Have you ever wondered why?

• There is never a commission check when you need it most?
• Long hours don’t necessarily translate into great profits?
• A commission check comes when you least expect it?

Commission check feast or famine can be the nature of our industry, and a very difficult reality for agents to get used to. The question is, how does one control the beast? How do we create steady income? What is the single most important issue that leads to reliable profitability?

The answer is consistent, constant and continuous follow-up. Stay in touch with your clients, and the business will flow. Let them forget you, and the business and profits dry up.

Actions that result in commissions are listings, pendings, price reductions and prospecting. When business is good, agents tend to focus on the here and now, and not keep follow-up with these actions current. It takes concerted task management to follow-up with future prospects. The successful agent will rely on the clientele that has been nurtured over time to keep business consistent. The agent that forgets to keep current with follow-up will experience feast and famine profits, because every time things get slow, that agent has to start all over again with listings. Design a program for your business that makes follow-up an every day task – make it easy to use and effective.

Designing a program for each area of your business is the key to consistency in your business. What components of the real estate business lead to commission checks? The answer is clients – past clients, potential clients, current clients and of course, general contacts. Design your follow-up plan to keep consistent contact with these four areas of business.

Now that you know the four areas to concentrate on, take some time and think about what things you can do on a regular basis that will impress your clients, and remind them that you are always working on their behalf. For example, how about sending your past clients six newsletters, four articles and four quarterly reports annually plus a calendar at Christmas? Sounds easy, but it is surprising how many agents do their marketing at the last minute or during calendar dead line week. Updated contact, not pressure, is what you are trying to achieve.

Design your program to include what you are going to send to each database. For instance, clients like to get market updates. They make people feel current and knowledgeable. Interesting articles from local and national publications are a thoughtful way to keep clients aware of you and the real estate market. Planning ahead with sample letters, articles and ideas ensures that you don’t have to be creative when you are stressed for time.

Running a program for each of these core databases will eliminate the ups and downs in your business. Systems and consistency are the keys to business success. Look how successful McDonald’s is – they have a system that works, is predictable and consistent. People love consistency.

Stop working so hard and start working smarter! Remind your clients that you are working for them. Design and implement your follow-up programs before you need them, and you will see a consistent and steady stream of income, eliminating the “lack of commission blues.” A little work now goes a long way later!

Published: November 11, 2002

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The founding partner of The Lones Group, Denise Lones, brings over two decades of experience in the real estate industry. With expertise in strategic marketing, business analysis, branding, new home project planning, product development, and agent/broker training, Denise is nationally recognized as the go-to for all things "real estate.” Denise can be reached at 369.527.8904 or at www.thelonesgroup.com.