Dousing For Business

Laura Kelly Mance

CRB, REALTOR® / President

Long Realty

Well, I tried. When I learned that water was to be the theme for this issue I started reading articles to educate myself about water issues in this state. What I discovered is that unlike water, there is an endless supply of information on the topic. When it comes to the water question in Arizona I’m going to take the wise woman’s way out and say “Be the source of the source.” Don’t have your clients rely on your interpretation. I did learn that the part of our state that is using half the water (Yuma) is also supplying 90% of our greens during a large segment of the year. So, there’s that.

Out of respect for the water theme, I’ll say this: Water in Arizona is like your real estate business, you have to go to many different sources to find it. I have known very few REALTORS in my long career who get their business from a single place.

In last month’s article I talked about doing your 2022 business plan and hopefully many of you have already determined your unit sales goal based on your desired income. You should continue prospecting activities that were effective in the past but if your goal is higher in 2022 you’re going to need to do more of some things or add some new ones. I was recently coaching an agent who wants to do 12 more units next year. I asked what she does to keep in touch with her sphere. She replied that she calls everyone 2 times a year to check in, sends out our regional market reports monthly, invites them to her annual Thanksgiving pie party, and has subscribed them all to saved searches for their primary residence so they can track values in their neighborhood. She also sends out our monthly ‘What to do in Tucson’ email and popular recipes from local restaurants. In my opinion, this agent is doing a great job of keeping in touch with her sphere and any more would probably be annoying. Some of those 12 additional units will come from that group but she’s going to need to find a new source for the rest.

“Should I buy internet leads?” she asked. Considering the competition for internet leads these days and the less than .5% conversion rate and taking into account the fact that she has long been an active member of our community, that’s probably not the best use of her time and money. For someone brand new to town and the business it might be a good way to practice interacting with consumers and develop good prospecting habits. In this agent’s, case she decided to choose two new areas to focus on. She’s going to do a geographic farm in her neighborhood which she’s determined doesn’t have a dominant agent. Her goal next year is to get 20% of the business in an area that typically has 40 sales a year. She’s starting to mail, call and set up searches now and will mail in that neighborhood monthly and hold open houses whenever available. She’s going to attend HOA meetings and be an active participant on NextDoor for the area. A year of consistent contact should build a strong base for future growth. Consistency is the key though. In my neighborhood this year I’ve received one postcard from 10 different people. No one has sent more than one. To me, that’s like brushing your teeth once a week rather than twice a day. What’s the point? Her second new tactic will be to invite people from groups she volunteers with to Facebook Live market updates she holds twice yearly in order to establish herself as a market expert.

There are countless other ways to increase your business. Be careful to analyze the tactic for its potential return. For instance, if you’re going to buy 100 internet leads a month and the conversion average is 0.5% after a year of incubation, you may add ½ a sale a month. Calling 100 people every month for a year for half a sale only adds up if you do it with 100 new people every month. Or, if you spend 25% of your time farming a neighborhood that had only 4 sales the prior year you may only get 2 sales for your efforts. Don’t put more time or money into a prospecting strategy than the potential results merit.

Remember that there is a bottomless well of prospecting strategies. Be creative, consistent and compelling. Do your business well and every individual transaction you have will lead to many more.

Laura Kelly Mance, CRB

President, Long Realty Company

Lmance@longrealty.com

(520) 918-3846