Long time CINC customer Cody Gibson currently serves as the Director of Expansion and Growth for Keller Williams. Most recently, he operated as CEO of the Portland Real Estate Group and the United Home Group (UHG), which collectively operates over 100 offices in 26 states and five countries with over 200 partners.
In May, Cody joined a stellar lineup at CINC Rev 2022 (you can access full vault here) and shared his insights (see video below) on where to focus and how to win in a changing real estate market.
First of all, we don’t know what will happen in the next 3, 6, or 12 months, but ultimately, it doesn’t matter. When the market shifts, it doesn’t change how we win the game. The way you win is still by helping buyers and sellers, doing the best possible job you can, and providing world-class customer service. That includes lead generation, lead follow-up, going on appointments, negotiating contracts, and role-playing.
The only thing that might change are the rules by which you play. As the market begins to shift, you have your database that truly is the essence of your business. For years, the conversation has always been that I’m either a lead-generation focused agent or a lead follow-up focused agent. Consider being the agent that believes in “AND.” Meaning, I do lead generation in my database, I follow up on leads, AND I also generate cold leads.
He offers a couple of ideas to try this year that have proven effective for his team.
You have 26 letters of the alphabet and about 30 days in the month. Today, you would send a direct message to those whose first names begin with A. Tomorrow, you’d send a direct message to everyone whose name starts with B, and the next day C, and so on. Here’s how to make it most effective:
Facebook A-Z should take just a few minutes every day. If you do this, you’ll touch everyone in your database through Facebook 12 times per year. Inevitably, you’ll miss or forget a day a few times a year. When that happens, don’t carry that letter into the next day. Go on to the next letter. It just means you might end up talking to the letter you missed eleven times in a year instead of twelve. That’s fine.
Competency/logic.
Reliability/Authenticity
Caring/ Empathy
As you work your database leads, get in the habit of saying, “Here’s what I’m going to do.” and following through with it. Then, reframe your goals. Instead of saying, “I want to sell 100 homes this year,” rephrase to, “I want to help 100 families this year.” As Cody points out, you may not always be motivated to work hard for your goals, but most of us would go out of our way to help people in need.
For more background on the "Trust Triangle" check out the recent article "Begin with Trust" from Frances Frei and Anne Morris in the Harvard Business Review .
Never prepare for the market you’re in. You’re already in it. It’s too late. But don’t worry, simply prepare for the market you’re moving towards.
Now, we have escalating interest rates and a backlog of buyers who are saving us right now because they’re frustrated. There’s pent-up demand. They were told three months ago because there were 12 offers – too bad, so sad. Plus, we’re seeing an increase in inventory.
As things shift, remind yourself that when you’ve been going 100 miles an hour, even 80 is going to feel slow. We may move back into a market where there’s a 30, 60, or 100-day marketing time. In the history of real estate, it’s not until you crest that five or six-month mark – 150 to 180 days of marketing time – that you truly move into a true buyer’s market.
“Remember, what’s old is new again. What’s happened, happens again. You don’t need to worry. You just need to be ready. With tools like CINC, it’s the easiest way to be on the front end of what’s happening next.”