Jennifer Allan's Selling to Your Sphere of Influence - No Sales Pitch Required!

Well, you know my answer. Like you, I don't treat this as a numbers game. It's too high pressure for me personally.

Instead, I make it a point to note how many families I've served thus far, and how many more I can do. When I start to put people on my business plan instead of numbers, it makes it that much more service and servanthood oriented.

Hmmmm...you mean the business isn't about annoying as many people as possible...that's what you are saying?  :-)

Hello Jennifer:

Well, sure, but isn' the problem (especially for new agents), finding the first 300 happy people on which to build a referral business?

I love your concept.  And it is much more professional. I truly think that Realtors will never rise in public opinion unless we approach our business in a more professional manner.  Impressing people, rather than annoying them, is a great start!

Kathryn - Wow - you're reading my mind! I'm writing another similarly-themed blog on that exact topic! Stay tuned!

RRSC - I don't mean impressing your clients... just impressing regular people who cross your path in your day-to-day wanderings! Doing nice things for friends and strangers. Going out of your way to help someone. Spending time with prospects who won't buy or sell til next year. Helping the host or hostess clean up after a party. Stuff like that!

James. LOLOLOLOLOL!

Loreena - Oooh, I love that! Putting people in your business plan instead of numbers! Brilliant!

Jennifer,

I don't like receiving scripted calls from people trying to hit a contact quota.  Treating people as I wish to be treated seems so simple to implement.  I just don't make scripted calls.

Hi Jennifer: Good post and gold star from me!

There are so many creative ways to impress and please people and it is much more fun and hugely more rewarding to do it than to tick them off by cold calling.

I love to do little things for people, adding value to their lives, and it makes my business so much more enjoyable than screwing up my courage to start with the telephone...

A gold star from me too! Do you have a plan of how we impress 1 person a day from a business platform and include some of the things you mentioned above?

Thanks,

Betsy

Good morning Jennifer,

You are so right!! I'd much rather impress fewer people than annoy lots of people and my results speak for themselves! Gold Star for sure for this tidbit of advice!!

Cold callilng leaves me, well, COLD.  LOL  I do believe some people resort to cold calling because they don't otherwise have a solid business plan, a marketing budget and a systematic way to build a business other than desperately picking up a phone and hoping the odds are in their favor they will eventually hit upon someone who needs an agent who doesn't hang up on them.

When ever I tried cold calling, I would think of those annoying people that call me just when I'm sitting down to dinner.  Not the impression I want to make!

Jennifer - I definitely dislike cold calling and do not do it.  I would much rather work on impressing the few than hit-or-miss the many.  I, too, have been told that it's about the numbers but I disagree...I think it's about PEOPLE.  So I focus on meeting people where ever I can. 

Jennifer, I am not a cold call fan. I hate receiving a cold call with a purple passion and I refuse to annoy folks that way. I "cold call" with community service clubs, never meeting a stranger and other ways. Can not bring myself to annoy like that. Just my take on it.

Dixie

Dixie - That would be my take too!

Lisa - Very well-put. This is a business where our customers are PEOPLE, not numbers. Treat prospects like people - what a concept!

Laura - that just seems so obvious to me, y'know? I mean, do rabid cold-callers enjoy being telemarketed to themselves? If not, then...????

Dorie - Yes!!!!!

Betsy - Great question - and maybe I'll elaborate further in a follow-up post. But philosophically, try this... don't worry about wasting your time when it comes to client (or prospect)-service. If you're doing something that makes your buyer, seller or prospect happy, it's not a waste of time. Even if you think it is... if they're happy... you're happy! Of course, there are limits to what you have time to do, but if you HAVE time, DO IT!

Julissa - Exactly!!! And yes, it's FUN to think of ways to stand out from the crowd and we're not talking about creative marketing!

Mike - Just seems silly, doesn't it?

Great example of why cold calling never ever works. . . as always great post!

Gee whiz, why would someone WANT to cold call? That would be a tough way to make a living.  Seems like a slow way too!

Jennifer- I love your blogs and love your style of business.  I really need to get your book(s) and follow your models.  I have struggled with the "cold-call" numbers theory for 7 1/2 years fighting every step of the way.   Look forward to more of your positive post and inspiration

I have recently been the recipient of a "Pay if Forward" series...and I can tell you that I am anxious to find those who I can help.  What a huge difference these two individuals made in my life and they did it because they wanted to, not because they had to or wanted my business. 

Love your style of writing also!

 

Cindy in Indy

Sounds like a great plan to me

I am with you 100%,  I know how irritated I get when I receive an unsolicited call, so why would I want to do that to other people?

Much better way to think about it!! Thank you.  I am going to write that down and keep it by my phone.

Jennifer - We're with you all the way... Much rather work on one person and impress them than go through the numbers game and become that annoying person nobody likes to hear from... Blech as you would say....

A much better concept you have there...I remember being in a C21 office in 1990...the market was dead and part of my training was having to go into the office every Sat morning and try to make a hundred cold calls...it brought me zero business and I grew to hate doing it...the closest I get to it now is a follow-up warm call to an expired I previously sent a note to.

The question is 'how many people do you need to speak to each day to really impress one?'

Great perspective.  Creating positive emotion for someone will take you very far in this highly emotional business!

Jennifer - I completely agree with you!  I do try to reach out to as many folks as possible but certainly not by cold calling!  That is NOT the impression I want to make!  I have started to canvass neighborhoods, but not to directly solicit for listings...my partner and I have been doing it to advertise new listings and open houses.  We are just passing on information to the neighbors, plus its a face to face and a chance for them to get to see our "shiny personalities"!

I love thinking about it like this!  Like you said...work to impress each and every person we meet, if we suceed with at least one a day - we have done a great job and have over 300 impressed folks by the end of the year! =) Great post!

Jennifer,

I so enjoy reading your emails and tips.  Although I am a loan officer, not a Realtor, I do have to make those outside contacts.  Everything of yours' that I have read has given me ideas to work with, to make my job easier and my success rate higher.

Hey Jenniffer - this is an absolutely brilliant concept.  this is one of those posts where after I read it I said, duhhhhhhhh!  Thanks for a great insight!

"wowing" your clients and potential clients is WAY better than annoying and begging!  Not only that but once you are seen as the "expert" the clients are no longer as "flighty"

JA - Most of the time when cold calling I'll engage prospects who have easily answered Real Estate related questions.  There's no canned presentation, or time limit to make X amount of contacts.  You'd be surprised the number of touches you receive when approaching it as a tool to have their "media instilled fears" allayed by someone who not only answers them directly but can listen too.  Yes, there is rejection but rarely is it adversarial.  Many times the prospect will ask to be recontacted at some future date depending on their circumstance.  It's all in your approach.  Thanks!   

Hi Jennifer -

Oh MAN!!! Did I need that blog now - ya kind of stole my thunder though... I was planning one on this topic. My business model has been based on more marketing than prospecting.  I differentiate the two as one being more "offering my services" - it costs money but people pretty much know what I'm about by the time they call...Lenn calls it "pull" marketing.  Prospecting to me is more of the "in your face" stuff.  You wear down the poor prospect who figures finally that he/she might get some peace and quiet if they list with you.

Anyway, the coach at my office - who is generally quite OK with methods - said well "agent X" is close to capping. 

When I spoke to agent X - she said "well why aren't you at scripts class?"

Me: "I don't do scripts. Don't need 'em" (if agent X had any idea what a Ph.D. candidate had to answer on the fly - she'd understand why I don't do scripts.)

Agent X:  "Well what do you do if a prospect says they already have an agent?" 

ME: "I think your loyalty is admirable and I'm sure your agent has earned it in spades and that you are in good hands.  Here is my card, just in case your agent leaves the business - as many are. But I wish you all the best." 

Agent X:  "You don't even TRY to pry them away from their agent by telling them what YOU offer?"  Me: "NO!! And neither should you."

What agent X doesn't realize is that I now know I can't trust her as far as I can throw a grand piano....way to go.  The scary thing is - she's pulling in the dough by chasing expireds and FSBOs into the ground.  The trouble with this method is that sadly - it works well enough for some to continue using it.

Jennifer---I completely agree with your point.  Great post--plus, nowadays there is a much higher resistance to being called on the phone.  I am finding Facebook to be a great way to keep in touch with past and future Clients.

Thanks,

Mario

It's 100 calls a DAY???? I thought it was 100 calls a WEEK!!! OMG!!! Maybe we should go back  to the days when local calls were $0.25 a call....That's $7500 for phone calls - ya think that might slow 'em down?  Come to think of it - all the telemarketing started when it got cheaper to call...me thinks.   Maybe I'm wrong - anyone?? 

I'm slow today - I just realized it to get to 30k calls it had to be by the day.

MUCH better solution!!

Jennifer - great post.  I hate cold calling and that tone on the other end of the line that says you are annoying me to no end.  Good luck on your 300!!

I think you have a great point. And cold calling isn't what it use to be. Now you have the do not call list and finding numbers in the first place is harder. With so many people now ditching their landlines for a cell, it would be better just to work on being a great with 300 then frustrated and annyoing to thousands.

I'll take impressing 300 anyday! I think there's something to be said about offering a higher quality service when it's not a numbers game. Thanks for the post!

Jennifer - I am so in your court on this one!  It drives me bonkers these days to receive 'cold recorded' messages day after day.  They are so annoying. There is a guy in one of my network groups that sells this kind of program - obviously he won't be getting my business.  A hundred times over I believe in relationships and building trust and mutual respect.

Jennifer - As much as I would like to jump on the bandwagon I have to disagree. Too often we forget the reality for a new person. They need business and they need it quickly. I believe that cold calling is still and always will be a good means of building a business. The key is respect when you call someone who hasn’t invited you.

When I began my career in the mortgage business I had zero customers.  Nada, nothing, zilch.  I cold called and as a result about 25% of my current database of clients were people I cold called in my early years. Most are repeat clients who have also referred me business.

I know loan officers who tried the method you suggest and they inevitably went back to their day jobs because this approach requires relationship building which takes time. When bills arrive and there is no income the game is over.

In my opinion it is a great concept for those who have at least some business coming in but it won’t work for new agents or loan officers who need business immediately.  Lastly if their cold calls are annoying that many people then they are not doing it correctly!

I agree 100%!  I hate the idea of cold-calling, have never done it, and never will.  I work by referral.

Jennifer, I am all for impressing the 300, as long as that will put food on the table. Cold calling seems so old school nowadays.

No cold calling for me.  I prefer the warm people that I know already like me!  And you are right that it is easier to impress one person a day.  Sounds like a new goal.....

Impress em all

Hi Jennifer...I was encouraged to cold call when I started in this business more than 20 years ago.  I immediately realized it was not for me and stopped.  Have never picked it up again.  Doing the best job I can for my clients and blogging are much more fun and they work.  There are many ways we are in contact with people and if they believe that you are are interested in them and not thinking of them as dollars signs you'll have a better life and no doubt more business.

Kate 

 

Just the topic got me to look!  Wow, and the responses were great too...  I dunno how to answer this one, since reading it makes me now have two points of view!

I am LMAO at the 'BLECH'  You know I agree with you otherwise I would not be a faithful little lamb!  I've been re-reading the Go-Givers Sell More and I decided to work on each secret/lesson for one whole month.  That way I will really create a good habit.  :)

No cold calling for me - ever!  I don't like to receive that type of a call, so I won't make one!  I'd much rather impress 300 people than annoy 3000!  Suggestions?

Jennifer, To me there is nothing worse than cold calling.  Being rejected isn't fun. 

I dont care about impressing most folks. the only ones I want to impress are the ones that want to buy a home in my market area, sometime in the next year or so. The problem of course and the question you didnt answer in your post is how do you filter the thousands of folks that might want to buy and might be impressed down to the few that actually do and are. In other words how do you decide which 300 out of the 30000 are willing to be impressed. 

I couldnt agree more, my goal is to impress one potential buyer or seller every day. My problem is that I usually have to contact a hundred or more to find that one buyer or seller that is impressed

My method is to call folks that have left their name and number on a website and offer my services, Whats yours?

 

 

 

Cold calling?   Be sure to spam them with email while you are at it.   Who cares if the overwhelming majority of Americans don't like it? 

Just kidding...

I like your concept, Jennifer.  Let's IMPRESS people, and make friends, clients, and customers.

 

I know when I am a consumer, I appreciate internet info vs. a sales call!

I'm a firm believe in quality, not quantity.  I don't advertise in print, don't pay-per-click, don't make cold calls, door knock, or distribute flyers.  I work my sphere and do open houses, that's all.  People work with me bacause I don't put them in an automated email system to pump out listings till they buy.  They like personal service and discretion, not spam.

I cannot think of a more inefficient method of prospecting than cold calling. 

Life is too short. 

So, how about some examples of "impressing?"

As I mentioned earlier, when I talk about impressing people, I'm not referring to our existing buyers and sellers - hopefully that's a Big Duh - of course you want to impress them - they're by far your best source of future business if you do a great job for them.

No, what I mean by "impress one person a day" is that as you go thru your day, you look for opportunities to make someone else's day a little (or a lot) better than it would have been if they hadn't crossed your path. Even if, egads, it inconveniences you or takes time out of your prospecting block. You can strive to impress friends, strangers, prospects, family and even other agents, with the goal of inspiring people to think of you as a great guy or gal, with a good work ethic... who happens to sell real estate.

Impressing one person a day might take five minutes, or an hour or two hours... how about mowing your elderly neighbor's lawn when you have the mower all fired up, or at least, that strip of grass behind the garage that's hard for him to get to? Or shoveling her walk since you're already doing yours? Or offering to bring in his mail or check on his cat while he's gone for the weekend?

If your friend mentions they need some work done on their car, offer to drive them to the shop. Or to the airport for their 7am flight.

If you're invited to a party, ask if your host would like you to come over early to help set -up - or offer to stay late to help clean-up.

Cheerfully work with lower-priority prospects. Even if they never buy or sell, they know people who will and every OTHER agent they talked to rudely brushed them off. Prepare and present a quality CMA for a seller who you suspect is planning to FSBO, or hire his brother in law. Offer that new agent in your office the opportunity to accompany you on a closing or inspection. Or to let him borrow your open house signs.

When you go to the mall, don't avoid eye contact and communication with sales clerks - engage them and maybe even let them help you!

Just stuff like that. Instead of trying so hard to shut out the outside world so you can focus on your cold prospecting, realize that your next clienst are OUT there in that world and will be much more inclined to think of you as a great real estate agent if you've, yes, impressed them.

Regarding whether or not cold calls are annoying to the receiver, I think we can all agree that in the vast majority of cases, they are. At the very least, they do not add any value to the person's life unless that person is very very lonely! That said, I have been cold-called by people who were actually rather good at it, and I enjoyed our conversation. But that's rare - very rare. Again, in the vast majority of cases, the cold-caller is either obnoxiously pushy, or cluelessly uncomfortable or just following a ridiculous script.

So, if you are one of the few who is great at cold-calling and you enjoy it - knock yourself out! But if you're someone who dreads the idea, but have been brainwashed into believing it has to be done to succeed in real estate, please be assured that you are WRONG!

As a newbie years ago that's all I heard. I was living in a new, strange city and had not SOI to speak of. I tried and tried the cold calls but it dawned on me after the first week that recipient didn't like anymore than I did. That's when I got out of the office, face to face with people and networking groups. So much better and a lot more comfortable for all.

Jennifer, well said and absolutely true.  I put a link in my morning newsletter to this blog. 

I love this idea. I especially like the idea of doing something for someone every day not impressing with how great I am.

Doing the numbers-game concept is the beginning of learning to treat people as numbers and not why I'm in the business.   

Jennifer--So well said. My mantra in real estate with regard to prospecting has been 5 warm prospecting calls a day. It works.

good point.  I am going to read your other blogs to see what you advise on how to "impress" the 1 per day.  I don't ever cold call any more...not worth the time

Anything that you do is worth doing well. If you annoy people then by all means STOP! Especially if you're calling in my farm. Also there's talk that open houses don't work either. Figure out what works for you and do that! If you think you can be really successful in this business without being rejected then you will probably make a clerks income. Impress your clients and do well by them and at some point in your career you will not have to prospect, they will be doing it for you!

I agree with your last post.  Cold calling works for people who enjoy it and have trouble meeting people in other ways.  I very recently decided that I can create my "own" business model that does not require cold calling.  As long as I consistently work to meet new people and increase my SOI and keep in touch with everyone, I can and will be successful in my real estate career and I will enjoy it so much more!  I loved how you said we are "brainwashed" into believing we need to cold call.  I felt guilty about not cold calling for so long and now I am at the point where I know I don't need to cold call!  I am doing what works for me and I will be much happier doing what I love!

I like the way you think, you know that by now! 

I actually have a large SOI, and I work it regularly. But I have been successful taking farming techniques and applying it to 1 small area at a time, working it hard and thorough, till I gain market share there, then adding another farm geographically and repeating the process. 

I did this with one small community of 150 houses and now I am the main agent in that small area. They have a high turnover rate in there, so I am always listing/selling houses there and everyone knows my name.

And I don't cold call. I mainly prospect with post cards (DM is not dead --if nobody else is doing it you really stand out).

 

Jennifer, this is a wonderful approach.  I've never in my 28-yaer career made a single cold call. 

Jennifer, agree with all that believe that phonecalls are nothing more than annoyances, but disagree that real estate isn't a numbers game: the more meaningful conversations developed, the more business. Whether this is through visiting a neighborhood on a weekend, and chatting with those receptive, or (as my friend Ruthmarie was horrified over a few years ago) delivering pumpkins with a card to FSBO or expireds, interacting with very few results in very few opportunities; being welcomed by neighbors who are often happy to have a conversation and increase a Realtor's GENTLE presence would seem to make sense, and increase opportunities.

As it happens, I've been extremely remiss with any type of listing generation that involves anything that I've mentioned, but the opinion that real estate is a numbers game, whether business is generated in small contact form or large, still makes sense- just an opinion.

Jennifer, what a refreshing new way to look at an old subject!  You absolutely hit the nail on the head.  It's a mystery to me why so many Realtors work so hard to attract raw unqualified leads from people they don't know from Adam, rather than working to deepen relationships with the clients and prospects they already know.  Perhaps they need a contact mangement system to help them keep in touch with clients they way they should.  If so, that's where IXACT Contact can help http://budurl.com/bk8p . 

Jennifer,

I appreciate your blog.  Sorry while all of the high brow-ed professionals try to impress one person a day (usually other agents), I will tap into all TEN sources of find all buyers and sellers.  I find many agents unwilling (too good) to put out signs, do open houses, visit FSBOs.  Yes that includes cold calls, warm calls and following up on referrals.  I did not see anyone posting their annual production just their indignant.  I will keep annoying people for a six figure income.  

I hope this helps!

Tony Barker, Broker, Trainer, Mentor

Premiere Home Realty Inc, Cypress Texas and surrounding Houston METRO area in Texas.

premiere-homes.com

832-867-0835  / tony@ptexas.com

 

 

I didn't really think agents still did cold calling?  If I had a client interested in a particular property I might call the owner if I could get their information- but calling random people trying to get a lead is crazy!  Not to mention most people are on the do not call list- I know I am! 

Great post! I practice more of a balanced concept. I do believe you are onto something. I can look back to about 20 clients that have produced over 100 transactions in the last 5 years.

STANDING OVATION!  I cannot stand cold calling, the whole idea gives me hives.  I do not cold call people- but for a very brief time I accepted a job where this was a requirement.  I have never been treated so horribly in my life.  I was told I needed to develop a thicker skin.  How about if we just strive to have continuing business from people who know, like and trust us?  And I'll keep my thin skin, thank you :)

I am SO with you on this, and in fact, spoke to my office about this same idea just yesterday. If you have been in this business for 5 years or more, there's no reason to look much further than your data base for business.It IS there & they WANT to hear from you!! If you let them know we have the lowest interest rates in most our buying life times (53+ years),  AND the most selection, your data base, and those they know, WILL work with you. Work still works, and the basics are still some of the best ways to do it -  I AM the proof!

The scary thing for the individual consumer is that (s)he may be fielding the same call from mulitiple agents who may be targetting the same area. How about annoying the same person 30,000 times!

Thanks for the perspective.

Lisa H.
Greater Toronto Area, Ontario

Work your SOI.  Add value to their lives.  Study your market, and become the widely acknowledged expert. And never, ever make your SOI feel guilty if they make another choice.  If you are truly the best option for them, that will be their choice often enough.

Its funny, I was just talking to someone about this cold calling routine and explaning how I personally do not believe in it....I love your idea of helping one person each day...and that is going to be my goal....giving to someone else each and everyday...maybe, just maybe each and everyone would see the value in this approach!

not possible.  What impresses one peroson will annoy another person......you can't avoid not annoying people.  People get annoyed at the smallest things.  Annoy them and move on.  If someone can't handle rejection or annoying someone, sales may not be the best choice of careers.  What I think would be annoying other people love and are impressed by.

The numbers game philosophy is drummed by every trainer I have every seen.  I really like your contrarian approach.  It is refreshing.

This was great! I had to check it out just off the title (so true) but the article was even better. You've got a gift for saying a lot with few words...but what's really important is the message itself. 

What good is "Name Recognition" if everyone rolls their eyes and says "oh yeah, that guy...." because they all associate your brand with inbox spam??

I personally do not make cold calss (because I hate making them), but I do have staff that make them each day and are successful (because they love making them). 

I agree that it is very productive to impress 300 people each year, but disagree with your assumption that to cold call will annoy all.  It is really up to the person on doing whatever their skill set serves them to do.  If you have fun making cold calls, Make Cold Calls!!  I suggest that the recipient of the call may not be annoyed.  

I think that most agree with the points made in your blog, because we can relate to not enjoying making cold calls.  Blaahh!

Thank for the Post!!!

@Erica - This may sound stupid, but I was taught that postcards were marketing and that prosepecting was more pressing the flesh...To extend that further - Marketing was defined as pulling people towards me and prospecting was more in your face.

The new technology has really impacted phone sales - even in the high end corporate sales. Voice mail and caller ID on home phones has stopped the efficiency (if there ever was any) as most people I know and myself included, don't answer the phone if we don't recognize the number.  Some people won't take private number calls - they just don't go through.  Also, customer relationship mgt (CRM) software has made it easier for telemarketers to cold call so people end up with more sales calls on their voice mail which dilutes the message.  I can't imagine cold calling people for real estate - calling sphere of influence - yes - but not cold calling strangers.

I would think knocking on doors is a good start to a RE career.  But calling 100 people, well I guess if you can stomach it then more power to ya!

I like the "Selling with Soul" Philosphy.  Plus with Social Media, are we not heading that way?

I would defnitely agree with you that it's best to impress.  I'm not a fan of the concept of cold calling.  I don't like people calling me that way so why would I want to do it to other people?

Basically we are trying to improve the quality of our contacts.  That is why I blog, people I contact have initiated with me first.

I think that cold calling, door knocking, and open houses are a great way to prospect and to meet new people that you wouldn't be able to meet otherwise. If you are new to the area or new to the business it is crucial. However, once you have a solid client base or "sphere" built up you should market directly to them and only them. They should be able to provide you with enough referral and repeat business that you can handle. They are the highest and best use of your self-marketing and prospecting dollars and will yeild the highest return and the best results. 

 

Jennifer.... late to the party, but it makes total sense.  I know a few that tell me to be careful on what I write and or how I respond to blog post comments.. mine or others... their fear is that I might tick some off and they wouldn't want to talk to me or use our services. But as you pointed out, my goal is to gain more than I would lose, out of knowledge & respect for what I say... and non of that fluff crap. I want to deal with quality, not quanity.  thanks

Jennifer,

There are three issues here. 

First, there is a mindset issue with stating that cold calling is "annoying" people.  For example, I call many people daily and my mindset is that I'm looking for people to help.  I have a great service to provide and every day I am looking for people that need my service. 

Second, you are saying that you want to impress one person daily.  That's great and all but you need to talk to a lot of people to find someone to impress.   Newer real estate agents cannot rely on repeat and referral business if they want to succeed.  They first need to build their database in order to make that happen.

Lastly, this all depends upon your goals.  Of course, if your goal is 6 or 12 transactions annually, you probably don't need to talk to a lot of people.  If your goal is 100 transactions, you're not going to get there (at least not right away) without talking to a lot of people daily.

Thanks for the post.

Danny

 

Jennifer - My first 18 months in the business, cold calling current homeowners for refis and Realtors for buyer leads was absolutely pounded into me by my broker and I wasted 18 months of my career doing exactly that.  Yes I got some leads, clients and sales but it was a horrible experience and I simply wasn't going to do it anymore.

I started doing first time buyer seminars with the local area housing agency and targeting renters in high-end apartment complexes.  I then discovered by prospecting buyers directly, I did so much better and my lead generation and sales production increased at a much higher rate than it did that first 18 months.  

I've been working that particular business model (prospecting and marketing to buyers) ever since.  Nearly 60% of my business are referrals from my SOI so my prospects are calling me.  I do not cold call current homeowners for refis nor do I cold call Realtors for buyer lead, quite the contrary.  My leads and prospects are now calling me. 

This is just my experience of not cold calling and while others may have success, I choose to not annoy 30,000 people but just try and impress the people I do work with because they are going to be my greatest source of business.  JMHO

Great post.  I hate the cold callers and I don't like to be that person.  I don't much like talking on the phone a whole lot and I'm scared to death of the do-not-call list, too!

Interesting to see the varied responses to your post.

I do think it is partially a numbers game - because you need to make an impression on a lot of people, and just keep on building that list of people who think of you favorably. That's simply because only a small percentage of the people you'll talk to in a given week are going to be in the market to buy or sell a home.

That said, it's best not to make an impression by annoying people!

For those who can pick up the phone and cold call with the positive attitude of "Seeing who I can help today" it could be a good thing. But if you're like me, thinking that you're about to bother someone, then it's not a good idea.

 

Threre's another powerful behavioral element to these approaches:

It is a widely accepted metric that people will generally tell 10 other people about negative experiences, but only tell 1 other person about good experiences.

So the mathematical impact of these actions either goes 10 fold against you (Now 300,000!!!!) or it doubles your positive impressions (now 600).

 

Leverage is a powerful thing.

I absolutley love when traditional beliefs - THAT MAKE NO SENSE are challenged.  This is such an old and common business practice that I NEVER understood.  Thank you!! 

Jennifer, It is a great post. Pay it forward is the way to go!

I'm wondering when cold calling someone in a targeted market with a valuable service or information you have to offer is defined as annoying? Whether it's a direct marketing mailer, face to face or phone call, is it really annoying or only if you use the phone? Doesn't it depend on who and where your target market is located as to what type of marketing plan you should employ or shouldn't you simply never use the phone?

Thanks for all the comments, both pro and con! For those who don't agree that cold-calling is annoying, I certainly respect your opinion on the matter, although I disagree with it. When you say that you're providing value to your audience with your call, I just don't get that. Where's the value? Not the value to YOU, but to the person who was just disrupted by your unsolicited phone call (or door-knock)? The chances are very slim that the person is interested in talking real estate, especially at that moment in time when they're doing something else, so in the vast majority of cases, your call is not welcome (unless the person is really lonely).

If a person wants to learn about real estate services, they'll likely know where to go, at a time that is convenient for THEM, as opposed to sitting by the phone waiting for some stranger to call them with a sales pitch.

Just yesterday, a friend of mine got a luke-warm call from an agent he'd worked with ten years ago. The agent told my friend he was just updating his records, and then launched into a pitch about some properties he had listed. My friend wasn't remotely interested, and he had to be somewhere, but he felt he had to politely endure the pitch. When the pitch was over, my friend, again, politely said good-bye, rolled his eyes, and continued with his day. Was this agent aware of my friend's annoyance with him? Or did he get off the phone, pleased with himself because he thought he just provided "value" to my friend?

You give much to think about,But even more than thinking about it we all should heed your words and work to upgrade the image the public has of those in the RE profession. Thank you for this post

AMEN JENNIFER!!! That says it all!

Jennifer: Quality over quantity any day and I think 100 rejections a day might damafe ny ego!

Ty

Jennifer - If cold-calling works for people, then they should work that as a strategy for their business.  I admire the grit, tenacity, and incredible amounts of self-esteem it must take to do this! 

 

I am NOT one of those people and have always felt incredibly bad about it.  Reaching out to people I know via facebook, phone, and face to face are my methods for keeping in touch....it keeps me at the front of their mind, and, more than that, gives me the warm fuzzies spending the time connecting with them! :)

Makes sense to me. One good contact a day would be fantastic!