International speaker and coach Sean Carpenter recently joined Breakthrough Broker president Eric Sachs on a webinar to share 21 ideas for a great 2021. He delivered valuable tips for setting yourself apart from other agents, bringing in new business, and building your brand through daily practices. In the end, every real estate agent is their own company, which makes their daily activities and routine that much more important. Below, we take a deeper dive into some of the ideas he shared. Check them out and click here if you want to watch the whole presentation.

1. Shift your attitude.

Attitude controls everything. It’s important to start each day with the right attitude by making a choice, deciding that it will be a good day. It’s also helpful to see how you frame things for yourself. Do you dread your daily responsibilities or do you see them as an opportunity to help people and do your job? Changing your frame of reference can change your attitude and changing your attitude can help your business.

2. Master the Three C’s.

It’s easy to be known or liked, but to be trusted is a challenge. The process of becoming a trusted resource for your clients involves mastering ‘The Three C’s’: Competence, Confidence, and Consistency. Competence is a function of ability and knowing how to do your job well. Confidence is a function of attitude and being able to attract people with your personality. Consistency is a function of action and being able to continue these practices over a long period of time. If you master ‘The Three C’s’, you can overdeliver for your clients, and in turn, for yourself and your business.

3. Real estate is a contact sport.

People always have more than one real estate agent in their sphere of influence, so what are you doing to stand out from the others? It’s important to consistently make contact with potential clients, past clients, friends, family, old co-workers, and people you don’t know. Remember that the old-school methods of having a meaningful, value-driven conversation and making a good impression still go a long way for building your network and business.

4. Plant seeds.

Continue to plant seeds in the ground because, whether it’s one month, six months, or a year later, those seeds could turn into business.

Sean recommends employing handwritten notes, hot sheets, happy birthdays, and the High 5 method as ways to plant those seeds every day. Write handwritten notes for people you have just connected with or clients you may have lost touch with. Check the hot sheet in your neighborhood for openings or under contract listings and call anyone that lives near those listings. Check Facebook to see whose birthday it is and send sincere Happy Birthday messages to everyone. (Not just the words ‘Happy Birthday’, but a message that will set yourself apart.) Finally, practice the High 5 method daily, which includes liking and commenting on five individual posts on Facebook, commenting on or retweeting five Tweets, leaving comments on five Instagram posts, and sending five text messages. These daily practices have a compounding effect that will give your business momentum and expand your sphere.

5. Practice the One-Three-Three method.

Another tactic Sean stands by for getting your name out there and marketing yourself is the One-Three-Three method. This is a daily strategy that pushes you to talk to one person you don’t know, three past clients, and three people you have lost touch with. This daily routine can create opportunities for you and keep you top of mind.

6. Buy someone breakfast.

Breakfast is the fastest and cheapest meal of the day. It’s also the perfect time to build rapport with your sphere. You don’t even have to focus on real estate topics for the entirety of the meal. Instead, focus on engaging with them and bringing value. Building these personal relationships with others in your sphere can be very beneficial, especially when they’re eventually in need of an agent or know someone who is.

7. Focus on attraction and differentiation.

It’s important to determine who your ideal client is. Multi-transactional? Referred business? Growing families? Certain occupations? When you answer that question, you are able to develop a marketing strategy to attract those types of clients. It’s also critical to differentiate yourself from the millions of other real estate agents by working diligently on your story and letting your personality shine. Setting yourself apart from others is key to creating your brand.

8. Get on Facebook Live & Instagram Live.

Be a resource and move the needle. Going live on Facebook or Instagram can establish you as a thought-leader in the industry, show clients you're a valuable resource, and demonstrate your involvement in your local real estate market. Hop on a Live and show a new business or restaurant under construction in a local neighborhood, explain the home selling process, highlight the unique services you offer, give an update on the market, and more.

9. Look in the rearview mirror.

As a real estate agent, it is very helpful to reflect on your past and see how your business is performing. Each month, you should check how many new listings you’ve taken in, how many are under contract, and how many are closing. Then compare your numbers to last month's. If you regularly exceed your previous month’s achievements, then your business will maintain steady growth. If you aren’t, you’ll know it’s time to adjust your strategy.

10. Your LTM could be your ATM.

Don’t break off contact with your clients after you close their deal. Stay in touch with clients from the last twelve months by regularly checking in to see how they like their new home, if they found a favorite restaurant, if they need any recommendations, and more. Maintaining contact with clients you’ve had successful business with is important because it could turn into referrals or repeat business.

Want more great ideas from Sean? Watch the full webinar 21 Ideas for a Great 2021 and visit Sean's website to find more great real estate advice. You can also connect with Sean on Facebook, Twitter, or Linkedin.