The disappearing art of farming

10 May 2013| Posted by: Geoff Baldwin

In these days of the need for instant gratification more and more real estate agents are taking the scattergun approach to attracting listings rather than knuckling down to master a farm area according to RE/MAX WA Managing Director, Geoff Baldwin. “The best bit of advice I received when I started in real estate was to decide on a small slice of a suburb and to set my goal to meet everyone who lived in that area within 4 months”, Baldwin said. “My mentor, who was a soon to retire agent, asked me this question - are people more likely to choose you if they actually know you of if you are just a flyer in their mailbox - The answer was pretty obvious. “Armed with that advice I set about knocking on doors and within that four month period I had met and had conversations with about 1,100 of the 1,260 property owners in my chosen area which was the eastern side of Craigie, a mortgage belt suburb north of Perth. “I also made a point of meeting every shop owner, school principal and service provider in the area along with learning about bus routes, school boundaries and compiling all the last 12 months sales and current stock. “Keep in mind that the internet hadn't been invented nor had mobile phones, pagers, faxes or any of the current tools that agents now pay lip service. “Suffice to say that within 12 months I was averaging around 40 to 50 percent of the sales in my area plus many others in the near surrounding suburbs and my career never looked back. “My strong advice to new or battling salespeople is to stop relying on chance, sharpen your farming skills, start sowing the seeds today, fertilise often and as long as you also continue to grow your skills and knowledge, nothing can stop your success. “Often we make this job of real estate too complicated but in reality it is a simple matter of how many people we talk to, our ability to listen and the quality of what we say.