Fanatical Prospecting

In this weeks episode, we discuss a great book I read recently called Fanatical Prospecting by Jeb Blount.

I used to think that real estate wasn’t really about sales it was more about just helping your clients shop and negotiate for the right property. But, that is totally wrong. Because what you are selling every day in real estate is yourself. You are selling yourself when you are holding an open house, showing property, at a listing appointment and basically, whenever interacting with anyone who knows you are a real estate agent.

The author states that his favorite definition of the term FANATICAL is: someone who is motivated by extreme enthusiasm. And he claims that Top Performers always have a winning mindset and are fanatical prospectors. They view prospecting as a way of life and don’t really worry to much about what others think of them and enthusiastically dive into:

Telephone propsecting, email prospecting, networking, asking for referrals, knocking on doors, following up on leads, and striking up conversations with strangers (which works really good at open houses).

The fact is that the number one reason for failure in any sales job is an empty pipeline, and the root cause of an empty pipeline is a failure to prospect

The author is still a big fan of picking up the telephone and having real conversations, but he also stresses the importance of having a balanced networking strategy that includes:

The telephone, social media channels, email prospecting and texting.

Many people argue that people don’t answer the phone anymore, but research has proven that incorrect.

Even if you are only able to leave a voice mail, identify yourself, tell them the reason you are calling, give them a reason to call back (like give me a call so we can get together for coffee), and be sure and leave them your phone number.

SOCIAL MEDIA:

Social media is hands down the most efficient and effective way to build business familiarity. He suggests you pick a couple channels and build familiarity on them. Choose social channels where your clients hang out! My favorites are Instagram and Facebook.

Remember, we live in a hyper-sensitive world and political correctness has gone berserk. Think before you post and be very careful to manage your message.

EMAIL:

When you email a potential client, the most important thing is that your email gets opened. So this is where the process of building familiarity can help you get your email opened. The more familiar your prospect is with your name, brand, or company, the more likely they are to open your email. This is where layering of channels is extremely powerful. For instance, if you leave them a voice mail and then they see your name and email address in their inbox in a couple days, that will make you more familiar to them. This is why leveraging the phone and social channels prior to sending an email can increase the chances of getting your emails opened.

TEXTING:

The people we text with are often people we know, so for it to make sense, you usually need some familiarity already established with the person you are texting.

Text messages are excellent vehicles for following up after you’ve had a positive encounter with a potential client. Since most business cards include mobile phone numbers, it is easier than ever to text a quick follow-up after meeting someone and plant a seed for speaking again in the future.

MENTAL TOUGHNESS:

Sometimes after you have worked in real estate a while you might feel tired, beat-up, and worn down. This is when it is important to have mental toughness.

Remember, you are what you believe. Your beliefs either help you attract success or push it away.

You are going to encounter rejection and you will probably feel betrayed at times. Clients aren’t always loyal and that is just part of the business.

Just as mental toughness helps top athletes train hard for peak performance, it is important to understand just how much mental toughness matters in real estate.

The good news is, talent and intelligence gets baked into our DNA, but mental toughness can be learned and developed and the formula is quite simple:

Change your mindset. Change your game.

You have the ability to control your thoughts, to block out negative self-talk, to manage your emotions, and to not let in unhelpful criticism effect you.

Remember, if you get knocked down. Get back up. You are not defined by what happens to you but rather how your deal with what happens to you.

Links:

Jeb Blount: https://jebblount.com

ShelleWinkler.com

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If you would like some coaching help with to make positive change in your life or business, go to my website: shellewinkler.com Click on contact, and send me a message requesting a free 30 minute mini session.