What prospecting tool has given you the best return?

A winner is chosen randomly from all submissions.

Prize is a free class delivered by email!

THE   WINNER OF THE FREE EMAIL CLASS IS
Alan Jones (AJRLTOR@AOL.COM)
RE/MAX Capital Centre Realtors    Columbus, Ohio

“The best prospecting "tool" i've used is a postcard sent out once a year"MARCH IS NATIONAL REFERRAL MONTH"  and then I give them 6or 7 reasons to refer their friends and associates to me.   It can be any month, because I made it up, but it's best to pick a month when you want the business to pick up. Out of the 600+ people on my mailing list (I send out other post cards every month) I'll always get 5 to 8 referrals - either buyers or sellers.”

OTHER SUBMISSIONS INCLUDED:

Greg Brockman, GRI,CRS (dsm4sale@yahoo.com)
First Realty BH&G, Des Moines, IA says:

The most beneficial prospecting tool I have yet to find is networking with other agents.  As a member of Better Homes & Gardens Real Estate Services, I have a mailing list of all of theaffiliate agents in the state of Iowa.  I e-mail the Brokers my online newsletter monthly and direct mail the agents every 2 months.  This generates 5 to 7 directed referrals to me each month.   By introducing myself to agents who may not know an agent in Des Moines, I have found a niche market of ready and qualified referrals.”

Cheryl L. Kilinski (ckilinski@aol.com)
Real Estate One, Inc. Royal Oak, MI

Says, “ I advertise extensively all of my listings in a local newspaperand I feel this has given me the best response ... my name is recognized as a successful producer.  This has resulted in many resales and referrals from past customers.  The newspaper is one that is mailed to every home in my market area every week.”

Susanna Madden, ABR, CRB, CRS, GRI, LTG (TeamMadden@aol.com)
RE/MAX ACR Elite Group , Tampa, FL

Writes,” We print 5000 Tampa Bay Bucaneers schedules and bulk mail them to our farm area. Since our names are Paul and Susanna MADDEN, we call title the cards (each year, same title), THE ALL MADDEN TEAM PRESENTS 1999 TAMPA BAY BUCS SCHEDULE. It's a big hit. People keep it.”

MaryEllen Kuehl (MEJKuehl@aol.com)
Coldwell Banker Stanmeyer , Chicago, IL

Says, ”My portable telephone headset for hands free calling and multi-tasking as well as e-mail for low cost, mass communication are by far my greatest prospecting tools.”

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ADvantage Thinking:  BACK TO BASICS

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1. FOCUS ON THE FUNDAMENTALS
Each year, different speakers and programs  promise to make you rich with a quick fix. I see agents spending lots of money on tapes and seminars to make them successful. Looking for the magic formula, fancy techniques and new twists…. Now, don’t get me wrong….I believe in sharpening the saw, in raising your standards and learning new technologies. But the fact remains: You already know most everything you need to be successful…you just aren’t doing it consistently. Aristotle  said "We are what we repeatedly do.  Excellence then is not an act, but  a habit.”

Coaches Tip>

What ARE the basic actions that MUST be taken to take your business to where you want it to go?

1.     identify what these actions are on a daily, weeklyand monthly basis.For instance, a daily action might be 5 warm calls or 1 hour prospecting expireds. A weekly action might be a planning session with your team. A monthly action could be your newsletter mailing.

2. PREPARATION     The great ones focus on the actions to cause and prepare for success. The ballerina does plies & floor exercises; the football player runs through the tire maze; the opera singer sings scales. These actions are not often directly seen in the performance, but they allow the performer to be on their toes and know the right moves instinctively.

 Frank Sinatra  used to say, " Before you go on the stage, you must know exactly what you are going to do! He said, " I ought to know". yoo many times I broke the rules - and paid a price for it!Unless you already know the words to the tunes, you can'tlet your little boy out to play - can't choreograph your stuff - can't have fun."

Don’t use this step as an excuse for getting into action, though. Too many agents are always getting ready and it is a smokescreen that delays action. Just do it. Don’t wait until it is perfect, but continue to perfect as you go along.

Coaches Tip>

Take the area of your business identified above and determine what basic actions will “buff it up.”

Buff is excellence plus personal style. First make it great; then give it your unique flavor.

• Is your listing presentation the best that it could be or does it need jazzing up?

• Is it time to add to your pre-listing packet or your buyers presentation?

• Do you need to add a website to your marketing package?

Whatever area you are going to focus on this month,  do your homework, buff it up and be READY for the performance.

3. WORK WITH A COACH
   I complained the other day to my massage therapist I was sore from my workout with my exercise coach and he said,” Well, you wouldn’t think you were getting your money’s worth, if you weren’t would you?.” He’s right.By making me stretch and go beyond what I would do myself, my coach helps me get where I want to go faster.

And the fact that she shows up at my house twice a week, causes me to exercise when I would probably find a good reason not to! The accountability is inescapable when she is standing in my living room.

Great performers and athletes rely on  coaches to push them to do their very best. The best coaches will focus on the individual’s strengths and help them enhance their performance from where they have natural talent. A coach   also looks at the performancefrom “off the field”. They can see what can’t get  seen from on the field. They can see the holes in the competition’s strategy and  help the performer or athlete  overcome their blind-spots.

Coaches Tip>

Who is your support system? Do you have someone on your team that pushes you up the ladder of success? Do you have a structure of accountability that keeps you focused and on track?

Maybe it’s your partner or your office manager.

 Or maybe it’s missing. Consider what support structure could enhance your performance. Is it time to hire a coach?

Former Dallas Cowboy’s Coach, Tom Landry said, “A coach is someone who makes you do what you don’t want to do, so you can be who you want to be.”

 

Most of us have a natural curiosity about anything that is "new", or offers the promise of quick, painless and effortless success.

There is no “quick fix”. Sorry, life just doesn’t happen that way.

If you remember the basics,  focus on taking actions and create a strong support structure, you will have put into place the fundamentals of success.

According to F. W. Nichol, "When you get right down to the root of the meaning of the word 'succeed,' you find that itsimply means to follow through." 

Take action, follow through, buff it up, so you can let the “little boy (or girl) out to play”  and delight in the creativity and joy of your success.

IDEAS, RESOURCES &
SHAMELESS PLUGS

1.     BIRTHDAYS Do you regularly send birthday cards to your client base? If so, good for you. Itmight be the only card they get!

If not, try this: send a birthday card to everyone this month. You will find you will get calls from people telling you it isn’t their birthday. Voila! You get to talk with them (when they’ve called you AND you get to update your database! Have fun with it!

 

2. A Business Plan To Keep You Focused and On Track! Winning Pathways is a CD/Workbook Program that will enable you to design a business plan that suits you and to focus and stay on track! It’s a totally cool program…check it out! http://www.winningpathways.com If you decide to order, please use buyers code ASG731 and you will be eligible for a free class by email from me!

"You don't get to choose how you're going to die, or when.  You can only decide how your going to live. NOW!" Joan Baez