The fact that your business is running and that you’re making money doesn’t mean you’re doing it the best way possible. It doesn’t mean you’re doing it optimally. The problem is that, just because the business is working, a lot of people are making an assumption that everything is fine and that nothing has to be changed. However, what if you knew just how easy it is to optimize some of your basic operations? Here are five proven methods to show you just that.
1. Improve your marketing
With real estate, it’s often about how quickly you can flip a place. You see, you make the same amount of money regardless of whether you sell the place during the first week or a few months later. Depreciation doesn’t work that fast, but a sitting property’s costs will. How quickly you sell it often depends on your marketing.
You should never underestimate the importance of digital marketing in modern real estate. Sure, you need a strong site, but you also need to optimize it, fill it with content, and engage in all the necessary SEO methods to ensure that your visibility is high enough.
Another thing you need to acknowledge is the significance of social media marketing. After all, this is how a lot of people find the real estate they need. Platforms like Instagram, LinkedIn, and even Pinterest can be pivotal in reaching your audience.
Investing in content marketing is another sensible idea. Creating content will allow you to establish yourself as an authority in the industry and provide value for your potential buyers. It’s the best way to connect early on.
2. Hire virtual assistants
Hiring more realtors can be incredibly expensive, but what if there was an alternative? You could always hire a real estate virtual assistant to help you out with these administrative tasks. It’s a less committing and more flexible form of employment that could greatly benefit your business.
There are so many things that a virtual assistant can do. For instance, they could do market research and data entry and even leverage some analytical tools to get you the latest data. They could also control customer outreach and act as a customer service.
You can hire them directly or through an agency. This gives you more customizability, but it also a great way to control your costs. You just pay for the number of hours you expect to get from them, and that’s it.
Because the position is so common and popular, you can even find a specialist virtual assistant for real estate. This means people who are actually specialized for these tasks and have prior experience in real estate.
3. Streamline processes
The biggest challenge with real estate is that there are so many tasks you have to perform on a regular basis, ranging from inspections all the way to updating information on listings and websites. In order to make this work, you have to streamline all of these processes.
You want to start by automating repetitive tasks. This will save you so much unnecessary labor, and you would be shocked at how much this type of work can amass in this industry.
By streamlining the process, you’ll actually save your staff more than just labor. What you’ll actually do is help them stay focused on one task, instead of allowing their mind to wonder in all sorts of different directions.
Next, you want to ensure uniformity. In real estate, there’s so much red tape. The number of laws, regulations, mandatory checks, and licenses is virtually limitless. What you’re generally aiming for is the standardization of your processes so that the chance that you’ll miss or mess up something becomes as low as it gets.
4. Reflect on customer feedback
The most important thing you need to understand is that your job is not done when you close the sale. You still need to talk to the customers and see where all your bottlenecks are, what you can improve, etc. You also need these statements so that you can use them as testimonials as a part of your marketing campaign.
Moreover, while you need to focus on the overall customer experience, you should also inquire about the specifics. What you’re looking for is actionable insight, something that you can actually use to improve your operations and the way you function.
Make sure to take this feedback seriously, even things you won’t necessarily like. Sure, sometimes negative feedback will come in the form of a pill that’s hard to swallow; however, not everyone is being mean or trolling you. Some of these complaints are genuinely going to help you run a better business.
It’s not just about the customers; you also want to analyze your competition. You need to understand the industry standards in order to keep up with them.
5. Improve your networking abilities
There are so many additional services you’ll need as a real estate agent and business. You’ll need handymen, appraisers, marketers, clerks, and all sorts of different specialists on your team. This is why it’s safe to say that the real estate industry (even if you disregard the importance of actually negotiating with the buyer)
Networking is a set of skills that you can improve upon. There are so many courses, books, and even soft skills you can hone in order to improve in this field. It does, however, take quite a bit of commitment on your part.
It’s even more important that you nurture these relationships once you establish them. This is not a one-and-done scheme.
Most importantly, this is a business process that will cost you money. After all, this is what the costs of representation are. You can’t afford to be stingy because it will speak poorly of both your business and you as a professional.
Wrap up
Ultimately, in order to improve your business, you have to take a more systemic approach to it all. This means that you need to identify key areas in which you’re currently not excelling and find a way to give your team a sizable boost. Hiring more help, improving your marketing, and working on expansion are generally the ways to go.