Seattle Real Estate Market

[Levi Dobson]

Hey all!

I curious to know how hard it would be for a  brand new agent to be break into the RE industry in the current market. If anyone could give me some insight I would really appreciate it. How are the leads? Are buyer/seller agents going into property management given the buyer slowdown? I've been told that agents will usually go that route when there is buyer slowdown. 

[Drew Sygit]

@Levi Dobson

Per this NY Times article, the average American knows around 600 people.
https://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/19/science/the-average-american-knows-how-many-people.html#:~:text=The%20average%20American%20knows%20about,do%20you%20know%20named%20Kevin%3F

Per the US Census Bureau, the average American moves 11.7 time in their life, which based upon an approximate lifespan of 84 years, works out to be about every 7 years.
https://www.census.gov/topics/population/migration/guidance/calculating-migration-expectancy.html#:~:text=Using%202007%20ACS%20data%2C%20it,one%20move%20per%20single%20year

So, if the average American knows 600 people and they each move about every 7 years, that means that the average American knows around 85 people that move in any given year.

How many of those moves do you want to be involved in?

To maximize the number of transactions you’re involved in you will need to:

• Be Top of Mind when they think about moving - which requires consistent reminders.
• Be seen as an Expert – which requires a consistent message and Evidence of Success stories
• Gain their Trust – which requires communicating integrity

So, start out by listing everyone you know in an Excel spreadsheet.

Why Excel? Because later, you can easily use it as your mailing list! Create columns for Name, Street Address, City, State, Zip and then contact info: Last Contact, Relationship, Status, Email & Phone.

IMPORTANT: do NOT ask people for THEIR business, ask for referrals! Why? Because they will get defensive if they feel you are pressuring them. Remember, they can always refer themselves😊

Now, make it a goal to call at least 5-10 of these people EVERY day and ask a MAX OF THREE off the list below of who they know that:

• Just inherited a home
• Had a loved one pass away
• Is behind on their mortgage or tax payments
• Has a relative that can’t take care of their house anymore
• Has a house they’re having trouble selling
• Is facing bankruptcy
• Knows a probate attorney
• Knows a bankruptcy attorney
• etc

Why only three off the list per contact? Because on average, we can only remember three things at a time. If you try to go over the whole list, you’ll lose the attention of an average person and they won’t remember anything!

It should only take you about a month or two to contact everyone on your list and then the tough part – you start all over again.

Why the repetition? Because it takes repetition for people to remember things and you have to be top-of-mind when they encounter a potential client for you!

Have you ever been to McDonalds? Of course you have! So, why is McDonalds still spending billions on advertising?

One more tip – people remember stories that trigger their emotions. So, tell a story of how you (or a fellow wholesaler) helped a seller out with their challenge(s). Change your story each month as different stories will resonate with different people AND use each story to emphasize one of your “who do you know…” questions.

As you start closing deals, you will need to reinvest your profits into mailing lists and other scalable activities to grow your business.

One last thing – we recommended you create a Status column on your spreadsheet, now we’ll explain why. If you find someone that seems to know a lot of people needing your services, wouldn’t it make sense to focus more resources on them? Conversely, you will run into people on your list that just seem to be a waste of time, so you’ll want to avoid them. So, create status codes for both of these and a few in-between codes to help you work smarter, not harder.

[Levi Dobson]

@Drew Sygit

Thank you for the advice! I recently made it a goal to start contacting at least 20 people a day. What strategies would you suggest a start with to find solid leads when I have exhausted my circle of 600? I've talked to some Agents in my market and it many seem to lean on their brokerages lead generation. This seems like a crutch to me as I would imagine there is some major competition between Agents that share the same leads in our current market. 

[Drew Sygit]

@Levi Dobson you'll always do better with your own leads as you don't have to share!

Two things:

1) You should set up a system to consistently stay in front of your circle. It will take time to build credibility with them!
Why do you think McDonalds & Coke keep advertising to us?

2) Once you establish credibility with some of them, you can start asking them, "Who do you know in this situation?" That's an indirect method of asking for referrals:)

This is a bit self-serving, but if you like our advice, please give us a vote!

[Marcela Hoag]

Hi Levi,

Just like with any other industry, it's all a numbers game. Start with your existing network (friends, family, etc.) and go from there. The people with money to invest right now given the rates are likely to be higher earners. Start connecting with former bosses, people you know who own businesses, etc. Use LinkedIn and look through your connections to see what roles people are in now.