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2 Word Solution to the Prospecting Dilemma

Prospecting, the bane of agents old and new; “I should be, I need to, I’ve got to, I have to”, never “I want to” are the words I hear whenever the subject matter is brought up. Prospecting conjures up visions of knocking doors and sweating hours on the phone cold calling. Oh, I know, “we can’t call anymore since the do not call law came into affect.”  Sure, like most agents ever called in the first place. It seems that the word ‘prospect’ causes most to cringe, get the hives, or much worse.  Prospecting is just stressful, let’s face it. Whenever we discover something we don’t like, we simply need to reframe it to make it palatable.

‘Diet’ is a good example of a word that needs reframing. ‘Diet’ has been framed to be negative.  Actually ‘diet’ is a positive word, Webster’s first two definitions are:  1 a: food and drink regularly provided or consumed; b: habitual nourishment. Nothing negative about that; however, listen to the world today:  “I can’t, it’s not on my diet. I have to go on a diet. This diet is killing me. I just can’t stick to my diet. I just blew my diet.” Diet is now a negative word and, I must say, it doesn’t work for me. I used to proclaim every year that I was going on a new diet, bound and determined to lose a few pounds, instead I would gain.

Reframe

I don’t know about you but I am a basket case when I lose my car keys, go to the casino and lose $50, or, heaven forbid, misplace my wallet. My brain will not let me lose. I’ve programmed my subconscious that I am not a loser. So, when I told myself I was going to lose a few pounds, the internal computer called the brain said, ‘No you’re not big guy, you don’t lose anything.’ So I would unconsciously eat more to insure the no lose program. Ah, reframe, yes, taking something that the brain believes, even if it’s wrong, and tweaking it.

At a Chinese restaurant, some years ago, with our friend, Ron Johnson, Broker, in Kenai, Alaska, we sat at one of those tables that turns like a lazy Susan so you can eat off others’ plates, never quite got the jest of that one. We ended our meal with a common ritual of opening our fortune cookies one at a time and reading them aloud. I was the last to open and it was EMPTY! Everyone went “Ooohhhh”. Now, I don’t like ‘Ooohhh’, so I said (reframe), “How blessed I am to have all the fortune I can hold.” Everyone went, “AAHHH”. I like that. Reframe, the art of changing words, statements, or ideas slightly to create a positive action or reaction.

Therefore, since I could not lose weight, I began to ‘give it away’, that was positive and easier than diet or loss. And in the last two years, I’ve given away 25 pounds. TA DA!

Hence, Stop It, prospecting that is, and (reframe) start positive ‘Lead Generation Activities’. Prospecting is difficult, and lead generation activities are easy. What are LGA’s? In the wonderful world of real estate, it’s any activity where your involvement could lead to the development of a listing, sale, or referral. How simple is that? List, sell, or refer are how we, as Sales Associates, generate income, correct? And real estate is a JOB, wouldn’t you agree? Then everything we do is lead generation.

DRAWBACKS

1.    Many people who have a license to sell real estate actually dislike the profession. They don’t like ‘sales’ in any way, shape, or form. Often, they believe that they can get a license, show up, and get paid. Wrong, it’s a JOB and one must work at a job to get paid. Real estate is a high pay for hard work and low pay for no work profession. This is why a large percentage of licensed real estate salespeople are not earning a living. Accept the fact that EVERYONE SELLS! See the Video Review of Daniel Pink’s book – To Sell is Human

2.    Many licensees are not sold on themselves. You see, in real estate, we sell three things and always in the same order; Self, Company, Product or Service. If an agent is not sold on themselves, then how can they expect anyone to buy them, their company, or their product or service?

3.    Lack of knowledge, this one chaps my lips the most. Never in my 42 year real estate career has there been more good, available information on how to activate a lead generation system. ABR, CRS, e-PRO, and GRI to name a few, add to that National and Local Association, Company, and University offerings! Anyone who doesn’t know how ought to quit and go to work for Woolworths.

23 Basic Steps of a Solid Lead Generation Program

1. Be the positive influence everywhere you are.
2. Stand Up, Stand Straight, and Stand Out.
3. Smile, it’s your biggest gift to others.
4. Never share your problems with others, half don’t care about them, the other half are glad you got them.
5. Accept that Wisdom is POWER, not money or knowledge. Wisdom is the knowledge of how to make, spend, save, and share your money in abundance.
6. Plan to Succeed, agents don’t plan to fail they fail to plan. ASPIRE, Rossi’s mentoring program on building personal strategic plans. ROSSI@ROSSIspeaks.com
7. Define your purpose – make it your Brand and mold all you do around it.
8. Don’t sanction incompetence in yourself or others.
9. Discover that the CENTER is the new edge.
10. Omni Task, multitasking is one dimension and doesn’t fit with today’s world. Omni Tasking puts you in the center and revolves real time around you allowing you to concentrate on One Thing at a Time.
11. Put EVERY goal, strategy, and task (personal and business) in your contact management system. It will allow you to Omni Task.
12. Schedule and assign a start and stop time to all your (personal and business) tasks.
13. WORK five scheduled hours a day.
14. NEVER be late for an appointment, it tells the other person that they are unimportant to you.
15. Play a little every day.
16. Refer negative people to other negative people. They love to cluster.
17. Listen to others instead of talking about them.
18. Understand and accept the Law of Reality: If A lies to B – A will lie to Me. Substitute any other phrase for ‘lies to’.
19. Own your mistakes.
20. Wear your Association, Company, and Personal Brands boldly with honor.
21. Tell everyone what you do for a living and how much you enjoy it.
22. Walk, Breathe, and Carry yourself with power.
23. Never forget to say, “Thank You”.

It’s the little things that are the difference between those who do well in real estate and those who disappear, broken and unhappy. This is true regardless of the community, your market, your family, company, or age. Life’s successes are all about caring, strong, flexible, knowledgeable, confident, positive, professionally involved, and involving individuals. Often we make it difficult by wallowing in our past, worrying about the future, blaming things and others, making excuses, and generally operating out of effect instead of being the cause of our lives.

The above 23 items are the threads that run true through all of the successful real estate agents I’ve taught, coached, or encountered since 1971. Michael Vance, author, consultant, coach, and my mentor in the speaking business, says, “Success is the building and maintaining of Spiritual, Physical, Physiological, Psychological, and Financial Goals.” So Stop It! Whatever it is you’re doing to yourself that causes you to not feel, see, and hear every moment of success you deserve.