The real estate market is ever-changing, which means that agents need to stay on top of their game to keep bringing in leads and clients. The off season is a great time to refocus your efforts and plan for the next few months of activity. Here are four tested strategies to weather the Real Estate off season successfully.
1. By pushing marketing out earlier
As with most things in life, the best way to deal with an off-peak season is to plan for it. If you know that there are going to be periods of time where your listing will have little activity, have a strategy in place. This could mean starting your marketing early and pushing listings out earlier than usual so that you capture some of those last minute buyers that are going to need a house during the holidays or summer vacationers looking for a place near the beach.
Another good plan is to make sure that once people start looking again, you’re ready for them! Have some listings in your back pocket that aren’t currently being advertised yet (but would be great for first-time home buyers). You want these listings ready so when people start looking again, you’re already ahead of them!
2. By doubling down on ‘just listed’ efforts
Off season or not, you must continue to put forth the same amount of effort into marketing your listings. The “just listed” notification is a great way to get on top of a listing and make sure it gets maximum exposure in the marketplace. It can take days, if not weeks for an agent to get a client through their process of selecting a home and then writing an offer letter. There is plenty of time for other agents or investors to swoop in and see what’s hot!
The best way I know how to do this is by sending out mailcards with photos and details about each property that has been listed within the last few days. This also gives me an opportunity to re-engage with past buyers who may have been interested but couldn’t make it work financially at that time so they opted against buying yet another house (another reason why it’s important).
3. By having listings in your back pocket for the season when people are looking
Have your listings ready. While a slow market may be frustrating for sellers, it can also be an opportune time to buy properties. If you have the ability to find a home at a great price due to low demand and competition, then jump on it! You’ll want to make sure you have your own house for sale prepared for when that happens though.
By having plenty of listings in your back pocket for when people are looking, you’ll be able to capture clients who may otherwise slip away if they don’t know about you. This ensures that once demand picks up again (and it will), there will still be some activity from which you can profitably draw leads from while other agents struggle with less traffic than normal because they don’t have as much inventory on hand.
4. By increasing local marketing/events
The best way to keep your business going is to get involved with local events. There are a number of charitable organizations in every city that hold events through the year that people from all walks of life attend. You can volunteer your time or donate money to these organizations and they will hold events throughout the year that will attract new customers to your business, as well as encourage a sense of community among those who live there.
This also means that when you market yourself at these events and encourage people who attend them to use your services (for instance, by offering discounts on certain services) they’re more likely than not going to take advantage because they feel like they owe something back for what the organization has done for them (or their family).
Make sure you have a solid marketing strategy to weather the off season
You should have a solid marketing strategy to weather the off season. Don’t wait until you’re in need of sales to start thinking about new ways to market your real estate business.
The best way to do this is with a well-thought-out plan that includes specific goals and timelines. You should also ask yourself if you’re being too stubborn about marketing strategies that aren’t working for you, or if there’s someone else who could help you accomplish your goal more efficiently than you can alone. Make sure your plan incorporates both traditional methods as well as newer ones (like social media).
The off season can be a great time to work on your strategy for the next busy season. It’s a chance to review what worked, what didn’t and make adjustments accordingly.