About Kinder Reese
There are plenty of so-called real estate experts out there teaching agents how to succeed even though they haven’t sold a home in decades, if at all. But Kinder Reese is different. Founders Jay Kinder and Michael Reese have collectively sold more than 6,270 homes over the past two decades, they still have thriving real estate practices, and they love sharing their proven systems and processes with other agents who are serious about growing their business.
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Why your business is struggling (It's not what you think)
Published by Jay Kinder 
“The more things change, the more they stay the same” - Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr

Watching the news can be hazardous to your health — your mental health that is.
Everywhere you turn you hear: “The real estate market will never recover” or “It’s the new normal and things are going to be worse than the Great Recession” or “It’s time to pivot so we can take on the new normal in real estate”.

Listening to all of that noise could convince most people that the real estate industry is going to be a barren wasteland where old real estate agents will go to die.

We’ve heard all of this before and while the reason for this downturn is different than that of the Great Recession that started in 2007, the things agents need to do in order to get through the tough times has been, and always will be, the same.

Be flexible, work hard, and don’t give up.
The challenge is real.

No doubt, the real estate industry has gotten a bite taken out of its shorts like a letter carrier being chased by the neighborhood dog. Listings are way down. Deals have fallen apart due to people losing their jobs and/or their fears of getting sick, banks have tightened their lending policies, etc.

Things are way tougher now, for sure, but they haven’t ground to a halt either. In fact, even though there are agents out there who have no clue where their next commission check is coming from, there are also agents who are selling homes and keeping their businesses moving forward to get to the other side of this insanity we’re now experiencing.

How is it possible that some agent’s businesses are struggling mightily right now while other agent’s companies are surviving and — in certain cases — even thriving during this somewhat colossal downturn?

Before you start throwing around COVID-19 as the only culprit, consider these other possibilities as to why your and other agent’s business might be struggling right now.

Tony Robbins says that true transformation only exists on the other side of complete and total honesty. So, there are no accusations here. Rather, this is an “if the shoe fits” moment for anyone reading this.

Here are some reasons — other than a microscopic virus — that your business might be struggling.

Real Estate is a 90 Day Game

Anyone who’s done even a few deals realizes that the hands of time can move slowly when you’re prospecting and converting leads into opportunities. I think I’m safe in saying that whatever is happening in your business at any time is heavily dependent on the effort you put forth in the prior 90 days (seasonality notwithstanding).

Taking this into consideration, even with the amount of “now” business taking the hit it has, your results in the first quarter of 2020 were heavily influenced by what you were doing in October through December of 2019.

In addition to that, the results you get in the second quarter of this year will be a result of what you did from January to March. Again, the virus, and the shutdowns that came about as a result of the virus, definitely impacted business. However, they didn’t keep all homes from selling and all buyers from buying.
If you look at showing activity across the United States in March of 2020, you’ll see that year over year, showings are down 17.9%. However, if you look at March 2020 versus June through December of 2019, it’s higher than any of those months.
  
Clearly, there is still business being done, but you have to go out and get it. The days of deals falling in your lap are gone for the foreseeable future.

Do you have the database blues?

A well-maintained database of past clients, sphere of influence, and business partners is a gold mine of opportunities, especially in a down market. Unfortunately, I hear from a number of agents that say they’re often too busy to update it and then keep it up to date with the most current information.

The bad news is that when your database is not current, you lose out on the benefit of having people to call that can easily refer you to seller and buyer opportunities.
In times of uncertainty, people gravitate towards those who can provide them with certainty, support, and peace of mind. Many agents who are having success now are doing so as a result of maintaining regular contact with the people that know, like, and trust them.
  
If your database is not updated, this is an excellent time for you to reach out to people and offer them any assistance you can, especially if it’s unrelated to real estate. While you have them on the phone (or are connecting via email or text), get their most updated contact information and let them know you are a resource they can count on in troubled times like these.

Head in the sand approach

The shutdown of America came swiftly and caused a major slowdown in just about every area of the economy. The uncertainty at the time caused nearly every real estate agent to hold their breath, hoping things wouldn’t be catastrophic.

After the first week and we were able to make sense of a few things, some agents exhaled and got back to work. Those agents are the ones who have continued to list homes and also sell homes to buyers. They moved forward, were flexible with the new rules of engagement and continued to participate as actively as they could in the real estate market.
The agents who froze due to fear, stopped contacting prospects, and did nothing are having a very hard time right now. They have no pipeline of business and are having trouble getting in contact with people who are now starting to make their move in the real estate market.
  
The bad news is that they are likely 90 days away from a commission check as mentioned previously.

Yes, listings are down 70% in some markets. Yes, showings are down 25% in some markets. Yet, still, there are people that need to — yes, even want to -- take advantage of low interest rates and getting a good deal on a home.

If you shut your business down or decided to hold off until you got a better indication of what is going to happen, you can’t wait any longer. You’re already way behind the curve and in danger of getting left behind altogether.

Number of existing homes sold in the United States from 2005 to 2021 (in million units)
Even during the worst part of the Great Recession, between 4 and 5 million homes sold for 5 straight years. Combine that with the normal attrition rate of real estate agents and the agents who left in droves because they weren’t committed to the business and you have a real estate market that still leaves tremendous potential for an agent who’s committed to doing the work to get homes sold.
  
What’s next

It’s going to be tough sledding for the next several months, maybe even a year or two. But as with every downturn, there’s money to be made in real estate.

There will likely be more short sales and foreclosures. Prices are going to fluctuate. Mortgage terms are going to change, making getting a loan harder. But in the end, well-priced listings are going to sell and buyers are going to buy them.

The question is, are you going to be an active and willing participant who benefits from these sales or are you going to continue to struggle until the market corrects itself. The opportunity for success is there. Are you going to choose to take it?

About Author: Jay Kinder

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