soi: A Ridiculously Easy Way to Charm Your Sphere of Influence Today
- 11/25/09 12:28 AM
Today you'll probably gets lots of Happy Thanksgiving ecards in your inbox.
Respond to each and every one. Won't take more than a few seconds. Just hit that REPLY button, say something nice, e.g., "Thanks for thinking of me - have a wonderful holiday!" or, take it a step further and initiate a get-together after the holiday, e.g. "Wow- I was just thinking about you - let's go have coffee!"
Feel free to send me YOUR Thanksgiving ecard and watch me practice what I preach!
jennifer@sellwithsoul.com
p.s. if you're on my mailing list, watch your email over the … (17 comments)
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soi: It's That Time of Year Again... Doo-Dad Time!
- 11/02/09 10:09 PM
Ahhhhhhh... flickering jack-o-lanterns... the changing o'the leaves... the first snowfall... chestnuts roasting on an open fire... and time to order your end-of-year Doo-Dads!
Every year 'round this time, real estate agents open their checkbooks (or, better said, key in their credit card numbers) and spend millions of dollars on calendars and other Doo-Dads designed to be distributed to anyone and everyone who crosses their paths. The goal? Why, to ensure that every human being on the planet knows who they are, what they do and how to reach them, of course!
A worthy goal, indeed.
Even I, staunch opponent of … (35 comments)
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soi: "Jennifer, What Do You Think of Client Appreciation Parties?"
- 10/23/09 11:19 PM
Earlier this week, I spoke on the subject of Selling to Your Sphere of Influence - No Sales Pitch Required! at the Colorado REALTOR Convention.
As I usually do, I did my best to debunk many of the sacred cows of the SOI- business model training industry, such as how important it is to ask for referrals, why it's a great idea to categorize your friends based on their history of referring to you - stuff like that.
The crowd seemed to accept my protestations that this behavior is not only obnoxious, but that it's not terribly effective. Cool.
I closed my presentation by encouraging the … (83 comments)
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soi: Break My Leg! Wish Me Luck for My First Convention!
- 10/19/09 12:08 AM
Deep breath. "Good morning, thank you for coming today...!"
Tomorrow (Tuesday) morning, I'm doing my very first REALTOR Convention speaking gig. In Colorado. At the Broadmoor Hotel & Resort, in case you'll be in the neighborhood. My topic? Oh, you can probably guess - "Selling to Your Sphere of Influence, No Sales Pitch Required!"
2.25 hours of scintillating discussion as to how to generate business and referrals from your Sphere of Influence without spending a fortune, jeopardizing your friendships or pestering a soul. If you follow my blog, you've no doubt read a thing or two about my feelings on the matter … (44 comments)
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soi: Why Did My Friend Hire Someone else? Oh, let me count the reasons...
- 10/02/09 01:48 AM
Ooooooh... it hurts. It hurts a lot. When someone you know hires someone other than wonderful YOU to represent them in the purchase or sale of a home.
It's painful - I know it is. I've been there and, especially in my first few years, was devastated every time it happened. So I get it. I understand why it can ruin your day. Especially if that paycheck would have reeeeeealy come in handy right about now. But you know what? When it happens, it's almost never personal. Seriously. No, I'm not saying that "business is business - get over it" - … (25 comments)
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soi: Pipeline 2010: The Very BEST Way to Fill Up Your Pipeline
- 09/14/09 11:02 PM
Thanks for joining me for this little series on what you can do TODAY to ensure a Happy Next Year! The final installment is my favorite one - The Very BEST Way to Fill Up Your Pipeline.
Any guesses as to what it might be?
Below is a blog I wrote on the subject sometime last year, so in the interest of getting to my vacation (woo hoo!) I'm re-posting it here. However, first, a word from our sponsor.
The Pipeline 2010 series was included in the 2009 Summer of Soul teleseminar program which just finished up at the end of … (17 comments)
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soi: PIPELINE 2010 - Nurturing Your Relationships TODAY for Business Tomorrow
- 09/11/09 11:23 PM
You didn't think I'd forget about your Sphere of Influence (SOI) in my Pipeline 2010 series didja'? Of course not...
If you've followed my blog at all, you might have noticed that I'm a big fan of an SOI business model, as long as it doesn't include any begging, bribing or pestering those Very Important People Who Know You. At last count, I've written over 200 blogs & articles on the subject and there are three whole chapters in my upcoming book on it. It's my thang.
So, what can you do with your Sphere of Influence TODAY to fill your … (13 comments)
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soi: Can You "SOI" in a Resort Community (that is, can you depend on your sphere of influence for business)?
- 08/30/09 11:43 PM
So, you work in a resort community where most of the buyers and sellers live somewhere else. It's not likely you'll run into them at the grocery store or local coffee shop, and they probably won't be having a housewarming party you can finagle an invitation to (or even offer to host!). And unless their friends all decide they want to keep up with the Jones's and buy a vacation home, too, your past clients probably won't be a good source of referrals, no matter how deliriously happy they are with you.
CAN you rely on your Sphere of Influence … (9 comments)
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soi: Making New Friends to Sell Real Estate To - a Guide for Introverts & Other Reluctant Networkers
- 07/08/09 01:33 AM
I don't know what it is lately, but I'm getting slammed with emails from readers (that sounds negative, I don't mean it to be - I love hearing from y'all!) about how to meet people to add to their Spheres of Influence. Since a lot of my readers lean toward the introverted side of the personality teeter-totter, they bemoan the fact that they "just aren't that friendly" or "don't enjoy networking events." ME, TOO, and ME, NEITHER!
So, how does a not-that-friendly, networking-phobic real estate agent make new friends?
First, let's clarify why we might want to have more friends as … (46 comments)
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soi: Two Vastly Different Approaches... Two Successful Real Estate Careers
- 06/20/09 12:05 AM
I have a new soapbox that has fired up my blogging energy... doncha' love it when that happens? Off we go...
I had an interesting meeting last summer with a real estate agent who started in the business the same year I did, in the same company. That year, he was the Rookie of the Year ... and I was runner-up to him. Neither of us recall who was third, of course!
Anyway, we literally hadn't run into each other since that awards ceremony in the mid-90's. Oh, I've seen his name around and he's seen mine, but we've never … (23 comments)
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soi: The Real Estate Numbers Game in Reverse - Did You Impress More than You Annoyed?
- 06/19/09 02:50 AM
As the Introverted Real Estate Agent's New Best Friend (I just made that up), I give out a lot of advice on how to make a real estate career work even if you aren't the most outgoing, charismatic social butterfly in town. The other day I was asked about the appropriateness of adding people to your mailing list (either email or snail-mail) without their permission. Spam issues aside (we're talking about people we know, not strangers), many introverts are hesitant to begin any structured communication with a friend or acquaintance for fear of annoying them.
I get that. Oh, how … (15 comments)
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soi: Does Your Friend Owe You a Courtesy Call When She Hires Someone Else?
- 06/03/09 12:38 AM
Question: "I understand that I won't always get my friends' business, but when I don't, is it reasonable to expect a courtesy call explaining why they hired someone else?"
It's tough when someone you know entrusts their real estate business to another agent, isn't it? When you're new, the disappointment can take days to get over, but even for Old Fogies like me, it'll still sting for an hour or two.
I believe that it's best to give your friend the benefit of the doubt and assume that she had a perfectly good reason for her decision not to bring … (25 comments)
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soi: UNSUBSCRIBED! Some Random Thoughts on the Matter...
- 05/02/09 11:37 PM
If you have a mailing list with that handy-dandy UNSUBSCRIBE option, you probably know how painful it is when someone does... that is ... UNSUBSCRIBE!
Of course, I'm mildly devastated (is that an oxymoron? Yes, I believe it is) when I get my little report of unsubscribes after I've sent out a newsletter - either to my readers or my real estate Sphere of Influence. After doing it a few years now, my skin has toughened a little bit, but still... it's not something that's ever gonna feel good, right?
But here are some random thoughts on the matter of unsubscription.
• … (25 comments)
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soi: Real Estate Agents - A Better Approach to: "I Return Calls Between x and y..."
- 03/31/09 12:24 AM
"Hi, this is John and you've reached my voicemail. Your call is important to me and I return my calls between 1:00 and 2:00 and 5:00 and 6:00. Please leave a message and I'll call you back during those hours."
The first time I heard this outgoing voicemail message I didn't realize it was a script from a program; I just knew I didn't like it. Why? I'm not sure, really (maybe others who feel the same way can shed some light) - the closest I can come is that I almost felt scolded, as if I called at an inopportune time … (40 comments)
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soi: Antenna Up for Follow-up (to "Impress" Your Sphere of Influence)
- 03/30/09 05:25 AM
Awhile back, I wrote a blog called "Touching versus Impressing." The gist of the blog was that taking the time to "impress" one person may be far more effective than "touching" a hundred. I challenged agents to strive to "impress" at least one person a week.
So, want an easy way to get your once-weekly impressing duty done? Every time you have a conversation with someone, make an effort to learn One Thing about them that you can follow up on in a week or so. And once you've identified that One Thing, WRITE IT DOWN somewhere to remind yourself to follow … (19 comments)
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soi: Can I "SOI" if I'm New to Town?
- 03/26/09 01:40 AM
You may not have noticed, but I've been away from the Rain for about two weeks (except for a few little housekeeping blogs). Blog burnout - it happens and it's usually good for the soul... What have I been doing? WRITING MY NEXT BOOK! Outta nowhere, I was in the mood to create the next masterpiece (tee hee), so that's where all my creative energy went. And... voila! The first (very preliminary) draft is done!
So here I am.
Got a question this morning from a reader about SOI'ing* in a new town. And, whaddya' know, I'd just written about this topic … (16 comments)
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soi: SOI 105 - The Four Branches of Your Sphere of Influence
- 02/24/09 11:30 PM
Been doing a little private SOI (Sphere of Influence) tutoring with some local Denver agents. Yesterday, as I was working with one of my students, she asked me a question that got me thinking (I love that). She asked "So, my goal is to expand my Sphere of Influence database to a certain number by the end of the year?"
Well, sorta. At least, that's probably one of your goals. But as I answered her question I realized that there are really four different branches of an SOI business model, thus four different "goals" to shoot for as you build your … (16 comments)
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soi: SOI 104: "I Think I've Blown it with my Sphere of Influence. Can I Recover Their Support?"
- 02/09/09 11:35 PM
"Dear Jennifer,
I've been reading your blogs about SOI and my heart is sinking. I think I've blown it with my Sphere of Influence by constantly asking them for business and referrals. Is there a way I can redeem myself with my friends, or do I have to go make all new ones?
Bill"
I get this question a lot! Mostly from new or newer agents who have been brainwashed into believing that an SOI (Sphere of Influence) business model means that they're supposed to drive their friends nutso with constant reminders of their love for referrals. Most tell me that:
… (18 comments)
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soi: SOI 103 - "My Daughter's Best Friend's Parents Just hired Another Real Estate Agent! "
- 02/09/09 12:32 AM
"Dear Jennifer,
Got up this morning and saw that my daughter's best friend's parents listed with someone else! They've been on my mailing list and their daughter and my daughter have been best friends since grade school. I'm crushed. Should I continue to send them things or take them off my list?"
Jane"
I get these letters all the time - people who have embraced my Sphere of Influence (SOI) philosophy and then feel kicked in the teeth when someone in their SOI hires another real estate agent. They almost seem angry at me for leading them to believe that they … (108 comments)
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soi: SOI 102 - The SECRET to a Successful Real Estate Sphere of Influence Business Model
- 02/05/09 10:17 PM
Thanks for the Gold Star yesterday for my first SOI 101, AR Gods! So, to continue the message, here's SOI 101 Lesson #2 - The SECRET to running a successful SOI business model.
Sphere of Influence = The People Who Know You.
Here 't'is.
The secret to running a successful SOI-based business is to be a great real estate agent who loves her job and knows her market and stays in touch with the people she knows, without ever pestering them for business or referrals.
That's it! That's the secret! To be a great real estate agent who loves her job … (22 comments)
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