Top Ten Tips For Real Estate Prospecting

 

1)      Prospecting is the foundation for sales. Tom Peters in his business classic In Search Of Excellence suggests being ‘brilliant on the basics. The basics in real estate are prospecting, listing, negotiating and selling. They usually occur in that order.

2)      Commit an hour a day. Many agents call this their ‘hour of power’. It’s amazing what one hour a day can do. One hour a day exercising can lead to finishing a marathon. One hour a day prospecting will smooth the peaks and valleys in your real estate income.

3)      Tough times don’t last, but tough prospectors do. Robert Schuler, Billy Graham, John McCain, & Hillary Clinton prospect every day. The only difference between real estate and politics is the race never ends.

4)      Circulate if you want to percolate. Get ‘belly to belly’ with buyers and sellers. Never eat lunch alone. Call clients on their birthdays & anniversaries. Ask F.O.R.D. question about family, occupation, recreation, and dreams.

5)      Timing is everything. Each of us has an internal prime time. Some are morning people. Others are ready to go around noon. Prospecting should be done when you are at your peak energy period.

6)      It’s a numbers game. Keep track of the people you see and the calls you make. Set a daily contact goal. How many hours you work is irrelevant. How many contacts you make is vital to your real estate success.

7)      Don’t take things personally. This is one of the main points in Miguel Ruiz’s book The Four Agreements. Ask permission to speak with clients. “Is this a good time to talk?” If it isn’t, call back another time.

8)      There are no such things as cold calls. All calls are warm calls. Everyone knows somebody who has a real estate need. The reason for your call is to find that prospect that has a housing need.

9)      Practice saying goodbye and pressing the delete key. If your client or their relative got a real estate license in your town delete them from your database. Say goodbye to negative people.

10)   Persistence pays. Anybody can prospect for a few weeks. Some people can prospect for a few months. Winners will prospect for as long as it takes to succeed.