It's no secret that the real estate industry can be cutthroat. Often, it seems as if real estate is all about the competition and who can land the best clients as quickly as possible.
What if there was an easier way? That's the question asked by Rudy Kusuma, founder and CEO of Your Home Sold Guaranteed Realty. Kusuma got his real estate license in 2007 and immediately started beating the pavement looking for clients - but he was coming up with a whole lot of dead ends.
Over time, Kusuma discovered a business model that worked. And in 2019, he founded his own real estate company to teach other agents what he discovered. Here are Rudy Kusuma's top tips to help real estate agents build a business model that thrives.
Use Reverse Prospecting
Reverse prospecting is a real estate tactic that Kusuma has pioneered, using this innovative strategy to grow a real estate business that works.
"I got my real estate license and immediately was told that the first thing real estate agents do is prospecting, either by cold-calling or door knocking," Kusuma said. "But I was struggling with cold-calling. I thought maybe it was my voice, so I tried going door-to-door. The only difference was that people were mad at me face-to-face."
Kusuma quickly realized he needed a different method - something that allowed him to squeeze as many results as possible out of his time by attracting clients who were ready to buy and sell.
That's where reverse prospecting comes in. Put simply, reverse prospecting attracts clients to you instead of you going out looking for them. It's a painless way to get more business for your real estate company. And when done right, it can help your business grow by leaps and bounds: "By the end of my first month doing this, I had picked up more than fifteen clients."
Let Your Agents Do What They Do Best
One big piece of the puzzle to Kusuma's success: He ensures his agents can focus on their job, without any extraneous to-do's thrown in. Real estate agents who run single-person ventures are often expected to handle everything from lead generation to marketing to showing homes. This isn't realistic. And it's not the right formula to create a successful, thriving real estate business that will continue to grow long term.
"Because we focus on reverse prospecting, our focus is only on serving the client," Kusuma said, referring to Your Home Sold Guaranteed Realty. "We don't expect our agents to prospect, work on marketing, or [do] anything other than working with clients to buy and sell their homes to their satisfaction."
Allowing your agents to focus 100% of their energy on working with clients will help your business thrive - and will attract more clients your way.
Equip Your Agents With Good Tech
Give your agents the technology they need to do their jobs well and everybody will benefit. In today's day and age, real estate companies rely heavily on technology to do everything from show homes to speed up the closing processes to streamline internal communications.
Technology also provides an easy way to do reverse prospecting. The National Association of Realtors' Real Estate in a Digital Age report showed that the typical buyer used a mobile device to search for properties online. 81% of older millennials, 80% of younger millennials, and 78% of Generation X - the demographics that are buying the most homes right now - found their home on a mobile device, compared to 68% of younger Boomers.
When you use technology to connect with clients, you're using the channel your customers want. By using technology, then, it's easier than ever to attract clients who want to work with you.
Focus on Continued Professional Development
Encourage your real estate agents to continue learning and growing in the field through resources like Kusuma's Quantum Leap System. Kusuma created this franchise prototype to help agents create systems and reverse prospecting funnels that will serve clients well. At the end of the day, he explains, the Quantum Leap System is really about time management.
"Your business is designed for other people and you're a channel of that," he said. "The more you add value for people, the more money you'll make. But it's hard to add value when you're stretched thin. That's why I designed the training I did, and that's what agents must understand to succeed. The solo agent model is impossible, but the Quantum Leap System helps agents build teams that can do the impossible."
Kusuma says the real estate industry is broken on many levels. But he also thinks there's a solution. Good agents don't have to go through burnout. By harnessing ideas like reverse prospecting and his Quantum Leap System, it's easy to build a real estate business that will stand the test of time.
About Rudy Kusuma
Rudy Kusuma, founder and CEO of Your Home Sold Guaranteed, is the "Real Estate Agent Millionaire-Maker" who helps real estate agents develop their own $4 million GCI teams. He has been featured in Inc. Magazine and has co-authored two best-selling books. Click here to develop your own million-dollar team: https://yourhomesoldguaranteed.com/agents/
