(This is the 5th post in a 9 part guide, please read them in order)
How do you master prospecting in real estate?
I’m going to try to keep this as simple as possible, because lots of agents overcomplicate this and end up killing their business.
There are only a handful of reliable methods of prospecting. You have to pick one of these, and they’re all going to suck. Don’t hold your breath waiting for an easier one to appear, and definitely don’t go try discovering something new.
A big mistake new agents make is spending the first 6-12 months of their business evading the reality of prospecting. The moment an agent finally stops evading, and instead embraces prospecting is the the moment their business takes a 180 degree turn and heads for greatness.
For the agents who quit the business, it’s simply because they never had that moment.
So what are the most reliable methods of prospecting? By reliable, we are talking about proven, tangible results.
- Phone prospecting (remember to respect Do Not Call list legislation)
- Door knocking
- Farming (in addition to using a combination of 1+2)
Here are activities people will argue that qualify as prospecting, but really they are forms of lead generation.
- Social media posts
- Paid ads such as Facebook or Google ads
- Website
- Networking or events
- Newspaper ads
If you want to predictably make good money in real estate, choose to get good at any activity from 1 to 3.
Phone prospecting and door knocking are the most proactive forms of prospecting, and will require no upfront money to start. Your brokerage will also likely have training resources to get you started and you can find a variety of objection handling guides online to help you understand the framework.
Farming is the best way to build a viable real estate business that will lead to consistent listings in a given area. I have a farming guide which can help you become an expert.
Regardless of which prospecting or lead generation method you choose, you’re going to need a strong real estate mindset to succeed.
In real estate, if you haven’t had any uncomfortable conversations or faced a number of rejections that day, you haven’t prospected enough. As with any other sales career, your success is often correlated to how much pain and failure you can endure.
In fact, the highest paid people in the world are the ones that can tolerate the most amount of pain and discomfort. This applies whether you’re talking about athletes, business leaders, or influential people.
As a realtor, you don’t make money sitting at your kitchen table every night. You make money sitting at other kitchen tables.
** Word Of Caution*
Just because a trainer is telling you their wild success story and insisting you to do it their way, don’t jump so quickly. Take time to evaluate whether or not you currently have the time, expertise, skill sets, and resources to replicate what they did.
Remember that someone who is successful at one thing is telling you their experience. It’s simply their path to their goal. Naturally, they’re convinced their way is the only way.
That’s why some people can be excellent at phone prospecting yet horrible at social media marketing. Others are fantastic at pushing deals but terrible at conflict resolution.
We’re all different people, and we won’t all share the same path to success. It’s up to you to pick up clues and decide what can be useful for you on your journey.
It may take some trial and error to determine which foundation of prospecting you’re going to build your business on, and the best way to start is to look at your personality traits.
** 2nd Word Of Caution **
You might be tempted to join a team or a brokerage that will give you leads. There is nothing wrong with that, and in fact as a new agent it will give you an excellent opportunity to get real experience working with prospects in the field.
Just know that the moment you decide to go solo and build your own business, you’re going to be starting from scratch since likely you weren’t taught how to prospect and lead generate on your own.
This can be a humbling experience if you’re an agent that can reasonably close deals, but have no pipeline of new clients. I’ve seen MANY successful buyer agents leave teams and struggle big time on their own, and it can be very deflating and costly unless it’s done with careful preparation.
Having a solid pipeline of incoming leads is the backbone of having a real estate business. Your priority is to master a method of prospecting and then do it every day (even if you don’t feel like it). Only agents who know how to prospect will have any longevity in this business.
Time to move onto Level 6: Discovering The Real Estate Business Model For You