When things are uncertain, people gravitate to certainty. It’s your job to communicate hope for the future, positivity, strength, and certainty whenever you can. Be there for your past clients and sphere with respect to real estate and non-real estate needs. Let them know that you are there for them and that they can count on you to help them with whatever they need. Make sure they get calls, emails, and handwritten notes from you. Also, be on social media with videos and posts as often as you can so that they see you are continuing to work hard through these uncertain times.
2. Prospects: What we’re currently experiencing is not terminal. Does it suck? Absolutely! But it’s not going to last forever. And, when things do turnaround, there will be a significant amount of pent up demand for buyers and sellers. What this means is that both sellers and buyers need to have a plan now and not when the “all clear” signal is given. If people wait until the current situation is resolved, they will be behind the proverbial eight ball.
Sellers will be waiting for contractors, cleaners, home inspectors and even real estate agents to help them get their home ready for sale and on the market. Buyers will be competing against a number of other buyers, likely facing multiple offer situations and higher prices than if they were to start looking and making offers sooner rather than later. It’s vital that we help real estate consumers get ahead of the curve so they can come out on top when the market stabilizes.
If you see an opportunity to communicate...seize it.
3. Customer/Community Support – give, give, give with no expectation of return. If you have financial support you can provide, then by all means give what you can to help others in need. There is no shortage of people that need money for food, housing, clothing. medical attention, bills and myriad other things. Tap your partnerships and vendors to see if they can help out, too.
If you are short on money, then man power is the way to go. Local churches usually do a lot to help people in your community when things get tight. There’s also local soup kitchens, the Red Cross and other organizations that help out. If you want, you can do a collection drive for toiletries, toilet paper, paper towels, food, etc. that you can collect and then distribute to people who are in need. Be resourceful and seek out opportunities to help others as much as you can.
4. Clean Up and Catch Up – time for spring cleaning to keep people proactive and occupied. You’re likely going to have some downtime as the market has slowed since things have gotten crazier with the pandemic. After you’re done communicating and prospecting each day, you should have some time to get after the professional and personal projects that you’ve been putting on the back burner over the last several months and years.
Think of all the projects that sit on your desk in and in your drawers in various states of completion at this time. Consider all the input you could get from your employees, agents, clients, vendors, etc. that you could collect to improve your systems and the service you provide on a day-over-day basis.
Take time to do some serious strategic planning about the future. Think about what you want things to look like long term and what you’re willing to do to get there. Also, if you’re in a bit of a crunch right now and things aren’t the way you’d like them to be, put a plan together that makes you and your business impenetrable to any future downturns in the economy or the real estate market.
Whatever you do...don’t just sit on your hands and do nothing. Take action. Get things done. Put plans together and be ready to implement them as soon as things change.
5. Cash, Cash, Cash – engage the entire team to help –. In his book The Millionaire Next Door: The Surprising Secrets of America's Wealthy, Thomas Stanley said: “it matters less how much more you make than what you do with what you already have.”. In times like these, what you do with what you already have is of the utmost importance. You’re going to have to spend money, you just have to do it judiciously and make sure that it’s serving your business at the highest level.
If you have credit lines to tap and savings that you can dig into, be sure that you’re doing it with the utmost prudence. Your financial decisions need to not only get you through the tough times, but also to the other side when business starts to pick up again. As part of your financial plan, be sure to keep generating leads that you can nurture and turn into sales in the future. Remember, you’re always selling for a period of time that’s up to 90 days away.
If money is tight, look for a way to get some financial assistance. The Small Business Administration (SBA) is offering disaster relief loans to small businesses and might be a place to get some support for your business during this time. You can check out what’s available to you at
https://disasterloan.sba.gov/ela/.
6. Calm and Considerate – breathe!! If it’s crazy for you, it’s likely crazy for many others, too. In tense times, it’s important for everyone to keep their cool as often as they can. When tensions run high, it’s easier to get emotional, say things we don’t mean to day and do things we don’t need to do. This is not a great strategy during a time when we all need to pull together to not just survive, but thrive as we get through the “insanity”. Here are a couple of things you can do to remain calm and considerate in tough times: