ERIC!  OMG!  Another 1!  Well - If you truly like the rain making part of the business, and 4 is the last part  - I would strongly recommend an assistant who can take some of the "manual" thank you note parts of the process off your hands.  Systems (check lists especially) and delegation are the best things I've found to maximize the efforts of this profile. 

Check lists allow you to perfect a "system" prior to handing it off to someone one else - especially if that person is part time - and if you are in the habit of using them - you will have a better "sense" that your marketing efforts are working as you designed them!  Good Selling!

Thanks marti!  That mean a lot!

Leesa... ME?? PUSH!?? (need to do Homebuyer Seminars... humph?  LOL!!)

Scott!  I would say that 90% of the time when I see someone who is 4 -4 -4 -4 -4 there's a couple of things going on.  Typically - they have someone close to them who was a great salesman growing up.  In my case it was my grandfather.  I have the news article from TIME Magazine on my desk where he was named TOP 10 FORD SALESMAN OF THE YEAR... I watched him be the first one at church and the last one to leave.  He understood the POWER of Networking!!  That's why I normally refer to folks who are 4's as those who are into "Old Sales."  It's that basic, "old school" TRUE salesman mentality.  What I've found is that you need to go to TONS of Rotary, Chamber, Bd meetings and ALWAYS take someone with you who is NOT in your company.  That will maximize the number of new contacts you make - and you can help network and introduce your Insurance Agent (for instance) to tons more people.  I use to own a fairly large company - the guys in your "profile" did REALLY well when they had a GREAT processor.  Here's what works:  Create a "system" where you have clients contact you.  Figure out what you THINK you are going to do with them (adjustable, fixed), schedule a time for a processor to take the app over the phone, print the docs and pull credit for you.  PAY THE PROCESSOR - IT'S WORTH IT.  This way - you can concentrate on what you're good at... NETWORKING!  You also need to have the contacts you make put into some automated system.  It can be as simple as sitting down every Sunday afternoon and entering contact info into your Outlook as a GROUP.  This way you can send out newsletters every month!

by the way... my #3 is on another page - hate it!  That's why Steve does that part!

Justin!  I'll tell you the same thing I mentioned earlier... my #3 is on another page.  I hate it.  It's a waste of time for me to concentrate my efforts there - with this in mind, I will tell you that you need systems, and you need to do a gut check.  For me personally, I hate getting the deal in the door, getting it almost done, and THEN something happens and I have to deliver bad news.  Many of the people I see with that kind of profile do not feel rejection or anxiety over making cold calls.  They love to walk into a room where no one knows them - but turn someone down, or tell a borrower it's not going to work like you thought it would (after getting that far in the process) and that becomes a SLOOOOOW No.  Slow No's will kill you in this business. I'm not saying YOU do that - it's a personal problem I have, and I've seen other people with similar issues.

The most successful LOs I've worked with had your profile - they were also control freaks - and so letting someone else help them was difficult.  If you do not have an assistant, consider it.  Decide what you can dish off to someone so that you are only doing the 2 or 3 things that MAKE MONEY!  The biggest mistake I've seen LO's make in hiring an assistant is that they wanted someone to do MORE of what THEY were doing.  That's not what you need.  You don't need someone to sell - you need someone to take apps, follow up on locks, research programs, and do the "manual" part of marketing.

Arleen!  Like Justin, you need a team approach... the agents I work with that have your profile are some of the best agents I know, however, there's a trick.  The "trick" is that between us (since my #3 is dead LAST too) we have GREAT ideas of how to grow business, but we have a devil of a time actually EXECUTING the ideas.  What I do during a brainstorming conversation with someone like you is to create action plan items.  Then we divide the actions up and schedule when we can get each piece done.  We hold each other accountable.  If you have an assistant, you would then take these "bite sized pieces" back to the assistant and mark on your calendar when they could be due (so you can follow up with the assistant).  Breaking tasks down to the bite sized pieces, and then having a system for getting those items done, is critical.  A virtual assistant, for the inspections, and entering the properties into the various systems, updating the Real Estate Book might be another great tool for you. 

Many times I talk to an agent who will tell me that they can not "afford" an assistant.  My response, honestly, is that if you can bring business in, you can not afford NOT to have an assistant.  "If you don't have one, you are one."  The critical piece to this is WHAT WILL THAT ASSISTANT DO?  That's why it's great to start with taking tasks down to the bite size, bullet points - then create checklists that even you can use, then use them, then "tweak them", THEN get an assistant for the tasks that are TIME KILLERS.

Hope this Helps!

Kent!  You have a very familiar profile!  Most people hate cold calling.  Your strength is obviously in networking - so my suggestion for you is 2 fold.  First take a different person with you each time you go to a networking event.  I try and schedule at least 4 "opportunites" to meet people each week (not direct sales calls).  By Thursday afternoon - I want to have them on my calender, and the person I'm taking with me already committed to going.  I do not allow myself to leave early - or knock off on Friday's until I have my appointments for the next week booked.  If you don't have that many "opportunites" - I recommend you consider MEETUP.com. (it's free).  I find that the most successful sales folks I know divide time between "cyber" and actually shaking hands.  Snail mail systems to drip and follow up with the small business folks you meet is, IMHO, also critical - not all people will look at an e - article or newsletter... lots of them do, but not all.  I would also suggest that you check out Leesa Finley's Blog (I like Jennifer Allen, and Mike Jones for the same reason).  Notice how she highlights events, and people in her area - it's a great service to the community, and creates a "name" for her in the little community she markets to.

Susan!  Wow!  Not an oddball - but I do have some suggestions.  Most of the people I know in this profile are great IDEA people (probably why you are also a gifted stager!).  You love to network and talk to people about your business - but when the phone rings, the pressure is really on!  I would recommend that you look for the interviews that Bill Hart has done with Building Champions.  I'm sure there are others - but you will get "scripting" ideas.  This will help you when going over listing agreements, and discussing your fees.  You need to say your "scripts" outload in the car.  Listen to them, repeat them, and write them down, so that when someone asks you a specific question about why they should do business with you, as opposed to someone else - you have it down!

Naoma!  Many of the TOP producers I meet have a similar problem. I would recommend a "contact" system that is automated so that you can keep your past customers in the loop.  Many of the systems available to us cost less than $20 per contact and you can choose different letters and cards.  Do you use MGIC?  They have a company that they recommend, and offer it to LOs at a discount.  We use Calyx Point as our LOS, and upload information directly to them.  Staying in touch with your referral sources is going to be important for the next few months - and I suspect you have that part of the system well in hand.  Congratulations!

Tom!  How cool is that?  My husband has the same profile you do!  In the mortgage side of the business - we typcially see this profile in folks like my husband, Steve, who have been in the business many years - and is referred most of his business.  He does the "happy dance" when he can figure out how to do a difficult deal (he's working on one now where the folks are on their 60 ft yaucht toolin' around the Bahamas and he can't reach them!), that no one else can do!  You must deliver EXCELLENT service, and I'll bet most of your business comes from referrals.!  One of the things I've noticed about folks with this profile is that they are "puzzle" people.  Either you are - or you're not.  You can't teach someone to like putting puzzles together!  With you're profile - I think a strong follow up system for folks you meet at networking events, and past clients, is important so you can "drip" on them!!  Do you have a newsletter??  Do you ask clients for referrals to their CPA?  I would, and I would tell them that you are going to send a copy of the HUD to the CPA for their files!

Ann!  That's GREAT!  Sounds like you've figured it out!  I normally call people with #2 as the first thing "new sales."  I don't refer to it because they are actually "NEW" to sales - I say that because it's like "old technology" vs "New Technology."  People with this profile generally are not afraid of competition (they love it) and they are not afraid to use technology to help them get ahead.  Databasing does not mean a Christmas Card list in an address book for these guys - it means a DATABASE!  Good Selling!

Joey!  This is why so many agents like to work with you!  You understand how to truly help them with their business because you "get" marketing!  You also have assistants, so that you don't get pulled down by the parts of the deal that are not making you much money (watching the pot!)  Congrats!

Sending you an email now with the other stuff.

Tracy and Susan!  Thanks for stopping by!  I appreciate your comments, and agree that it's important for everyone on the team to know their strengths... and Susan, you are right that it's difficult to get a business going if you don't market!! (however, that's not everyone's strong point.)

Justin!  I'm glad.  This also helps when you are talking to your referral partners, since it helps in assigning responsibilities to get ideas put into profitable action!