From Charlie Young and Ken Schmidt to Jim Parks and ERA brokers at the collaboration roundtables, the 2014 ERA Real Estate Broker Business forum provided key insights into the real estate market and great ideas for business growth.
Here are the top 15 things overheard during the event, held October 6 – 8 in Miami, Florida.
1.) Change your stance in the market. The way to change is through growth which happens by recruiting, incorporating a roll-in strategy to obtain other businesses and completing mergers and acquisitions.
2.) Never stand still. ERA Real Estate provides you with the fuel, the ideas and support to constantly move your business forward. Use this opportunity to grow.
3.) Differentiate yourself using granular information. Use the internet to give potential buyers as much information about a home and its location as possible (i.e. What is it like to live on that block?)
4.) Recruiting is more important than ever. It is predicted that Generation X will work for seven different companies in a lifetime and Generation Y will have ten different careers in a lifetime. They will love you and leave you so recruiting has to be top of mind.
5.) You can’t manage what you don’t measure. Use ERA TopRecruiter to drive, enhance, manage and measure your recruiting efforts.
6.) Know what people are saying about you. What would you like them to say and what are you willing to do to get them to say it? Harness the power of people – get them to tell your story so that they say, “This is what I like about them. This is what they do.”
7.) Brain is pain. If people think too long about whether or not they want to do business with you, you lose an opportunity. Instead, engage them when you are right in front of them. Get them to like you.
8.) Reimaging a brand is not for the faint of heart – but it is well worth it. And, through sizeable trade presence, we’re putting ERA Real Estate in the hands of thousands.
9.) Agents own what they’re involved in. Engage agents in your reimaging process and let them drive the initiative so that you are all in it together.
10.) Plan to make an impact. When thinking about your local reimaging launch, be sure to give yourself plenty of planning time to create and execute an impactful event.
11.) (RE) Imagine your business. Take a step back from your day to day business to imagine your future. Think differently about how you can put yourself three steps ahead in your marketplace.
12.) Diversity is critical to future success. Seven of ten first time buyers in the next ten years will be minority families. Start building a diverse agent pool now to help capture that business.
13.) Millennials are afraid to have conversations on the phone. Maybe not exactly, but be sure to use text and social media in your marketing mix to reach these clients or potential recruits.
14.) Millennials need structure and guidance. Pair them up with a mentor. It creates loyalty among the younger agents and a succession plan for older agents.
15.) There is a new day dawning at ERA Real Estate.
ERA Real Estate brokers and agents: We’re taking our campaign for a smarter network, smarter support and smarter solutions to Washington, D.C. next year. Join us on our campaign trail to the 2015 International Business Conference, February 15-18. Click here to register.
