Best Strategies In Real Estate Prospecting By Julius Oyedemi
Real estate prospecting is a BIG part of a real estate professional’s job. No prospecting means no client and subsequently it becomes difficult to make ends meet. This article gives useful tips on how to make headway in real estate prospecting.
To be at the top of your real estate game you have to invent and re-invent new ways to stay afloat or you will be lost in the sea of faces that has made real estate business their forte.
Let’s take a look at the best tactics for prospecting, whether online or offline. The tactics for prospecting have been grouped into three sections; General, online and offline prospecting.
General prospecting:
1. Be consistent: No one in the real estate business ought to be prospecting without a database. In fact it is an impossible task. Just like in business you need a database to work with. Now that you have a database perhaps it includes people in your sphere of influence (SOI) or maybe it’s people that are subscribed to your channel, website or blog, it is essential you update them consistently on your line of business. Regardless of methodology or source, consistency in real estate prospecting is non-negotiable. Chat with them often or Mail them every month for 12 months, and you’re far more likely to build brand and name recognition — and make the phone ring when someone is ready to buy. Consistency is key to real estate prospecting success.
2. Dedicate time, every day: This goes hand-in-hand with being consistent. Successful prospectors will tell you that prospecting isn’t some “side job,” it’s THE JOB. Always create time for prospecting daily. Now the question that should be on our lips is; How much time are we talking about here?
“How much time” depends greatly on your business, and how long you’ve been in real estate sales. Many sales trainers claim two hours a day, minimum, should be spent prospecting. Quite possibly more if you are new in the business, maybe a little less for the seasoned veteran. Regardless of where you are in your career, you will need to dedicate time to prospecting daily.
3. Analyze, scrub, repeat: Your contact database is not a static document. It morphs and changes over time. You need to constantly review your database and re-categorize prospects as they move through the sales funnel, ensuring you provide what they need and not what you want them to have. Review your database continually, scrub it, update it, rinse and repeat consistently.
Online prospecting:
4. Use drip email campaigns: Drip email campaigns are pre-written set of messages sent to customers or prospects over time in the form of multiple mails.
You’ve got a “lead,” otherwise known as the contact info for a potential client. Now what? Some contacts may be ready to buy or sell immediately. Odds are though, many are going to be at the top of the sales funnel and will need much nurturing before they are ready to actively buy or sell property. Here’s where good drip email campaigns — those offering something of value — can work remarkably well.
What “something of value” means will depend on the prospect. Sellers like to know market activity in their immediate area. Which homes are moving, and for how much. First-time buyers find information on the home buying process helpful. Classify your contacts into groups and get those groups what they need. Here’s something very few agents do: try asking your prospects what they’d like to receive, then deliver it.
As an added bonus, much of a good email drip campaign can be automated, freeing up time for more prospecting.
5. Keep profiles updated and participate. Networking, whether online via social networks or offline in more traditional face-to-face networking, requires updated information and participation. Again, consistency is key. You can’t sign in to Facebook on the third Thursday of the month and expect to find success. Long-term networking and engagement leads to long-term relationship building which in turn leads to business.
Offline prospecting:
Generally speaking, most offline prospecting falls into the category of farming. When we say farming, we are not talking about growing and harvesting crops. I mean farming a neighborhood, a specific property type or a niche — whether property (duplexes) or person (doctors).
Finally, real estate prospecting — regardless of form — really boils down to making conversations and meeting people.
Remember, prospects are people, and they should be (and deserve to be) treated as such. It’s not always about jamming real estate information in people’s faces or inboxes. Make real connections, understand wants and needs, and be human. After all, buying or selling real estate is an emotional process and the human touch, being likable and offering to help, will set you apart from others and make you “stick” in someone’s mind. You’ll be the one they call when they are ready to buy.
To be at the top of your real estate game you have to invent and re-invent new ways to stay afloat or you will be lost in the sea of faces that has made real estate business their forte.
Let’s take a look at the best tactics for prospecting, whether online or offline. The tactics for prospecting have been grouped into three sections; General, online and offline prospecting.
General prospecting:
1. Be consistent: No one in the real estate business ought to be prospecting without a database. In fact it is an impossible task. Just like in business you need a database to work with. Now that you have a database perhaps it includes people in your sphere of influence (SOI) or maybe it’s people that are subscribed to your channel, website or blog, it is essential you update them consistently on your line of business. Regardless of methodology or source, consistency in real estate prospecting is non-negotiable. Chat with them often or Mail them every month for 12 months, and you’re far more likely to build brand and name recognition — and make the phone ring when someone is ready to buy. Consistency is key to real estate prospecting success.
2. Dedicate time, every day: This goes hand-in-hand with being consistent. Successful prospectors will tell you that prospecting isn’t some “side job,” it’s THE JOB. Always create time for prospecting daily. Now the question that should be on our lips is; How much time are we talking about here?
“How much time” depends greatly on your business, and how long you’ve been in real estate sales. Many sales trainers claim two hours a day, minimum, should be spent prospecting. Quite possibly more if you are new in the business, maybe a little less for the seasoned veteran. Regardless of where you are in your career, you will need to dedicate time to prospecting daily.
3. Analyze, scrub, repeat: Your contact database is not a static document. It morphs and changes over time. You need to constantly review your database and re-categorize prospects as they move through the sales funnel, ensuring you provide what they need and not what you want them to have. Review your database continually, scrub it, update it, rinse and repeat consistently.
Online prospecting:
4. Use drip email campaigns: Drip email campaigns are pre-written set of messages sent to customers or prospects over time in the form of multiple mails.
You’ve got a “lead,” otherwise known as the contact info for a potential client. Now what? Some contacts may be ready to buy or sell immediately. Odds are though, many are going to be at the top of the sales funnel and will need much nurturing before they are ready to actively buy or sell property. Here’s where good drip email campaigns — those offering something of value — can work remarkably well.
What “something of value” means will depend on the prospect. Sellers like to know market activity in their immediate area. Which homes are moving, and for how much. First-time buyers find information on the home buying process helpful. Classify your contacts into groups and get those groups what they need. Here’s something very few agents do: try asking your prospects what they’d like to receive, then deliver it.
As an added bonus, much of a good email drip campaign can be automated, freeing up time for more prospecting.
5. Keep profiles updated and participate. Networking, whether online via social networks or offline in more traditional face-to-face networking, requires updated information and participation. Again, consistency is key. You can’t sign in to Facebook on the third Thursday of the month and expect to find success. Long-term networking and engagement leads to long-term relationship building which in turn leads to business.
Offline prospecting:
Generally speaking, most offline prospecting falls into the category of farming. When we say farming, we are not talking about growing and harvesting crops. I mean farming a neighborhood, a specific property type or a niche — whether property (duplexes) or person (doctors).
Finally, real estate prospecting — regardless of form — really boils down to making conversations and meeting people.
Remember, prospects are people, and they should be (and deserve to be) treated as such. It’s not always about jamming real estate information in people’s faces or inboxes. Make real connections, understand wants and needs, and be human. After all, buying or selling real estate is an emotional process and the human touch, being likable and offering to help, will set you apart from others and make you “stick” in someone’s mind. You’ll be the one they call when they are ready to buy.
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