Growing with purpose: How we learn to adapt in real estate

I’ve been in real estate for many years, and during that time, a lot has changed. I’ve seen the market boom as it did during the COVID-19 pandemic. I was there when the market bottomed out in 2008. I’ve witnessed price increases, styles of housing change, and entire new generations of home buyers enter the market. Like any business, the real estate market has changed greatly as the world around us changed.

One of the big lessons I’ve learned since I began is that you must be able to adapt to the way the market changes if you want to be successful. What worked 20 years ago for potential homeowners may not work exactly the same way today. In today’s market, I’ve learned that the following is important to deliver great results to your customers.

Having expertise in a field may not be enough to win somebody’s business today. Today’s market needs to focus on the customer experience, which includes all of the interactions a potential customer may have with your company. The customer experience embodies everything from the ads you’re running as a company to what they see on social media to how they’re approached by your sales team. If those experiences aren’t thoughtful, you could lose a customer forever.

In fact, according to Zendesk, one bad experience is enough to make more than half of consumers switch to a competitor. They also report that 60 percent of people will purchase from a company just because of the quality of service they receive. If you’re not on your A-game at any given time, you have to figure out what to do differently. Even if you’re the best in the business, if you aren’t delivering your best 100 percent of the time, you are at risk of losing trust with your customers. It’s not enough to be an expert; you have to know that your customer’s journey is outstanding. If you suspect that there’s a weakness somewhere along the way, do whatever it takes to fix it.

People in real estate tend to be outgoing by nature. We like to get to know others. We’re social. But just being an extrovert isn’t enough. You also have to have a social media presence where potential customers can see who you are as they do their research. It also means you need to be using social media wisely when it comes to business.

Statistica says 86 percent of professionals find social media beneficial as a marketing tool. It’s not a nice-to-have; it must be part of your strategy for obtaining clients and growing your business. The National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) has resources for how to beef up your social presence. If you aren’t comfortable with posting to social media, find a qualified person who can help you build a social strategy that should show potential clients how you represent them. Keep in mind that you don’t have to be on every platform out there. Choose the ones that are right for you and your business. Potential customers will do their homework, so being authentic is more important than being on every platform. Choose what best represents you.

Real estate is not a good business for being reactive. You have to go into it with a plan and be ready to take action at all moments. Being proactive, particularly in today’s market, involves showing a client how a real estate transaction is right for them. It involves being responsive and answering calls and text messages quickly. It involves sending them timely communications that meet their needs in the buying and/or selling process. If a potential customer gets a sense that you aren’t delivering, they start looking for someone who is, and you could also lose any of the potential customers they may have sent your way.

Research from Baylor University even says being proactive results in more creative solutions for real estate customers and leads to more confidence for you as an agent. That kind of confidence is evident to potential customers, and being proactive will draw people to you time and time again.

It was evident before the COVID-19 pandemic that the internet has solidified itself in the homebuying process. But during the pandemic, over half of homes were sold sight unseen. People were relying on their agents and Facetime, virtual walk-throughs, and a ton of photos. The NAR says 97 percent of all homebuyers use the internet to begin its research. Technology is more important than ever in the real estate world.

That means you really need to take advantage of the resources that are available to you. You need to make sure your website is optimized for speed, conversions, and a great mobile experience. You need videos and great photography to help potential customers see the value you can offer. Plus, video is the top way to get found on the internet. If your technology isn’t keeping up, you need to fix that problem fast.

As Seth Godin wrote recently, customer service is a choice. As the world changes around us, we have to be willing to adapt and embrace a new way of doing things. That’s what being in real estate has taught me. What about you? How has your industry changed, and what have you done to evolve?

Jim Allen is a business leader and entrepreneur who has built one of the top-producing real estate groups in the Triangle. He is President of The Jim Allen Group, which is consistently named one of the top real estate teams in North Carolina and even North America.