More People, More Opportunity
How many people do you need to work with? I have an answer but you need to come up with your own. It is a vital component of your business plan. My answer is 200 people per year or 4 new people a week. A top agent would close 50% of these 200 people resulting in 100 transactions. A decent agent might close 25% of these 200 prospects resulting in 50 transactions. Struggling agents without good instruction may close as little as 10% of the people they work with.
Once you begin “tracking” your closing ratio you will be able to determine how many people you need to work with by backing into it. For example, you might decide that you need to do 40 rental transactions to pay your bills and keep your life going. Over a few months your closing ratio works out to a 20% success rate. Using some basic math you divide 40 transactions by 20% and know that at your present closing ratio you need to take out 200 people to expect to close 40 deals.
Are you doing it right?
In my experience, the majority of agents that fail to make enough money aren’t giving themselves a chance because they do not work with enough people. Ask yourself this question, “Can I work with more people?” Every agent needs to find the level of activity that they can consistently sustain without burning out. Consistency in your actions will result in a more consistent income.
Often when I ask agents if they can handle working more people the answer is “of course but I just can’t get them”. Lead generation is paramount. Successful agents are able to generate as many leads as they need. In some ways the rental business is very much a “numbers game”. You need to do everything you can to master lead generation. If you do not take out enough people you really won’t have a chance to succeed.
About Greg Young
Greg Young is the owner and President of Broker Heaven NY, a real estate training and consulting firm located in Manhattan devoted to helping agents and companies reach their full potential. Greg has trained thousands of agents over his 30 year career and has created numerous rental and sales training programs.