As you may recall, when we last saw Jake, he was three months into his real estate career and pretty darn close to quitting. He wasn't having any fun or making any money.
So, one day, Jake Googled the term "How not to become discouraged in real estate" and stumbled upon an article by Jennifer Allan, author of Sell with Soul. The article was about something she called an "SOI" which, upon further reading, Jake discovered stood for "Sphere of Influence" and meant "The people who know you."
Jennifer claimed that if you devote your prospecting efforts toward the people who know you instead of the people who have never heard of you, not only will you have a heck of a lot more FUN, but you'll stand a much 
better chance of success.
"How can this be?" Jake asked himself. "I don't know anyone who wants to buy or sell a house right now! How could I possibly generate enough business from my friends to pay the bills and keep the wife's toenails polished? This doesn't make any sense!"
Well, Jake kept digging and reading and found a whole bunch of articles Jennifer had written on the topic. As he read, he realized that what he was seeing contradicted almost everything he'd ever heard about self-promotion and marketing for a self-employed person.
Jennifer advised against pursuing strangers for business... against offering incentives for referrals... against, even, ASKING for referrals at all!
Jake felt a tug deep inside as he continued to read. He felt a glimmer of hope. Even though her approach was "wrong", according to his corporate training, it felt very very right. It made sense to Jake. Bothering strangers and mailing out hundreds of postcards never felt right to him, but his broker insisted that it the best way. And Jake believed him.
But he was starting to have his doubts. Maybe, just maybe... this SOI stuff was the magic bullet he'd been hoping for.
So Jake began his own SOI Seduction campaign. He made a list of everyone he knew, grouped them into two categories, and sent out a respectful, interesting, non-salesy letter to them all. He started reaching out to his friends and acquaintances, not as a real estate agent, but as a genuinely nice guy with a good head on his shoulders... who happened to sell homes for a living.
Stay tuned, we'll check back in with Jake soon to see how it's going.
copyright jennifer allan 2007
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The Daily Seduction
Tips & Inspirations to Generate Business from the Very Important People Who Know You!
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