I am sure many of us have done our share of phone duty or floor time as it is called in many of our larger brokerages. As a new agent back in 2002, I was excited at the opportunity to be able to do my time on phone duty, since I thought I would generate some quick leads for buyers and even some sellers. I do recall picking up one listing, and a couple of buyers from my rookie year as a real estate agent. However, the biggest concerned that I encountered with all those leads from floor time was that most of them were only looking for more information on properties, and they were certainly not looking for an agent to represent them. We all knew and understood that a face to face appointment was necessary to convert any of those leads that came in from phone duty.
In January 2011, a fellow agent at my brokerage invited me to join Active Rain, and my blogging took on a whole new interest. I had tried blogging on another platform prior to joining Active Rain, but I wasn't getting the interaction, networking experience, or even the education that was being offered in our AR community. Although I only posted 10 times my first month in the Rain, it was the commenting and interaction with other members that truly motivated me to want to blog more. How well I remember a famous quote that got me going back then. "If You Build it, They will Come".
Yes, Joining Active Rain back in 2011 was the best business decision I made that year. I became addicted to blogging and Active Rain. I was on a mission my first year to earn 300K points, so I could be on page one of the leader board in my city. I discovered blogging was a great lead generator for both referrals from other agents, as well as new business from the general public. Plus, the quality of the leads were much higher than those ever received from "Floor Time or Phone Duty". Referrals are always a great source of leads, since you know the person sending you the business is normally recommending a friend or one of their past clients. Many of those consumers, who call you after reading your blogs, feel they already know you, and feel more at ease with doing business with you even prior to your first face to face with them.
I am very thankful and grateful for all the business that I have generated from my blogging efforts, and have no doubt that it is far better than spending two hours of your time doing "Floor Duty". You can spend two hours composing a quality content post, and commenting with other AR members, and reach hundreds, or even thousands of prospects that will lead to increased business. While on my best day of doing "Phone Duty", I might get one ot two decent calls that will turn into appointments for a buyer or seller. If you're not a Rainmaker, you should be! I believe "Blogging is Better than Floor Time". How about You?
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