On Tuesday morning, the agents at Evers & Company assemble for our weekly business meeting. Our very wise broker, Donna Evers, talked about the DC area market. Compared to 2005, 2008 sucks. That was the bad news. And at some point, I realized that Donna wasn't talking about us.
One of the things that makes this office work is that we have a lot of agents who've been around for a bunch of decades. We've seen the market change and change back again. Changing strategies for a changing market has become second nature.
Here on Active Rain, there's been a lot written about the need to adapt.
But what does that look like - really?
In a shrinking market, where fewer homes are sold and they sell at lower prices, an agent must increase her market share of the business that's being done. That means working harder, smarter and better. But I think it's mostly smarter and better.
Smarter means really understanding how effective your marketing money is working. Like many of you, I'm putting a lot more emphasis on Internet marketing and a lot less on classifieds, mailings and other things that cost money - for me and for my broker. Smarter is having your finger on where your clients are coming from (referrals, Open Houses, blogging), and focusing efforts in those areas.
You need listings in any market, but in a buyers' market, smarter means knowing how to use them to find buyers. And when you find a buyer, you have to know what to do with them!
Better means knowing about aerobic listening to understand what your buyers need. It means knowing more about your market than other agents so you know what to show them. It also means having strong negotiating skills, and knowing which situations lend themselves to lower prices and which ones don't.
To be the best, you have to tap into your imagination, lying awake nights thinking up great ways to out perform your colleagues. The best isn't necessarily the one who sells the most houses. Being the best is a different paradigm where it's about service quality not transaction quantity - although I've found that quantity does follow quality.
These are going to be challenging times. But all markets are challenging in one way or another.
In 2005, it was great being the listing agent, but I hated writing offers for buyer clients who were one of 30 in a bloody bidding war. I hated counseling buyers to offer far more than an already exorbitant listing price. For me, a white hot market was a lot harder than this one!
So it's time for us to learn how to look, act, feel and be fabulous professionals.
Patricia Kennedy — Search Listings!
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You've given some good advice again. Being good at our job usually means that we'll be up there somewhere near the top.