Trends in Top Producers

This is part of my Top Producer series that I'll be posting in the next couple of weeks. Due to market conditions in the Real Estate industry it's more critical now than ever to focus your efforts on people that do the business. The age old adage of the 80/20 rule applies. Focus on the top 20 percent and you'll see results.

Trends in Top Producers
By Joe Curtis
Senior Sales Management Consultant


Part 1 of 2
Everyone tells me Top Producers are a different beast. They are unique. And, they require more. After hearing this from our clients time and time again, I thought I’d pick up the phone and call a few, find out for myself. What does make a Top Producer tick? What is their approach to their business? What challenges do they face, and what do they want to learn?
Armed with these very questions, RightNow has interviewed over 100 top producing real estate agents, lenders, attorneys throughout the nation, including, but not limited to, the following major metropolitan markets: Las Vegas, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Denver, Boise, Portland, Tampa and San Antonio, Texas.

The answers may or may not surprise you. But perhaps most importantly, we learned that regardless of the geographic market, there are consistent trends for these successful professionals. Below are just a few insights straight from the individuals themselves.

Top Producers Approach to Their Business:

• They have a business-minded philosophy, meaning they treat their real estate or title practice like a true business, complete with well developed marketing and sales plans.
• They are constantly educating themselves about their business, their market and the future direction of both.
• They are extremely customer-centric, staying completely focused on what their clients’ want and need.
• They have a systematic process for follow up with their current clients and future prospects.
• They have a well established marketing and advertising plan, systematically tracking and repeating what works well.
• They completely prepare themselves for sales calls (80% preparation, 20% execution). Many use a personal, business or lifestyle coach for their own development.

Consistently, RightNow hears comments like:

“I don’t sell houses. I educate people on how to buy them.”

“The most common good and bad business decisions are hiring decisions"

What They Want to Learn:

• Legal Trends: DRE rules and regulations.
• Technology Trends: What will help take their business to the next level?
• Marketing Trends: The latest and most effective means of, more targeted,
  marketing to different groups, how to measure if it’s working
• Streamlining Work-Flow: Using technology OR staff
• Time Management Skills
• How to Build Their Business: Providing support for their growth

Top 5 Business Challenges Facing Top Producers

• Competition: Many competitors are willing to cut commissions, squeezing margins
• Changing Laws and Regulatory Issues: Trying to keep abreast
  and ahead of them
• Time Management: Both for themselves and their teams
• Finding and Hiring Good People: Buyers agents, assistants
• Greedy Sellers: Setting client expectations around properly pricing a home
  

With annual planning for 2008 just around the corner, what are the top priorities over the next 12 months and how can you offer your assistance? Below are a few suggested websites that
will help arm you with solutions to THEIR needs:

THEIR PRIORITY:(For Brokers) Growing Their Agent’s Business
HOW CAN YOU HELP?

http://www.topproducer.com/ – Top Producer is the industry standard in full
featured real estate agent software. This company also offers other software
modules including Hot Marketer, Top Presenter 2 and Top Connector.

http://www.topproducersales.com/ reduced rates on the software packages.–

http://www.myonlineneighborhood.com/ very similar to the above site, however, it is focused much more on the real estate professional.

THEIR PRIORITY: (For Brokers) Hiring Agents, Increasing Staff to Accommodate Growth
HOW CAN YOU HELP?

http://www.salary.com/ – Look up what people make in your specific geographic region; Help an agent
figure out what they should pay to attract talent.

“Multiply Your Success with Real Estate Assistant” a book by Monica Reynolds

THEIR PRIORITY:Increasing Effectiveness of Marketing

HOW CAN YOU HELP?

http://www.colorforrealestate.com/ – outstanding and inexpensive color real estate marketing/follow up tools

“Power Real Estate Letters: A Professional's Resource for Success”, a book by William H. Pivar, Corinne E. Pivar

http://www.hobbsherder.com/ – a high-end real estate marketing company

http://www.idemandresults.com/ – excellent site for internet real estate marketing needs

http://www.serviceforlife.com/ – Real estate newsletters and email drip campaigns

THEIR PRIORITY:Having More Personal Time

HOW YOU CAN HELP?
http://www.createaplan.com/ – a comprehensive, easy to use web-based strategic & business planning software tool designed specifically for the real estate professional. This simple point and click software application program is designed to make business planning, budgeting, and tracking quick and easy.

http://www.isucceed.com/ – top producing real estate agents offer mentorship for pennies on the dollar. Why reinvent the wheel?

In Conclusion
I hope this provides you a little glance inside the mind and priorities of the Top Producer. In Part 2 of this series, I’ll focus on what we can do as Title Professionals to tailor our sales approach to selectively target and cater to these Top Producers. After all, in a downturned market (or a ‘corrected’ market, as some may say) who will be the agents that remain in business? Isn’t it time you focus on Top Producers?