I'll be interested to see the responses to this forthcoming brain dump... some of you will totally relate, while others will think I'm just a weirdo.
I hate to prospect, in any way, shape or form. By "prospect" I'm not really referring to any particular method, strategy or activity, I just simply don't like drumming up business. I get no joy out of self-promotion, marketing or pursuing. I very much dislike the idea of spending any time at all worrying about where my next closing might come from.
But I LOVE LOVE LOVE selling real estate. Or, perhaps I should say that I love MANAGING the process of the exchange of real estate. I love pricing homes, I love solving problems, I love creating home brochures, I love managing my Internet advertising, I love negotiating contracts and inspections, I love previewing homes for my buyers, I love preparing for a tough appraisal, I love talking my buyer off the ledge when they're in panic mode.
The vast majority of my business through the years has, frankly, found me, as a result of my sphere of influence (SOI) and my satisfied past clients (SPCs). I've rarely had to formally prospect and have been able to spend most of my time doing what I love- that is - managing the business I already had.
That's still where my business comes from - from my SOI and my SPC's, but I'm feeling a bit grumpy that it doesn't flow in nearly as painlessly as it did in years past. There are lots of reasons for this - some obvious, some not so, but the fact remains that I'd be happy as a clam if I could just BE a great real estate agent and let someone else worry about making rain...
But maybe this is, like, totally obvious, dude. Does everyone feel this way, or are there people out there who really enjoy the rainmaking part of our jobs?
