How To Grow Your Real Estate Business: 5 Smart Tips For 2023

It’s safe to say that the real estate industry is always evolving. Trends come and go, and what worked in past years may not work anymore.

So how can you make sure your business stays ahead of the curve and continues to grow?

Here are five tips to help you succeed in 2022.

Tip #1: Be Strategic

Part of thinking strategically is making decisions based on data. But first, you will need to create a real estate business plan and follow through with it.

When it comes to creating a business plan, it’s a good idea to start out simple. Start by finding a lead source that you enjoy working with, and then invest time in being good at it.

Ask yourself what lead generation strategy fits best with your skill set and what you prefer doing. Later down the road, you can eventually expand into other lead sources.

Keep in mind that consistency is key and it may take some time for your plan to take hold. Give it some time before you start trying new things or coming up with a different one entirely.

Tip #2: Get Attention

In real estate, it’s not enough to be the best salesperson or marketing guru; you have to be willing to put yourself out there to get noticed.

Real Estate is a numbers game. Finding success in the industry essentially comes down to how many people you can talk to. Getting attention on a daily basis will help put you on the fast track to success. For more tips, check out this post on finding success for millennial real estate agents.

You can start getting attention by:

• Creating valuable content that is optimized for Google or YouTube search
• Promoting your services on social media via Facebook or Instagram ads
• Hosting weekly open houses with lots of branded signage 
• Running Google ads for buying and selling keywords that are location-specific

Don’t be discouraged if your numbers aren’t there in the beginning. New agents will have to work harder than seasoned real estate agents to increase their conversion ratio. You may have to get in front of more people to get your name out there, but the payoff will follow.

This is where tracking your efforts comes in. Establishing key performance indicators (KPIs) to monitor the temperature of your business plan will help you to focus on improving your results over time by detailing the most important metrics of your plan. You can download my Real Estate Sales Tracking Spreadsheet to keep you organized.

I like to compile my KPI numbers in a Google spreadsheet and check back in every month to see where I’m at.

​Tip #3: Get Feedback

Being part of a real estate community can have a great impact on your business. A community gives you the opportunity to not only learn from other agents and bounce ideas off of them, but also get feedback on what you are doing. 

The key here is to actively share your plan with agents who have already done what you’ve done and can let you know if you’re on the right track.

Try to befriend a few agents that you look up to, perhaps someone that you’d want help from in growing your real estate business. But don’t just ask them for a step-by-step guide on what to do. Rather, use them as a resource to find where you can improve and what you can do better. Show them your efforts and results, and be open to feedback.

Don’t be shy about asking your sphere of influence for honest feedback, too. Reach out to your clients, friends, family, and acquaintances. 

Find out what they think about what you’re doing. Ask them: 

• What am I doing right? 
• Are you seeing my marketing on Facebook? If so, what do you think of it? 
• Would you refer me to a client?

It’s important to always be improving your systems, processes, and communication with your sphere of influence, especially if you are building a referral business.

In addition, don’t be afraid to grow and expand your skills over time. A good way to do this is by investing in your education and taking real estate classes. There are many in-person and online continuing education courses. Finding the best real estate school online will depend on what skills you want to build on.

Tip #4: Referrals

Asking for referrals can be tough. No one wants to come off as a pushy salesman.

But over time, you’ll discover that the reward greatly outweighs the risk here. Truthfully, referrals are simply too valuable not to ask for. Free yourself of the stigma and be willing to do whatever it takes to grow your real estate business.

Referrals can help you branch out to new people and completely change the return on investment for your lead sources.

The art of asking for referrals should be a professional habit that you seek to build. Ask for referrals multiple times throughout the year from your friends, family, and clients.

Tip #5: Find Good Partners

Establishing good business partners early on can help establish you as an expert in your field. 

Your goal here is to become known as an “all-encompassing” real estate expert. When clients have questions about real estate, even when it doesn’t directly relate to buying or selling, you want them to think of you and reach out for your guidance. 

Good referral partners might include lenders, title and home warranty reps, insurance agents, general contractors, electricians, plumbers, a transaction manager, your CPA, financial planner, or attorney.

Having business partners also gives you the ability to co-market.

For example, if you have a partner in the roofing industry and you want to co-market together, you could create a video ad for Facebook and share the cost of running that ad. They will get exposure for roofing, and you will get seen for real estate. It’s a win-win and it will cost you less money than if you ran the ad by yourself.

A good partner might even turn into a mentor, especially if they are farther along in their business than you are. One mistake agents make is thinking that a mentor in real estate must be a real estate agent. One of my most valuable mentors is a mortgage lender, who has taught me invaluable lessons in business and growth.

​​​​It Takes Time to Grow Your Real Estate Business

Keeping these tips in mind will help you grow your real estate business, but just remember that it will take some time. Being consistent with your business plan, getting attention, asking for feedback and referrals, and finding the right partners will help you on the path to success. Check out my post on the typical real estate agent salary and learn how much agents make on average.