Being a Top Producer Means Being Multi-Dimensional

Friday, 25 November 2011 09:07
Heather Wright
.
. When standing atop your climb to of success, if you were to look downwards, what would the path you travelled look like? What elements are present on your road map?

Successful Habits Of Canadian Realtors are in!...
Is rising to the top of your game, and stepping above your peers a question of skill and strategy, or is it about possessing a “quality”? Or is it about something even more volatile and less specific, like being in the right place at the right time, or sheer luck?

To break this down even further, as many who are already enjoying success know, it’s not just the intensity of the work that matters; you have to work strategically, adopt behaviours and habits, and know which tools and resources that are the ones that will set you apart and ahead.

Top Producers

There is success, and then there is being at the very top end of the scale of success. Do you ever wonder what sets these people apart? Are they gifted? Do they have endless budgets to invest in activities? Do they have a secret?

A recent study in the US by ActiveRain of 1700 indentified top producing REALTOR®'s probed into the topic of what actually constituted the specific behaviour and habits that set this group out from the pack. Their survey broke down success from the inside out and studied things like marketing practices, social media usage, CRM usage and work habits.

The survey drew many conclusions, but among them the fact that the two things that top producers have in common is a willingness to invest in technology, and an aggressive, proactive stance on acquiring business- which has to remain consistent throughout all marketing activities. 54% of this group engaged in regular email campaigns with all segments of their books- prospects, current clients, and past clients. Many are also leveraging the power of social media to get their message out.

So do these elements a top producer make? We put this question to members of our Propertywire.ca community, and while they agreed that investment in technology is important, as is proactive marketing, they almost unanimously felt that there was much more to it than that.

Typical?

In talking with some Propertywire.ca readers, what was interesting was the reluctance to characterize success as a quality, or to paint a picture of a top producer based on just a few qualities, which suggests that there is great depth and dimension to those who rise to the top, as well as acknowledgment that the market in which they conduct their business is ever changing as well.

While there is truth to the value of technology and to proactive marketing, Margaret Burniston, Broker, Century 21 Explorer Realty Inc., Brokerage believes that there is more than meets the eye: "No truly successful agent is one (or two) dimensional. Top agents also have strong repeatable systems, are on top of their local market and industry trends, and provide excellent client service.”

People Business

One highly overlooked resource is that of the human kind- whether it is clients, people in your centre of influence or your team backing you up.

What is often forgotten when examining the characteristics of success is that client based business is the people business, run by people for people. As such, if you keep the client and their happiness at the nexus of your business operations, chances are the rest will follow suit.

Says Burniston: “The number one tool or resource a REALTOR® has is simply people. After all real estate is a contact sport! From clients to colleagues to administrators and everyone in between, this business doesn’t work without people.”

Furthermore, in this increasingly technical world, where instant information is the guiding force, in the people business, don’t lose the human factor. Electronic delivery is great, because it can easily increase the frequency of contact, but don’t underestimate the power of face time (or phone time). In order to do business with you, people need to trust you. Trust is built on personal interaction, and emotional connection.

Mike Cunningham, REALTOR®, Bosley Real Estate Limited says that, in the people business, personal connection really counts. “Picking up the phone is the new email for me. I would always rather speak directly to someone, or meet with them face to face than I would send an email. It adds a personal touch and shows people that you are sincere and serious about what you are doing.”

A fundamental understanding of people, and their behaviour is key says Karen Filice, Broker of Record/Owner, Cirrius Realty Inc., Brokerage, “It is the ability to communicate with people, and how to read people and understand what they say when the words do not say it well. It is recognizing what people need to have as opposed to want to have."

Commitment/Consistent Behaviour

Bottom line, whatever your preferred tools or marketing strategies are, what many seem to suggest is a common thread amongst top producers, is a deep commitment to hard work. Additionally, being consistent in your efforts seems to help top producers rise to the top.

Being a good producer is not easy. Being a great producer is harder still. What seems to set many apart is the drive to persevere and to stick to plan, unwavering, short, medium and long term.

The ActiveRain Study indentified one of the common habits of top producers was the proactive stance that they took in their marketing campaigns. To break that down even further, it appears that those who consistently block off time in their schedules, and who squeeze every opportunity out of those blocks of time are the ones who set themselves apart.

Burniston says that being consistent in activity is important- but as important is recognizing the fluidity of the market in which they operate, and building that into their plans is matters too: “Successful agents are consistent with their efforts, blocking regular time to prospect and build business. They are also adaptable. Real estate is an every changing business with no two transactions quite the same. The ability to respond quickly to change, without appearing frantic, is key.”

There are pitfalls inherent to managing your own time as a self-employed person that can put up roadblocks on the way to the top. Cunningham says that it is the top producers that know that they are there, and figure out how to navigate them, while remaining consistent with work ethic: “In terms of common behaviour for a successful REALTOR®, I believe it is consistency and a strong work ethic. Having a plan and sticking to it seems to be the way that most of the top REALTOR®'s go about their business. It is very easy to get out of rhythm because of the autonomy that a REALTOR® has on a day to day basis. Managing time effectively and responding quickly to a client's needs are easy to do if there is a commitment to success and a will to get there.”

Good Habits, Good Business

As some have suggested, anyone can invest in marketing, but it takes good habits, sharpened skills and acute business sense to actually make good on the marketing.

Filice says that top producers share in common a set of habits and specific skills that go beyond technology and the like. It comes down to attitude, and to the way in which they examine the professional world around them. While some may see nothing, a top producer will identify an opportunity, and furthermore, will find a way to make that opportunity theirs.

“Being able to close a deal is another element. Top producing REALTOR®'s take closing a deal for granted because it is as much a part of them as breathing. But for those less successful, it is a skill they need to learn or they will just be frustrated. A behaviour all top producers have in common "ABC - Always be closing". They see opportunity in everything that they do, and when opportunity knocks, they open the door, they do not ignore it.”

Combo deal

Seemingly, those that are really successful understand how to combine successful behaviour and tools. There is no one thing that will deliver them to the top. The real secret to success lies in harnessing the power of what you have in front you, and combining everything together.

Laurin Jeffrey, Real Estate Salesperson, Century 21 Regal Realty, thinks that ultimately something less specific, like personality, will ultimately deliver top producer status; “Technology will only get you so far, each component plays its own part. But you have to do everything in order to make that leap to super agent. You need to have the personality to sell, to sell yourself to everyone you meet. You have to have the drive to join three groups and get out to every meeting and event and make sure everyone else knows what you do. You need a huge ad budget to be able to keep your name in front of everyone all the time.”

Burniston agrees, “A successful REALTOR® relies on a combination of learned skills, technology and those less specific skills and senses. Some studies suggest that 80% of REALTORS® drop out of the business in less than 5 years. So it would appear that the skills and education required to get a real estate licence are not enough. It’s easy to become consumed with the latest technology.”

FIlice says, “Being a top producer means being able to find balance in your life but it also means finding the right team, using the right technology, being a good manager - of time and resources. It is the ability to do business quickly without appearing rushed. It means being a professional who is recognized as such by the public and your peers.”

Jeffrey is philosophical about success in Real Estate: “As a wise person once told me, there are three ways to get business in real estate. One is to wait for it, two is to buy it and the third way is to earn it. Some agents get their license and wait for clients to fall out of the sky into their laps. Others come out of the gate spending $5-10k a month on advertising. The last ones work their sphere, their network. None is the best way, a successful REALTOR® needs to incorporate a bit of each.”