The Four Elements That Will Guarantee a Self Employed Estate Agent's Success – Part 1

Any estate agent knows that being successful isn’t about luck. Your ability to exchange on a property is driven by determination, skill, and hard work.

At Newman Property Experts, we believe your hard work needs to be targeted in four crucial areas:

1.????Generating market appraisals

2.????Converting appraisals to listings

3.????Turning listings into sales

4.????Getting those sales to exchange

Your success lies almost entirely on your ability to achieve these 4 elements consistently and to a high standard, and we’ll explain why in this two-part article series.

In this article, we’ll talk about the importance of generating market appraisals and share our tips on converting those appraisals into listings.

In part 2, which you can read here, we’ll dive into more detail about how you can turn listings into sales and get those sales to exchange.

Let’s get started.

1.????Generating Market Appraisals

To grow your success as a self employed estate agent, you need to sell more properties. And to sell more properties, you need to generate more market appraisals, which means getting potential sellers to enquire about your services.

The best way to generate leads is to market yourself effectively by continuously building your personal brand[1], managing social media effectively[2], and carrying out targeted marketing in your local area.

From experience, we find setting a target is the best way to track, manage and ensure your success as a self-employed estate agent. Since your schedule is flexible, it’s best to set a monthly target and then break it down into how many market appraisals you need to achieve each week/day.

When setting your target, always consider what’s a realistic target and conversion rate for your niche.

For example, if you’re in a specialist niche, you may not generate as many market appraisals each month as a generalist niche, but your leads should be higher quality and more likely to convert.

Remember, not all leads will be quality leads, no matter which niche you’re in. For example, a call to book a valuation from a homeowner curious about their resale value is a lead, and you need to nurture it. However, it’s unlikely it’ll convert to an immediate listing.

A pro tip is to always ensure you generate a high number of enquiries to get a small number of listings. Also, make sure you continuously analyse your conversion rate so you can adjust your monthly target if needed.

2.????Converting Appraisals into Listings

Hitting your market appraisal target each month takes a lot of work. But it can be one of the ‘easiest’ parts of an estate agents’ job.

We find it’s usually easier to get a homeowner to book a no-obligation valuation than it is to actually get their property on the market with you.

But no listings (or a low conversion rate) means no (or few) sales, so this is one of the most important stages to get right if you want to find success.

Here are some of the reasons why converting appraisals can be tricky:

·???????Not all leads will be ‘serious’ about putting their property on the market

·???????For some people right now may not be the best time for them to sell

·???????Most homeowners shop around to find the best estate agent, so you’ll have competition

·???????Some sellers won’t understand why your fees are higher

This usually means you’ve got a lot of convincing and selling to do if you want to win business and convert an appraisal into a listing. So, your marketing and negotiation skills[3] are going to be the most valuable.

During your negotiations, it’s essential to understand each person’s situation, concerns, and priorities so you can tailor your marketing approach. It’s also important to know your worth and your competition.

When you know your worth[4], you can sell the benefits of working with a self-employed estate agent to your potential clients. If you know what your competition offers inside and out, you can also use this information to explain how your services differ and why it benefits the seller.

Conclusion (and Part 2)

Your ability to generate leads and convert them into listings are two of the most important elements to get right if you want to succeed as a self-employed estate agent. While these can be two of the trickiest stages to achieve, the hard work doesn’t stop there.

You’re halfway through your journey to success, and to earn your way to ￡100k as an estate agent, you now need to focus on getting the next two stages right; converting listings into sales and getting sales to exchange.

Keep reading for part 2, where we detail how to find your success as a self-employed estate agent with these final elements.

To learn more about how to become a self-employed partner agent with Newman Property Experts, get in touch with us today or download your FREE partner prospectus now.