How will you make the most of these last two weeks of 2020? Or WILL you make the most of them?
Back when I was an agent, I learned that there were two schools of thought about selling real estate during the holiday season – which started with Halloween and lasted until at least January 2.
One school of thought was “There’s no real estate business over the holidays.” The other was “There’s plenty of business to be had over the holidays.”
Of course, both were correct. The agents who expected nothing did nothing – and earned nothing. You could hear them whining when the credit card bills came due in January. The agents who expected to be busy, were busy. You could see them smiling as they accompanied clients to closings in January and beyond.
If you’ve decided to take these last two weeks off…
That’s your decision. If you’ve earned plenty this year and already have systems in place to get off to a fast 
start in 2021, great! Take a vacation – or a staycation. Enjoy time with people you love. Catch up with old friends. Clean your closets.
If you’ve decided to keep working…
Do balance work with spending time with friends and family. You don’t want to look back and see that you missed all the fun.
What can you do to make the most of these last two weeks?
The first priority would be to stay on top of everything you’ve already got going on. You might have to push and prod a little to get things done.
Next, see what you can do to create some new business between now and January 1.
Check in with any buyers who’ve gone quiet.
Check in with sellers who have been on the fence about listing. Remind them that they can get the 
paperwork done now and go live on December 26 – or January 2. If you don’t know what to say, use my Holiday Listing Letters part 2.
Call past clients and those in your sphere with wishes for happy holidays and a wonderful new year. I know, it could be touchy this year, because some of them may be ill or may have lost family members.
So call to say you’re thinking of them and ask “How are you?” If they’re sad, let them talk, because it’s a kind thing to do. If they’re doing well, ask about their spouse, kids, parents, pets, or business. Then remind them that you’re there to help if they need anything.
This could generate some business right now – or some business for January and February.
Double down on advertising your current listings. If you use social media, use it to showcase the best features and benefits of those listings. If you haven’t sent “just listed” cards, send them now. Or, if it’s been too long – send a card that says something like “If you have friends or family visiting who would like to move here, remember that (address) is available! Call me to schedule a private showing.”
Let them know you’re working. If you’re working through the rest of the month, make sure everyone, including your current prospects, knows you’re working. Some will assume that you’re not, simply because they’ve known other agents who shut down for December.
Send Christmas or New Years cards – maybe. In my opinion, you should only send them if you are willing to write a personal note in each of them. A printed card with just a signature – or worse, a printed signature – is just advertising. (I don’t know what you do with them, but the ones I get go straight to the round file.) A card with a hand-written, personal note shows that you know who they are and actually do wish them happiness.
What can you do now to create business in 2021?
Plan your marketing and put things in place.
Ready the mail. If you’re going to do a postal mail campaign, get your mailing lists and your prospecting letters or postcards ready. You can automate the process by using this simple system.
Set up capture. If you want to capture visitors to your website, get the invitational copy and the capture box(es) ready, then pre-load your messages to go out automatically. If you don’t already have an autoresponder, be careful to choose one that allows you to send letters both on specific dates and at specific intervals from the time someone opts in.
Plan your blogging and/or social media marketing for at least the first couple of months. Decide what you’re going to do and when. For instance, you might plan to showcase a listing on specific days of the week, neighborhood photos another day, information about local businesses or events another day, and useful information for buyers or sellers on another day. Put the schedule on your calendar and set aside time. If you’re not extremely busy at the moment, go ahead and write the buyer and seller articles right now.
If your community will have a fireworks display on New Year’s Eve, remember to write about it in advance!
Update your web pages, including your agent bio.
If you’ve added a niche, add one or more pages for that niche. Do the same for a new geographic territory that you want to claim. Check to see if any of your information is dated. I’ve seen agent websites that still quote information from 2016.
Be sure your bio reflects your current brokerage, latest accomplishments, and current niches. You don’t want it to say how pleased you are to be working with brokerage A when you’ve moved on to brokerage B. (And yes, I’ve seen that!)
Set your expectations for a good year.
We generally get what we expect, so set your expectations high! Visualize yourself with as many listings or buyer clients as you want to handle – and getting them to closing. Visualize spending good times with your loved ones. Visualize enjoying good health.
Whatever you want from 2021, see yourself as having it. And meanwhile, give thanks for all you have right now. Gratitude is a powerful magnet.
choices arrows courtesy of Stuart Miles @ freedigitalphotos.net
Agent on the phone Image courtesy of imagerymajestic at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
I wish you a contented and healthy holiday, Marte. I have so enjoyed the thoughts we send back and forth, and hope we do it again in the new year, Zippy
PS
We got a little snow yesterday, an inch or so. On the other side of my city street, the row of parked vehicles are clean of snow, since the afternoon sun has melted it. My car, in a Handicap space outside, is still covered. None of my young neighbors has cleared it, although they did push the snow off the pavement yesterday, late. It’s a small area. It’s damp, though, so I dare not attempt to walk on it as there are hidden patches of ice. The sun is a blessing this time of year, especially the afternoon sun. I actually hung a few items out on the line, over my back porch.
Hi Zippy! I have also enjoyed our exchanges – and I’m sure we’ll do it again. Happy Holidays – and a happy and healthy new year!