7 MIN READ

As a real estate agent, your success depends on your reputation and your ability to attract and maintain clients. You don’t want to be the agent that buyers or sellers regret working with, and you don’t want to miss opportunities to make sales.

Whether you’re a rookie or a pro, real estate agents sometimes fall victim to repeated  sales and marketing mistakes. The good news is there are easy ways to avoid making these mistakes again.

5 common and costly mistakes agents make and how to avoid them

1. Poor communication with clients

Buying or selling a house can be stressful. Failing to listen to what a client wants is the fastest way to break down a relationship or lose a sale.

Clients now expect that you communicate with them on their terms and return their messages with lightning speed. They are looking for the best advice and authentic answers to their questions, not sales pressure tactics that they can see right through. Take a moment to ask your leads and clients how they prefer to be communicated with. This could be in person, text, email, or over the phone. Know their interests and concerns and send them credible insights that will help them feel more confident about taking the next step. It’s all about giving your clients what they want.

2. You aren’t keeping track of your leads, referrals and clients in a database

Today, buyers and sellers can access agent contact information and property records instantaneously on their smart phones. To keep up with leads and clients, agents need the same information at their fingertips, but surprisingly the average agent is only spending 11% of their time with clients because 89% of their time is spent bogged down on administrative tasks.

Stop missing leads, and forgetting which client was the one who wants more information on rental properties. Stay in control, keep organized and manage your business on the go with a mobile friendly CRM like IXACT Contact. A CRM keeps all of your contacts in one easy to manage database. Additionally, automated task and appointment reminders will help keep you on track.

3. You aren’t learning something new or keeping up with trends

Unsuccessful real estate agents are usually the ones that are out of touch with what their homebuyers want. The economy, market trends, technology and communication now change faster than ever before, which means that real estate agents need to actively keep learning and keep on top of trends. Failing to understand current housing inventory or the latest goals and motivations for first-time home buyers will worsen your credibility. As a result, you will become second choice to an agent with more expertise.

Know your neighborhoods intimately and know what this year’s first-time home buyers want. Additionally,

keep on top of communication trends and keep up-to-date with technology, so that your credibility, productivity, and brand as a trusted expert stays intact.

4. You don’t have a strategic marketing plan

If you don’t have a marketing plan, not only are you leaving the growth and sustainability of your business up to luck, you’re also failing to strategically target clients who will lead to sales.

A good marketing plan identifies your target audiences and how you are going to attract and retain clients.

• Who do you want to attract? First time homebuyers, business investors, or clients ready to sell?
• How will you attract new clients? Referrals, advertising, or email marketing?
• What is your target audience interested in? Market insights, tips on how to sell or help buying their first home?

Using a CRM like IXACT Contact will help you organize your contacts, identify hot leads within your database, and optimize email marketing in an easy and cost effective way to effectively target clients so that you can make the sale and gain referrals.

5. You don’t spend enough time generating leads

Most agents spend little to no time generating leads. With managing new listings, holding open houses, visiting homes with your clients, and keeping on top of market trends, it’s easy to lose focus. Focusing on a sale is good, but don’t make the mistake of stunting your business growth. In other words, don’t neglect building your database.

Stand out and showcase your expertise with a customized website that displays your listings and automatically captures leads while you’re on the go. With IXACT Contact’s integrated real estate Website, CRM and Email Marketing solution, your leads will receive instant and focused attention so that you get new clients – not your competition.

Key Takeaway: Learn from your mistakes – and avoid making them again

Take a moment to think about what you can strengthen and opportunities for improvement. Consult agent resources that will help you improve your strategy and grow your client base. If you know that you are making one of the mistakes mentioned above, start taking the steps to avoid making this mistake again. Keep your clients happy, benefit from referrals and continue to build your reputation so that you are the agent of choice.

Start realizing the benefits of real estate email marketing today.

Start your FREE 5 week free trial of IXACT Contact now.