Lately I’ve been doing a lot of training for real estate offices and boards and one of my favorite sessions that I teach is about busting farming myths. Today, I’m not going to jump into myths, as we’ve already covered a few in a recent blog. However, I have been having a lot of conversations with agents as a result of that session and there has been a very common theme that has been coming up.
I’ve had a lot of agents talk to me after my classes or during the Q&A session and say things like “I wish I knew ____ about farming!” or “Had I known ____ about farming, I totally would have started sooner!”. I can feel their struggles when they open up and share with me their experiences.
These conversations have inspired me to write today’s blog post. So I wanted to share some things that I’ve personally learned about farming over the years and that other agents have shared that have been really eye opening for them.
Let’s just jump right in!
1) I wish I knew how to choose my farm correctly!
This is probably the most common one I hear. I’ve talked to hundreds of agents who have brought up how much they struggled choosing the right farm area. Most of the time the difficulty comes from 2 very common things.
The first is not knowing what is actually important when choosing the right farm. Many agents have limited knowledge of what they should be looking for when selecting their farm area and either focus on the wrong things or they get tripped up doing the research and just give up. This misinformation or lack of information causes a lot of stress and anxiety for many agents and prevents them from starting, or second guessing themselves if they do. If this is you, don’t worry, you aren’t alone.
The second reason is that so many agents choose a farm based on an area they “like”. Maybe they live in the area they want to farm, or maybe they like the style of homes in the area, or they chose it because they liked the price point. Whatever their reason, they pick a farm and then quickly realize it may not have been the right choice for them and they quickly resent it.
Many times it may not have been a good choice in the first place, but many times it’s simply that they just don’t know what to do in their farm to make it work and they feel they chose the wrong area, when in fact they just chose the wrong strategies.
That’s why I developed the 30 Day Launch Program. It helps agents take the guess work out of selecting the right farm and gives them the foundation to get started confidently.
2) I wish I knew what to actually do in my farm!
This is so common to hear. They agent gets excited about starting their farm. They pick their area and then get started with a ton of focus and determination only to quickly hit the metaphorical a wall. They get stuck trying to figure out what they should actually do now that they have a farm.
Next, the agent starts to copy what other agents have done (or they THINK they have done) to succeed in their farms. They start to rip off other agents ideas that they don’t really understand or that don’t actually work when you are launching a farm. Or worse, they do nothing and hope that just because they created a website that people will start to reach out.
The reality is that farming is hard work! It’s not a walk in a park. It’s a walk in a field… You have to see the potential, do the work and THEN reap the harvest. If you aren’t committed to doing the work, then don’t start.
But if you are prepared to do the work, I always stress that agents start with a plan. And if you’ve been following me for any length of time, you know I talk about my S.C.O.P.E. Strategy a lot. It’s the best way to ensure you have a balanced approach in your farm and that you reach the largest audience possible.
If you’re struggling with things to do in your farm, I developed my Farm Boot Camp to arm you with a ton of strategies that layer together nicely and can be added into any existing farm.
Coming up with the right mix of strategies takes time, experimenting and in many cases, getting out of your comfort zone. But when you figure out what works for you and your farm, you can build an incredible business.
3) I wish I knew how to get more business in my farm!
Similar to the last one, the secret to getting more business in your farm is ensuring you have a balanced approach to your strategies and then layering in more. So many agents fail to grow in their farm because they only have one or two strategies they rely on. You can’t be a one trick pony.
There is a concept in economics called “The Law Of Diminishing Returns” which states: “Profits or benefits gained from something will represent a proportionally smaller gain as more money or energy is invested in it.”
If you only have one or two strategies that you are doing in your farm you are only going to be able to get so much business from it before you start to see the effectiveness wear off. The costs will be greater for each lead, the energy required will continue to rise, or worse, you will just stop getting more business.
The great thing is that when you learn to strategy stack using the S.C.O.P.E. Method, you will extend your reach, convert more business, and lower your expenses. Ultimately, however, you will reach your limit even with those, and that is why it’s important to have a system you can scale up. It may be time to expand to another farm or you may have to accept that there is only going to be so much business you can extract from your farm before it’s not worth investing more money into it.
Each area will be different and each agent will be different depending on their goals and budget. The more connected to your farm and the more intentional you are, the easier this will be to discover.
I can’t tell you what that will be for you, but I can tell you is that if you haven’t implanted the S.C.O.P.E. Method or taken the Boot Camp, you haven’t reached your capacity yet!
Conclusion
So there you have it… These are the 3 most common things I hear agents wish they knew about farming and what you can do about it. If you have tried farming and have hit some roadblocks along the way, don’t feel alone, its way more common than you think and the solutions are usually a lot easier than you expected.
The key is to continue growing as a person, growing as a business and growing as a farm and making sure you look for solutions, not just problems.
If you need some ideas on what’s worked with other agents and aren’t prepared to invest in some of the training mentioned above, then be sure to check out the Launch Your Farm Show/Podcast and get some inspiration from some amazing agents who are crushing it in their businesses and learn from them.
Until next week!
Happy Farming!
Ryan Smith – Founder/Creator
Launch Your Farm
Be sure to check back on our blog and show to get awesome information about geographic farming!
Blog – http://www.LaunchYourFarm.com/Blog
Show – http://launchyourfarm.com/category/interviews
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