As agents and brokers, we often set lofty goals to grow our business. As a result, prospecting always comes up in one form or another, whether it’s working FSBOs or expired listings, calling through our sphere of influence or one of the dozens of other ways to generate new business.
With the goal of growth, and the knowledge we need to prospect, why is it so hard to make that first call? In observing agents who tell themselves and others that they’re prospecting, I’ve noticed a common thread: 75 percent of the time blocked out for prospecting is being used to get ready to prospect, with 25 percent or less of that time actually being spent dialing for dollars.
One of the key differences between the average and the elite is the elite’s ability to be completely honest with themselves. It’s easy to blame the market, other agents, your broker or the consumer when your business is stagnant. The elite simply take the bull by the horns and prospect.
As we build habits of productivity, it all begins with our business plan. The business plan is the road map or GPS that outlines what you need to do, and who you need to prospect to. Once your goals are clearly defined and the action items laid out, you must then follow what I call a rhythm of success. Here are the key steps in creating your rhythm of success:
- Start each day with a prayer or spiritual thought.
- Spend 30-60 minutes planning your day and taking care of specific things that require your undivided attention.
- Complete your daily huddle with your key report. If you’re an agent, meet with your team leader. If you’re a team leader, meet with your managers. These huddles should last no longer than 10 minutes and focus on accountability from the previous day and setting new goals.
- Role-play and practice your scripts and dialogues. Role-playing allows you to master the words and phrases that will enable you to focus on what the client is saying instead of what you’re going to say next. This will get you in the right mindset to start making calls.
- Prepare your list. If you’re calling FSBO or expired listings, log into your system, review the opportunities and set your system to start dialing. If you don’t have an auto dialer, do whatever it takes to get fired up to make calls.
- Your first call is always the hardest, but it’s the most important. Once you’ve made the first call, regardless of the outcome, quickly dial the next. Continue this process until your allotted prospecting is completed for the day.
- Prospect a minimum of one hour a day. If you don’t have appointments scheduled, keep prospecting until you do.
The key to prospecting with purpose is to track your dials, conversations and appointments. Once you know how many dials it takes to have a conversation and how many conversations you need to set an appointment, your prospecting becomes a clear numbers game that can be duplicated daily with predictable results.
Verl Workman is the founder and CEO of Workman Success Systems (385-282-7112), an international speaking, consulting and coaching company that specializes in performance coaching and building successful power agents and teams. Sign up today for a free business consult with Verl by sending an email to coach@verlworkman.com.To hire Verl to speak at your next event, email events@verlworkman.com.
For more information, please visit www.workmansuccesssystems.com.
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