THE CORNERSTONE OF YOUR SUCCESS: RELATIONSHIPS

Your business is about far more than simply executing transactions. At its core, it needs to be built on relationships—relationships between you and your clients, between you and other agents, between you and your lenders, and between you and the communities you serve. While challenging in many ways, the current market is the perfect landscape to create, build, and foster long-lasting relationships with those who will help feed your business when the market changes.

Interest rates, home prices, low inventory, and high demand are making the market extremely volatile and challenging. While business has certainly slowed from what we all experienced in 2020 and 2021, the market has provided us with the chance to get back to basics and learn how to do business in a sustainable way.

If you were in the real estate industry in any capacity from early 2020 through early 2022, you likely worked 27 hours a day, 8 days a week. You didn’t have a life, you barely had time to breathe or eat or say hello to the people under the same roof. And while that may have made for fat paychecks and fluffy bank accounts, it also led to neglected relationships (business and personal), burnout, and an unrealistic expectation that the going would be good for a long time to come.

Now that the tide has turned and many of you are closing less than one transaction per month, you are undoubtedly stressed and questioning why you are still in this industry or if you should remain in it. If you truly love making a difference in people’s lives and serving your clients through the home buying and selling process, then yes, you should stay. If you can keep your head down and do the necessary work for the next 12-18 months, you will create the foundation for your business to build upon.

And what is the “necessary work”? Building relationships, making connections, and networking with those that can help you build your business while you support theirs. Often in this industry, we link our success to the number of sales we make. We count our wins by the deals we close. But in the next year, I challenge you to count your wins in the connections you make. When you connect with potential clients and referral partners and reconnect with those you have served or worked with in the past, you create the foundation to a business that will grow and continue to serve you for years into the future.

I recently read an article with an analysis of real estate professionals' data from the last year or so. This data revealed an amazing statistic: for agents with over 16 years of experience, nearly half their business came from repeat clients. This means that in the earlier years of their businesses, they did the necessary work to create connections that would serve them for years to come, regardless of market conditions. This statistic underscores the importance of nurturing and maintaining strong relationships with your clients and partners. This statistic makes it abundantly clear that those professionals who prioritize relationship-building enjoy sustained success in the industry.

It is easy to talk about how long-time professionals have built successful, self-sustaining businesses over the course of 16+ years. But how do you, a professional with potentially only a few years under your belt, build a business that can turn nearly 50% repeat business even in a challenging market?

The answer lies in building relationships through honed communication skills and a strategic, client-focused approach. Now, these are not skills you will learn in real estate or mortgage school, but you do need to learn them in order to be successful. Here are 3 simple strategies you can implement to ensure you are doing your part to start creating profitable relationships in your business.

1. Use a Client-Centric Approach: Clients should feel valued and understood. Take the time to get to know them, to learn about their specific needs, concerns, and goals so you can create a strong foundation for a lasting relationship.

2. Maintain Consistent Follow-Up: Regular, purposeful follow-up keeps clients informed and reassures them of your commitment to their success. Whether it's an update on a potential property or a friendly check-in on a closed transaction, these communications are a great way to nurture your relationships.

3. Implement Post-Transaction Engagement: The end of a transaction is NOT the end of a relationship. In fact, it is the beginning of the long-term portion of your client relationships. Keeping in touch post-transaction through social events, holiday greetings, birthday wishes, or informative mailings reinforces your relationship and keeps you top-of-mind for their future real estate or lending needs.

Building strong, long-lasting relationships in your business requires time, patience, and a genuine interest in clients' well-being. It involves going above and beyond to understand and meet their needs. As the business landscape becomes increasingly challenging, the importance of relationship-building comes into sharper focus. With great communication skills and a client-focused strategy, you can cultivate fruitful, enduring relationships that will serve your business and your clients well into the future.

If you are ready to learn the communication skills needed to build relationships that will serve your business for years to come and take your business to the next level, connect with me HERE to book your free inquiry call! I can’t wait to help you build, grow, and expand your business through rock-solid relationships and simple communication strategies.

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Ciao for now!