The Reluctant Prospector

(To read Part One, Click Here)

... In retrospect, I realize that the ability to work from home changed my life. For the first time, I truly flourished and discovered a creative side to myself I'd never known existed. Being somewhat shy and a bit of a privacy freak, working in an office made me feel self-conscious and ‘on display' all the time. And it was so distracting! I need peace and quiet to focus. I need a sense of privacy to recharge my batteries. Surrounded by chatter, I feel myself getting anxious and frazzled. But that's just me.

The other thing that annoyed me about working in the office was sharing equipment with other agents. The copier was always jammed (and abandoned), the fax machine always in use (or jammed & abandoned), the printer was out of toner (and abandoned) or the central computer was frozen (and abandoned). Real estate agents can be a bit self-absorbed and technologically challenged which is a bad combination when you're sharing vital office equipment.

If you're Just Like Me, give some serious consideration to setting up a true home office, and not just a corner of the dining room for your computer desk. You'll need your own room, preferably away from any hustle and bustle of the living areas of your home. And not just to ensure your peace and quiet, but so that your family doesn't feel as if they live in a real estate office. In many of the homes I've lived in during my career, my office was set up in a central location in the home and when I was married, my husband deeply resented it.

The phone rang constantly and I was always working, right under his nose. He felt neglected and ignored - that my business was more important than he was, and that his home was not a sanctuary from his own busy work day. Had my office been separate from the main living area, he could have enjoyed his own solitude and peace, but the way I set it up, he could not. It seemed to him that the whole house was my office and not our home.

So anyway, if at all possible, find your own space that won't interfere with family life. Once you get busy, your phone will ring constantly and you will need to be able to escape from your office too! That's hard to do when your office is in the dining room.

You'll need a good working desk in addition to a computer desk. You'll need plenty of shelves and drawers. The more horizontal storage space you have, the happier you'll be. Storage is the secret to happiness in your home office! You'll need some good file cabinets, a fax machine, a telephone with speaker, desktop file storage, a fax machine, a postage meter, a 3-hole punch, a paper cutter, a paper shredder, a few reams of presentation paper, a box of regular copy paper, legal paper, labels, scotch tape... etc., etc., etc. A multi-function fax/copier/printer/scanner is a necessity.

One year, I got overly ambitious and purchased a $2000 color laser printer because I thought I was a big shot and needed it. Don't do it!! That monster cost me $1000/year in toner and other supplies and broke down at least twice a year. It was too heavy for me to move, even two feet across the room. I'd rather wear out a couple mid-quality multi-function machines every year than deal with that beast again.

Do not use your home phone as your business phone unless you are the only one who ever answers it AND you answer it professionally every time. Use your real estate office address on business cards. After I got to the point where I worked exclusively at home, I was comfortable meeting my clients there, especially when preparing purchase offers. You may or may not feel the same way. For me, it's just easier to put contracts together on my own computer, rather than figuring out how to work the computer and printer in an office I rarely visit. It's worth the half an hour I have to take to clean up my house! Perhaps it isn't as professional as meeting in a stuffy office, but it works just fine for me.

If you work from home 99% of the time and are willing to give up your desk at your real estate office, you may be able to negotiate a better commission split. After all, the broker can put another agent at your desk (more $$$ for him) and you aren't using the office resources to the extent that the other agents do. Many companies offer an alternative split for agents who work from home, although it may not be available to you until you've been selling real estate for a year or two. Working from home can be expensive - aside from the obvious costs of stocking your own supplies, you're also using your own electricity all day long! Don't underestimate this - my utility bills were twice what they "should" have been. But maybe you'll offset that by not eating out as much... after all, your refrigerator is just down the hall.

http://www.sellwithsoul.com/

copyright Jennifer Allan 2007

Should you work from home or from a real estate office?

For some, the answer is obvious. The majority of salespeople prefer the busyness and chaos of an office. They need the social interaction and would be unproductive at home. They claim that they can't work from home because they'd be too distracted and wouldn't get anything done. If this sounds like you, you have your answer. Start working toward getting that corner office with a mountain view.

For those of you like me, naturally introverted, you may find yourself working primarily from home already. I did. Within one week of beginning my real estate career, I had a full office set up in my home and only went to my Coldwell Banker office a few times a week. I didn't do it intentionally; it just naturally happened.

Don't force yourself to go to the office if you're more comfortable and productive at home. Being an introvert all my life, I always felt a little guilty that I preferred my own company to the company of others. I forced myself into social situations that were disastrous for my peace of mind and productivity. For example, I joined a sorority in college (what was I thinking?) and when I noticed I wasn't fitting in, I decided to move into the sorority house for a semester. What a nightmare - no privacy, no personal space, no control over my environment. For an introvert, this is Bad. We need our privacy, space and control to function.

When you go to the office, do you feel as if you're productive? Creative? Ambitious? I found that when I forced myself to spend time in my real estate office, I could get my to-do list done, but not much else. My creativity seemed stifled and my motivation low. I need my own space to pace, to talk to myself, to do a few sit-ups if the mood strikes. Or even take a power nap.

When you spend time in the office do you feel energized when you leave or drained? Do you enjoy the other agents in your office or do they get on your nerves? When you walk in your door at night, do you stumble in, feeling as if you just put in a long day at the office? Or pleased with yourself and eager to go back tomorrow? One of the many benefits of a real estate career is the escape from the drudgery of a nine-to-five job. The euphoria of being your own boss and controlling your own destiny (in between all those feeling of confusion, anxiety and frustration). Your work environment may very well be the key to finding the euphoria.

(to be continued...)

http://www.sellwithsoul.com/

copyright Jennifer Allan 2007

Real Estate Is Not a Numbers Game!
(at least, it doesn't have to be)

You've heard the cold caller's philosophy...for every 100 phone calls you make, you'll get five appointments; for every five appointments you go on, you'll get one listing. Therefore, if you make 500 phone calls, you can count on five listings as a result. If your average listing commission is $5,000, then every phone call is worth $50 since it takes 100 phone calls to get a listing. Supposedly you will actually start to enjoy each rejection, because you realize that every 99 "no's" equals a "yes" which leads to a paycheck, since every "no" means you are one step closer to a "yes." Sound fun?

Not to me. In fact, it sounds like an awful way to make a living. Pestering people for three hours a day asking the poor sap who answers the phone if he "knows anyone who's thinking of buying or selling real estate?" Being rejected 99 times out of a hundred, voluntarily? Ick. Phooey. Blech.

So tell us how you really feel, Jennifer!

Okay, thanks for asking, I will.

The State of Colorado's Division of Real Estate did not grant me a real estate license so that I could be a professional prospector. I have to assume that good old DORA intended for me to spend a significant amount of my time serving the clients I am honored to have today instead of tracking down the ones I hope to have tomorrow. Taking good care of my listings and my buyers. As my first priority. Not as an afterthought when I can squeeze them in around my prospecting and networking efforts.

But, but, but....!

Yeah, I know. As self-employed types, we have to ensure ourselves a steady stream of business to keep the home fires burning in the style to which we intend to become accustomed. Hey, believe me, I never took a vow of poverty and I don't sell real estate out of the goodness of my heart. I've had $50,000 months before, more than once, and I could happily get used to that!

But you know what? I have never cold called, I have never knocked on a stranger's door... in fact, I've never even asked a stranger for business. Ever. No, not even FSBO's or expireds.

For ten years I have depended on my SOI for 100% of my business. And they have generously delivered. Sure, I've picked up the odd client here and there from floor time or open houses; maybe two or three a year, which is nothing to sneeze at. But the vast majority of my business comes directly or indirectly from the people I know or meet.

And every client is special to me. Even precious. Okay, admittedly some are a pain in the ass, but I still appreciate their business and the juicy commission checks I get as a reward for putting up with them. But most of my clients are pleasant people with a real estate need who simply want to be treated as if their business is valuable to me. Not like a number.

When you depend on your SOI for business, you bow out of the numbers game. And it's wonderful. No more dragging yourself to the phone for your daily cold calling session. No more searching the real estate ads for your next FSBO target. No more beating yourself up because you'd rather take a nap than finish up your 10 HouseValues CMAs that are due today.

When your pipeline is running low, you have a little Super Bowl party. Or send out some friendly personal emails. Or ratchet up your "take-a-friend-to-lunch" campaign. You don't need 20 more clients today; just two or three good ones will restore your mood. And pad your bank account.

SOI business is good business. It's loyal business. It's fun business. The success ratios are more like 50%-75%, compared to 5-10% from traditional lead generation (and that's being optimistic!). So if you get 100 leads from your SOI, that will result in 50-75 closings from you.

So how does it work exactly? Glad you asked.

SOI business comes in one lead at a time. But the leads are good leads, leads that will likely result in a closing. And, depending on your market and your broker split, each lead-that-will-probably-result-in-a-closing is worth thousands of dollars to you.

So let's say you have 20 close friends. If you have implemented a respectful, consistent SOI campaign, you, obviously, are the agent of choice for most of them if any happen to need a real estate agent this year. Maybe that will only get you one or two sales; or maybe your friends are a restless bunch and you'll get five or six.

You should also get the family business of your 20 nearest & dearest. Katie's grandma moves to town to be closer to her grandchildren. Fred's brother-in-law needs a referral to a Las Vegas agent. Maria's sister gets engaged and needs to sell her condo. Her fiancé wants to sell his too. There's a good chance you'll get first dibs on this sort of business. So let's say you pick up three family members.

Let's not forget everyone else your 20 friends know. If just half of your friends refer you to just one person, that's 10 more clients for you. What if all of your friends refer you to one other person? Or if three of your friends each refer you to five of their friends? What if you have 30 friends? 50?

Oh, and what about everyone else in your SOI? The other 150 people you know and stay in touch with? Your husband's assistant? Your dog trainer? Your massage therapist? Depending on the strength of your SOI campaign, you might see 5-15 sales a year from these folks.

And we haven't even talked about the NEW friends you're going to make over the next 12 months! If you're out there in the world, with your antenna up, you will run into people who happen to be in need of real estate services. If you approach them right, that business is yours. Maybe that's another five sales for you.

So add it all up and you're selling some real estate! All without treating anyone like a number.

Unless you're striving to be a mega-producer with 10 buyer agents scurrying around underfoot, you really don't need to go after every buyer and seller in town. This is what I mean when I say that Real Estate is Not a Numbers Game. The business that you can generate from your SOI and from your own social encounters really ought to be enough.

And the best part? If you spend a few years building a strong cheering section (i.e. your SOI), you can coast through the rest of your real estate career. NO prospecting, NO marketing budget, NO sleepless nights worrying about where your next closing is coming from. Now, that's a lifestyle I could get used to (and I have).

http://www.sellwithsoul.com/

copyright Jennifer Allan 2007

What's the Difference Between an Extrovert and an Introvert?
An Extrovert is someone who gets his or her energy from being around others; an Introvert is someone who is energized by being alone. When an Extrovert is left alone for long periods of time, he becomes lethargic. Conversely, an Introvert will be exhausted and drained after a day of social interaction.

I'm naturally shy. Not wallflower shy - I'm not afraid to speak in public and I was even a cheerleader in high school, but shy as in... socially uncomfortable. Small talk is a foreign language to me. I've faked more than one twisted ankle to get out of attending a wedding or baby shower, and in college, I was placed on "social probation" by my sorority because I didn't attend enough parties.

So in 1996, I made the obvious career choice and entered the world of real estate sales. Funny, huh? No, actually, I did it because, like many other budding real estate moguls, I planned to buy and sell my own properties and get rich. Perhaps, if I had time, I would try to squeeze in a few clients here and there to make sure the bills were paid while I was building my own empire. But I never planned to be a "Real Estate Agent." No, I knew I was too shy to succeed in a business dominated by charismatic extroverts.

Fast forward ten years. I am a real estate agent and a darn good one. A successful one. Yet I've never made a cold call, I've never knocked on a stranger's door to ask for his business. No, not even in my first year.

It's funny that no one ever admits to hiring a salesperson based on their ability to B.S. their way to a sale. Yet high-pressure, can't-be-bothered-with-the-details sales people get hired every day because they're likeable. Bully for them. There are plenty of sexy programs and glitzy seminars out there for the extrovert to develop their natural skills of prospecting and networking. If you're shy like me, don't waste your time or money. The strategies directed at extroverts won't work for you. You might even be discouraged from a career in real estate if they convince you that you can't succeed without putting their high pressure tactics into play.

Don't misunderstand, there's nothing wrong with being socially adept. I wish I were. With all my heart, I'd love to be a social butterfly. But I'm not and yet I have succeeded in a business that has traditionally been lead by dynamic, outgoing, ‘natural' sales people. You can too.

Contrary to popular belief, you can succeed in real estate, even if you're not an extrovert. In fact, you can be great, but only if you're GOOD. Good at the details, good at the paperwork, good at negotiating, good at the follow up. If you can't distract & dazzle them with your charm, you can still blow them away with your competency. And isn't that more rewarding anyway?

You are probably already a bit of a stickler for details. You are probably already reliable, organized and efficient. These skills will take you much further than you might suspect in your real estate career. And you know what? Your shyness might actually be a big factor in your success. If you consider traditional real estate prospecting and closing techniques too invasive and assumptive for your personality, you will develop your own style that, as a by-product, shows respect for your prospects and clients. You will treat them as if they are intelligent human beings, which they will truly appreciate and find refreshing.

Throughout my ten years of successful real estate sales, I have come up with many techniques and strategies that are well suited to a less-than-bold personality style. I'd be happy to share my ideas with you... just drop me a note with your specific question or dilemma and I'll respond as soon as I can.

Just know that YES! A Reluctant Prospector CAN succeed in real estate. And love every minute of it.

copyright Jennifer Allan 2007

www.sellwithsoul.com