WE ALL DO IT.

Prospecting that is. Whether you know it or not, every day you prospect, some more than others but every time you talk to anyone about real estate that isn't already a client, you're prospecting. I define prospecting as any activity which will increase the odds of you doing business in the future. So in our market (which is a little more difficult) I'm CONSTANTLY looking outside the box for new and inventive marketing and prospecting activities, hence ActiveRain.

I was wondering if anyone else would be willing to share their most constructive activities, I'm doing all the usual stuff but I was wondering if anyone had any BRILLIANT ideas!!

I'll start off and say that the things I'm finding the most success with are generally the things that OTHER AGENTS ARE NOT WILLING TO DO. Lets face it, everyone and their mom has a real estate license, we gotta be a little more aggressive in our market in order to survive! I've found success with:

expired and cancelled listings - You gotta get up early, you gotta dial them and sound confident and aggressive, and when they don't pick up, dial them again later. The right prospect will be EXCITED to hear from you and the key to making this work is doing it EVERY DAY.

Phones/floor time - It's an old stand by and I like doing it because you're waiting for the million dollar call or walk in and you can also be doing other activities that are productive.

FSBOs - The nice thing about these is that there's an over abundance. I look them up while I'm on phones and later on I'll call and be very direct with them. Don't spend a lot of time on them until you know if they're interested in talking with you.

Door knocking - I know, most agents DREAD this. It's not my favorite thing either but the right client, when you find them, will be very impressed that you took the time to show up on their doorstep. If they aren't the right client, it's over pretty quickly. :)

Mass Mailing - Did you know that if you pay for a bulk mail license its a once a year fee and you get unlimited postage. I've gotten response by marketing to different areas and being very specific to them. i.e. if I'm marketing to an apartment complex looking for first time home buyers I try to say things that will benefit them specifically "first time buyer specialist" or I mention that I know all the tax breaks and incentives for buying rather than renting and I can save them big $$$.

Thats a lot of what I'm doing that seems to work. I honestly believe there's enough business out there for all of us, and I'm more than happy to share my strategies (especially with people who live no where near me!) and I hope my ideas help you and that everyone posts something out here to hopefully help others. If you have questions for me about any of this stuff or you want me to elaborate, post a comment and watch the blog, I'll respond.