You Need More Marketing .. Say What?

[BocaHome]

I sometimes have to ask myself the question, why have Realtors minimized or stopped their marketing efforts? I have been selling real estate for 12 years now and never encountered a problem in a slow market. I believe in a slowing market you need to spend more money and more time, to achieve the same results that you did when the real estate market was hot.

I am in a market where people come to retire, get their real estate license, and sell one or two homes a year. Not all Realtors here, but a good amount of them. We are considered professionals. Why doesn't our local board or Nar make it mandatory that Realtors sell a certain amount of homes each year. If they fall short of that they go on a probationary period. I can't tell you the amount of Realtors here that are now working in furniture or department stores and still picking up a listing or sale here and there.

Would you still go to your Doctor if see saw a patient here and there? I doubt it. Are they really practicing real estate as a profession, by keeping up with the current properties for sale, rules and regulations and other events, which would only be advantageous to a buyer?

Ask yourself, what other line of work can I make a Doctor's or Lawyer's salary without an 8 year education. I could almost guarantee that If you treat real estate as you would a regular job, coming to work on time everyday, dressing like a professional, spending a minimum of 40 hours a week (really working), marketing yourself and your listings, that you will not even see the crunch that Realtors are complaining about. If you do not have any buyers or sellers which you can currently service, go and attend a training class.

How about those Realtors in the 1980's which wore gold jackets(you know the company), had their cars plastered with magnetic signs, and passed out balloons from door to door. Are we getting that lazy where we can't do 1/2 of what as required of us only 20 years ago?

Get out of your house and talk to your neighbors, meet people, hand out your business cards, make new friends, and treat this like a real job. It works. Sorry this is so long-winded. Thanks for hearing my thoughts.

Caesar

[Sam Chapman]

Funny that you should suggest imosing rules like a minimum number of homes sold. It reminds me of being dumbfounded when thinking that it takes more hours (by far) to become licensed to cut hair than it does to sell a house. What's up with that? I think we really do need more barriers to entry to weed out the bad apples.

[Malok]

The problem with imposing a minimum number of houses sold - is that it gets back to dollars.
Fewer members @ the current renewal fees for membership/licensing = less dollars.


Solution: Jack renewal fees by 10x the amount. That will get rid of the weeds almost immediately, leaving the persons that are committed to this business swamped with work.

[BocaHome]

Malok,

I like that. Jack the fees to an amount where Realtors would not be so eager to keep their license in a part-time status. Also why are these brokers hiring part-time agents? The brokers should be the ones responsible for making sure that their agents produce a minimum number of transactions every year.

[Morristown]

Get out of your house and talk to your neighbors, meet people, hand out your business cards, make new friends, and treat this like a real job. It works. Sorry this is so long-winded. Thanks for hearing my thoughts.

Caesar

I like that, very good quote. I am trying to do exactly that, get out and get face time with people in my market areas.


A few weeks ago at the Rotary club lunch this was talked about at my table. When we walked in we had to draw numbers to determine what table we would be seated at. I happened to be seated at a table with 3 other realtors and 2 mortgage brokers a, doctor, & a retired judge.

I did not start the conversation or even join in much, other than to say really, you think so, but anyway the conversation went like this. Agent from C "about 50% of the Licensed Realtors in this area have given up, are just sitting home not doing anything". Agent from W " I bet that number is closer to 65% from my experience". Agent from P " I agree closer to 65%".

These 3 Realtors are top agents at the 3 companies doing the most business in my county.

Jim

[BocaHome]

I was talking to a friend in Las Vegas yesterday and she told me that some facts got published that close to 75% of all Realtors there sold less than 1 home last year and around 50% sold 0 homes last year!

If you are reading this, you probably were not one of those statistics.

[Morristown]

I know a Former Board of Realtors President and was told at a party that we were both at that here, consistently year after year 65% to 68% of the Realtors sell no homes. That was very eye opening.

He also said the 80 / 20 rule applied but shockingly the 95 / 5 rule applied most of the time as well.

[Bigtoe]

95/5 is pretty accurate in this business. Knowing that, I don't care how many faces are fogging mirrors at the big houses, my income is secure and increasing.

[Malok]

Knowing that, I don't care how many faces are fogging mirrors at the big houses

I'm not familiar with this saying (if it even is one?).


I infer that you are referencing the number of agents at the various large brokerages (C21, REMAX, etc).



Or are you making a reference/pun in regard to convicts having something done to them at prison - and relating that to other real estate agents?

[REW Reed]

It's kind of sad that you can get into debt up to your eyeballs from going to school (like myself) and someone who doesn't graduate from High School can take a test until they pass it and make much more money than you...

I don't necessarily agree that higher fees should be associated with retaining professional status, but stronger standards should definitely be imposed. Something to demonstrate a knowledge of the current standards in the industry. You want the committed but struggling professionals to stay but the semi-pros to keep up to standards.