Real estate prospecting is one of the toughest items that a real estate agent does, and thus is avoided at all costs. However, it can be a major money maker for you and your firm. Below are 22 tips to make prospecting a little easier, and to make it work for you.
1. Work on your attitude
Prospecting can be tough enough without your mind working against you. Take the idea of prospecting, and remember that this work will allow you to benefit tenfold in the future. Your attitude is what will bring clients in and when it comes down to it is the only thing separating you and sales in the future.
2. A simple follow up will make the difference
If you are thinking about the last sales encounter you were on the edge of a decision, think about what a follow up could have done to close you. Remember, to be a successful sales person you need to work. 48% of your coworkers never follow up with a prospect, and 25% of people make a second contact and stop.
3. Only 20% of sales are made in 4 contacts or less
Yes, you read that right. You need to work on your sales, and when it comes down to it, hard work is going to make the difference. 2% of sales are made on the first contact, while 10% of sales are made on the fourth contact.
4. Persistence is key
Think back, have you quit before you talked to 4 contacts. The answer is probably yes, and since 80% of sales are made between the 5 to 12 contacts, you have missed on sales. Persistence is key, and if you are not going to put the work in, your prospecting is not going to be successful.
5. Hot leads need to be tracked
If you have potential clients coming to your site to look more than five time, you have yourself hot real estate leads. These are the people you need to work on, and focus your efforts on converting.
6. Planning is everything
If you do not have a plan on how to best approach a perspective client you are already at a disadvantage. Most agents lack a plan, and thus lack conversions. Have a script, a strategy, a good value proposition, commitment and measurement tools ready for a client, and convert them quickly.
7. Tracking your leads
If you are in the prospecting game, you need to be tracking your leads. 90% of Real Estate agents lack the ability to track and thus they lose clients, and hot leads. Be organized, and take control of your business.
8. Quality rather than quantity should be your focus
How many people can you speak to in an hour? If you are going to just gloss through a script and see if you get any leads you are simply wasting time. Take the time to learn about your clients, and build rapport with them. This way, when a buyer starts to look at homes or condos, you will be the first person they call when they are ready to get serious.
9. Attention to detail
It really is the little things when it comes to this business. Did you forget to leave a voicemail, or leave an email unread. Time is of the essence and an attentive agent will get the jump on the others. Make sure you are paying attention, and it will garner success in the market.
10. Appointments are key
Prospecting is when you first contact a lead, but the relationship does not stop there. You will exchange emails, and then you will need to meet face to face. This will allow you build rapport, learn their story and gain their trust. You need to be able to be personable, but professional in person, and an appointment is a perfect opportunity to showcase just that.
11. Be aware of the numbers
Have you been generating enough leads to get an appointment? Here are the hard numbers: Every 165 minutes or prospecting equals a sale, just 7.83 people that say hello equals an appointment, and 1.61 appointments equals a sale. You need to do the simple math and know that for every 2.5 hours prospecting you will generate a sale, and if you want 50 sales a year, you simple need to prospect for 2.5 hours per week.
12. Know your market
If you are in a low income or high income town, you need to know who you are selling to. Become a man or woman of the people, and you will see prospecting come a little easier to you.
13. Have a blueprint for prospecting
You will need to review the following things:
Location – where do they want to live?
Price
Motivation – do they want to rent or to own?
Working with an agent – ask them how long they have been looking for a new home
Financing – are they a cash buyer or a mortgage buyer?
Closing the appointment
14. Talk to them like an equal
No one likes to deal with someone who is talking down to them. Thus, when you are prospecting talk to the people like a friend. You are building a rapport with a customer, make sure they know that you can help them with the biggest sale of their life.
15. Ask for specific contact information
A prospective lead should not be an position to back out of giving you their contact information. Instead of asking permission, as in: ’May I have your number’ you should say ‘and what is the best number I can you reach you at, and is that cell or home?’ It is direct phrases like this that will put you in the driver’s seat.
16. Classify your leads
You need to start classifying your leads so you do not waste time. An A-level is a lead that is willing to buy within the next 30 days. A B-level is someone who is looking to buy within the next 30-90 days. While a C-level is one who is going to buy in more than 90 days. A-level should be your focus, and make sure you have appointments set up, as no one buys without appointments. While for your B-level and C-level keep them on the mailing list and follow up at least once a month to check the water.
17. Be able to talk finances
If you have a prospective A-level buyer, you need to chat about their finances before diving into the market. Ask the client if they are buying with cash or by mortgage, and get an idea of their budget. This way, you are aware of what they can afford, and the things they need to do. For instance, if they are a cash buyer, you will need the letter from the bank for the amount requested etc.
18. Prospects should be an investment of time
You do not have to worry about talking too much to a client, if they want to chat for 10 minutes or so let them. If you are making a sale for $400’000 and you need to talk on the phone a little longer, it is not going to hurt anyone. Remember, the person on the other line needs to be able to comfortably trust your judgement and wants to utilize your expertise. Let them chat, and you will be golden in the end.
19. Close the Appointment
It is really simple, but sometimes you need to remember you need to close the appointment as well as start it. Chat with them, but end with a bang. Here is a sample close that has worked well for our staff: “Based on the information we’ve discussed right here, here’s what I recommend we do: Let’s set up a time to get together at my office, where we can go over the home-buying process. I’ll do up a complete market overview and we’ll set up a time to go look at homes. How does that sound?”
20. Listen… actually listen
The old adage goes, you have two ears and a mouth for a reason. You need to listen to your clients, and ask open ended questions to get them chatting. If you are gaining their trust then you need to be able to actually tell your staff what you discussed. Attentive listening is a skill that many should practice, but rarely do.
21. Rehearse your talk
You need to be able to talk with confidence each and every time. If you have a partner, chat with them, and ensure you have the pitch down. Investing in a few great scripts will help you do the right thing at the right time. Plus, if you are partner is annoyed, try recording yourself in your phone, that way they won’t hit you when you try and talk the next time.
22. A-level buyers are your focus
As much as you want to say everyone is important, the A-level buyers need to be your focus. As a realtor you get paid to do four things: list, prospect, sell and negotiate and the A-level buyers are what will allow you do that.
Real Estate Leads is the premier option for real estate agents that want hot and reliable leads here in Canada. With thousands of potential buyers in your area, let the team at http://realestatleads.ca do the hard work and deliver you the leads that convert to sales. Contact us today, and see how our team can help make you the top real estate seller in your area!
