When you’re new to the industry, your schedule can go one of two ways depending on how aggressive you are with your business. When you get started, you may be fully booked with open houses to sit in on and showings to shadow, or you may be a little light on activities. Either way, take a look at your calendar once you’ve got your license and choose a weekend that’s pretty open. Got one? Block it off. That weekend is going to be your productivity booster. Your client database, which is mostly likely looking a little bare right now, is about to be filled with new leads to follow up on, new clients and, best of all, the potential for referrals!
How are you going to achieve all of this in one weekend? By attending events and by doing it all over again at least a couple of times per quarter. So, take a look at the goings-on in your community, book up your days as much as possible and watch that business flow into your pipeline.
Where to Find Events
Today, it’s easier than ever to join in on local events. Facebook is a great resource for this because it shows you events happening nearby, as well events that your Facebook friends are planning to attend. If you see a large cluster of your Facebook colleagues RSVP’d to a certain event, this is a great opportunity to touch base with your current contacts, while also opening yourself up to new groups of people that you can convert into clients.
What Types of Events
These can run the gamut from food truck festivals and carnivals to local theater productions and school showcases. It doesn’t matter which events you end up going to as long as they allow you to connect with multiple individuals who can turn into leads or outright clients, as well as give you enough time to form connections. Here’s a tip: If you attend a production-type of event, get there early so you can catch everyone as they mill around the lobby before the show.
How to Connect
It’s not as simple as handing out business cards to complete strangers and calling it a day—this isn’t productive and it’s highly unlikely to lead to profits down the road. So, how can you make an impression without coming across as overbearing or too salesy? Strike up conversations first and get to know people. You’ll find that once you get comfortable, your career will naturally come up—and, in most cases, people will ask you what you do for a living when you first begin talking.
Once it’s been brought up, go ahead and give out your business card, but also try to get their contact information in return. You can let them know they’ll receive relevant information they actually find useful, such as sold statistics for their neighborhood, even if they aren’t currently in the market for a new home.
It can be intimidating to get out there and start talking to people, especially if you’re among a group you’ve never met and you’re just starting out. With practice, however, this productive weekend will get easier and easier, until it comes naturally to you. Those conversations will then turn into leads that turn into clients, which will ultimately lead to sales and profits.
