Rev Up Your Revenue

In today’s real estate marketplace, which can seem sluggish, stalled, or stale at times, there are still ways you can take your revenue and production to greater heights. The best strategy in today’s long-haul market — that is, one in which there are no really significant changes, either positive or negative — is to master the process of the three P’s of success.

Here’s the run-down of the three P’s:

Prospecting: It’s abundantly clear that we need more leads, now more than ever. The leads don’t convert at the same rate, so we need more leads. The transactions are tougher, so we need more leads. I read an article in The Wall Street Journal recently on managing loans, and last year the 10 largest lenders denied 26.8 percent of the loan applications! If you’re working with buyers, which we all are, you need more leads.

Presentations: As a salesperson you must have top-notch sales presentation skills. The sales presentations you give, whether over the phone or face to face, must be polished. You must know:

▪ What to say and how to say it.

▪ Have a good sense of timing and delivery.

▪ Anticipate follow-up questions.

▪ How to express your value proposition to consumers.

▪ What you offer that your competitors don’t.

This is a short list of key points to consider in your sales presentation. How are you doing in each of these areas? If you’re like most salespeople in a real estate, you’re doing OK. But in a long-haul market, OK is a dangerous place to be.

Pricing: Problems with listing presentations often come down to pricing. In most markets, homes are still selling. The sales numbers in several markets are good enough today for many real estate professionals to make a good living. The problem is, the listing inventory is not priced well enough to swing the buyers.

In today’s market, homes aren’t bought; they’re sold. We have to make the price so compelling that we attract buyers. The truth is, not all sellers will win in a long-haul market. In fact, more sellers will lose than win. Last year, only 47 percent of the sellers actually sold their homes, which means 53 percent didn’t sell. What was the number in your market?

You have to know that number, and you have to price more competitively and closer to the true value of the property. There is too much “negotiating room” between the list price and the actual value of most homes. That’s preventing many houses from selling.

We have to focus on the three P’s to master this market. Applying them consistently will enable you to create a stream of revenue and growth — for the long haul.