Most agents, rather logically, rely on growing their business during periods when the market is also growing.
However, this isn’t sustainable in the long-term because the market isn’t always growing. In fact, the market typically peaks every 7-12 years, although it’s beginning to happen more frequently thanks to the growth of smartphones and digital technologies, which are accelerating the speed of everything.
Currently, in Australia, the market is declining in most of the country. As a result, if you want to continue growing your business, then you need to be intentional about your numbers, as this is the only way to keep pushing forward against the market.
To help you, here are some things you should keep in mind:
Decrease the Cost of Lead Acquisition
One of the easiest ways to do this is to focus on delivering a stellar customer experience. This will cause people to spread the word about you, which delivers business to your door without you having to incur an additional expense. Furthermore, it allows you to reduce your margins, boosting profitability and stimulating growth.
Reduce Churn
Work to hang onto your past clients, as these tend to pay higher fees. This means selling your property management properties to current investors and also doing an audit of your past client program to make sure people aren’t running for the hills.
Expand into New Markets
A great way to grow is to work to become active in different markets. And we’re not just referring to geographic location. Try to get a foothold in the apartment market, low end, high end, etc., as this will allow you to diversify and better withstand periods of stalled growth in the overall market.
Focus on Productivity
One of the ways to grow is to try and get more out of the time you and your fellow agents spend working. This could mean implementing some automated solutions to help you get the information you need more quickly, or it could mean redoing some of your processes. Not only will this help you book more appointments and keep clients coming in, but it will also help you reduce the time your clients’ properties spend on the market, which makes people happier and coming back.
Increase Customer Spend
Obviously, you don’t want to take advantage of your customers, but there are ways for you to make more money off them. For example, you could invest in more targeted marketing. This will boost the amount of money you can charge, but if you do it right then it will also make you more successful, which makes the extra money clients spend worth it.
In conclusion, you should not be limiting your attention to growth to periods where the overall market is growing. You need to be building your business so that it’s resilient during any and all market conditions.