Agent’s Guide to Surviving the Winter

Winter is considered a slow season for many businesses. The real estate world is no different, as there seems to be significantly less work during the cold months. With holidays just around the corner, the clients’ focus seems to shift from buying and selling to spending more time with their loved ones. While that kind of mindset isn’t particularly working out in your favor as a real estate agent – at least not in a financial sense – you too could benefit from the decreased workload. To learn how, continue reading this real estate agent’s guide to surviving the winter.

Real Estate Agent’s Guide to Surviving the Winter You’ll Absolutely Need This Season

Regardless of whether you are looking to make a successful career as a new agent or have been in the game for a while, chances are you’ll struggle to get by during the cold season. Here, we share some tips and tricks to make sure that, by the end of it, you will have not only endured this period, but you will have also come out a better agent!

Make It Abundantly Clear You Are Available for Business

Everybody in the industry is aware of the fact that the workload diminishes during the winter. In fact, many real estate agents take this time of the year off, knowing they won’t have much to do. Or at least, thinking they won’t – which, in fact, is a mistake. Yes, there won’t be as much work as during the rest of the year, but that doesn’t mean there will be none whatsoever. There are always people interested in letting go of their properties or purchasing new ones. If nobody else is there to come to their rescue, you are!

But, how do you go about doing that? Well, easy! You just keep doing what you’ve been doing all this time. Or actually, what you should have been doing. Post regular updates on your website, engage with your leads through e-mails, and keep those newsletters coming! And if your online presence hasn’t been up to par so far, what better time to change that now that you don’t have as many clients?

It goes without saying that you are in no way obligated to work through the entire winter. It’s totally normal to take a few days off here and there during the holidays. Just make sure to communicate the break with the clients beforehand so that they can know when exactly you’ll be ready to resume business.

Let the Clients Know Winter Is the Ideal Period to Make a Purchase

Although fewer people are selling properties in winter, there are also fewer people looking to make a purchase. With less competition, or at the very least, less fierce competition, landing a dream house has never been easier. Sellers are also willing to settle for less during this period, which ultimately means your buyers could be in for some great deals. Our real estate agent’s guide to surviving the winter suggests you inform your potential clients of these facts.

Dedicate a portion of your blog to write about why buying/selling a home in winter might be the right decision. Naturally, you’ll have to adapt the content so that it suits your audience. For example, if the majority of your clients happen to be college graduates from NYC, talking about neighborhoods that are the best choice for young professionals in the city, such as Astoria or Fordham, would be the way to go about it.

If you aren’t so great at writing yourself, the good news is that you don’t have to. Sharing posts published by fellow real estate agents on social media is also permissible. Everything that helps your leads realize that buying/selling during the holiday season is possible ultimately brings them one step closer to you.

Send Out Holiday Greetings

Remind your leads and current clients of how much you appreciate them by wishing them happy holidays. Holiday greetings can either be sent through regular mail, in the form of postcards, or through e-mail, in which case you’ll be sending out their digital versions. However, if we are talking about past clients, it’s slightly better to send a greeting that’s a bit more personalized. A gift basket containing a hand-written note and holiday-themed goods, for instance, might prove the right idea.

Set Aside the Time to Meet With Leads

While e-mails and chatting online will surely help a bit with lead conversion. At the end of the day, nothing beats the good-old face-to-face conversation. It would be best if you could set aside a bit of time to have an honest talk with the leads in person. However, with the COVID-19 pandemic still going on, that might not be possible at the moment. On the other hand, setting up a virtual meet-up through Face-time or Zoom is definitely an option and very effective in building relationships. Allowing clients to ask you questions and giving you the chance to present them with the facts.

Get in Touch With the Real Estate Investors

If you aren’t particularly lucky in attracting the attention of home-buyers/sellers? How about you try your luck with real estate investors? Nothing is capable of slowing them down – not even winter – if they believe a deal is profitable enough! Take to LinkedIn and local investing clubs to get in touch with real estate investors in the area and beyond. To establish a partnership with them, it’s vital that you prepare the necessary documents and work on your pitch. Sell the story, and ultimately, you’ll also sell the property.

Despite the apparent slowdown in the industry. The arrival of the cold months doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll be out of business. May this real estate agent’s guide to surviving the winter serve as an example that succeeding even during the hardest of times is feasible. With enough effort, willingness to learn and connect with others, chances are you’ll even be having more work than you can possibly take on! Even still, completing your license renewal requirements, continuing education during the slow season is also very productive. Do you know when you real estate license is expiring?