Episode 98
Ready to become a top producing real estate agent? Join us as Super Agent Denny Grimes tells us what it’s like to build a $150 million real estate business with 26 agents, lose it all and start again from scratch. You’ll learn all about how to build a strong referral business, avoid growing pains and how to develop an abundance mindset.
How To Build a Referral Business
Before becoming a real estate agent, Denny spent over a decade as a new home construction salesman. It was there that he learned how to build a great referral business that made him the #1 seller in the company.
1. Find ways to stay top of mind: When there are thousands of other agents in your market, it is imperative that people think of you when they’re ready to buy or sell. Whether you are farming or cold calling, always find a creative way to follow up with your prospects. Denny mugged (gave out mugs with his name on it) and took realtors to private clubs to show his appreciation for them after showings, regardless of whether they brought him a lead.
- Appreciate clients without expectations: Just because you have already sold them a house doesn’t mean you should stop talking to your client. Everyone knows 250 people, and eventually one of those people will need a realtor. Denny made sure to care for his clients by offering free photo shoots, starting a reading club and sending over 2,500 birthday cards.
3. Always be up to date: The way we communicate in the real estate market is always changing. First there was cold calling, then came the internet and now we have social media. To achieve success, Denny makes sure to surround himself with a strong team of young realtors that understand how to leverage technology.
Know Your Business
In order to make it in real estate in the long run, you have to be ready for any market shifts. As Denny puts it, ‘Anyone can swim fast downstream.’. The agents who succeed in real estate are able to adapt to market downturns as well.
1. Be up to date with the market: When your business is growing every year without much effort, look at your business and ask yourself, ‘How much of my business is external and how much am I bringing in?’ In a hot market, it’s easy to get business…but you know the market will eventually turn. Make sure you take note of this and have a strategy for the worst case scenario.
2. Build your systems for growth: The enemy of your current business is your future business. Make sure to have systems in place that not only allow you to focus on the future, but don’t sacrifice the present. With so much growth, Denny couldn’t follow up on clients with mugs, cards and clubs, which directly affected his referral strategies.
The Millionaire Mindset
Why is it that Denny was the #1 salesmen at his firm and later built a multimillion dollar real estate business, while other realtors never reach these levels? Aside from an insane work ethic, he had a millionaire mindset. Here’s how you can shift your thinking to operate like a millionaire:
1. Opportunity is everywhere: A millionaire knows that you can always spot the opportunity in every situation if you just stare long enough. Using this mindset, Denny was able to outperform his competitors. Instead of working less when the developer he worked for announced that they wouldn’t pay as much if you sold a home to a real estate broker, Denny saw this as a huge opportunity. His peers shied away from working with brokers while he solicited them and eventually became the # 1 salesman at his office.
2. Bad things will always happen, but you always control the outcome: When it comes to failure, there are always two types of people: those who quit and those who persevere. Don’t let failure stop you. Use it as a lesson instead and move forward as fast as you can. After becoming the #1 salesmen in his office, Denny was fired. Later, when the market crashed in 2005, Denny lost most of his money and his 26 person team. That hasn’t stopped him- today he’s back with big goals for himself.
3. Persevere: Life is not a 100 yard dash. You have to work harder and smarter than everyone else. Make the calls, send the letters and keep moving forward even when you don’t want to. You’ll be surprised how far you get.
Books For Agents
The One Thing and The Millionaire Real Estate Agent by Gary Keller
Get a free copy of this book using our link www.audibletrial.com/superagentslive
Get in Touch With Denny
twitter.com/dennygrimesco
