Prospecting is not just something brokers do to fill their pipelines. Prospecting is a mindset, and for the most successful brokers, it’s a way of life.
If you work in commercial real estate, nobody has to tell you that prospecting today is exponentially harder than at any other time in history. Why is that? Here are four reasons:
- Prospects are busier than ever, making them distracted and difficult to reach.
- CRE representation services are now commonly considered to be mere commodities. Some people look at land, office space and retail bays as commodities.
- Brokers all sound and act the same. Too many of us utter the same meaningless jargon and gimmicky sales lines.
- Prospects have access to unprecedented information about brokers and their listings. They can find out anything they want about your company through a simple Google search. In many cases, they can find online reviews about you. They can go onto a discussion forum and solicit opinions about you and your products. They can go on CoStar or other real estate data sites and find out all sorts of details about a myriad of properties.
The problem with all this information is that it tends to be overwhelming, unfiltered and often taken out of context. Prospects are highly informed but not necessarily accurately informed.
The combination of these four challenges has forced prospective real estate clients to become price-sensitive and hesitant to engage with brokers they don’t personally know.
So, what can we do to rise above the fracas and succeed in a highly competitive real estate market especially during a time of crisis?
Prospect like “your life depends on it” – Because prospecting is harder than ever, you need to be more diligent. Like I mentioned earlier, prospecting is a mindset, a way of life. You could even call is a “lifestyle.” Embrace it. Welcome it. Do it every single day of the week. While prospecting can be nerve-wracking and frustrating, push through it. If you are positive about it, you’ve won half the battle.
It’s not about you – Always focus on what the prospects value, not what you care about. It’s never about you. It’s not about your company. It’s not about your listing. Think of yourself as a detective assigned to figure out how you can best help the mysterious person known as your prospect.
Apply discipline to your prospecting – Even though there are more enjoyable things to do as a broker, you have to make prospecting one of your top daily activities. You even have to do it on days you’re closing other deals. Top producers reserve blocks of time for prospecting and they don’t allow any distractions during those times. I know of no other use of your time that is more likely to lead to long-term brokerage success than being a dedicated, disciplined prospector.
Value-based language – When emailing prospects, leaving them voicemails or talking to them face-to-face, use compelling messages that catch their interest and are related directly to them and their companies. Good prospectors research and test language they can use when engaging potential clients. Ultimately, you want language that captures a prospect’s attention, conveys value, makes them feel comfortable sharing sensitive information with you and then compels them to make some sort of a commitment.
Make a plan – While you need to be an exuberant and disciplined prospector, you do need a plan. If you run to the nearest phone and start dialing cold prospects haphazardly, you’re wasting your time. Your plan should include what types of people you target, where you get leads, how you do pre-call research, the language you use to establish value and the tactics you use to push them further down your pipeline.
Did you know that prospecting is the number-one deficiency among commercial real estate brokers? It’s true. Most of the problems that agents complain about are ultimately caused by poor prospecting methods or a lack of prospecting discipline.
I want to make you aware of a unique prospecting resource available to you. It’s called the Dealmakers Sales Training Program, and it’s specifically designed for commercial real estate brokers.
CRE firms around the world are using this program, and they are happy with the results as evidenced by this comment from Logan Freeman of Clemons Real Estate in Kansas City, Missouri:
“I have always been a learner, and the best way I know how to learn, is to require myself to teach the content. Therefore, at almost every organization I have been a part of, I have implemented some sort of training. At Clemons Real Estate, I head up our training using Jeff Beals’ Dealmakers course. You HAVE to check it out!”
Even though Dealmakers requires a low investment, we still want you to be comfortable before you subscribe. You can check out a free sample module on “telephone and voicemail prospecting” by clicking HERE (simply fill in your name and email and then you’ll have access to the module).
If you’re ready to join Dealmakers now, click HERE.
