We see so many agents struggle because they’re overwhelmed by choice. They attempt too many things at the same time. So in this episode we focus on the options -the pillars - you can choose to build your business on, and why you should work on just one at a time.
3 Takeaways:
1. Top teams are often built on just 2-3 pillars that drive 80% of their business
2. Each pillar of your business requires mastering a new skillset - The more you focus on one pillar, the faster you build the skills that make that pillar work for you
3. Go talk to 3 people in your Sphere of Influence TODAY. Sphere leads are still a key pillar of top teams around the country, even those who generate thousands of online leads
We started by sharing some tech tools like IFTTT, Appear.in and Facebook Mentions, and handled a couple of questions on losing listings by not getting the paperwork signed at the appointment. Greg reminded us all that it’s not about the close, it’s about the open. Your listing appointment is your opportunity to put them on the Value Rocketship. If you show that you bring more value than any other agent then signing the agreement is natural and you don’t need to push them to sign it on the spot.
Next, Greg shared the results of his year-end sales evaluation, why his team is dropping online lead generation systems (except eQQuity), how they grew their business 23% from 2014-15. We also talked about Greg’s 2016 strategy, which involves hiring a calling assistant to work the online leads they already have, and what really determines a “lead.”
Matt then shared some stats from Jeff Cohn’s team in Nebraska, which made around 100,000 calls in 2015, including the average time it takes for an online buyer lead to close (6 months) and how many legitimate leads they need in order to expect one deal (33). We also went over Jeff Cohn’s “3 Buckets” framework which are Sphere, Internet Leads & Prospecting.
But why work on just one pillar at a time?
First, every pillar involves mastering a new skillset, and the more you focus on one pillar the faster you build those unique skills. It’s better to be a mile deep and an inch wide, than a mile wide and an inch deep.
The second reason is time and testing. If you want to build a successful pillar such as a marketing strategy, it rarely works perfectly right out of the gate. It will take testing, iteration and gradual improvement to get things dialed in. Greg recommended 8-12 months at minimum to see results from any one marketing strategy.
We share our top 3 fastest-converting lead sources
We all have a tendency to overestimate what we can get done in the short term, and underestimate what we can get done in the long term. Rather than working on 50 different ways to get clients, focus on one pillar, master it for a year, then add another pillar next year.
