One of the biggest challenges in the property market is how much it fluctuates. Recent booms have got people believing that success is easy, but this only sets them up for trouble when the market eventually readjusts.
As a result, it’s important to work to make your business sustainable. This means being able to take advantage of good times, but it also means knowing how to weather the bad times. Here’s how to do this:
1. Develop the Right Mindset
There is a saying that the market is “in between your ears.” And this is true. People will always be buying and selling houses, even if the market is low. So, it’s up to you to find out how to be the person who is selling these houses. And this involves developing a mindset around trying to maximise market share in all market conditions. To do this, you need to convince yourself there is always abundance in the market, and you also need to keep an optimistic outlook.
2. You Need to Really Care
Buyers will eventually become sellers. And after years of neglecting buyers, real estate agents are now looking at buyer care as a way of helping them secure future business. Think about it: if a buyer is treated well when they go after a house, who will they call when things turn around and they decide to become sellers?
3. Expectations Are Everything
You don’t need to lower your expectations, but you do need to be realistic. If you’re too ambitious, then you’re going to be more easily disappointed and overwhelmed. Work to set goals you can meet, as this will be far more sustainable in the long run.
4. Patience Is a Virtue
Famous Russian author Leo Tolstoy once said that the two most important warriors are time and patience. And to be a successful real estate agent who runs a sustainable business, then you need both. For example, when things get slow, you’re going to need to be much more patient than you’re perhaps used to. You don’t want to overreact to the market and take unnecessary risks. Instead, let the market react to you and put together a strategic plan for how you’re going to succeed. This will work much better than making rash decisions when things turn downwards.
5. Productivity Is King
When things slow down, it’s important to work to increase what you get out of every dollar you spend. Many people will slow themselves down in response to a market downturn, but this is the wrong reaction. You need to speed things up so that you can build up more relationships, increase your profile and bring in new business despite an overall downward trend in the market.