The Reluctant Prospector

I just got back from a cruise to the Bahamas. I'm very tan.

Even though I was sternly warned that I would not work on vacation, I couldn't help but notice all sorts of analogies between my cruising experience and the wonderful world of real estate sales. Ahhh, the curse of the obsessive blogger. You know what I mean.

Anyway, now that I'm back, I'll share some of ‘em with you.

A few weeks ago, I was following a conversation on another real estate forum about call-capture. Whether or not to do it. Whether or not it annoys people who get a call out of nowhere from a stranger. Whether or not it matters if you annoy people. As I recall, the consensus was that it does not matter if people are annoyed by an unsolicited phone call; if the strategy works every once in awhile, it's worth the annoyance imposed.

Frankly, that seems to be the mantra of the Old School traditional real estate model.

Anyway, back to my vacation (yeah, it's all about me).

As we got on the cruise ship after a 7-hour drive, we were bombarded with lights, music and activity. Selling activity. We were offered a Welcome Bahama Mama (for $8.95+tip). A few steps away was a booth selling soda packages ($29.00 for all the soda you can drink PLUS a free insulated cup!). To the side was a guy hawking on-shore excursions. To the other side was a cute little thing promoting an on-board detoxification experience in the spa.

Being the introvert that I am, I just wanted to escape to my room and have a moment of silence. The joy I felt at finally being On Vacation was a little dampened by all the attention focused on getting into my pocketbook.

But was the approach working? Oh, yeah, there were people lined up at every booth, brand-spanking new SeaPass card in hand, ready to start spending their dollars within minutes of boarding.

A few days later, I found myself disembarking into Nassau. If you've ever been to Nassau (or any island, probably), you know what happened next. We were accosted by local dudes offering buggy rides, scooters, taxis, hair-braiding (okay, those were women), snorkel trips... along with plenty of offers for less-legal products.

None of which we bought, by the way. But that didn't stop them - we spent the day fending off sales pitches, requests for tips from people we'd never seen before and pushing away "free" bracelets and trinkets.

Now, do these people really think anyone appreciates their approach? That their visitors enjoy the experience of being incessantly accosted on their vacation? I can't imagine they do, but, it's worth it because it results in sales.

Does the end justify the means in marketing? If you believe it does, how do you rationalize that it's okay to do unto others that would annoy the hell out of you if done unto you?

You didn't think I'd forget about your Sphere of Influence (SOI) in my Pipeline 2010 series didja'? Of course not...

If you've followed my blog at all, you might have noticed that I'm a big fan of an SOI business model, as long as it doesn't include any begging, bribing or pestering those Very Important People Who Know You. At last count, I've written over 200 blogs & articles on the subject and there are three whole chapters in my upcoming book on it. It's my thang.

So, what can you do with your Sphere of Influence TODAY to fill your pipeline for 2010?

Well, just about anything, really. Except begging, bribing or pestering. If, today, you begin making a concerted effort to reconnect with the people you know, by the end of the year, you'll have made a real impression on a lot of people. And I'll bet you'll have met a lot MORE people to include in your sphere to make a real impression on.

What do I mean by reconnect? Well, it depends on how formal you want to get with it. If you've been hankering to change up your business model away from traditional prospecting and into something a little more fun, then you might want to explore the various programs available to walk you thru doing just that (and yeah, I have one of those).

Or, just set some easy goals to have a couple lunch dates every week, to pick up the phone and call a friend if you have a bona-fide reason to. Accept invitations to parties you might normally decline. Have your own casual dinner party or afternoon BBQ. Organize a girls night or boys night out. Go through your email inbox and look for old conversations you can pick back up. Oh, heavens, there are a gazillion things you can do to get back in touch with the people you know and increase the likelihood of making new friends.

Just promise me you won't beg, bribe or pester anyone for business during your reconnection efforts. Or, ever. If you do, your friends and acquaintances won't appreciate being reconnected with and not only will your Sphere of Influence business model fail, you'll likely lose some friendships over it.

And that's bad.

Next up: The Very BEST Way to Fill Up Your Pipeline

Baaaad Jennifer.

A few weeks ago, I threatened to write a series of blogs entitled "Pipeline 2010" where I'd share some thoughts on what you could (and should) be doing today to ensure a Happy Next Year. And then I totally dropped the ball. I got distracted and left y'all hanging. I hope you weren't holding your breath.

Anyway, the first topic I'd like to discuss is blogging. Since you're HERE, on real estate's greatest blogging site, I'll assume that you know what blogging is and why you might want to do it. If it's working for you, then you probably don't need my encouragement to keep up the good work. But if you're not blogging, you're probably at least mildly annoyed with yourself that you aren't.

In July, I hosted a private teleseminar within the Summer of Soul (shameless plug - buy the whole series before September 15 and save $50) where we discussed Blogging for Business.

Frankly, I didn't think I'd learn much from the seminar; after all, I'M in the Top Ten Most Subscribed-To Bloggers here on the Rain! What could blogging experts like Renee Burrows, Janie Coffey and Karen Rice possibly teach ME about effective blogging techniques?

*Gulp*

 A lot, it turns out.

While I can't summarize the entire 90-minute show in a 500-word blog post, let me share the most eye-opening concept I got from the show. Hopefully it will inspire you the way it inspired me.

I've always treated blogging as a popularity contest. The more comments I get, the happier I am. Period. I considered the number of comments I receive to be the only relevant evaluation on the effectiveness of my post. Lotsa comments - GREAT blog. No or few comments - SUCKY blog.

Oooh, I was wrong. And this is GOOD news for the new blogger!

Turns out that the most effective blogs (that is, blogs that attract buyers and sellers of real estate) very likely won't generate many comments at all! After all, it's not as if the general home-buying and selling public is hanging out at Active Rain - no, they're doing their own thing until one day - BAM! They want information on local real estate, they head to google and voila! There you are!

Well, there you are if you're there. With keywords and tags and decent content and a strong title and all that. Which isn't nearly as complicated as I once imagined it to be.

So, I decided to put my newfound knowledge to the test. I fired up a blog I'd abandoned over a year before that focused on my favorite neighborhood in Denver. I started posting frequently, using keywords and tags and categories.

And guess what? I've received exactly three comments on my blog; all three from other real estate agents.

But if you search "Northwest Denver Real Estate" or "Northwest Denver homes for sale" guess who comes up first (or second)? ME! (I'm the one at www.northwestdenverundressed.com).

I've only had a few leads so far, but they've been strong leads and will probably result in some closings down the road sometime. So, I'm tickled with my results so far and I'll bet ya my blogging efforts of the last two months will make my 2010 just a little bit sweeeeter. Or a whole lot.

NEXT UP in the Pipeline 2010 Series - "How Mastering Your Market Can Attract Business Your Way"