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Ep. 223: How to Close the First 36 Transactions in Real Estate with Jeff Cohn

Where New Agents Should Be Getting Their First Real Estate Transactions

In 2019, Jeff Cohn’s team of agents was named by Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices as the #1 team in unit sales in the world. He knows his numbers, and he’s put into place a system for his new agents to know precisely when and where they can get their first 36 transactions.

Once Jeff Cohn opened Elite Real Estate Group in Omaha, Nebraska, he set out to expand his team. In one year, he grew from 24 agents to 100 agents. During that same year, they double their volume and doubled their commissions.

When he was asked how he was able to grow so fast, Jeff said the formula was simple:

  1. Hire agents.
  2. Train those agents.
  3. Hold those agents accountable.
  4. Give them the best leads, the best systems, and the best strategies to make the most money in the least amount of time using the least amount of energy.

Though, more than that, Jeff knows his numbers.

Almost immediately, we picked up on how well-versed Jeff is with knowing what KPIs needed to be met to achieve every goal. He knows how many homes in Omaha sell in a month. He knows how many Facebook ad clicks it takes to get a lead. He knows how many calls it takes to close a deal. He knows how many homes a new agent can sell in a year.

Jeff knows.

And he shares what he knows with his team, and, because he understands what it takes to close a deal, he’s able to provide his agents with clear expectations.

But it all starts with training.

An agent’s first year

Without question, a new agent needs to be trained and mentored. Jeff understands that without training and assistance, a new agent won’t know how to get the leads that will eventually help them meet their goals.

Working with brokerages, his Certified Advisor Program in Omaha is designed to help new agents get their first 36 transactions. He partners with brokerages to train new agents or agents who haven’t reached 36 transactions. This is how it works:

  • First 12 transactions: Two-thirds of the leads need to come from the brokerage that is supporting the agent. One-third should come from the agent’s sphere and their own prospecting activities.
  • Second 12 transactions: One-third of the leads should come from the brokerage, one-third from the agent’s sphere, and one-third from prospecting.
  • Last 12 transactions: Two-thirds of the leads should come from the agent’s sphere and one-third from prospecting.

After that, Jeff talks to us about leveraging relationships with marketing service partnerships so that an agent never has to sell a home again.

In the next five years, Jeff plans to establish his Certified Advisor Program in the top two cities of every state across the country. Until then, agents can experience training and coaching sessions with Jeff at Grow with ERS.

Helpful resources for new agents

If you’re a new agent, then you’ll want to download ReminderMedia’s free e-book, The Ultimate Rookie Year Guide. It will give you a month-to-month breakdown of where to direct your effort, ways to leverage the sphere of influence you already have and grow it exponentially, and free ways to get started with your marketing.

You’ll also want the free Lead Calculator. Based on your desired annual income, the calculator will reverse engineer your sales process to show you how many listing appointments you’ll need in order to reach your goal. It’s a must-have and it’s free.

Finally, as a new agent, you probably don’t have much money for a marketing budget. These three blogs suggest numerous and creative ways you can generate leads for free:

You can find more free resources by visiting our vast library at remindermedia.com/resource-library.

 

Key Points

  • There is no finish line. Be grateful for what you have, but strive to be even better so you can create an impact and influence the lives of those who look up to you.
  • The system for creating a successful team and sustainable business is to provide agents with the best leads, the best systems, and the best strategies so that they can make the most money in the least amount of time using the least amount of energy.
  • Know your numbers—they should drive every business decision you make.
  • All things being equal, sometimes what makes you different is just enough to create the impact and influence that make you the preferred choice.

Action Item

Listen to Jeff’s means for getting his partners to pay for his marketing, and then do the same for your business.

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