Door-knocking, Cold Calling and Farming

Door-knocking, Cold Calling and Farming 

Subtitled Lions and Tigers and Bears!

Like Dorothy and her friends in the Wizard of Oz I have feared Door-knocking, Cold Calling and Farming. Three forms of Lead generation which many Realtors disparagingly refer to as Old School techniques in this day of internet exposure, SEO and social media. I will admit I  have searched far and wide for an alternative lead generation model bitterly fighting against the idea; but this past month I made the commitment to give them a try and learned some interesting facts about myself and the process.

Today I actually went door-knocking in my farm, which happens to be my own neighborhood (I guess this is more of warm door-knocking) which allowed me the opportunity to introduce myself and begin to form  relationships with a few homeowners. With one neighbor I discovered we shared a common concern - aging parents.  We spoke for a while and afterwards he said he would be happy to provide me with real estate referrals.

Take away: Offer something of value when knocking on a door but after the door opens the ability to connect with others is based upon a sincere interest and finding a common thread. Then you may beginning building a relationship which may lead to future business.

Cold calling was not as unpleasant as I expected. Some how I kept replaying an imaginary conversation in my mind in which terrible things would happen. Except I wasn't really sure what the terrible thing would be. It was just a vague, nebulous feeling of doom. Imagine my surprise when the results were totally different. I found some homeowners were polite, some abrupt however it should not be taken personally.

Take away two: cold calling may not be the fearsome beast I had imagined. Preparation and rehearsal give me the confidence to initiate calls to potential clients and facing the fear of rejection was not as bad as I had thought. "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself."

Farming a geographical community provides the agent with the opportunity to truly become the neighborhood expert. Previewing every listing available, compiling market analysis reports and developing a community newsletter creates value to the homeowners within the farm. Additionally local knowledge and familiarity with homeowner concerns and issues provides benefits to the community.

I discovered the pro-active action is much more fulfilling than a reactive response.  Waiting for referrals is not enough to keep the pipeline full. For me a mixture of lead generating activities leads to more relationships, clients and closed transactions. Why I was resistant for so long to this type of lead generation I don't know. But now that I have tried it I will incorporate some of these activities, along with my  continued enjoyment of the AR community.

Door knocking, cold calling and farming - Lions and Tigers and Bears, oh my!

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kristal wilson

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keller williams realty

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