Finish Strong in 2020

As of this writing, you have about two months left in 2020. While many real estate agents are now thinking about goals for 2021 (which we’ll cover in a separate post), there is still a lot of revenue to be had in the final two months of this year.

Typically, November and December are soft months in real estate. But this has been anything but a typical year. If October is any indication (Home sales +21% vs YAG), we could be in for a very strong finale to 2020.

To that end, we wanted to share a few tips to prepare you for closing strong this year:

1. Be patient. If you “need a deal” to get you close to your 2020 goals, it’s possibly that you could, in desperation, make promises that you are not able to keep. Hopefully, you’ve been steadily working with clients that you have in the pipeline. You can’t force something to happen, which is why the best path at this time of year is to be patient and stay on your game.
2. Stay focused. There might be more distractions during November and December than any other time of year: family gatherings (Zoom or socially-distanced), shopping, etc. Of course, this year, all done the midst of a pandemic. While it’s easy to get distracted, this is the time when you need to stay focused, and attentive to delivering great customer service. If you’re diligent now, you’ll be rewarded with stronger cash flow moving into 2021.
3. DON’T let up on your prospecting. Whether October’s numbers are a trend or a fluke, you need to stay on top of your prospecting game. We suggest you increase your typical prospecting efforts be a minimum of 25% during the final two months of the year.
4. Lead follow up is crucial. It’s not uncommon for both sellers and buyers to hesitate with regard to making huge decisions during the holiday season. As such, pre-qualifying takes on even greater importance. Cut to the chase with potential clients, especially sellers. Know what price they need to get, and get a good feel for their timing.
5. Know thy market. Again, despite a huge uptick in October versus last year, we have no idea what November and December will bring. That’s why it’s key to know what’s selling, and what’s not, what kinds of properties are selling, and in what areas.

Even if you have written goals for 2020, it might make sense to do the exercise of drafting goals and a plan for the next 60 days. This is particularly important if you need to make up lost ground to meet your annual goals.

Today is the perfect time to focus on making November and December the best part of your 2020.