If you’ve been keeping an eye on Facebook forums, closed groups, and generally talked-about topics in real estate, you’ve probably noticed that they seem to revolve around one thing: agent profitability.
In light of that, I’d like to go over three factors today that can measurably affect agents’ business. Consider if any or all of these factors have impacted your own business and decide if there are options to help you see increased profitability in our competitive market.
The first factor to consider is the cost of your lead flow, or the source of your leads. There continue to be more outside companies getting into the lead generation business to capture a piece of the agents’ bottom line, which leads to this question: Are you dependent on an outside source for your lead generation? If you’re paying someone else for your leads on a monthly- or referral-basis, you don’t have control over the process. Another consideration is whether your company is helping you by providing qualified leads for you to work so you don’t have to spend money on leads that your competition is also buying.
Obtaining your leads through outsourcing can be done to your advantage, but we also coach our agents to be their own lead generators. Ultimately, it’s the most profitable way of doing business.
The name of the game when it comes to generating your leads is control: It gives you control over how many you generate, your profitability, and whether the leads are set to ‘on’ or ‘off.’ Because you’re not paying someone else to find leads for you, the only associated expense is your time.
“Consider if any or all of these factors have impacted your own business.”
Next, identify the systems you’re using in your business that are bleeding your profitability and could be adjusted. A particular system that is integral to any agent’s business is a CRM, but your CRM is only as effective as the person operating it—developing content, the frequency with which it’s sent out, knowing who’s consuming it, and using it as a means to establish contact with those in your CRM most likely to do a deal are all things to consider.
I often speak with agents who use a CRM, but who just aren’t seeing any return from it. That’s because an inactive CRM will hurt your profitability in the long run.
It’s also important to consider the way you go about servicing; carrying out the transaction from contract to close all on your own eats into the time that you could otherwise put toward generating more business. Learning to produce more and creating relationships is best achieved if the servicing aspect is off your shoulders.
Last but not least, decide if your conversion rates are supporting your profitability. Having business expenses is a given, but that’s why it’s important for your income to exceed your expenses. The ticket to creating more income is by improving your ability to convert. Figure out what you need in your business right now to increase your productivity, your conversions, and most of all, your bottom line.
If you’d like more information on what we’re doing with our agents to keep them at the top of their game in their productivity and profitability, please reach out and let me know.
I’d also like to note that I’m holding a Production Mastermind in June and I’d love for you to attend. This won’t be a recruiting meeting—it’s a mastermind where I’ll reveal some of the things that we do to assist agents in earning new deals each year. Please reach out to me with questions about this as well. I look forward to seeing you there and I’ll talk to you soon!
