Tool #2 Prospecting : 4 tools of a successful real estate agent:

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This is part of the ongoing series “Finding Success in the Basics”

Since you can’t talk someone into buying or selling a home (Unless you are Tommy Hopkins) the best you can hope for is to be in the right place at the right time. This often makes you feel like you are trying to be everywhere at once.

Prospecting is the basic tool that can make you or break you in this business. In short, it is your ability to go into the world and create business. You might not be real organized, you might not have the best presentation in town, you might not be the most polished…but if you have the ability to bring in large numbers of leads, much can be forgiven, learned or hired out.

I used to tell my daughter that she had to eat some vegetables. She could pick one that was always off limits, she chose broccoli, but she had to eat some. Prospecting is a lot like that. You don’t have to do it all, but you do have to have your recommended daily allowance to succeed in real estate. The good news is prospecting does come in a lot of flavors:

FSBO (aka Unrepresented Sellers)

Withdrawn & Expired Listings

Circle Prospecting

Geographical Farming

Social Farming

Professional Farming

Floor

Open Houses

Sphere of Influence

Door Knocking

Cold Calling

Your goal should be to build a system and a habit that allows you to talk with 10 to 15 people per day about real estate, the more of these that are new to you the better. There is always a lot of chatter about having all of your business come from referrals….sounds great but if you are new to real estate, new to an area or new to the idea of taking your business seriously that is hard to do. Prospecting will not only identify those who have needs now, but will also grow your data base with people who will need your help in the months to come.

What is realistic; your income should double each year for the next 3 years and between year 3 and 5 you should hit your stride. Agents are always looking for the one thing, the golden nugget, the grail to success…..this is it. If you prospect persistently and consistently you will as Mr. Spock often said “live long and prosper”……in real estate anyway, he was smart like that!