The other day I was at a meeting with other realtors and lenders and one of the speakers suggested to start the year off by going through your sphere and calling each person. I agree with that, it is a great idea to call your sphere, and it should be in your marketing plan to do it at least once a quarter. But then he said to say:
“Hi Bob, this is Jim, how are you doing?” Good start. He continued, “How was your New Year?”, still ok. “That’s great, how is the family?” Still on the right track. “Good to hear, how is work going?” Doing well. “Sounds like everything is going great! Listen, Jim, I’m calling to see if you, or anyone you know are interested in taking advantage of this great real estate market we have right now?” BOOOOMM, he just blew up the whole call and Bob will probably never call him for any business ever again.
Jim was on the right track by calling to find out how Bob was doing and asking about his family and work. All authentic things to ask someone you haven’t spoken to in a while. But then he went all salesy on him and made himself look like a slimy salesman. This is NOT how to start your year off in the right direction.
In business and life, we must be authentic to be successful. Being phony in any way is very transparent to people. They know that you don’t care about them, you are just looking for a sale. 99% of us hate that type of sales strategy, especially in real estate where you must form a very personal working relationship with your clients. You can use reminders, like F.O.R.D., to help you continue the conversation when it gets silent, but overall, your conversation needs to be natural. Some people may use scripts, but scripts are for people you’ve never met before, and even then, you need to personalize them, so you are authentic. If you don’t have the conversation in a way that you are comfortable with, it will come off as salesy.
The proper way to continue that conversation was to ask a couple more questions that interested you about his family, or job. If nothing came up during his answers to your prior questions, then ask about the house, neighborhood, schools, etc. Allow him time to ask you questions, and don’t hesitate to interject something that you can relate to from his answers. Tell a story that comes to mind, you know, be a human being! Then when the conversation comes to a natural end, say something like: “It was nice catching up with you Bob, I’m really happy that you and the family are doing well. Be sure to let me know if you have any questions about real estate, the market, or if you have someone else who may need help. I’m always happy to help.” Then allow them to respond. If that’s the end of the conversation, great, say “Take Care”.
By doing this, you have now put yourself back into Bob’s brain that you are a real estate agent. He may not need you now, or any time soon, but if his neighbor, boss, or someone else in his sphere brings up buying or selling a home, your name will pop up in Bob’s mind. Hopefully, he is the type to refer you.
Not only is being authentic good for business, and the right thing to do, it is also great for your confidence. You don’t feel like every call has to be a sale or feel like you are a slimy salesperson. You are just a great real estate agent who loves helping people and you want to ensure that your sphere knows that you will be there when they are ready to buy or sell a home.
Thank you for your time,
Brad