I wanted to post this one to get some more opinions on this than just mine. With permission, this email came to my inbox and has been reproduced here for you guys to give your two bobs. (I’ll go first in the comments section, but your comments really appreciated)
Hey Glenn
I have a question for you.
I have been marketing (poorly i feel) in an area, a farm area if you like, and after Chris Gilmour’s training went back to assess the market damage misses that have come through there in the past 12 months.
Results
524 homes ( i know that it should probably be 1000, but this is pre farm area me doing this)
2010 sales 25
2009 sales 36
Investors 42%
My experience in a farm area is very low, hence the poor effort in the past with the wrong message to the market. Maybe there is just not enough houses to achieve the results that I am looking for as well ( results probably 50 sales per annum including farm area stuff would be better than I am currently doing). I might need to have 1000 in my farm, easy enough to do by the way.
My question is – is this still a suitable farm area with such low sales, could it be that the majority of the agents in that area be bad at what they do and hence lower the number of sales, should I move to a different area and set it up as a farm area that shows better sale results more in the 50-75 range. I like the area I am in but feel that the most part, prices are too high for where the buyers are at. Does that come down to better education in that area and with my new tools and focus from Chris Gilmour training, would it be worth commencing a better way of marketing in there and creating my own sales market and get the number up around the 50 per year in that area.
From a listing point of view, there a heaps of properties for sale in this area but achieving minimal sales due to high prices that the market is not prepared to meet.
I hope that this all makes sense and your opinion would be great.
Thanks
Comments 9
My advice would be to extend your farm area to an area that encapsulates about 200 sales per year and then go hell for leather to get a 25% market share of those 200 using the techniques you know (and man, you know a lot)
Then worry about how to double either the market share, or grab another area of 200 sales, and get 25% of that too.
Simple advice but hopefully the other trainers I know will chime in with their ideas.
I would have to agree with Glenn in that you may need to extend you farm area. But do it cleverly! Look at which way to extend and what will bring you the results you want.
I farm an area but found that the message I was delivering wasn’t hitting home with many people. Since Chris’ workshop and Glenn’s guidance, I have changed my way of thought. I’m tracking the efforts made in this area of prospecting. It’s one thing to do it, but you have to know if it’s working or your wasting your time.
Good luck!
Would have to say my approach is radically different. At Sales Trainer (which is on in Brisbane next week on 15th+16th) we teach a proven strategy called the Regenerative Prospecting Process (RPP) which has a mandate on expansion but only from a position of strength and if there is one thing that I agree with it is that you must broaden your market.
We say that once you have achieved around a 33% market share that you should geographically extend the perimeters of your market but not before you have established
+ reinforced the market share of the area you already service! In fact extending your area coverage prematurely could weaken your position on the market share you already participate in!
The RPP says that you should leverage off the signs (listings) you already have with a minimal view of replacing the listing you have once sold and further creating leverage of two new listings ideally, although the strategy can yield up to as many as 5 new listings in the immediate vicinity of a listing you already have!
The key components to this strategy are…
Defining an ‘Active Seller’ as opposed to a ‘Dormant Property Owner’
Understanding the boundaries of where these potential listings will sit
Re-engineering the ‘message’ you send to new potential customers
Developing + perfecting effective dialogue to attract the potential sellers
Pre-Selling your product/brand from the listings already won
Although this brief outline of the RPP strategy doesn’t give much away suffice to say that it operates on a paradoxical platform to ‘normal prospecting dispositions’. Traditional seller prospecting methods work purely on a numbers game looking to locate leads or appraisals, the attitude being that if you do the numbers success will come your way. Or more specifically the commitment is often articulated as, ‘moving a lot of dirt to locate a diamond’
Conversely the RPP challenges this attitudinal disposition asking instead, ‘How do I extract the diamonds without disturbing the dirt?!?’
The result? Well I teach salespeople to aspire to DOUBLE FIGURE MONTHLY LISTINGS and this requires a Listing Presentation with an Active Seller DAILY as the key… this prospecting process is an holistic approach and delivers on that expectation!
‘A listing a day – helps you work, rest and play!’ (pardon the pun!)
List n’ Sell 😉
Mark Dwyer
Ok I would start with a few things
Find an area that is not dominated by 1 agent
Look at the turn over each year – how many sell
Have a look at how many different agents there are in the area
…Pick no more than 1500 homes
Is it a suburb where people want to live and is there movement there- no point picking an area where people have lived there for 30yrs
Pick a mixture of old and new homes
Can u dominate the websites with this area no point having like forest lake where there r over 300 homes for sale
Pick an area where roughly 40-50 for sale at each time and make sure at least 80 sell a yr in that area
Dominate that one area and have good market share and u will make a killing!!!!
Stay away from drewvale – all ready taken!!! Lol
Fish where the fish are. If the area is dominated by an old agent go for it.
Your a low down lieing rat it’s not free at all!
Hi Jack, I assume you mean the gift of my ‘Massive Success’ with my admin team asking you for $9 to pick up their costs for package, postage, etc.
Well if that cost for a product that has been sold elsewhere between $49 and $147 then $9 ain’t asking the world. Hey if that’s really a problem, email me and I’ll send you one for free. So far I have sent out about a thousand of ‘Massive Success’ copies, and I’ve had hundreds of emails saying it’s the best thing they’ve listened to, and yours is the first to speak negatively asbout the offer.
With respect I’d say there’s some misplaced focus going on here. But if I’ve offended you, feel free to find you training elsewhere. (and believe me, you’ll be paying more than $9 postage)
Glenn
‘Massive Success’ is a well put together goldmine for new and old agents who need to get back into the game. If Glenns generousity is minimised by ‘postage’, perhaps this person doesn’t deserve a copy. Stay in your old ways and get passed by those who can change and adapt quickly as the market does.
Remember – in nature (and business) it’s not the big that eat the small, it’s the quick that eat the slow.
Go get ’em Glenn
Firstly, I like how this panel of comments focus on the concept of broadening the initial farming area. This would have to be a key element that needs to be achieved immediately. Let’s look a little deeper as to how you might define your “farm area,’ and how to achieve ongoing business from this core. Choose an area with the highest turnover of stock. Now some agents will agree with my statement, others will say, work on mass profits (area’s where properties are worth 7 digits) and higher commissions, but like any business, turnover of sales and continual cash flow must be the foundation for any successful business, especially when starting out. Choosing an area with high turnover can be assessed by number of listings and number of sales. An area such as a “mortgage belt”, generally see’s homeowners feel the purse-strings tighten and ultimately can’t afford, nor want to afford the monthly repayment and sell. Do some demographic research and find an area populated with 18 – 27 year old culture. They can’t sit still, forever changing partners and thus properties change hands more frequently, (no punches please). I like how you have look at historics within your farm area, now follow on using a few of my suggestions. The analogy here to reflect on is this; you wouldn’t open up McDonalds in a town of 200 people, there’s not enough fish to eaten take out that often. Apply the same with choosing your area.
Reflecting on Mr Dwyers comments, (which I personally appreciate), takes me two the other level of your email, prospecting. What are you doing to generate your business. “Active Seller” vs “Dormant Property Owner”, how are you seperating the two. Perhaps, go back through sales data (over 10 years if need be) and see how often the area’s stock changes ownership and find an average. Then target owners who are within that changeover average and you may find yourself attracting some “Active Sellers.” I’m a big believer in “It’s not what you say, but how you say it.” Getting the wrong message across will not get you in the door. Using your own signs and “bombing” around other agents stock, (this does not mean going behind the sign, just feeding off the sign.) is a quick way to generate appraisals and activity and there are many things that will influence a homeowner to come to the market if delivered correctly. If you would like to talk personally, please don’t hesitate to call me on my details undersigned. Good luck and Good hunting.
Alistair
0448 713 049