“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is most adaptable to change.”
There’s no better way to jump into business in the new year than by following the rich advice of Charles Darwin.
Running a real estate business is challenging, and the biggest challenge is adapting to change.
Home buyers and sellers are becoming more demanding. Competitors are getting smarter. Technology is evolving. You're left with no choice but to adapt to these changes or let your business fail.
Are you ready to make some powerful changes in your business this year? Here are some good business resolutions to survive in 2019:
1. Be a better communicator.
As a real estate business owner, your communication skills will continue to propel your success. If your communication skills aren't up to par, this is the time to step them up.
Having industry know-how and expertise will not be enough in 2019. You'll have to back up these strengths with excellent communication skills. We’re not just talking about written and spoken communication. Think communication technology.
You'll have to be well-versed with and make use of faster-paced communication tools if you want to stay ahead of the game. Incorporate text messages, video, and chat bots into your communication strategy.
Clients are engaging with these communication tools in other industry and will be expecting to do the same with their real estate agents.
2. Be tech-savvy.
Real estate technology will be huge in 2019. Innovations in the real estate industry are already shaking up the way Realtors work. As a veteran Realtor, you may feel compelled to keep doing things the old fashioned way and stear clear of new technology. But trust me, you’ll be leading your business to its deathbed.
Whether you like it or not, you have to familiarize yourself with current tech trends in the real estate industry, or else you'll be left behind.
Technology makes it easier for home buyers and sellers to buy and sell homes — just look at the number of websites dedicated to promoting real estate listings. Potential clients might pick a tech-savvy Realtor over a highly experienced one.
Here are some technologies that are likely to impact the real estate industry in 2019:
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Drones: As a new generation of home buyers and sellers enters the market, you should familiarize yourself with drone technology. Today's buyers don’t have time to view every house they have an interest in. Photos and videos of listings can help narrow down their searches, and drones make it possible to capture professional pictures and videos of homes in a way that wasn't even possible a few years ago.
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Artificial Intelligence (AI): AI is big in other industries such as finance, logistics, transport, etc. This technology makes it possible to automate mundane tasks that drain industry resources, such as email scheduling, capturing leads, and certain customer relations tasks, including responding to inquiries. Integrating AI into your business will allow it grow at a faster pace, while avoiding costly human errors.
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Virtual Reality (VR): To continue meeting the needs of modern home buyers, Realtors are embracing VR to take them through virtual tours of the houses they list. Home buyers can narrow down the number of homes they wish to view in person. With VR, customers can quickly browse and virtually “sample” homes before going to see them in person, or in some cases, making an offer.
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Proptech: Property technology, or "Proptech," is increasingly being used in real estate transactions. This technology collects analytical data that reveal real estate market trends. It allows you to collect real-time market data that will help you offer real-time advice to your clients on opportunities available to them. Proptech comes in handy when dealing with younger buyers seeking quicker and more efficient transactions.
3. Make Google your best friend.
This year, you’ll have to invest in and pay real attention to Search Engine Optimization (SEO) if you want to improve your lead generation.
As home buyer expectations continue to advance and evolve, so should your marketing plan. Start thinking digital. Keep in mind that 86% of homebuyers find a real estate website to be the most useful resource when buying a home.
Remember, real estate leads will continue to consult the Internet first when looking to sell or buy a home. So you have to be visible online. SEO will play a key role to your marketing campaign if you want to rank higher on Google.
4. Make video marketing a priority.
Video has been gaining popularity rapidly. If you still haven’t embraced video, you need to do so this year. You can no longer ignore the impact videos have on the real estate industry.
According to a report by Cisco, 80 percent of all Internet traffic in 2019 will come from video content. The U.S. alone will produce over 85 percent of video content this year.
Various reports show that the number of videos uploaded on Youtube every month is more than the combined number of content broadcast on the three major U.S. cable channels over the past 30 years. Imagine that!
People love watching videos. They want to watch videos and share them with friends and family on social media sites. Videos have the highest shares online compared to images and text combined.
Videos are also great for generating organic traffic. As a Realtor, use video to drive traffic to your website and increase your business popularity. This will increase your lead generation potential.
You don’t need to do anything fancy to use video in your real estate business. All you need to get started is a smartphone and Internet connection.
Start by creating videos of your listings, collect video testimonials of past clients, or record yourself offering industry tips and advice.
5. Grow your team and learn to delegate.
Delegating can be a problem for real estate agents, especially if you're used to running the show alone. But relying on trustworthy professionals can relieve stress and do wonders for your business.
Give yourself more time this year to focus on growing your business, and let someone else pick up the slack for you. Make a resolution to build a formidable team that you can trust to run the show as you work on bigger business plans.
6. Pay attention to your productivity.
Make productivity an area of focus this year. You don’t need to work harder or longer to grow your business. What you need to do is work smarter. Make the most out of your work days.
Begin working on your productivity by taking all of your resolutions and turning them into goals. This will motivate you to keep working toward them.
Push yourself to try new things that you believe will increase your productivity, and dump old habits that tend to get you distracted and steal into your time.
7. Learn to take action.
Plans with no actions are dead plans. This year, you must learn how to follow through every business goal you set with an action.
Set realistic goals for your business to make it easy for you to commit to achieving them. It’s better to set two goals you're likely to achieve than 10 goals you struggle to see through.
If you don’t act, you don’t get. It’s really that simple.
Ready to start your journey to make 2019 your best business year yet?
If you commit to making these business changes, you will certainly see a surge in your leads. To turn these leads into listings, you have to prepare for every interaction.
We have a pre-built listing presentation that you can modify to fit you and your marketing plan. You can get this entire presentation for $97 and customize it to how you do business… and your marketplace.
If you’d like to get your own copy of the listing presentation, just visit www.InstantListingPresentation.com.
This presentation is also included as a benefit of your MyBooks membership. Get a free copy of our business-changing book below!
Joe Nickelson is a real estate professional dedicated to helping home buyers and sellers achieve their real estate dreams, and helping real estate agents stop using the sometimes-vicious tactics that weigh on their consciences. He believes that the Smart Agents books will, quite literally, change people’s lives for the better. Check out his full bio here!
