Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2008
One of my agents wrote me this email today in answer to what was she doing to suceed in the real estate business.
"I always told my brother that finding the perfect job would not fall from the sky and wiggle in his lap. Real estate is pretty much the same way. I had been sitting on an obvious opportunity and did not even realize it. My husband and I started doing estate sales a few years ago. We would get referrals from family, friends but most were coming from other Realtors. So we combined the service and call it "Total Estate Sales". A one stop shop for family members who need to liquidate a loved ones estate, or divorce or even downsizing, we can do it all. I was finding that by the time we got to the sale the house already had a Realtor. So we now are beginning to market them together....one stop shop. We have a 3rd party licensed appraiser for certain antiques that we are not as familiar with making a complete service. I will soon be marketing other Realtors that already have estates where the contents have not been liquidated. By marketing to other agents it is an opportunity to find buyers when we hold the estate sale. It is a free open house for the listing agent while I look for buyers. The moral of the story is you have to be creative and find business in new ways. The same old, same old is what everyone else is doing looking for business. Either find a new niche or look a little deeper at what opportunities are already sitting under your nose and be creative. Because we all know that new business does not fall from the sky."
Liz Loadholt
AgentOwned Realty
Maybe your agent will buy a funeral home next. That way she can really corner the market!
It is important to be flexible and open to new ideas but I always caution agents to make sure they don't get into an area beyond their expertise. When people ask me questions about financing, I always tell them that that's not what I do and then steer them in the right direction.
Take care.