Did you know you already have a bunch of leads, sitting in your back pocket, just waiting for you to activate them?
I recently hosted a workshop with my good friend Craig Grant about leads… leads that agents already have, but may not be thinking about and keeping top of mind. We really wanted to get agents brainstorming… leadstorming if you will, so we covered every possible group of contacts we could collectively think of – and we came out with dozens of possible lead sources.
As a real estate agent, you should be leadstorming multiple times a year, so I thought it would be helpful to make sure the replay of this free workshop was readily available to you, plus I wanted to lay out the strategy in writing so you could quickly refer to all the potential lead groups as you repeat this exercise time after time.
You might want to grab a piece of paper so you can jot down things as we go, because we’re going to help you brainstorm a lot of names! Our goal today is to get 1-10 new people down on a sheet of paper that you can go out and contact today, but you could walk away with dozens more from this exercise. Don’t worry, we’ll also touch on how to nurture all these new leads until you have time to actively pursue them.
Elevate the Right Contacts
We all have people that we know, and they might be able to send us leads, but they’re not necessarily top of mind when we think about where to look for new business. We can’t just solicit deals from everyone we meet though, there’s a formula for finding leads in a sea of contacts.
At the end of the day, sales is always a numbers game. The more of X that you have, the more chances you have to get business. However if there’s no bond in place, typically your messages are going to be wasted, so it’s important that you focus on those quality relationships over a quantity of connections. Remember that your goal is not to have the biggest list – it’s to have the most profitable list – and that comes from elevating the right contacts in your system.
Big List Brainstorming Process
Now is the time to get that pen and paper ready, because we’re going to put our thinking caps on and work through 8 categories of contacts to explore for leads. We’re going to start by only listing names, but then we will work to assign each of these contacts a type (client, supplier, prospect, realtor), as well as into a lead quality category (A – Power Player, B – Past Client, C – General), and then discuss how to follow up with each of these contact groups.
As you read through each of the following categories, I want you to write down the first name that comes to mind – you can add more, but this is brainstorming, so just get names down on paper and keep moving through the process.
The Contact Groups to Explore
#1 People Who Have Referred You Business in the Past
- Past clients who have sent you a referral
- Close friends who have recommended your services to someone else
- Suppliers who have sent you business in the past
#2 People You Already Know
- Current and past clients
- All family members
- Immediate friends (this includes friends of your family and people you associate with)
- High school and college associates
- Current and former co-workers
- Spouses current and former co-workers
#3 Your Business Service Providers
- Mortgage lenders
- Appraisers
- Escrow and title officers
- Attorneys
- Accountants
- Home inspectors
- Architects
- Pest control services
- Home insurance representative
- Ad representatives
- Graphic artists
- Printers
- Sign suppliers
- Movers
- Builders you know or been have referred to
- Remodelers
- Plumbers
- Roofers
- Electricians
- HVAC or Mechanical companies
- Landscapers
- Pool maintenance providers
#4 Your Personal Service Providers
- Your Hair Stylist
- Florist
- Doctor
- Chiropractor
- Dentist
- Pharmacist
- Veterinarian
- Optometrist
- Stock Broker/Investment Advisor
- Retirement Account Manager
- Insurance Agents (Auto, Life, Casualty, Disability) – here’s where you can trade network lists and build strategic alliances
- Banker
- Auto Mechanic
#5 Fellow Organization Members
- Civic Organizations
- Your Religious Organization
- Clubs You Belong To (gold, tennis, hiking, cycling, gardening, sewing, card, travel, etc.)
- Children’s Activity Organizations: PTA, Day Care Provider, School Teachers, Intramural Sports
- Chamber of Commerce
- Better Business Bureau
- Fundraising Organizations you belong to…
- Local Boards: YMCA, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, etc.
- Fraternal Organizations
- Alumni Organizations
- REALTOR® Association
- Breakfast Clubs
- Toastmasters
- Networking Clubs in your area
#6 People Who Can Send You Business First (Before Anyone Else Knows)
- Divorce and Probate attorneys
- Accountants
- Carpet Cleaners
- Painters
- Remodelers
- Roofers
- Electricians
- Flooring Contractors
- Landscapers and Lawn Care
- Pavers
#7 Large Volume Business
- New home sales reps – if their leads and visitors don’t buy from the subdivision, perhaps they can be referred to you to buy a home
- Custom home builders – someone has to sell their spec homes
- Developers
- Relocation companies/Corporate relocators
- Human resource departments of local companies – they always know who’s moving to town
- Bird dogs – someone who refers clients to you and vice versa.
#8 Targeted Residents in Your Farming Areas
- Relatives, friends and neighbors that live near your past clients
- People you’ve developed relationships with simply from farming that area
- Residents who also own businesses within your target farm
You Have the Leads – What Next?
So, have you added a few extra names to your list at this point? The great thing about this list is, there are so many memory triggers here that everytime you go through this exercise, you’ll come up with new names that you can add to your sphere.
Categorize Lead Types
Once you’ve got names down on paper, I want you to go ahead now and categorize them by type, and we can use letters to make it easy:
C – Client
S – Supplier
P – Prospect
R – Realtors
Assign Lead Quality
Now, you need to assign some quality to them, again just use letters to mark them:
A – Power Player (these are the people who are hyper-advocates for your business, and have sent you referrals before)
B – Past Client (these are people who have already done business with you and are likely to work with you again or send you business)
C – General (these are people who you have a relationship with, but that you haven’t worked with or received referrals from)
Now, for the Follow Up
You’re obviously going to want to add these contacts into your contact manager and get them on a follow up program. I know it’s busy season and the market is off-the hook right now, so make sure you’re using a tool like Service For Life!® to stay connected with your highest quality contacts throughout the year.
If you start adding folks to your Power List, you’ll probably notice a lot of missing information on your list. It’ll be things like birthdays, kids names, home anniversary dates, etc. Would you like a simple resource to help capture this information…and in the process get new listings and buyers? Then let me help you get it done!
Here’s a pre-written letter that will help get you re-acquainted with your Power List, capture important information you’ll use to provide the best service, and most likely get a bunch of new business in the process!
If you’re interested in learning how to automate your follow up further, Craig and I are hosting several more FREE workshops over the next few weeks centered around leads, as well as a Master Class you can sign up for below:
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