Cure The Fear!!!!

Here we go!  Spring Market is right upon us, and as a former loan originator, I was very excited about the spring real estate market.  It was a phenomenal time to to build new relationships with realtor's and other business to business  relationships. I accomplished this by visiting open houses during the weekend, working the Minnesota parade of homes, attending networking events, and getting involved with the local real estate trade associations.
  
On the other hand, rewind a few months back and I can tell you my feelings were much different.   And in today's real estate market and you may have the same feelings!  The feeling I am referring to is the feeling of "where is the next deal going to come from?"  "What am i going to do?" "How am I going to make the income for next month"? Having that in your mindset creates a whole lot of fear and anxiety!!! Trust me, I was the master at creating fear and anxiety.  I even think I invented it, that's how much I worried! One day I got to the point where the fear and anxiety took over my business and I found myself paralyzed from creating new business.  Let me fill you in on a little secret!  Next month has not arrived yet.  In fact tomorrow has not arrived yet!  I was so worried about the future that I was not committed and focused on what I can control today. 


So you may be asking "what is the cure for the fear"  Simple; Lead Generation and Activity!  Period.  


Here are some tips that helped me in Curing my fear!  

• Create  a plan of attack when it comes to daily activity and Identify what types of Lead Generation activities you are going to do! (See Prior Blog, "Quickest way to Generate a Viable lead"). e.g Call through list of relationships, make contact with your business to business clients, past clients, etc....  
• Utilize your led generation time well.  Create a mindset of Dollar Productive Time (DPT).  Make sure the activities that you are doing are going to yield in leads that will transition into Income! 
• Set your Activity goals on a daily basis!   How many calls are you going to make? how many contacts are you going to add to your list of relationships on a weekly basis?  how many personal notes are you going to write?  marketing campaign etc......  
• Most of all, have a positive mindset when making your calls.  Someone has to write the mortgage, Sell the property, help with the buyers, and close the transaction!  Why can't it be you?????   It will be you!!!!! A toxic mindset will destroy your business.  

Listen, I know that phone can look as big as the Grand Canyon when your about to lead generate, but the anxiety level and guilt only gets worse if you don't make the calls!   What's the worst your contacts are going to say?  No! Then move on and have an attitude of, "their loss"!!!!!   

Fact of the matter is, if at this moment, you are reading this blog, it may mean that you are still in the business and already made it through the tougher times.  Congrats!   We are almost there for a great change in the Real Estate market! Stay consistent, heighten your lead generation activity, be patient, and most of all, have that Positive Market Mindset!   That will Cure the Fear!  

Quickest Way to Generate a Viable Lead!

Here we are already into the 2^nd month of 2011 and the spring market is right upon us.  As a Realtor or Loan Originator, what activities are you doing to gear up and generate a viable lead for the spring market?

Here could be the answer!  

The fastest way to generate a lead now is through your list of relationships, or what most of us know in the business as a database.  Through my years of sales training, consulting, and loan origination, the most under utilized tool a sales professional has is their current list of relationships (Database).  In the real estate business we can get caught up in searching for where the next deal is coming from.  We start looking at purchasing leads, hitting up real estate agents, loan officers, or looking for the next magical system that will take us to the next level in our career.  Don’t get me wrong, these are viable activities and necessary to conduct business, but there is also nothing like working by referral! 

Tips on calling your list of relationships! 

• Make sure you have a viable database management system.  (if you don’t, ask me how)
• Call through each person on your database and gauge their willingness to refer you?  Qualify them.
• Just engage in conversation.  Be natural!  Begin calling clients you have already done business with in the past.  They will welcome your call and it will be great to reconnect.  It’s also a confidence booster. 
• Remember, your database is not about quantity, but about quality.  Make your clients work for you! 

These are a few tips to get you started!  Good luck, stay consistent, and have a positive market mindset.