In This Issue...

• Words From the President
• Managing Contacts - The Right Way
• Do You Do What You Know You Should? - Be Honest With Yourself Now

Words From the President

Thanks for joining me today on your journey toward success as a Real Estate Agent.

The two areas that we'll focus our time on today are Managing Contacts and Managing Yourself for Prospecting Success . Either of which could help you change your life in 2007 if you'll read, absorb, and use the information.

I hope you'll invest 9 minutes of your precious life with me today and that the information proves to be a blessing to you and your career.

To your achievement of success in life,

Dirk Zeller
CEO
Real Estate Champions, Inc

Managing Contacts - The Right Way

To store your prospecting information and assure your prompt and ongoing follow-up, employ contact management software such as Goldmine, ACT, or SharkWare. Also, look into real estate-specific software packages such as Top Producer or Online Agent, which are designed to help you with your sales functions and also with business management (including market reports, correspondence templates, and even tracking your closings).

Regardless of the system you select, you must be able to access your contact database with reliability and ease.

This isn’t the place to apply a shoestring budget. Minimally, you will want to invest in a computer (preferably a laptop) and all the software necessary to build and run your business, from contact management to MLS access to agency management.

While you are budgeting…

Budget for ongoing self-improvement. Start with a budget for a wardrobe that presents you as a successful agent.  Some people will make assumptions on who you are based on the way you are dressed. Dress for success.  Just as important, budget to attend every business seminar you can make time to attend. Your personal education and skills-based training is fundamental to your climb up the ladder of success.

In between, buy books, CDs, download podcasts, and get your hands, eyes, or ears on every piece of media that can help you develop sales skills, mental focus, leadership, discipline, and motivation. 

The most significant asset in your business right now is you.  Ten years from now the most significant asset in your business will still be you.  Don’t fail to invest in yourself.

Staying in Touch

Use your contact management system to trigger the next call to a prospect and to make staying in touch automatic and easy. 

• Each time you end a prospecting call, determine when the next call will take place. Learn your prospect’s time frame and when you should speak again.  Then schedule the contact right then and there.

• When talking to a past client or sphere member, schedule the next call without even asking.  Then the next time you call, they will be pleasantly surprised to hear from you.
• In addition to calls, send e-mails to thank contacts for their time and to reiterate your service offer. 

• Obtain permission to add contacts to your monthly e-mail newsletter mailing.

• Follow up first-time contacts with a copy of your agency brochure or marketing piece. Or send a just listed or just sold card to demonstrate your success as an agent. 

• Craft a personalized business letter, perfectly typed on your letterhead and sent out in your matching #10 envelope. 

But wait! As great as all of the above suggestions are for your business, none of them beat the all-time winning touch of a hand-written thank you note that says to the receiver, basically, you were so important that I took the time to pen this in my own hand rather than touching a few buttons on my computer or spitting out a pre-planned, standard issue, regurgitated letter that I have sent to 1,000 other people just like you.

Most of us get hundreds of e-mails a day . . . most of which we don’t even want. We receive hundreds of pieces of junk mail a month . . . mostly from credit card and mortgage refinance companies.

The hand-written thank you note breaks through the clutter. It looks like an invitation to something special. It secures the relationship and keeps it active until you talk again in a few days.  It is still the best way to keep in touch in our technology driven world.

If you'd like more help with lead management techniques and systems you can find out more here.

Do You Do What You Know You Should? - Be Honest With Yourself Now

Most Agents know deep down inside that they need to do a better job of prospecting in order to increase business.  They know that true long-term sales success is built through the work of looking for new business, but they do not do the work.  Unlike those Agents, if you want to succeed, you must provide service to clients once you have acquired them, but you have to acquire them before you can serve them.  The guy who builds the best mousetrap only has a great mousetrap.  He still has to find someone to buy it.  Finding someone to buy it is often harder than creating the mousetrap.

Rule #1: Schedule a time to do it.

You should schedule your prospecting block for the same time daily.  This time should be when you are the sharpest – at your peak performance.  For me it was early in the morning.  I did my prospecting calls first thing in the morning, because that was when I had the most energy.  Your time schedule may be different.

For most of us, including myself, if the prospecting is not scheduled it doesn’t get done.  The time for prospecting has to be treated as if it were a listing or buyer appointment.  None of us would ever think of being late for or skipping either of those.  You can’t afford to miss a prospecting appointment.  The prospecting appointment feeds your listing and buyer appointments.  By sticking to your prospecting appointments, you will have many more listing and buyer appointments to work with.

Rule #2: Stay the course.

When you get busy -- because you will -- don’t stop prospecting.  Stay the course.  Agents who stop prospecting ride the roller coaster of income: one month . . . great, the next . . . nothing.  The ups and downs of income are caused by the inconsistency of their prospecting.  Resolve today to keep up the momentum of prospecting!

This problem happened to one of my clients.  She was doing a fantastic job prospecting, and she created more leads and business than she could handle.  She then stopped prospecting.  You can guess what happened; she took the big swan dive.  We coached her “to raise the bar” instead of stopping what’s working.  What I mean by “to raise the bar” is to qualify your leads harder.  You have the opportunity to select better clients.  You have earned the right through your prospecting to work only with highly motivated buyers and sellers.  The more motivated people will treat you better, respect you more, and do what you say.  What a great reward for prospecting!  More money and easier people to work with – who wouldn’t like that? 

Rule #3: Don’t worry about what you can’t control.

Don’t worry about the people who are not home when you call.  Don’t worry about the people who are negative.  Don’t concern yourself about the best time to call.  Don’t worry about the conditions of the field – just play.  The field conditions are the same for us all.  Nobody takes seriously the football coach who says that the rain caused his team to lose -- was it only raining on his side of the field?  Focus on what you do have right now.  What you have is the person on the other end of the line.  Focus on serving this person and seeing if you can solve this person’s problem if it’s an expired or FSBO.  If this is a cold call, or if you are calling someone in your farm, try to connect with the person and check for motivation to sell.  If you find someone who doesn’t have motivation, move on to the next person.  There is a four-letter word successful sales people say all day -- it’s NEXT!

To be effective at prospecting, you must make a firm commitment to do it daily without fail.  It’s amazing what a few calls every day will yield after a year.  Start today and stay with it.  Stay the course through the ups and downs.  Don’t worry about things that are out of your control.  Regular prospecting leads to control of your business and of your income.  It frees you to work the schedule you desire.  If you need help getting started, give us a call or visit our web site at www.realestatechampions.com.  Don’t delay -- start today.

If you'd like more help with prospecting techniques and systems you can find out more here.

The Champion
Real Estate Agent - Book

Now on the Shelves

A proven plan for peak sales performance—and a better life!

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Don’t just get into the real estate game; become an all-star when you learn how to:

• Supercharge your sales and commissions
• Use Zeller’s unique referral strategy to turn effort into income
• Develop trust and credibility with customers
• Design a custom business plan that fits your life and goals
• Generate multiple streams of income

Reserve Your Copy Today!

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