Agents, Here’s What You Should Be Doing While Business Is Slow

Part of running your own business as a real estate agent is dealing with up and down cycles in the market. No matter what you do, some times will be slower than others. However, enduring a slow period doesn’t mean that your business should stop. In fact, it’s more important than ever to keep up your momentum.

With that in mind, below are some important tasks that you can tackle while your business is slow. Read them over so that you can put a plan in place for the next time you have some extra time on your hands.

Update your business plan and budget

Truth be told, a solid budget and business plan are both key components to any successful enterprise. However, while you probably created these documents when you were first starting out, odds are that they could probably use an update. Now is the perfect time to get back to the fundamentals of your business and refresh them.

You’ll want to keep your goals in mind when you’re looking at your business plan. Think about where you are now in your business, where you want to be, and what action steps you can take to get there. Then, work on putting systems in place that will allow you to achieve those goals.

As far as your budget is concerned, you should be honest about what you’re currently spending. Look at what you’re bringing in versus your current expenses to see if there are any areas where you can cut back. Be sure to also take the time to see if there are areas where you would like to invest as well.

Build up your marketing presence

While every entrepreneur should devote time to marketing themselves, when things get busy, it’s easy to let these tasks fall by the wayside. However, when things slow down, having a consistent marketing presence is crucial to landing new clients.

First, take a look at your current marketing plan. Identify what’s strategies are working the best for you and invest your energy into making sure that those components stay consistent. Then, take the time to research new marketing ideas and try to implement a few of them into your marketing plan to see how they work.

Here are a few ideas to get you started:

• Send out a mailing
• Try reverse prospecting
• Think about cold calling or cold emailing
• Update your social media presence

Catch up with past clients

When you’re searching for leads, remember that you already have a network of warm leads available to you: your past clients. If you haven’t taken the time to connect with them in a while now is the perfect time to do it. You don’t have to worry about spending hours catching up with each one. A quick reminder that you’re there to help them, if needed, should do just fine.

Whether you call or email, your main concern should be listening to how they are, but you may want to ask if they are satisfied with their new home or if they’re having any house-related issues with which you can assist.

However, always be sure to also ask for referrals. After all, they may know of someone who is looking for a home. While many agents struggle with asking for referrals, it’s an important skill to learn. Referrals can help grow your network substantially and may make all the difference during lean times.

Organize your administrative arm

You probably already have an administrative system in place for your business, but we’re willing to bet that it’s not as organized as it could be. Whenever you have some extra time on your hands, it can be a good idea to take a look at your current processes to see how they can be streamlined for the future.

In addition, you should also take the time to ensure that your record-keeping is both orderly and up-to-date. If you have old files laying around, go ahead and file them or even digitize them for easy access.

Even tackling small tasks like cleaning out your desk or your briefcase can have a big impact on how you conduct business once things are up and running again. Do yourself a favor and take care of these tasks now so you don’t have to worry about them later.

Educate yourself

Slow times are the perfect chance to expand your knowledge base and to make sure you’re caught up on current events in the industry. (Plus, if you have to do any continuing education for your license, it’s an ideal time to get those requirements out of the way.)

If you’re unsure where to start, think about any areas in your business where you feel that you would like to expand your knowledge base. It could be prospecting, sales, marketing, or even working with a specific niche of clients. Then, spend some time researching potential educational materials.

These days, there are even plenty of free resources available. From library books, to webinars, and internet articles, there should be no shortage of learning materials available to you.