Glenn McQueenie’s mother gave him a pair of slippers but they were too small. He went to the mall to return them, making his way to SoftMoc. The store was buzzing with customers. He returned his slippers and walked back to his car, passing through a department store on the way. There wasn’t a soul in the shoe department.
The moral of the story? There are “riches in niches”, says the operating principal/CEO of Keller Williams Referred Realty and Keller Williams Referred Urban Realty in Toronto.
That’s just one of the secrets the 26-year real estate veteran shares in his first book, Double Your Income – The simple way for real estate agents to make more money, in less time, working with clients they really love.
“I wrote the book to reach other agents across the country who are not with my brokerages, but who really want great training and are happy at their brokerage,” says McQueenie, who is offering his 68-page book to readers for free. (His own agents benefit from his Double Your Income Coaching Program.)
Although the book is skewed to agents in the heated Toronto and Vancouver markets, there are lessons to be learned by all. To date, the book has been downloaded 1,000 times across North America by people who recognize the value of McQueenie’s knowledge. He just completed a book tour in Ontario and the Maritimes, and he says the feedback has been “incredible”.
Glenn McQueenie, who has written columns for REM, says he was inspired to write a book that would help keep agents in the business (especially those who drop out after the first year) and teach them how to be successful. It’s about getting the right training at the right time, he says.
“We used to be able to be a department store, offering goods, services and everything. Now boutique stores like Sunglass Hut do one thing incredibly well and dominate the market,” he says.
In the Internet world, it’s all about specialization. It’s the same in real estate. Top agents always work in one market, be it geographic or demographic.
To start niche marketing, don’t toss what you do now out the window. Do what you’re doing 80 per cent of the time and work on your niche market the other 20 per cent of the time, he says.
Who would your dream client be? Look back three to 18 months and think about which clients you loved and loved working with. That’s where you should be, he says.
One agent in her mid-50s lit up when McQueenie’s advice clicked. The single woman told him she wanted to help 30- to 50-year-old single women build wealth and that she planned to design a wealth management program.
A 60-year-old agent didn’t get the “computer thing,” McQueenie says. “He liked to work with 65- to 85-year-olds and help them sell their home and move into a condo, a retirement residence or assisted living. You don’t need a computer for that. He is slow-paced and caring. His niche matches his personality.”
Another agent, a divorcee, decided to specialize in helping separated and divorced women because she knows what they are going through. Sometimes all people need is to have is someone who can tell them that they relate, that it’s going to be okay, and here’s the process, he says.
McQueenie’s book is chock full of information (from Why You Should Treat Every Lead as Your Best Friend to Why Offering a Free Orientation Tour Works to How to Use Geographic Farming to Double Your Income) gathered over his years in real estate and from the $1 million to $1.5 million he has spent on training for himself.
McQueenie got his licence in 1989 and opened his first brokerage in 2004. “My second brokerage opened in March 2013 and has rapidly grown to 126 associates at that office,” he says. He has more than 300 associates in total.
On the heels of his successful first book, he plans to write a new book every quarter, each targeting a specific market. Each will be much like a one-hour consultation, he says. “It’s a great strategy to work with the public.”
Four books a year sounds ambitious, but McQueenie says he is using his friend’s program, The 90-Minute Book. After preparing an outline, McQueenie simply dictates a 60- to 90-minute recording, which is then transcribed, returned for editing, corrected and then is ready to download.
He relies on Facebook, social media and word of mouth to let people know about his book.
“I am happy to come and speak at any brokerage about my program. I am on a mission to help all agents who want to double their income and raise the standards in our profession,” McQueenie says. “I will be rolling out a coaching program in the second quarter and holding a special two-day mastermind session for 12 people only, in Toronto on May 23 and 24.”
You can download the book for free at McQueenie’s website.
Connie Adair is a contributing writer for REM.
