Before you start strategizing your next prospecting plan, be sure to consider these five best practices for real estate prospecting. Your Rolodex will thank you.
#1: Ask for Referrals
Referrals are one of the easiest and most effective ways to make a sale because the referral already has trust in you due to your current client’s positive feedback to them. However, even “cold referrals” can be really valuable. For example, say you are cold calling and you get someone that says “I am not selling my property”….you can always say, “Ok, no problem. I am representing a few buyers right now that are looking to invest…you would not by any chance know anyone who might be selling would you?” Often times, you will get a positive response.
One of the most interesting things about childhood is that children are always asking for what they want. If I had a nickel for every time my son asked me, “Dad can I play Minecraft?”, I would not be writing this blog right now. Somehow adults lose this skill, so we really need to channel this and get comfortable asking for what we want.
There is no shame in doing so. Whether you’re looking for an online testimonial or want to be connected to a client’s sphere, it never hurts to show your ambition and drive.
#2: Time is of the Essence
Prospects need to be contacted quickly. A recent study by InsideSales.com indicated that even waiting five minutes longer in contacting a lead can reduce your chances of making contact by 400%! The same is true with referrals, very day you let pass by without contacting your referral, the less chance you have of making a sale. Contact your referrals within two business days, or sooner if possible.
#3: Prospecting from every resource
As mentioned, the days of real estate prospecting via telephone only are over. By limiting your prospecting to only phone calls you lose a lot of potential prospects. Reach out with other avenues such as text, email, snail mail, and media. Lately, I have found that DMs on Twitter are a great way to make contacts. The wider your range, the more prospects you open up to gaining and building your client list.
Depending on the type of prospect, you’ll want to evaluate and choose which method you think would be most effective for that type of prospect. Many people will via their preferred medium.
#4: Deal with Rejection
Rejection is a badge of honor! The world belongs to those willing to put themselves out there. This is how we grow and learn and get better. Dealing with rejection is like exercise, the more you do it the stronger you become. I actually think this may be one of the most important skills in business. It means you can be resilient and nimble.
#5: Devote Time
If you take nothing else away from this blog, take this: Go to your calendar and set a time where you plan to prospect. Block it out as if it’s the most important meeting of the day. If you do this daily, you will see huge changes in your business.
The amount of time each real estate agent professional spends on prospecting may vary depending on how long they’ve been in the business, what their immediate goals are, etc., but you should dedicate at least an hour a day to prospecting. This will give you better consistency and results, while reducing your chances of a dry period.
About ProspectNow
ProspectNow is an online real estate database of 100 million property owners, including phone numbers, mailing addresses, building details and 30 million commercial tenants. The platform caters to anyone marketing to property owners or businesses – including brokers, investors, banks, insurance companies and more. Unlike other databases, ProspectNow provides phone numbers and names of the key decision makers of the property, as well as a CRM or export capability. Learn more!