There can be no doubt that the pandemic, now in its second year, has disrupted business and the economy.
The real estate industry has been less affected than, say, tourism and entertainment, but the pandemic has still led to periodic restrictions on how we go about our daily business life.
But is it all bad news? For good business owners and salespeople, the pandemic has also taught us valuable lessons. Let’s look at two of those lessons.
-
- Flexibility
Tasks we could perform one week were no longer possible the following week. Other tasks became more important than ever before. To continue to succeed in Sales, we needed – and still need – to be flexible.
Flexibility is good. It allows us to quickly revisit actions that are no longer appropriate and change direction, to try something else.
If that doesn’t work, we try something else and keep trying different approaches until we find an approach that is appropriate for the current restrictions.
An example is open homes. Some pandemic restrictions made open homes a breach of health orders, but we have still been able to conduct individual inspections. Even these have not been smooth sailing, with some sellers and tenants refusing to allow strangers into their properties.
But we adapt and show properties where those restrictions aren’t present, and we make sales.
Such is the advantage of being flexible and moving forward, focusing on results.
-
- Contact
Another lesson from the pandemic is the need for contact.
During extended lockdowns, I made it a habit to call three people a day and ask how they were doing. A simple act that I found helped me as much as the people I called. It reminded me to take time to think of others and to take my mind off myself.
For salespeople, contacting potential clients is more important than ever before. If you can’t door knock, pick up the phone. Call people and ask how they are. The conversation will eventually turn to their plans around selling, soon or longer term. You might not be able to list them now, but these people go into your prospecting pipeline and are listing leads for the future. Cultivate relationships.
Our opportunities to list now may be somewhat restricted, but some will want to list now, and others when restrictions ease. High volume contact will tell you who’s who – short term or long term prospects.
You probably found that people are much happier to talk when their movements are restricted. Yet another bonus for prospectors!
As you read this, your region may be experiencing relative freedom, but we know that snap lockdowns can occur at any time.
But the pandemic lessons still apply. Flexibility and human contact are always good attributes for salespeople and business leaders to possess.
Lessons that, once learnt, should never be forgotten.
Gary Pittard