Lead Generation

April 12, 2006 by Don Murray

I have received an interesting series of questions from many quarters regarding what it takes to be a success in our business and I wanted to share some items with you.

Its all about Customer Acquisition -- But first the basics

The requirements for success in our business is no different than what's needed for success in other businesses."? In most businesses, you need the same skills, the same level of dedication, the same commitment to best serve your clients needs.

The real difference in our business compared to other businesses is that the compensation is much better."? This is especially true if you provide both Mortgage and Real Estate Brokerage services simultaneously.

The Basics -- I assume your training to date has allowed you to master the basics of real estate brokerage and mortgage financing."? If you are weak in any areas it should be an easy thing to build your strengths."? Remember we are not advancing the frontiers of physics here; we are just engaged in a straight forward business providing straight forward services."? If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask questions of me, or the real estate associations you pay good money to.

A lot of training programs stop with the basics."? Once you have the basics under control --- Does your on going training program teach you how to hand out refrigerator magnets and other useless items --or-- does it teach you how to professionally engage various kinds of clients and move toward a successful transaction?

Multiple Presentations -- Once you have the basics, your"?next training step is to establish several different presentations that will fit various situations --

Renter moving to a home
Home owner moving up
Investor buying the first rental unit
Experienced investor purchasing additional investment properties
Investor client converting portfolio from maximum equity growth to optimum cash flow
Empty nester downsizing
Client relocating for business reasons
Client purchasing a commercial business
Etc., etc.

Ethos -- The sequential steps in your presentation are very important."? Remember what you learned in Philosophy 101."? Do you remember Aristotle and the other Greek Philosophers"?? From your studies of Aristotle you will recall the following.

Your presentation sequence needs to rapidly:

Trigger Ethos (Demonstrate your Ethics)
... while wrapped in Pathos and Logos (Passion and Logic)
You need to educate your client
Scare the hell out of them
Show them the solution
Follow up with Logic (logos)
All of this while shifting the paradigm
Get them on Paper (Loan App and Buyer Broker Rep Agreement and Listing Agreement if applicable)
Then, on with the transaction

Public Speaking/Toast Masters -- Dedicated script rehearsal."? No one ever won an Oscar without dedicated rehearsal and perfection of the presentation."? What public speaking programs are you participating in that have allowed you to perfect your various presentations"?? None"?? Something's wrong."? Fix it or move on to another career.

Are you an Oscar candidate?"? Are your presentations truly refined"?? If not get that way or move on to another career.

Are your presentations interactive? -- If your presentation is a monologue you will loose your client.

Are You Quick? -- You need to be able to be quick on your feet so as soon as you determine who your audience is you will know which interactive presentation to make."? The wrong presentation to the right client will result in a lost client.

Don't know who your potential client is? --"?Something's wrong."? Early in the conversation didn't you learn -- who, what, when, where, why"??If not, something's wrong."? Fix it or move on to another career."?

Objections -- Many clients will have objections to your presentation.

What are they likely to be?

You are too old
You are too young
You do not have enough experience
Your business model is different
What other objections might there be?
What is your practiced well thought out response to these and other questions or objections?
Don't have a well thought out response?
You will loose that client.

Social Encounters -- In a very short time you will go through your existing sphere of influence."? To build a career in this business you need to continuously put yourself in situations with new contacts in a setting or environment that will allow you to make your introductory presentation which will transition into a more detailed presentation at a subsequent meeting."?

What have you done to insure that you are constantly meeting new people with the financial means to invest in real estate?"?
How many social organizations are you active in"""
Less than 3"?? Something is wrong.
How many membership committees are you participating in"??
Less than 3"?? Something's is wrong.
What existing club memberships"?are you going to leave behind now where you have gone through that club's membership roster"??
What new clubs are you going to join?
How many Client meetings did you have last week?
How many yesterday?
How many tomorrow?
What are you doing to set up meetings for next week?

If you are not sure something is wrong.' Either fix it or move on to another career.

Self Analysis -- Use your current listing or Buyer's Rep Agreement client"?as an example."?

Am I"?the best agent for my client"??
Am I willing to do what ever it takes to get the job done?
Does my client know that"??
Am I and the client on the same time line?
Is my client as dedicated to this transaction as I am?
If not, why not?
What is uniquely different about me that allows me to represent my client's best interests better than any of my competitors"??
Does my client know this?
Will I get the buyer side of my listing transaction?
Am I representing my Listing client for their next purchase?
Am I writing their loan?
If not why not?
If they are moving out of the area did I refer my client to another broker and get a referral commission?
What am I doing to make this happen?
Am I "?going to get the loan for the buyer?
What"?am I"?doing to make this happen?
Did I get the listing on my Buyer's existing home?
If not, why not?
If it was out of the area did I refer the listing to another broker and collect a referral commission?
Am I"?a professional?
Do I know what I am"?doing?
If not, what am I doing to change that?

The Market -- Do you know the market?

What's the best rental property buy in"?your county today?
Why aren't you or one of your clients buying it?
It will be gone today if it is the best deal."? What's the next best deal?
What's the best single family home buy in the 1500 S.F. range?
What's the best 1 bedroom condo buy?
What's the best 2 bedroom condo buy?
Best home in 2,500 S.F. range?
And so on ---
These deals will be gone today if they are the best deals."? Why aren't you or your clients buying them?

Analysis --

What are the side by side comparisons for a specific property for a client that buys now compared to the same client if they wait until next year to buy?
What if interest rates are 2 percentage points higher next year?
What if the units appreciate at 10%?
At 8%?
How much more will they have to pay?
What will their payment be compared to today?
How much equity did they loose?
What's the cost of procrastination?
How much per month?
How much per week?
How much per day?
Do you know?

If you can't answer these questions or have yourself in a program where you will be able to answer them very shortly, you need to look into another career.

Well that's probably more than enough unsolicited advice for now

Basically if things are not what you want them to be today, what are you doing that will make"?tomorrow different?

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