Return for Effort

So often you hear people complain, “I make the calls, but I’m not getting any results!” If you find yourself in this position, perhaps you should do something about it. Prospecting, like all tasks a salesperson performs, must show a healthy return.

There is no delicate way to say this: if you cannot find sellers, and lots of them, then you probably won’t master the skill required to list them. You might as well face the fact that real estate is not for you and save yourself months of misery. Failing that, you have no choice but to get good at finding new sellers for your agency. Becoming good at this takes dedication, determination and courage.

The Mission
Why aren’t you finding at least one seller a day? Could it be that you haven’t thought about the day’s mission? Before you commence work, remind yourself of why you are doing this work: you are looking for a good quality seller, somebody who would list if they were given a winning listing presentation. Is this now clear in your mind? If so, how many ‘NOW Sellers’ will you find today? Write that figure in the top of today’s page in your diary under the heading of ‘Today’s Forecast.’ Do this every day without fail.

At the end of the day, write your day’s results at the bottom of the diary page under the heading “Today’s Results.” If you didn’t get a result that day, write 0. Do this every day without fail.

The Bonus
Before you first speak to potential sellers, remind yourself of your mission: to find a good NOW Seller and make a listing appointment. The mission is not to find future contacts. Future sellers are a bonus. When they become today’s appointment, and then today’s listing, they are a return for effort.

You cannot keep saying to your boss, “I’ve got lots of future sellers.” Most of the time, sellers tell you they are selling in the future just to get rid of you. Future sellers can quickly become an excuse for no results. Find a seller today and be grateful that, thanks to your future sellers, you won’t have to work as hard in days to come.

Two Causes
Because you are a winner, you know that your area is not to blame for low listings results. If you truly are making the calls, and the only way to be sure is to count the number of people you speak to daily, then two causes are likely.

The first is the words you use. People who do not find large quantities of sellers most often are not using a prospecting presentation that is a proven winner. They start with a script, but modify it, gradually watering down its effectiveness. The antidote to this is to find a proven winning script and learn it word-for-word. Stick with it. Change nothing.

But words are only part of the equation. The second cause of a poor call-to-list ratio is the prospecting presentation itself. A winning script in the hands of a poor presenter will get you nowhere. Practise the delivery of your winning words. Keep practising until you get it right.

Cure
After years spent studying why winners win, I have found that most, if not all, successful prospectors, indeed all successful people, have one common trait: they EXPECT results. Expectation is a big factor.

If you are ‘making the calls’ and not getting a satisfactory return for effort, which should be a minimum of three good listings a week, begin with your level of expectation.

Focus on finding sellers. Over the next five days, speak to 250 people face-to-face at their doors. Knock on 5,000 doors if you have to, but speak to 250 people within five days.

But we’re not going to concentrate on numbers alone. We are after results. If you don’t have at least three good listings after that week’s work, role-play your script with your leader (or The Winners Circle Hotline if you are a member) and then speak with another 500 people face-to-face at doors.

This may sound tough, but it’s not as tough as failing.

People fail because they look for an easy way to win. For some this becomes a full time occupation, but eventually they give up, and leave real estate saying such things as, “I tried real estate but didn’t make enough money to justify the hours I had to work.”

What’s this ‘hours I had to work’ business? We are not paid for hours worked – salespeople are paid for results. In sales, ‘at work’ means talking face-to-face, voice-to-voice, with potential sellers, listed sellers (vendors), and with buyers. And these activities have to be done in balance. Anything else is wasting time.

Measured that way, most who fail in real estate might have spent a lot of hours at the office, but they were most definitely NOT at work.

By now you know that there is no easier softer way. You must make lots of calls. Be enthusiastic and fresh. Use winning presentations and learn how to present. Keep going until you get a result. Take no shortcuts.

You have courage, you are dedicated, and you want to win. You will perfect your presentation and your delivery. You will make the calls and you will get a great return for effort. You are a winner.

Gary Pittard