2023 Game Plan for Real Estate Agents
As 2022 winds down, a lot of agents are asking questions about what should be in their business plans for 2023 so I want to share the game plan that I’m implementing and recommending to many agents.
If you haven’t previously read my thoughts on business planning - check it out. Same with the “New Rules” for Real Estate Agents.
Here’s some things you might want to include in your 2023 plan that might not have been as important to focus on the last few years.
MOVE YOUR TARGET PRICE POINT
What has your median and average price point been over the past few years? Most agents I know seem to work within a range which then becomes their comfort zone.
For people who do geographical farming, the area they farm tends to define their price point. For others, I’ve noticed that agents tend to work in certain price ranges.
My advice in this market is to look to expand your price point both UP and DOWN.
Huh, Ellis? That doesn’t make any sense. Actually it does.
What you’ll find in most instances is that as you move to lower price points, there may be more activity than you would think. Why is that? The rent / own disparity isn’t as great. And, as you move up to higher price points, you’ll find the commission checks are larger, even if there are fewer of them.
My recommendation is to move at least 30% in each direction and for many agents it will be more like 50%.
Let’s look at a few examples of how this would work.
If your median or average price is $1,500,000 (doesn’t matter which you use but they are different), what I’m saying is to consciously lower your low range to $750K to $1,050,000. And then raise your top targets to $1,950,000 up to $2,250,000.
HERE’S HOW YOU DO THIS
Look for adjacent or close by cities and neighborhoods to where your farm or usual business is.
Sometimes it’s as simple as the next town over, others times it might be a little further.
If that isn’t practical, look for different kinds of properties than you usually sell in your primary markets. For example, if your business has been SFRs, maybe start to focus on condos and townhomes to move lower. Alternately, if you typically sell SFRs, where’s the closest market that has similar but more expensive properties.
You might reasonably ask if you should be doing this all the time. Yes and no. When we have super hot markets like 2020-2021, there’s simply no need to move lower. That’s when you might be focused more on inching higher.
DOES THIS WORK?
Absolutely.
Back in 2008 and throughout the financial crises I cut my price point target in half and then lowered it again. And that kept the commission checks coming in. Meanwhile a lot of the luxury agents who decided to wait the cycle out, wound up out of the business.
Previously when I wrote about this topic, I phrased it as expand your farm area. I’m being a lot more specific here as to how to decide where to expand your farm.
CUT YOUR COSTS BUT DOUBLE DOWN ON WHAT WORKS
This is a great time to take a very careful look on EVERYTHING you spend money on, both in your business and personal life.
All those subscriptions to streaming services you don’t use. Cancel them. Gym and other memberships - same. You are running a business and what businesses do when the economy changes is to cut costs. This goes for everything including if you are working at a high cost Brokerage that isn’t providing any value to you. That assistant or TC who you haven’t been happy with - you don’t need to be working to support them. The Buyer’s agent who never shows up to showings, you can do better.
Look at EVERY penny you spend. Nothing is too small.
On the other hand, money you are spending on advertising, marketing or anything else that you know gets results, double that spend and if you can afford to, double down on your double down.
A lot of agents are simply going to cut the wrong expenses and won’t stay in front of their existing clients, prospects and farms. Speaking of which……
STAY IN CONTACT WITH YOUR SPHERE
Really simple two step process. And by sphere, I mean every client you have ever worked with*, everyone you know, and every prospect.
Send an email. Mine starts something like this, “a lot of people have questions about what’s going on right now in the real estate market. Some of the news says that prices will drop 20-30% and elsewhere you read that home prices are up. Here’s my take…” Customize this so it sounds like you and not me and then fill in relevant information.
Follow up with a phone call. A few weeks after I send the email, I call. And I do that whether I get an initial response or not. The nice thing about calling towards the end of the year is you can tie that in with seasons greetings. You can even do that if you call after the first of the year.
Here’s why this is so important.
You are NOT trying to get them to list their home or buy anything. Just staying in touch. What I discovered during previous market collapses is that this is very, very powerful. Why? Because you are thinking of them when there isn’t a commission check involved.
LEARN SOMETHING NEW
Doesn’t really matter what you learn, but this is a great time to learn more about sales, business, finance, marketing, or any other skill that might help you next time the market is super busy.
Some agents I know are using this slow down to study for their Broker’s test and up their game from just having a salesperson license.
REVIEW YOUR TECH STACK
If your CRM, website, IDX, AVM, dialer, AI, bot or whatever is not getting the job done for you, this is a great time to change. There’s a lot of great tools on the market and I’ll be posting about them.
While you are at it, also a great time to re-evaluate your virtual assistant and any vendors you might use for lead generation.
DOMINATE ONE SOCIAL PLATFORM
Whether it is Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, LinkedIn or one I haven’t heard about yet, find a social platform you really like with the goal of being the most visible agent there (for your farm area).
Also check out and follow the top agents you will be competing against for your market to get a better understanding of what they are doing.
DEVELOP A SPECIALTY
Most agents just do whatever deal comes up because they are chasing the next paycheck.
That’s why specialists survive in every market. I’m not saying to limit yourself to only one kind of transaction but to have something that you can say you specialize in.
Some ideas are probate, 1031 exchanges, income properties, leasing, development, property management (if applicable), horse properties, vacation homes / rentals or specific niches like ADUs, home automation, etc.
BUILD YOUR EMAIL LIST
And then use it.
Email marketing is still a very powerful tool when done right. In fact, it is so important to your success that I will be devoting a separate post to it.
AND IF ALL ELSE FAILS
Find a side hustle - particularly if it is real estate adjacent.
Or just hire me as your coach.