Lets not ‘beat around the bush’ here, the Overseas Real Estate Industry took a hard knock during the Covid-19 pandemic and though there are still a few issues hindering the buying and selling process, it is starting to get better, and things are picking up.
So, rather than steaming in there like a child in a sweet shop when things do get back to pre-pandemic levels, what are the steps you should be taking and how should you prepare for what could be a really good few months ahead?
In my professional opinion, the first thing you should do is re-assess your marketing strategy, if you didn’t already do so when things were quiet. Based on lead numbers and conversions pre-covid, are you still advertising your properties in the right online places, or do you need to change it? There’s zero point spending money on portals that aren’t performing and given that there’s a range of marketing options open to you (for example other portals or social media), is it time to try something new?
The second thing you should do, is look at whether you actually need any new leads coming in, or whether you have enough to be dealing with already? Now is a great time to talk with your staff members and get their feedback. Yes, everyone wants new hot leads, but what about the leads who’ve enquired before, either pre-pandemic or during the pandemic? Don’t forget, you’ve spent money on those leads, and ignoring them in favour of someone new would be a total waste of it. You can bet your last euro, that if you don’t deal with that person another agent will, and you could be losing out on a few good sales. Get your staff back on the phone’s, start ramping up your email marketing, sort out your database and decide what’s best for your agency.
The third thing you should do, is look at the marketing tools and services that you are utilising, and see if there are any other things you could be doing, or if there are any better services out there that will help streamline your processes, rather than hindering them. Is there something you aren’t happy with, for example your website, your XML feed, your hosting provider, anything that you feel could be improved – now is the time to do it. There’s also other options out there to help you collaborate and make sales so are you taking advantage of them, or are you just doing what every other agent does and taking lots of XML feeds to build ‘stock’.
Lastly – you need to take a breath, get back to the basics and do the simple things correctly. Don’t lose out on sales because you are too eager to try and re-coup the last 18 months sales. That’s not going to work for anyone. Build rapport, listen to your clients, find out what they want (not what you want), sell the area as well the property, and use all the tools you can to find them the property of their dreams, i.e. don’t lose a sale because ‘you haven’t got the right property for them’.
In summary – enjoy it, there’s a busy few months ahead so just ensure you are in the best place to fully take advantage of it, and of course don’t be afraid to ask for help with anything if you think you need it!
