How Valuable Is Your Database?

We all have prospects at different levels of readiness to buying or selling.

We've all met prospects at open houses and written down what they're looking for in a property and expected to follow up with them later.

We all have clients, who have bought or sold from us in the past and have recently talked about making another move or buying an investment property.

The question is: Are all of these leads in your head or organized in a database that you actively use?

There's really 3 groups that you should continually focus on to keep your business moving:

1. Buying and Selling Prospects
2. Your Sphere of Influence
3. Your Clients (Past & Current)

In the first group, do you have name and phone numbers of leads spread around on Post-It Notes and little pieces of paper in your office, briefcase or car?

These prospects need to be pre-qualified by you, so that you can determine whether they are REAL leads or not. Are they working with more than one agent? Do they want to buy within the next 30 - 60 days? Have they been pre-approved by a reputable lender? (Critical in today's market) You need to pick up the phone and see how serious they are about buying and/or selling. Schedule an appt. If that's not an option at the moment, then see if they're spend a few minutes with you on the phone, so that you can better understand their needs. (See if they're being realistic and are motivated to act.)

If days or weeks go by and you haven't contacted these leads, they are probably dead. They've either already bought/sold or weren't serious about making a move at this time. Now you can contact them to see if they have done anything. If they have, wish them well. You didn't stay in touch with them. If they haven't done anything, then it's time to see if you can re-ignite their interest to take some action (with you).

In the second group, your sphere-of-influence (S-O-I) already knows of you through family, friends or co-workers, etc. Many times these people knew you from a previous profession or early in your life and they don't always think of you as a real estate agent. So how do you counter this situation?

I would send them postcards of your listings and sales. You may also want to start a real estate blog (ActiveRain Real Estate Network has a great blog & it's free) and share success stories and your real estate knowledge. Your S-O-I knows a lot of people, but you need to constantly remind them every 3 - 4 weeks that you can be their real estate resource for them and their family and friends.

In the third group, these people - your clients - trust you the most. (Notice I didn't say Past Clients - would doctors say 'Past Patients'? I don't think so. Your clients are either active or inactive.) This is your best group to receive referrals from, but you MUST stay in touch with them or they probably won't think to refer you.

If you've been in the real estate business for at least 2 - 3 years or more, you've definitely left money on the table. If you really thought about different names from the past, you probably could have closed at least another 2 -3 transactions per year, if you had a better system for following up with prospects. That's not to criticize you, but to move you into action, so that it doesn't happen to you again this year and into the future.

To your success,

Dan

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