5 Things to Do After June 30th to Grow Your Business !
If you are like us, we have been incredibly busy due to the Tax Credit stimulus. The weeks leading up to April 30th were crazy getting buyers under contract and having the majority of our listings fly off the shelve, several with multiple offers. All of those deals have either already settled or will be settling in the next few days. It has been an incredible 2010 for The Somers Team already !
However, we do not want the momentum and the activity to stop. We do believe that the 2nd half of the year will be much slower than the first half. How can it not be when so much demand was pushed up to the first half ? But with mortgage rates so low, that will be a driving force for the second half to be stable. In addition, below is a list of things we are planning to do to help grow our business for the future and to have that kick-start going into 2011 !
1. Take a vacation or take some "me" time
The old saying goes as soon as you go on vacation buyers will come out of the woodwork and a deal or two will come in on your listings. It is a golden rule ! Try it ! More importantly it is so necessary to take a break and relax, rejuvenate and come back stronger ! Or if you do not do a vacation, take some time for yourself as there will be more time in the day. For example, Stephanie just started taking Pilates classes and I have been to The Training Station 3 out of the last 4 days. Hopefully we keep it up !
2. Focus on your marketing and lead generation
When things get slower, that is the best time to lead generate. Focus in on your marketing efforts. Take a look at your website. What can you do to improve it ? If you do not have a website, well now will be the time to get one. Are you involved in Social Media ? If not, now is the time to build your social media marketing strategies. Take a look at what has been working for you and what has not been working as far as lead generation and develop a plan to build on the things that work and perhaps eliminate some of the things that do not. We plan on making some enhancements and changes to our ever-growing The Somers Team site which should be a lot of fun. Our goal is to always stay ahead of the curve from a technology and innovation standpoint.
3. Blog Blog Blog
I am a big believer in blogging. Blog about your community, your stories, your experiences, your knowledge, public events, your clients. Being that you will have more time, take advantage it and knock out several blogs per week. If you do not have a blog, now is the time to get one ! If you have one but it has been static, set a goal for doing 2 or 3 blogs per week. There has been a ton of testimonials from bloggers who have shared the business they have received from blogging. We are no exception. Our blog (s) have been a huge driver for us in terms of exposure and working with new propsects and clients as a result.
4. Network Network Network
This one is not an easy one for me as believe it or not, I have social anxiety disorder sometimes. But with having more time on your hands, what a great opportunity to get out there and do those things that you just did not have time to before with the tax credit frenzy. Attend those tweet-ups, those broker opens, those networking opportunities for groups and civic associations, your neighborhood functions, volunteer groups and so forth. This past week I attended "Homes 4 Hounds" and won 2 prizes from the raffle as well as the Northern Liberties Neighborhood Association monthly meeting which I have missed the last several months just being so busy. As a result, I had the opportunity to see some folks and have some conversations with people I have not seen in awhile. What a great way to stay connected !
5. Jump into a niche area such as short sales
With things being slower, you can take on the more time consuming short sale deals of the world. If you are not doing these deals, now is the time to start ! Blog about it, do a few deals and begin to share that in your community. I would think almost every city has folks who are in hardship and need the services of someone who knows what they are doing. It is amazing here in Philadelphia how few agents really know how to do a short sale or what a short sale is and how it works. We have sellers who find us and need our help just from the short sale blogs that we do. If you are not interested in short sales, find that niche market in your area that you are not involved in yet and jump in ! You will be glad you did in 2011 when your business is up 10 to 20 percent !
These are just a few ideas. Of course, there are many more ! Please share what else you might do the second half of the year to kick-start your business into 2011 ! And please share your thoughts on the above in the comments below.
Let's kick butt the rest of the year !
