Contact Strangers & Add ThemTo Your Social NetworkWhen you exhaust the number of people you know, contact strangers to add to your social network.Don’t Take It PersonallyBeing able to contact strangers does not ensure that they will respond favorably to your contact. Several factors that are totally beyond your control will eliminate the possibility of a stranger responding to your request. Some people routinely disregard all requests from strangers. In other cases, your request may not have even reached the person you wish to contact. If your request is ignored, don't take it personally or even consider it bad manners on the part of the person you wish to contact. Strangers have no legal or moral obligation to talk to you. Top Contact Strangers Whose Names You KnowNormal business conversations invariably include references to people who are doing some interesting things.Although you do not know these people, other people involved in the conversation probably do know them. When you hear the name of some one you to whom you would like to speak, make a mental note of the name. You might ask some one who is involved in the conversation to arrange a referral. If it is neither appropriate nor convenient to ask during the conversation, make it a point to follow-up later. If you aren't lucky enough to arrange a referral, find out where the person works or lives. You can most likely get a phone number from online. Regardless of how you obtain the telephone number, before you contact strangers, consider why you are calling and what you will say. Why are you calling? Maybe it’s to gather information, ask or a referral, or establish a referral partner relationship. Or there may be some other reason. What is it? Be prepared to identify yourself by name and explain the circumstances under which you heard about the person. It might also be necessary to further identify yourself by who you are as a real estate agent and your market niche. Once you have completed the call add the new contact (who is now longer a stranger but part of your social network) to your data base and do your follow-up. Top Contact Strangers Whose Names You Don't KnowIn the business world there are millions of people who can help you whose names you don't know.You will meet some of these people in the normal course of building and developing your business. There are, however many more helpful but unidentified people. You are likely to find these individuals helpful, if you can find out who they are. In today's Information Age there is more information about more topics than ever before. It is reasonable to expect that if individuals have unique and specific knowledge about a particular topic, there will be some reference to these people, somewhere online. The important thing to remember is that just because you and your contacts do not know some one who can help you, it doesn't mean that person does not exist. It just means that you must work a little harder, perhaps turning to the Internet for more social networking, to contact strangers who can help you succeed. Strategy GR-1 in Generating Referrals will help you communicate to attract prospects. Top
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