I was hoping to get you to read with that title, but really sometimes prospecting (calling past clients) is fun and today was one of those days for me . . .
I know this may sound crazy since so many realtors/salespeople dread one thing about this business and that is making "the calls." Why is it so hard to pick up that phone sometimes? You don't know what to say, you think that you are bothering them, or some times (most of the time) you get so busy doing the 1500 other things we have to do in this business that if there is one thing that we can push off the schedule, it is prospecting. Anyway, with that said, I had some really great calls this evening and would like to share them to get you motivated to pick up the phone.
The first one was a past client who eight months ago I sold her home that she lived in for 30+ years and sold her a new home in an active-adult community an hour away from where she lived. I spoke to her a few times the two months after we closed just to make sure everything was going OK, but haven't talked to her in about six months. To make a long story short, she was so happy to hear from me and we just went on talking for about 15 minutes. She was telling me how happy she was and that she was meeting new friends, playing bingo, and just really enjoying her "new home." This obviously made me feel great. She then asked about my kids and I told her that my youngest was already 8 months old already (Ella was born three days before she closed on her new home) and she was surprised, "wow it's been that long." I guess she is pretty happy in her new home after being so scared to move from where she lived for 30 years. I hung up the phone with a big smile on my face. I thought to myself, here I am dreading making prospecting calls, and after my first call I was here feeling better about myself as she reminded me that I am making a difference I peoples life doing what I do. Oh, by the way, of course before we hung up I did said, "Oh by the way, I'm never to busy for your referrals. Talk to you soon!"
The next call was to a client that I sold a house to over three years ago and that I have kept in touch with, but haven't talked to in . . . well I guess about 9 months (lol). He too was thrilled to hear from me and said, "Hey Frankie!" and we just started laughing and talking with each other. It made me think . . . even though we may not talk every other day like we used to when we are selling them a house or selling their house, things don't change after six months of not talking. Why do we feel so "weird" calling them after not keeping in touch - we are keeping in touch NOW and that is what matters. Back to the story - my client then went on to tell me that he and his wife were pregnant and the baby was due February 14th. What great news! Here's where it gets even sweeter. See, these clients had their first child about ten months after they moved in. My wife was pregnant at the same time and so as we stayed in touch that year we had a lot of common things to talk about. Until one day, about five months into their pregnancy, he had told me that his baby was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis. Since he and his wife were both carriers, there was a one-in-four chance every time they had a baby. So when he told me that they were having a baby girl I of course wanted to ask if everything was OK but before I could ask he told me that she does not have cystic fibrosis and both she and mom were doing great. I was so truly excited for them, hell I was excited myself. I was actually on my way home while I was making my calls and I couldn't wait to get home to tell my wife the great news like it was our own baby.
What an amazing couple of calls! I found myself saying to my wife after telling her the stories, "You know who I am going to call tomorrow . . ."
Prospecting really isn't so bad when we think about it. Just pick up the phone and do it . . . you never know what could happen!
MY TIP THAT I HAVE BEEN DOING LATELY PROSPECTING: Call people between 5pm and 6pm. People are either just finishing work or on their way home and in a good mood and usually are not busy because they are driving home and/or done with what they had to do. It seems to work. And call the clients that you know love you. It is A LOT easier talking to them.
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