Spending the last 10 years in a non residential sales capacity I have forgotten the subtle joys of prospecting on what I like to call a retail level. Prospecting, cold calling, and knocking on doors at any level is not for the faint of heart. Being a true believer in the power of the internet I was very excited to get www.jeffcastner.com up and running. I have been studying the latest in SEO, Keywords, and pay per click. Confident that I am going to do what the others haven't, I applied all my recently acquired knowledge to the site.
On Thursday Night the fruits of my labor began paying off. My blackberry gives me the familiar chime alerting me to the fact that I have an email. I quickly look to see who is sending me an email. Holy Mackerel, it is a lead from my new web site. My mind begins racing, yes I am a guru, I knew I had all the internet answers, see that world I am the King of Internet Leads!
I quickly notice my new prospect is named Sally and she is looking for a 3 bedroom condo in Chicago's Gold Coast. Not only am I the King of Internet Leads I am the King of high end internet leads, my ego is saying to me. Without giving it a second thought, I begin drafting an email to my high end buyer Sally. I craft what is undoubtedly the best and quickest response Sally is going to get from any Real Estate Practioner in Chicagoland. The whole time I am explaining to my companion what a genius I am.
With in seconds my email gets kicked back as undeliverable. It can't be, I must have typed the wrong email address. I think Sally must have entered her email wrong. Even through I don't know what property she was looking at I quickly look at the email and notice Sally being a very serious buyer left me her phone number. I start to dial 3-1-2-5-5-5-1-2.....Wait it can't be. Concern, panic, shame, and embarrassment quickly show on my face. Bad email, bad phone number, lets review the lead again. Sally Whacker, sallywhackcreateswood4u@yahoo.com, 312-555-1212, looking for a 3 Bedroom, 2 Bath Condo in Chicago's Gold Coast, price range 150K-199K.
Oh the joys of prospecting. Whether knocking on doors, cold calling, or using the latest and greatest technology it is still a numbers game. Some will, some won't, move on. Here's to you Sally Whacker, thanks for the lesson learned!
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