Networking To Expand
Your Sphere Of Influence
Social networking is a proactive process that enables you to make personal contact with people you don’t know. These people could be prospective clients or they might know others whom they can refer to you. As well as increasing the number of people you know, this approach will also invariably increase the flow of prospects and the number of people willing to recommend you and make referrals to you.
Your Sphere of Influence
Establishing and maintaining personal contact with others creates a pool of sources from which you can draw clients, resources, referrals and new business opportunities. It is through this pool, called a “sphere of influence”, that other people will make referrals and recommendations to you. If you haven’t already done so, compile a list people whom you know and who might be able to help you. Good basic customer management software such as ACT! or Maximizer will simplify this process.
Opportunities To Connect With People
For many people, the best way to make the connection with others is by joining and actively participating in clubs and organizations such as clubs and social, athletic, or cultural groups. Many business and trade associations incorporate mix-and-mingle activities into their meetings. In business, it is important to establish and maintain contact with other people. As a result, there are a number of groups whose primary purpose is to facilitate making connections among its members. Making personal contact offers the opportunity to demonstrate the personal traits by which you appear
successful, and by extension,
trustworthy
. The most successful agents are committed, tenacious and willing to learn from others. These characteristics are not exclusive to real estate related activities. They are equally applicable to active participation in the work of organized groups and associations. Similarly, clients’ expectations of their agents are not unique to real estate. Factors such as diligence, flexibility, good listening, and helpfulness can benefit organizations and their members as much as they help clients. Also, through personal interaction and active participation in appropriate clubs and organizations, you can demonstrate their commonality with others. Without a doubt,
networking is one of the best ways to generate leads.
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Benefits of Networking
- Increase personal contacts
- increases the potential to attract prospects by referral
- excellent source of pre-qualified prospects
- Personal Contact
- facilitates the development of better and longer lasting relationships
- Minimal Cost
- no direct cost to making new contacts and adding them to your network
Drawbacks of Networking
- Slow response time
- seldom delivers instant responses.
- often takes months if not years to generate results
- Resistance from other members
- Committed members often resent other members whose primary purpose in joining is to prospect for clients
- Competition from other members
- May wind up competing with each other for the same prospects and leads
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How to Enjoy The Benefits,
Minimize The Weaknesses
Ideally, your networking should generate the as many leads as possible with least amount of unproductive time. The best, perhaps only way to achieve this is to work smart. This means undertaking your networking as a component of you prospecting plan.
Generating Referrals
is an e-book that contains 4 strategies which will you sell more real estate. Among other useful features, it contains a self-study exercise that will help you develop a prospecting plan, which will include all strategies for generating leads. In developing your plan, it is important to consider your willingness and ability to undertake a variety of prospecting activities. It’s also important to allocate appropriate money and time to each element of your prospecting. The self-study exercise includes tables that will help you with these allocations.
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