Prospecting Tips of An Ex-Rookie

In an earlier article, Qualifying Tips of An Ex-Rookie, I talked about some of the qualifying approaches I've learned that have helped me over the years.

In this article, I would like to back up a bit.  In Selling for Dummies, Tom Hopkins calls qualifying Step 3 in the sales process.  Today we back up to Step 1.

Prospecting is not only the first step in the sales process.  It is the single most important step.  You should prospect like your living depends on it, because it does.

In fact, I would argue that for most of my first year in the real estate business, I didn't have a real estate business.  I had a real estate hobby.  But fortunately, some folks who'd been at it longer than I have shared with me the importance of prospecting.  And by spending some of my time in my first year prospecting, and most of my time in my second year prospecting (see -- I learned something), I now have a real estate business.

Another way to look at this that many old timers will tell you is this: you have two jobs.  A real estate job and a lead generating job.  Actually in your first year, you may be at the point where you've yet to land a real estate job yet even though you have a broker and a desk, but if you work you're lead generating job hard enough, it'll come.

I encourage you to take an active role, starting now.  Here are some things you should be doing (in my not-humble opinion), if you're in your first year:

1. Try a lot of different things.  Try direct mail.  Try working expireds.  Try Internet prospecting.  Try open houses.  Believe it or not, there are people who are good at Open Houses, and who make money with the buyers and sellers they meet that way.  I say believe it or not, because it sure isn't me.  I hold about one house open a year just to see if Open Houses are still a colossal waste of time.  If they ever stop, I'll do them.  But they might be your thing, and if they are, don't let someone talk you out of them.
2. Find the least productive thing you did all year, and stop doing it.  Right now.  If you're like me, your first year was characterized by Bubonic Plague and Armageddon.  Well, OK, maybe time has made it seem worse than it was, but the point is:  you don't have a lot of time to stop starving.  Two things I haven't done since my first year are working someone else's floor and going on Realtor tour every week.  Now, I wouldn't advise you to give up floor until you've moved on to step 3 (see below) and mastered it, but now's as good a time as any to give up the weekly fashion show.  Trust me, ladies.  Yes, you look great in those high heels, but I ain't buying anything, am I?  And neither are you.  OK, so what are we burning up every Thursday screwing around looking at each others houses for?
3. Find the two most productive things you did, and divide every moment of your spare work time doing those two things.  Do that for ninety days.  At the end of ninety days, narrow it down to the one thing that made you more money, and spend 75% of your time doing that.  You know, the actual blend is totally up to you.

Let me restate these three steps in even simpler terms, and add a fourth from up above as well:

1. Prospect like your living depends on it.  It does.
2. If you don't know what works yet, do everything.
3. If you know what doesn't work, cut it out.
4. If it works, don't fix it -- DO MORE OF IT.