Looking to grow your Real Estate business? While our market is experiencing tough times right now, just waiting it out isn’t really a business building plan. It may seem the safe way to go, as we all have to watch our marketing dollars, but just waiting until things get better can be the wrong move. Business is still being done, and opportunities exist even in the most difficult times. A slower time, could be just the right time to create new opportunities, while reinforcing existing business.

Do you want to create new opportunities? Do you want to reinforce your relationship with your past clients and business partnerships? If so, stop waiting and just do it!

Follow these tips and you may see an increase in your business in just 30 days:

1.       Get Happy! First things first. Are you happy and excited about what you do? If not, you probably don’t want to bother with the rest of these tips because having a good attitude is ingredient number one. You MUST believe in what you do to succeed. Think of three things that will make you happy right now (within reason) and do them.

2.       Dial some Digits. Make one phone call to a referral partner today. Keep it simple, be sincere, and ask them how they are doing, how their business is doing, and if there is anything you can do to help them right now. For extra credit, call more than one.

3.       Happy Birthday! Select 10 of your best clients and send them birthday cards. Set this up annually for an extra touch-point to your database.

4.       A Good Deed. Offer to do an errand for one of your referral source partners. Free up a bit of their time.

5.       Practice Handwriting. Choose five of your best clients / referral sources and send them a hand written greeting card simply saying hello. Bonus: include a $5.00 Starbucks gift card just to remind them how special they are to you and your business.

6.       Grab Your Reading Glasses. Spend 20 minutes per day reading news related to your industry: you will learn something new each day from it for sure.

7.       Get Out, Learn and Network. Sign up for a seminar or class relating to your industry. Doing this will: a. give you new ideas; b. allow you to meet new people and network and; c. give you a change of scenery from your day to day.

8.       Make More Friends. Call 10 new people you have met and have a brief conversation with them. If struggling for a script, remember the FORD formula (ask them about Family, Occupation, Recreation, Dreams). By the end of the conversation, you should be adding them to your database with information that will help you help them in the future.

9.       Inspire Yourself. Take some time to think about the things that make you want to be better in life. It could be your kids, your family, success in your career, or your pets. Thinking of these inspirational things will push you to keep getting better in everything you do. Visualize your “why”!

10.   Chit Chat. Contact (via email, text, or personal phone call) 10 of your best clients and ask them this question: “What is the main thing you want from a (insert your profession or title here)?”

Bonus: Take it a step further and ask them what you could do to better their experience the next time they work with you, and if they know someone like them you could help.

11.   Split Up Your Time. Make a conscious effort to spend 5% of your time working ON your business instead of IN your business. This could be as simple as choosing one business building book per month and promising to complete it.

Recommendation for this month: Rain Making – The Professional’s Guide to Attracting New Clients – By Ford Harding.

12.   Put on Your Apron. Get back to baking! Who doesn’t like homemade baked goods? Bake a few dozen cookies and freeze them in batches. Each time you get a referral, send them a plate of homemade cookies and a handwritten thank you card.

13.   Your Report is Due. Take some recent media or newspaper articles and discuss it in an email or social media post. Provide some additional insight while explaining what it means to your clients (i.e. point out things they need to watch out for). Bonus: do this consistently weekly or bi-weekly, and people will begin to recognize your expertise and appreciate your insight on how this affects them.

14.   List Your Favourite Things. It never hurts to remember what your favourite things are. You can make more than one list. First make a list of your favourite things outside of work, like your favorite foods, books, movies, vacation spots, campsites, hikes, restaurants, etc. Then make a list of your favourite things about what you do for a living. Remind yourself why it is that you do what you do – and why you are good at it. For extra credit, think of ways you can include your favourite things outside of work to help you build your business (i.e. food group, book club, group hike, etc).

15.   Be the Teacher. Host an educational presentation in your community or neighborhood. Whether it is for first time homebuyers, for those interested in investing in real estate, planning for their retirement, or what they need to know about life insurance, people want to learn. Bonus: Partner up with your favourite professional referral source for double the attendees.

16.   Give Back. Organize or sponsor a charitable event in your community. It could be as easy as picking up trash at local parks or offering a free car wash to locals. This is a great way to meet people in your neighbourhood, gaining you exposure and providing a service to your community.

17.   Get Your Duster. Clean out your desk, and your office. Getting rid of anything old that doesn’t work or that you simply don’t use anymore will help you think clearer.

18.   Spread The Word. Compile a list of people who you know that don’t currently own a home, or have a growing family, or for whatever it is you do. Then contact them via email or direct mail with information about why now is the best time to buy/get life insurance/get a will/etc. and offer to meet with them to answer any questions they have.

19.   Keep it or Shred it. Tackle your filing cabinet and get rid of all unnecessary files or papers that are cluttering your space. Do this both at your office and at home. Here is a helpful link to help you figure out what to keep and what to pitch (it’s US based, but the info if worth referencing).

20.   A Fresh New Look. If you can, reinvent your look a little. Get a new haircut or colour. Get a new suit or outfit. You don’t need to replace your entire wardrobe, just choose one thing you’ve been thinking about changing, and change it. When you feel good, it shines through in your personality, which is after all a big reason why people choose to work with you.

21.   Tell Me Something… Email your entire database and ask them to reply back to you with one thing that you don’t know about them. Tell them you are reaching out and getting to know your clients better and want to know something unique about them.

22.   A Special Note. Take some time and write a special note on the back of all the business cards you give out. Something as simple as ‘I can’t wait to hear from you” will do.

23.   Stretch Your Limit. Make a commitment to do something COMPLETELY out of the ordinary for yourself. It could be something drastic like going bungee jumping, or it can be as simple as attending a cooking class that you have been thinking about taking. Do something out of the ordinary – you never know who you will meet along the way. Important, you have to go into this with a networking mindset, as the goal will be to add your database.

24.   Quotes for Success. Search and find a list of inspirational or motivational quotes that are meaningful to you. Then share them via email with your employees to boost morale, and to your clients to boost their spirits. Everyone needs a little inspiration these days.

25.   Write it Down. Keep a journal of your experiences, dreams, goals and ideas. It is easy to forget our goals and the great ideas that come into our minds, so start recording them each day. After a while, you can look back and work on your ideas, or even get new ideas, or gain motivation from past experiences and lessons learned.

26.   Move Things Around. The typical work day is eight hours. Do you love your office and all that surrounds you? If not, change it right away. Fill it with things that make you happy, and remind you of your goals and intentions.

27.   Be a Mentor. You can become a leader or mentor easier than you think. Surely there are professionals you have come in contact with recently that are just starting out and could use some good advice. Sharing it with someone fresh in the business will allow your ideas to be revisited as well as get new ideas from the person you are mentoring.

28.   Post a Note. Keep a supply of eye-catching postcards on hand and write a message on five each day. Choose five people from your database and send them your postcard. Remember, this is for no reason whatsoever – just a simple hello.

29.   Star Treatment. How would you treat a famous celebrity if they walked into your office today? You would probably drop what you are doing and immediately approach them with a smile on your face, willing to do whatever it takes to make them happy. You should be treating each person that walks into your office this very same way – including your mail delivery person and UPS professional. Everyone should be treated like a star – strive to do this each day.

30.   Reward Yourself. Each day make a point to reward yourself for your hard work. Set mini goals and appropriate rewards for each, and each time you complete a task, enjoy one of your rewards. It can be as simple as allowing yourself your morning coffee, only if you do at least 1 business building activity the day before.

If you want to discuss this further, or you have things that have worked for you and you like to share to help me build my business, please contact me, I’d love to discuss over a coffee.

Co-written with Martin Breeze, Mortgage Broker, TMG The Mortgage Group