May 02 2014
After what many will remember as one of the worst winters in recent history, we've now made it into spring. Birds are chirping, flowers are blooming and For Sale signs are popping up on lawns everywhere. Spring is here and home buyers and sellers are ready to get moving.
Though there is no 'right' time to buy or sell a home, research has found that 35% of home sales occur between May and July, making the spring market the busiest in the industry. This is also the perfect opportunity for real estate brokers to review their brokerage operations and ensure their agents have tools in place to succeed.
As the real estate market comes out of hibernation, leading brokers are ready with initiatives to help their agents perform at their peak today and tomorrow, resulting in increased revenue. The recent release of the top performing brokerages as ranked by REAL Trends proves how planning ahead to capture more revenue works in any market.
Tips from Top Ranking Brokerages
Here's a list of 5 things you can do to help your brokerage move to the top and keep your agents performing for success:
1. Be available to your agents – In the busy spring and summer months many agents can be overwhelmed by the demand of the business. Often, agents are just looking for reinforcement and encouragement, much like anyone in any business. Using brokerage technology to evaluate your agents' performance allows you to proactively coach agents before they come to you in a panic. Being available to your agents reinforces your value and will help them be more successful.
2. Encourage due diligence – Drive adoption of office systems and keep things simple. Your staff and agents are busier than ever and it's important that you remind everyone to check and double-check documentation to ensure file requirements are met for each transaction. Bring in transaction management that is single point of entry and integrated with other software in the office, making everyone's job easier.
3. Stay organized and in-touch – Maintain an accurate and up-to-date database of contacts and stay in touch with clients and prospects that may be looking to buy or sell in the coming months. This will keep your brokerage top-of-mind. Automated drip marketing through an integrated front office platform can help you stay in touch without taking up much of your time.
4. Liven up your office website – Research shows that 90% of home buyers begin their search online. Keep your website appealing and attractive to buyers with fresh content and imagery.
5. Run spring launch workshops – Get everyone in your office energized, excited and thinking positive about the opportunities ahead. Use production reports from your accounting system to recognize not only your top producing agents but also agents who don't cut commissions and who action leads in a timely manner.
Implementing solutions and services that work together to streamline brokerage operations results in a better functioning, more profitable operation and keeps your brokerage moving to the top.
"Choosing office infrastructure to help grow your business can be a challenge," says Lorne C. Wallace, CEO of Lone Wolf Real Estate Technologies. "Investing in technology that provides visibility into your brokerage's finances, through reports, gives you the power to see where your money is coming from and going to. You can then make better decisions to foster growth and increase profitability for your business."
Brokerages are investing in technology infrastructure from leading companies such as Lone Wolf to stay ahead. The 2014 REAL Trends rankings show that 54% of the top performing offices in the U.S. and 94 of the top 100 offices in Canada (excluding proprietary systems and Quebec), based on volume, use Lone Wolf's brokerWOLF accounting program to help them run their business and keep them at the top of the list.
What are you doing to help your agents prepare, plan, and perform for success this year?