Top Producing Agents Do These Five Things Regularly

What does it take to be a top-producing agent?

Our team at Vulcan7 has worked with some of the country’s top-earning real estate agents. Through our weekly video series, ROADMAP, we probe these agents for the best practices that have guided them throughout their careers.

In general, high-performing real estate agents tend to share a similar quality: they are obsessively PRODUCTION-FOCUSED! This means they focus the bulk of their time on activities that generate income, such as:

• Lead generation
• Lead follow up
• Pre-qualifying
• Role play/practice
• Handling objections

Top agents are focused on keeping their pipeline full. In fact, most top performers spend anywhere from 70-80% of their time each year (day, week, month) on the aforementioned production activities.

Or, perhaps we should call them by their more motivating name: MONEY-MAKING activities.

So, if you’re reading this post, ask yourself if lead generation or production, as outlined above, is the foundation of your business. That must be your starting point for a successful real estate career.

Beyond real estate lead generation and a commitment to phone prospecting, top-producing agents do the following five things regularly to ensure their success:

 STICK TO A RIGID ROUTINE.

And OWN the morning

According to a a study by Northwestern Medical School, sticking to a route allows you to:

• Manage stress more effectively. A routine helps you to relax and be less anxious, especially when you have a lot on your plate.
• Sleep better. Keeping a regular sleep schedule leads helps you manage stress.
• Eat healthier. We tend to eat healthier when we have a regular meal schedule, so
• Be more active. Regularly-scheduled exercise also helps to keep us relaxed and focused.

SOURCE: https://www.nm.org/healthbeat/healthy-tips/health-benefits-of-having-a-routine

In addition to the health benefits of maintaining a routine, top performers commit to lead generation every morning without fail. They have come to believe that honoring their daily prospecting schedule is the best, most proven way to keep their pipeline full.

LEAD FOLLOW-UP OBSESSIVELY

Effective follow-up leads to more business.

We’ve written extensively about LEAD FOLLOW-UP in this blog.  Effective lead follow-up is important for several reasons:

• It helps maintain communication and trust, allowing you to better understand their needs and preferences.
• Keeps you top-of-mind with prospective sellers.
• It allows you to address seller concerns, another way to build rapport.
• Demonstrates your commitment to helping your client through the most important financial decision they’ll make.

WORK THEIR SPHERE OF INFLUENCE

Your SOI is a valuable asset.

The people in your SOI are more likely to trust and engage with you. People prefer doing business with those they know and trust, making your SOI a fertile ground for potential clients and referrals.

In our post HOW TO GET LEADS FROM YOUR SPHERE OF INFLUENCE, we walk through the process for building your SOI. These are the people who already know you. Here’s a partial list:

• • Friends and family members
  • Church members
  • Neighbors and friends of neighbors
  • Former high school or college friends
  • Parent-teacher groups
  • Book clubs
  • Country clubs
  • Personal service people: hairdressers, house cleaners, mechanics, etc.

HOLD THEMSELVES ACCOUNTABLE

Practice, practice, practice.

Top-producing agents know that accountability often translates to continued success and career satisfaction. That’s why they often participate in any, or a combination of the following activities regularly:

• Working with a Mastermind group to share ideas and successes.
• Rely on an accountability partner, or partners, to keep them focused and on task.
• Start their morning with a role-playing partner to work through their scripts, especially those scripts on handling objections.

One additional note on scripts: they can be gold for anyone committed to being a top-producing real estate agent. Scripts help you get comfortable with handling objections. The more comfortable you feel, the more you will exude confidence with your prospect.

INVEST IN THEIR SUCCESS

Spend money to make money.

If you focus on the items above, you will be well on your way to success in real estate. But if you want to take your game to a much higher level, you should consider investing strategically in your business.  Top-producing agents often invest in the following:

• Advanced lead generation and CRM technology like VULCAN7 is widely considered the best resource in the industry for superior expired, FSBO, FRBO, and pre-foreclosure leads. In addition, Vulcan7’s user-friendly CRM platform helps keep you focused and on-task with lead follow-up.
• Real estate coaching. A real estate coach provides an agent’s ultimate level of accountability and can pay huge dividends over the long haul.
• Career-development. Numerous industry events and networking opportunities help you stay current with what’s happening in the industry.

 If your business isn’t where you think it should be, you might want to examine your “operating philosophy.”

Are you spending 70-80% of your time on production (money)-focused activities? If not, why?

If you’re mired in administrative (especially transactional) details, maybe you need to hire a part-time admin to handle those details, freeing you up to earn the money you were meant to earn.

THINK PRODUCTION, and the money will come!

CONTACT US to learn more about how Vulcan7 can energize your business.

Doug Spak

Doug Spak has over four decades of experience as an advertising copywriter, agency creative director, blogger, and content creator. He joined Vulcan7 as a Content Specialist in 2016. In addition to ongoing website copy refreshes, Doug has produced over 300 blog posts while developing content for Vulcan7’s social media platforms.