In today’s highly competitive real estate industry, growing your brokerage might feel like a daunting task. This is especially true if you’ve only just started, when it seems that you’re only ever making calls and not closing deals.
Still, the task is not an impossible one. It takes a good amount of work and determination but it can definitely be done. Here are some tips that can help you seize the market and become a leading brokerage.
- Empower Your Agents
While the real estate industry primarily deals with buying and selling properties, these are not the actual products of a brokerage. Rather, it’s the real estate agents. They’re the ones who liaise with customers and prospective clients day, carrying your brokerage’s name with them. As such, it’s important to give your agents all the tools they need to do a great job.
One of the most important investments you can make to empower your agents is a CRM system. With a good customer relationship management tool, real estate agents can organize their contacts, create automated email campaigns, and more. Most importantly, they can derive actionable insights from accurate data so that they can develop more effective campaigns.
- Build Your Online Presence
Nowadays, most property buyers start their journey online. It doesn’t matter if the customer is looking for a residential or commercial space—their search will likely begin with an internet inquiry. Therefore, if you want to capitalize on this consumer habit, you need to establish a strong online presence.
The most crucial element here is your website. This will serve as your central hub, where you can showcase your company culture (which will be discussed further below), your agents, and your credentials as a reliable brokerage. You can also share testimonials from satisfied clients, as well as your top listings. Your website is also the perfect place to host your brokerage’s blog.
Once you have your website online and optimized for search engines, you can start building your social media presence. Read up on best practices regarding content, but also take into account which kinds of posts your audience engage with the most. This way, you can maximize your reach and convert engagements into viable leads.
- Hire the Right People
Again, your real estate agents are your brokerage’s “products” and also your best assets. This is why you should really take the time to hire the right people. Focus on the quality of the people you’re hiring, rather than the quantity. Aside from skills and knowledge, the best real estate agents can also bring with them their connections.
Of course, real estate agents aren’t all you need. Your brokerage also needs to hire various personnel to fulfill other business needs and obligations. Apply the same principle of quality over quantity, and take into account people’s personalities as well so you can build a well-rounded team.
- Be Consistent with Engagement and Follow-Ups
When it comes to your clients, you need to be not just patient but also consistent with engagements and follow-ups. If it’s the lead who initiated the conversation, make sure your agents respond on time. If your agents were the ones who approached, make sure you have a follow-up system in place to keep the client engaged.
In addition, your brokerage should also continue to nurture connections with top passive candidates. Stay in touch via email, phone calls, or even social media so they can keep you top of mind when it comes to potential employers. Even if they aren’t interested now, they may be in the future. What’s sure is that they won’t think about you at all if you don’t engage with them at all.
- Craft Your Culture
Simply defined, company culture is the collection of all the intangibles that your company values as a whole. These include things like people’s attitudes, business ideals, and personal values.
There are two ways that your brokerage can arrive at a defining company culture. The first is that it naturally emerges over time as a result of the decisions you’ve made. Second is through deliberate cultivation, which is what you should aim for. You need to craft your culture right at the outset. This results in stronger values and a more cohesive culture for everyone involved. Ultimately, this makes your people more productive and your brokerage an attractive place to work.
- Build Your Reputation
It takes a while for any company to build its reputation, although keep in mind that your company culture directly influences this. As such, it’s important to start from within. Anchor your brokerage on honesty, integrity, and respect. Go above and beyond the needs of your clients. Take care of your people.
Remember that when you do good things, people will talk about it—and word of mouth is one of the most effective ways to grow a real estate brokerage. You may have some impressive ads and videos but what will ultimately matter is what people are saying about you, so you best get started on building a good company foundation.
The most important thing to remember about growing your brokerage—or indeed, any business—is that you can’t do it alone. Be open to accepting help and advice from others. Work with your team towards achieving your goals. This way, not only will you succeed but also take everyone along with you.
Good luck!
