Do You Need A Jump-Start?

One way to jump-start your real estate business is to let go of the past.

What do I mean by that? Here's what I mean.

Do you still have the names and phone numbers of prospects from last year?

No? Come on. Everyone does.

I have one person, who's been looking off and on again for well over a year.

Why do I still continue to work with her? Because I hope she'll buy something soon and I have a lot of time invested in her. But the reality is she's costing me money and balance in my life. She won't make a decision. I need to let her go. She needs to buy a home or I'll have to refer her to someone else.

She doesn't constantly call though. She only calls me every few weeks or months to see a home, but the fact is I'm tolerating her, hoping to find her a home and get paid. You may say that's harsh, but we're running a business and prospects like her can really cost you business.

Think about this: every time you show homes, including drive time, you can easily spend an hour and a half. Or if you go on a listing appt, where you didn't ask pre-listing questions over the phone ahead of time, there goes another 2 - 3 hours of your life.

You need to value your time and use it wisely.

Don't let un-motivated customers take away your time. If you have several customers like this, you may definitely have a false sense of security, thinking business is great,when it's really not.

So, who have you been working with from the past 6 months or so (buyers or sellers), that you need to let go or refer out?

Whether they're a buyer or seller, you need to have a heart to heart chat with them and see if they are really ready to make a move now.

I believe at times we all like to hold on to prospects, who we think will buy, but in reality, they won't buy anything. We'd rather have their information, thinking we have a customer, than go out and prospect for new customers.

It's time to decide: do you want to have the "dead wood" keeping you down or wouldn't it be more exciting and financially rewarding to get some new customers, who will actually buy or sell a home?