Many years ago when I started out in real estate, the word prospecting generated many negative connotations for me.
It reminded me of doing door to door sales, active cold-calling, joining breakfast clubs, networking groups, exchanging lots of business cards and a lot of other superficial activities with the only intention of generating a sale or getting referrals for a sale.
Well, it's not like I had not done it before as I was a telemarketer for an ERA agent in my polytechnic years, and had done my fair share of door to door sales and road shows prior to joining the real estate industry.
Still, it wasn't as if prospecting was a really enjoyable task. It just had to be done.
Prospecting = hunting for prospects.
It was a chore that must be done if I did not want to "eat grass" that month. Moo.
But after doing sales in one way or another for years and with many digital platforms available today, the term prospecting has taken on a new meaning.
What are the new distinctions that I discovered since then?
Here are 10 of them:
1) Clarify your intentions.
Back then when I started out, my behavior was I was simply hunting for sales.
I hated it, and the people around me can sense it.
Such misalignment meant simply no sales was going to come in.
And even if it did, it was not some happy event.
Instead, it was just a feeling of relief.
2) Prospecting means being a farmer, not a hunter.
It is about planting seeds, nurturing it and waiting for it to sprout.
It is not about taking out a rifle, hiding in the bushes and taking out a target.
This is analogous to taking the time to build relationships with the intention of serving people long term rather than a 'one-shot one kill' kind of mentality that pervades newer agents.
3) Prospecting is about building connections.
Common bonds will always pull us together.
Discovering what are our common values are - those are the raw materials that will
always make building connections easier and the ongoing journey with your client more enjoyable and meaningful.
Take the time to find out what you have in common with your prospects.
Common passions and principles draw people together and help you connect deeper in conversations.
This is more rewarding in the longer term for both your clients and you.
4) Prospecting allows you to discover who can be your best customers and who are not suitable at all.
When you repeatedly talk to new people over a prolonged period of time, you gain the ability to filter and assess whether they are suitable to be a client.
After all, as a business owner, you have the freedom to choose your clients as much as you are being chosen.
As you become more experienced, you will find out what type of clients and personalities you enjoy and serve well and those that you won't.
What does this mean?
It means you will discover where your strengths and weaknesses are and will be making better decisions in client selection and having more career fulfilment as a result.
5) Prospecting provides space for emotional bonds between you and your prospects to be built and strengthened.
For a bridge to be built from your heart to theirs, you need time and space.
Time to explore and think about who you really represent and what values you stand for so that you can provide the space for your prospects to fall in love with you.
Eventually, this process becomes so fulfilling that it doesn't even feel like work.
Why?
Because when you seek out those similar to you, you are embracing who you are every single day.
It can be life-affirming.
6) Prospecting means having regular 1-to-1 meetings with prospects and taking the time to listen to their problems and issues.
The more people you meet, the more patterns you can spot and recognize.
And with pattern recognition, you can predict what your prospects will say to you before you meet them.
The result?
You are now that expert, that agent who now seems smarter and better prepared than the average agent.
Of course, this comes with hard work and practice.
7) Prospecting means creating the pathways for potential clients to find you.
Write that article.
Record that video.
Conduct that webinar.
Share your insights on social media.
Make it as easy as possible for your prospects to find you.
Leave as many breadcrumbs that leads them to you.
Just start somewhere and eventually you will become that expert you wished you were.
8) Prospecting means being clear on what it takes for people to fall in love with you.
Ever fell in love before? Do you still remember what it was like?
It means that you can't stop thinking of them.
You keep thinking about them when you are eating, when you are taking a shower and when you are going to sleep.
Now think about how to make your prospects fall in love with you.
What value can you add to every meeting?
What "shortcut traps" are other agents taking that you can prevent falling into?
How do you go beyond the call of duty to surprise your clients?
The thoughts sometimes count more than your most polished and perfected presentations.
9) Prospecting means believing that what you offer is the best solution on the market but also realizing that it is not suitable for everyone.
With prospecting, you will find out that you cannot serve everyone.
This means you will soon realize that there are actually more than enough prospects and sales than you can handle.
This also means you are opening and aligning your thoughts towards abundance.
I noticed that being able to embrace abundance is a key indicator of future success.
Because when you feel abundant, you will not care about competition - but remain focused on your own lane. Doing what you need to to attract the tribe that you wish to be surrounded by.
10) Consistent prospecting means success is only a matter of time.
If you write 1 article per month, you will have 12 articles in 1 year.
After 2 years, you will have 24 articles.
If each article attracts about 100 visitors per month, you would have 2400 visitors reading your content.
If your articles are informative and insightful, that means 2400 visitors per month will be impressed by you and your expertise.
You have a chance to make a good impression on 2400 people consistently per month.
The best part?
It happens in the background whether you are working, holidaying or just unwinding to your favourite pursuits.
Conclusion
If you show me the number of hours you spend on prospecting per day, I can predict the number of meetings you will have and ultimately, your level of success.
Top producers on average will meet at least 50 new prospects per year.
50 prospects means you meet at least 1 new prospect per week.
However, always start with active prospecting if you are a new agent or someone who has no current leads to work with.
And eventually start spending time on passive prospecting, content creation and brand building when you slowly build up your foundational base consisting of:
insightful SEO-optimized online content
higher visibility both online and offline
a network of happy clients who provides referrals
lots of experience and stories under your belt
Play the long term game.
And you will eventually build for yourself a long term business and enjoy the fruits of infinite and regular leads.
Stuart Chng is an Executive Group District Director of Huttons, and a renowned leader and personality in the real estate industry.
He adores music and can play a few instruments decently without upsetting his neighbours. When not doing so, he enjoys pillow fighting with his son and coming up with silly puns which barely amuses his wife.
Professionally, he is a licensed real estate agent, an avid stocks, options and real estate investor, business owner, team leader, speaker and columnist for several property newsletters and blogs and is often quoted in media interviews on 938FM, Channel 8, PropertyReport, PropertyGuru and other publications.
Throughout his career, he has helped many clients grow their wealth through selecting great property investments and managing their portfolios actively. Read his clients' reviews here.
Stuart has also coached many top million dollar producing agents from different real estate agencies in Singapore. Read his agents' reviews here.
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