Sunday, May 12, 2013

Prospecting, The Key To A Sucessful Real Estate Career

     My first question is,"Are you making enough money?".  I hate to try to teach people stuff that they don't need to learn. If you are already  making plenty of money, you certainly don't need any advice from me.  If your real estate career is not quite as lucrative as you would like, consider this.

     How are you filling up your day?  Let's use yesterday as an example.  What time did you get out of bed?  What time did you get to the office?  Do you have goals?  If your goal is to earn $100,000 this year selling real estate, what time do you think the Realtor that is already earning $100,000 this year  got out of bed? Did he get to the office before you?  What time do you suppose that Realtor got out of bed?  Do you reckon he did anything productive between the time he got out of bed and the time he arrived at the office?  What  could you do at that time of day?  You could do a CMA if you have an appointment to present  one today.  You could post a blog like this one on your blog.  WHAT! You don't have a blog.  Are you too busy to have a blog?  Do you have some other excuse for not having a blog?  If you want to make more money selling real estate in the twenty first century, start a blog.  If you can't think of anything to write about, write about how wonderful your favorite neighborhood is. 

     Once you arrived at the office yesterday, what did you do?  Did you prospect?  What does that mean?  It means looking for prospects.  What is a prospect?  A prospect is someone that needs or wants your product, can afford it and will, most likely, buy it from you or your competitor in the near future.

     You can go to the MLS and run all the new listings that were put in the MLS yesterday.  Let's pretend that we did that.  Let's pretend that there were fourteen new listings.  Let's pretend that we called these new listing and asked them and ask them how they chose the Realtor that they chose.  What would their possible answer be?

     One might say,"I listed with Joe because he is my son in law.".  What does that tell you?  That tells me that you should call your mother in law and see if they are thinking about moving. 

The next one that you call said,"I listed with Mary because she is a member of my Toastmasters club.".  What does that tell you?  It tells me that you should call all the members of your club and see if moving is on their mind. 

     The next one that you call said," We listed with Susie because she held an "open house" two blocks from our house.  We walked in and met her.".  What does that tell you?  It tells me that you should schedule an open house for Sunday afternoon. 

     The next one that you called said," We had our house For Sale By Owner.  John called us and came out and convinced us that he could get us to the closing table with less aggravation and expense than we could do it on our own.".  What does that tell you?  It tells me that calling fsbos works.  If you need any help with that, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XhzCdscDqxc  .

     The next one that you call told you that they listed with David because he has half the For Sale signs in the neighborhood and all of the Sold signs.  What does that tell you?  It tells me that nothing succeeds like success.  The more listings you have, the more listings you get.  Read Matthew 25 verse 14 through 30.  This was true when Jesus was on the speaking circuit and it is true today. 

     The next one that you call and ask them why they listed with Paul.  They tell you that they listed with Paul because six months ago, they listed with another Realtor and their listing expired yesterday.  Paul called them at 8:15 AM and told them that he could get their house sold.   They listed with Paul.  What does that tell you?  It tells me that calling expired listings works. They are going to list with someone and they are likely going to do it today.  Why not you ?  Call expireds.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lYGyZalrIbo  If you need help with that, watch this video. 

     The next listing you call and ask them why they listed with Bryant.  They tell you that the deputy sheriff had shown up on their doorstep and served them with papers telling them that their home was being foreclosed upon.  .  The situation looked hopeless.  Then we received a very nice letter from Bryant explaining that he could help us.  We called him.  He is arranging for us to short sale the house.  He said we might even get some money at closing.  Bryant is our hero. What does this tell you?  Maybe you should contact some foreclosure victims. 

     The next listing that you call and ask them why they listed with Andrew.  The owner explained that his mom had passed away a few weeks ago.  Andrew had sent a card with a short note that said,"If we can help you dispose of any real estate, please call."  Since the son lived in another city, he called Andrew. Andrew has really been a big help with a big problem.  There are five thousand Realtors in Orlando.  Andrew was the only one that contacted us.  We appreciated it. 

     The next listing that you called and asked why they listed with Jane.  They almost seemed surprised that you asked.  They told you that everyone in this neighborhood lists with Jane.  Their house was Jane's listing when they bought it five years ago.  Jane has the neighborhood website.  She sends out the neighborhood newsletter via email every month.  They said they had her magnetic calendar on their refrigerator.  She drops off American flags for the fourth of July every year.  Everyone loves Jane.  Everyone lists with Jane.  What does that tell you?  Adopt a neighborhood.

     The next listing that you call is a giant financial corporation.  You ask the assets manager why they listed with George.  The assets manager told you that about two years ago she got a letter from George explaining that he was a good agent and if she ever needed a good agent in Orlando, give him a try.  She responded to his letter and told him that they already had an agent in Orlando.  George's letters just kept showing up every month with market reports and other information that was helpful.  One day she decided to try George and the rest is history.  George got her houses sold quickly and painlessly.  Today George gets most of their business in Orlando.  What does that tell you?  It tells me you should contact assets managers if you want that business. 

     The next listing that you call and ask why they listed with Carlos.  The seller said he was at a Rotary club meeting and Carlos was the guest speaker.  He spoke about the Orlando economy.  The seller said he as impressed with Carlos.  He stayed after the meeting and asked Carlos a few questions.  He told Carlos that he wanted to sell his house.  Carlos took care of everything.  What does that tell you?  Get out and speak to clubs and organizations. 

     The next person that you call and ask why they listed with Paula.  They tell you that they were thinking about moving.  They were in the grocery store when they saw Paula.  She was wearing a name badge with the name of her real estate company.  They asked her for some advice.  She certainly seemed to know about real estate.  She came to the house and now she has it for sale.  What does that tell you?  Don't be a secret agent.  Wear your Climer School of Real Estate T Shirt.

     The next seller you called said he was a real estate investor that bought several houses every year.  He said he listed with Pete because he had seen his blogs on www.biggerpockets.com .  He explained that he read Biggerpockets for education.  He called Pete because Pete was a frequent contributor to the forums at Biggerpockets.  He was impressed with Pete by reading his articles.  He went on to tell you that he had a property listed in Miami  with a Realtor that he had also "met" because he answered questions on Trulia Voices.  He said he had found a Realtor in Jacksonville from reading her blogs on www.activerain.com . What does that tell you?  It tells me that a lot of people go to these websites and forums looking for information.  If they find you there, you might get a listing or two.  They won't find you if you are not there.

     The next listing you call, they tell you that they listed with Tom because they received a letter from him asking if they wanted to sell their vacant house in Orlando.  They had owned this house for twelve years.  They had inherited it from his sister twelve years ago.  They pay their taxes every year.  It doesn't bother them but it is not really doing them any good either.  When Tom wrote them and asked if selling it made any sense, it did make sense.  Apparently, Tom had just looked up their name and address on the county property appraiser's website and called them.  Thanks for calling Tom.  What does that tell you?  There are a lot of people that own vacant houses that just need a little push to turn these eyesore properties into mortgages or cash.

    You need to be looking for prospects.  Pay attention to how you spend your time.  Spend your time looking for someone that  needs a Realtor.  When you find one, know how to make an effective presentation.  Make at least, one presentation every day.  You will do fine selling real estate in central Florida.  If we can help, contact us at www.climerrealestateschool.com



































































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