“Leads and Profits, Leads and Profits.” I’ve trained myself to think those words at the beginning of every day. How do I get more leads and maximize profits? It wasn’t too long after I entered the mortgage industry that I recognized the do or die of our business revolved around my ability to consistently generate new leads. If I wanted to eat, I had to become a ninja at getting new leads.
I’m an avid reader and our office is made up of mostly entrepreneurial spirits so we are always building a “must read” list. I came across what I’d consider to be the bible for systematically generating leads in a relationship driven market. Gary Keller’s book “Millionnaire Real Estate Agent” answered most of my questions. Keller took a small no-name real estate brokerage in Texas and turned it into a national brand. He invested heavily in researching systematic lead generation.
His entire approach to marketing for his agents is built on this premise:
“People that know you and that you market to are more likely to use your services than people who do not know you and that you are marketing to.”
His research found that for every 12 relationships that you systematically market to each year, you can expect two transactions. One will be a direct buyer or seller, and the other will be a referral. Compare that to your marketing efforts towards strangers. He found that for every 50 people that you market to that you don’t know, you can expect one transaction. Which approach makes more sense?
There’s a reason that credit card companies consistently send you mail-outs every week. Their research has shown that most Americans will at some point apply for a credit card, the question is whose name will be in front of them when that time comes?
Same principal applies in our industry. Next time your old high-school or church friend is looking for financing, whose name will they have in front of them? If it’s not you, it should be.
Let’s take a quick inventory. How many of your relationships know the following:
What you are doing now?
What your unique selling propositions are?
What services you could offer to them?
Who your ideal client is?
How they can help you?
I’d like to suggest that Facebook will become your best friend in communicating the above information and ultimately help you generate more leads. There are over 200 million active users in the U.S. Half of those active users check Facebook at least once a day. Facebook contains a gold mine of information.
Where else can you obtain a list of every person you went to junior high, high school or college together? How about finding old fraternity brothers or church members, co-workers, or old family? Friends? All the information you need is available on a person’s profile. Where they live, what they are doing, what their kids’ names are, what their current job is, emails, phone numbers, etc. You can export this data and import it into your CRM of choice (I use Highrisehq.com ).
From there it’s just a matter of reconnecting with old relationships and systematically staying in front of people. I use a step by step plan that involves sending direct messages, liking posts and photos and commenting on profiles. It helps minimize the relational distance and fosters a fresh connection with an old friend. I like to begin by catching up with people and seeing where they are in life. Eventually I go for the “ask” regarding my business, but that's not my only aim. My aim is to ultimately be a good friend and see where people are in life. If you are faking it then they will spot you a mile away. Authenticity is foundational to every step. If I can help with their next purchase, then all the better.
I know that as I'm faithful in sowing seeds of my business with my relationships I'm going to see new leads every day. It keeps me top of mind, but in a relational likeable way, not in the “oh it’s that guy again” and it lets me build meaningful relationships that are the foundation of any good business. You can do the same.
