The other day I wrote a blog, basically admitting that I've lied all this time when I said that virtually all of my real estate business came directly or indirectly from the people I knew, otherwise known as my sphere of influence (SOI).
As part of my re-entry into the wonderful world of real estate sales, I've been more closely analyzing where my business came from the first go-around and had an AHA moment of... "wow - I got a lot of business from strangers!" Now, don't get me wrong, I hadn't forgotten about these Very Important Clients; I just kinda forgot how I met them since, of course, they all ended up in my SOI and many became friends or semi-friends.
But the difference is... I never prospected for the business of strangers. Never cold-called, door-knocked; rarely advertised or farmed. I never, ever approached a stranger with the intent to prospect to them. All of my Business from Strangers was serendipitous...
They say that luck is when opportunity meets preparation. BINGO!
Opportunity: Being out in the world with a smile on your face and your antenna up.
Preparation: Being ready to hand out your business card and spout your elevator speech? NO!!! Preparation means being ready to speak intelligently and knowledgeably about the local real estate market without a hint of a sales pitch.
Don't want to prospect? Then don't. Spend that time learning the heck out of your market. Preview, preview, preview. Read neighborhood newspapers. Preview some more. Visit neighborhood grocery stores and shopping districts. Preview. Visit new home communities, attend meetings on Transit Oriented Development. Preview. Know your office inventory inside and out.
When a Stranger Calls...(on one your listings or while you're on floor duty), you'll get ‘em. When an open house visitor expresses in an interest in the neighborhood... you'll get ‘em. When another guest at a wedding wants to talk real estate investment... you'll get ‘em.
KNOWING YOUR MARKET is the best way to "prospect" to strangers. No fancy business card, well-rehearsed elevator speech or slick closing technique will beat the confidence that exudes from you when you know your stuff. It's magnetic.
p.s. remember the part about leaving out the sales pitch. If you impress someone with your market knowledge, then hit ‘em with a sales pitch, you'll likely un-do all the good you just did. When you're confident and enthusiastic, people will ASK for YOUR business card. It's a beautiful thing. Right, Susan?
Truer words were never spoken, Jennifer! I agree with you 100% Whenever asked "how to get started" by a newer agent, I always say, know the market, know the market, know the market! That's where confidence comes from!!!
I have had a number of listings in my neighborhood, without prospecting...I get business from walking my dog. I never bring up real estate b/c I don't want to be the person every one runs from! LOL But inevitably, a neighbor WILL! I talk for a minute, then change the subject. I want to be known as someone who is knowledgable about the market, not someone who SELLS real estate, if that makes sense.
As always, right on target!
Tisk tisk Tisk .....Liar Liar, Pants on Fire. Hope that will learn ya. LOL
Sean Allen
I probably know more neighbors simply because they stop and ask about real estate. They were strangers, but now I know them and they are SOI. I don't push real estate, I do farm my neighborhood and I know my neighborhood so when they ask, I can answer their questions.
I completely agree with you Jennifer. When I first told my wife I wanted to become a Realtor, she laughed and said, "You cannot name 2 streets that connect to the one we live on," While I was taking the class, I began to read everything about my area, focused on where new developments were being built and even trying to pick where prime areas are for future sites. Within 6 months of getting my license I "appeared" to be the area expert in my company. Little did some of the other agents know that I did not have any experience prior to joining the company.
Frank Hanson
I have been a fan of your blogs for a while....never posted to one but here you go...
I totally agree with all of these points made but some are more effective then others...
"Opportunity: Being out in the world with a smile on your face and your antenna up."
i think a smile is contagious! too bad im shy! i try to smile and make eye contact on a daily basis, sometimes its very difficult but I do beleive this.
Preparation: Being ready to hand out your business card and spout your elevator speech? NO!!! Preparation means being ready to speak intelligently and knowledgeably about the local real estate market without a hint of a sales pitch.
totally agree!
Dave
Jennifer - I agree. I thought I should become introspective rather than continuing to appear to be the one man cheering section in Montgomery County Maryland. I have such mixed feelings about some of this stuff. On one hand, I believe that you should be prepared to offer the "one minute" elevator speech. I believe it should roll off your tongue smoothly. Maybe, on this point, the devil is in the details.
I don't support the "Hi, my name is John MacArthur. I am a Realtor. I work with Long and Foster, the largest individually owner brokerage in the DC area. If you or anyone you know is seeking professional help regarding the sale or purchase of real estate, I would welcome the opportunity to speak with them."
No, the "one minute" speech is shorter. "I'm a Realtor. What do you do?" The next statement either follows the answer of the question or is "I've been in the area most of my life. How about you?"
The goal of the prepared "one minute" speech is to acquire information that will lead to follow up contact or and or is big....let them go on their way. The biggest piece of information is their contact info. If they share what they do...always with a smile I follow up with "really, it's always good to know a ......., do you have a card." When they had me their card, I return the favor with..."In this market, it never hurts to have a realtor that will answer questions for you."
So, I do breech apparent stranger rules. I prefer face to face mini meetings. Greet, inquire, acquire and move on.
Now, I suppose that does qualify because I do not attempt a sales pitch. I am not sure if I have a sales pitch.
I do know, getting back to introspection, that there is a reason I don't do the sales thing. I think it is one of the keys to my success in real estate. (O.K. success is like beauty. It is all in the mind.)
I do not now view myself as a sales person. I have never viewed myself as a salesperson. I am not a salesperson. Regarding my current focus on real estate transactions and their participants, I am not a salesperson.
I am a counselor. I am a investigator. I am an assistant. I am a teacher. I am a protector. I am a facilitator. I am a negotiator. I am a adviser. I am many things. I am not a sales person.
I represent someone that either wishes to purchase a home or sell a home. On some wonderful occasions I am asked to assist someone do both, sequentially.
I am not a salesperson.
I don't see myself in that light. My job is one of support. It does involve negotiation skills. It does involve patience and empathy. It does come with great responsibility. It is not selling in the fashion that I perceive selling.
I am a Realtor. Salespeople sell things to people. I assist those that are buying with the process. I assist those that are selling with the process. I see myself as a caring, concerned middleman. I am a delightful mixture of DAD qualities.
It may not be clear within the content of my rambling, but I know what I mean. It really is totally related to how you see yourself, because that is how you will offer yourself to others.
This might sound silly but I talk to myself every morning! I'll read my market reports, read through my rate sheets, watch a lil' CNBC from the Opening Bell...and I'll start talking to myself!
Why? Because the last thing I want to do...the worst thing I can do, is sound like I'm giving an elevator speech! Not that an elevator speech isn't good, I'm not saying it's BAD...but the fact is, you can't speak intelligently about the market if you sound like you're reading it off a piece of paper!
So...I talk to myself everyday just before I start my day.
With so much technology these days....it's easy to sit at your computer and never leave the house. You have to get OUT THERE and meet people...be in places people frequent......go to the park, the Y, your kids school function. There are people everywhere who need you...but "You Have To Be There"
Jody - Laughing WAY out loud! I can sit at my computer for days and never even look up. But now that I'm back The City, it's much easier to Get Out There and yeah, I seem to be meeting more people than I did all nested up at home.
Ricardo - Keep it up! The better you know something, the less it sounds scripted or rehearsed, even if you do say essentially the same thing over and over again.
Lane - That's good to know about yourself and I'll bet it works well for you...?
Dave - I thought of you today when I was out and about - I went up to the little shopping district by my house and made an effort to make eye contact (yes, it's an effort for me). Most people were receptive, but every once in awhile I'd pass a fellow introvert who was determined not to acknowledge the outside world. I understood (oh, do I understand), but I did feel a little rebuffed. Is THAT how I'm perceived when I'm in my own little world?
Frank - that's a great story!
JMac, Your elevator speech is even better than mine. As to your assertion that you are not a salesperson... THANK YOU. I've been looking for the right words to express that sentiment (ask Inna - she asked me that question in a mock interview and I could barely put a coherent sentence together) and you provided them to me. May I borrow?
Kim - that's great and I might, maybe, perhaps, possibly even do a little farming in my 'hood once I'm back up and running. My thoughts on farming is that it will only be successful if you already have a presence in the neighborhood - so your farming materials reinforce that presence rather than create it.
Smiles and eye contact can lead to some great relationships!
I'm always impressed with your posts as I learn so much. I am still trying to learn how to stop talking so john brown much!!! It's almost like shooting yourself in the foot.
I do make it a point to always wear some type of name, whether it's my name tag or my Realtor pin. Both are effective means of drawing attention .
Greg - LOL!
Elaine - funny, so have I. What could it mean?
Diane - Oops! I forgot to mention previewing which is very important!
Latonia - I talk too much, too. It's probably all in our heads, though, or at least, no one else notices. Don't fret.
Allen - SMILE!!!
Lisa - Yep - it's the shortest route to confidence... in my experience.
Patricia - good point. I was "trained" before the days of virtual tours or even interior photos. Maybe that's why I'm such a preview freak.
Hi Jennifer, very enlightening blog, it puts things in perspective. Lately I've been engrossed with building a website and finding different ways to market myself, but I've learned that my main focus right now should be mastering my market. Thanks!
Eugene - that's a great revelation. It's so much easier to market yourself when you feel good about the product and are excited to share your knowledge.
Tasha & Karl - It's hard for everyone, myself included, not to push when we need business. Yeah, sure, it's fine to do this SOI soft sell stuff when you're feeling good, but when things get a little tight, we want to revert back to pushing for what we want. Trouble is, it doesn't work. I do the same thing and then laugh at myself when it doesn't work.
Jennifer, I appreciate this blog (bookmarked in fact :) ) and all the comments. I'm new to the business and yes I would say even a bir shy. There has been the pressure to door knock, cold call and all sorts of "high pressue" sales tactics that rookies are encouraged to try. This blog confirms for me that I should go with my natural style ( research, research, research) be freindly and available to help someone find their new home.
Hope I didn't ramble too much. :)
Ok, ok...I get it!! Whew!! Because I was really getting tired of sending postcards to every expired listing and not getting any response. I just do NOT want to call them. My kids' high school is having a meeting tomorrow night to get volunteers for their upcoming "Health Fair". They need folks to hand out flyers advertising the event. How cool would that be...standing in the grocery store (with my handy-dandy Howard Hanna pin on my lapel), handing out something to help the school? It would take, what, an hour or so of my time? So I guess I know where I'LL be tomorrow night. :)
And I'll start previewing more...and more...and more!
Thanks Jennifer...this one's bookmarked!
Jennifer,
First, let me say I just love your posts! Since starting over in Alabama, I have been previewing, previewing, previewing. I have pulled absorption rates till I'm cross eyed!!! My office mates laugh when I spout out monthly figures....Well, it paid off today! I got a floor time call, showed them the house they called on...it was a POS and remembered a great home I had previewed. Took them, showed them, wrote them. It was wonderful! Then, a "looker" from my very first open house in January called this week and I am in the process of selling them! I obviously had nothing better to do than to hand write thank you notes to all ove my open house folks, weekly, and it paid off.....Wow, it's a great feeling. keep the good posts coming!
Jennifer Allen- I hope you never get writer's block, carpel tunnel, or so busy in your Real Estate career that you stop writing! You are a good writer; you hit the nail on the head in such a way it is motivating to do something. Always a pleasure to read what you write.
I agree Aaron!! Her writing helped motivate me to get my license at 47. She's definitely the best!!
I think when things happen due to luck, it is most widely thought that the outcome is a random event. But when you really think about how luck comes about, it does require opportunity and preparation as you have said! What a great perspective!