC brokerage is one of the ways you can stay strategic and bring in more business. Each agent you add to your LLC may have ways of generating leads they have already been implementing. This can be helpful to get your business moving in the right direction, no matter what’s happening in the market.
There are many ways to remain strategic with your real estate business. Don’t get stuck thinking you won’t have to adjust anymore just because your current strategies are working. It’s a good idea to continually try new strategies and build your real estate business as the times and the market change.
