sphere of influence: A Real Estate Writer's Simple Secret to Real Estate Agent Success
- 12/21/15 08:46 PM
I had an interesting conversation last week with a gentleman who wanted to pick my brain about how I transitioned from a full-time real estate career to a full-time writing and training career. He was thinking maybe he'd like to do the same.
So, we chatted. I regaled him with my story of going deeply into debt (read more here) and then to lighten things up a bit, I shared what I believe to be the SECRET of success in such an endeavor, at least in my experience.
Wanna know what it is?
"Nah, not really, I have no desire to be a real estate … (32 comments)
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sphere of influence: Ten Simple Ways to Use Your CRM to Stay In Touch with Your SOI
- 11/02/15 04:24 AM
It's time again to run our twice-a-year series on the always fascinating subject of Contact Management! Hey, don't knock it 'til you've tried it - good Contact Management can change your career and therefore change your life. Sounds melodramatic but it's true!
This week we'll hold our first session which will be a show-n-tell webinar where we not only TELL you how contact management can help you enjoy the success you've always dreamed of, but we'll also SHOW you how it's done, demo-style.
During the webinar, we'll share Ten Simple Ways to Use Your Contact Management System to Stay in Touch with Your … (2 comments)
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sphere of influence: Not Getting Referrals? It's NOT Because You Aren't Asking for them!
- 06/03/15 10:08 PM
Okay, so if you’ve been around SWS any time at all, you know how we feel about Referral-Begging. Don’t do it. Ever. Just don’t. Ever.
But, but, but…
Yeah, I’ve heard all the but but buts. No need to reiterate them here. (But feel free to search the Referral-Begging tag cloud here.)
Here’s the thing. If you aren’t enjoying a referral-based business, I promise you, I swear to you, I give you my solemn oath on a stack of Sell with Souls that it is NOT because you aren’t asking for them.
So, um, Ms. Smarty Pantz JAH, why is it so, then? WHY am … (10 comments)
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sphere of influence: Succeeding with Your Sphere of Influence is an Attitude… not a System
- 07/15/12 10:12 PM
This Thursday, July 19th, I'm doing a teleseminar show in the SWS Virtual Studio about running a Sphere of Influence (SOI) based business (see below to register). Not that I haven't talked on this subject a time or two (or 100), but for this upcoming show, I wanted to tackle it from a different direction - and from the perspective of someone who has never heard my thoughts on the matter.
I quickly realized that making an elevator speech out of my approach to SOI is not an easy task. Why? Because it’s not simply a system to follow, or a tool to implement or even … (12 comments)
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sphere of influence: So, My Contacts Are Loaded... What NOW?
- 08/16/11 12:37 AM
Last week we did a show-n-tell webinar in the SWS Virtual Studio about contact management - specifically what to DO with your contacts once they're loaded. Because, as nice as it is to have a place to safely store your precious sphere of influence contact details, having them in storage certainly isn't enough to justify either the effort it took to get them there, or the cost you'll incur to keep them there.
If you'd like to watch the video from the show, you can do that here: www.sellwithsoul.com/cms-contacts. It's a long one - nearly 90 minutes, but there's some good … (18 comments)
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sphere of influence: Is it Mercenary to "Use" Your Sphere of Influence for Business?
- 02/02/11 01:46 AM
Excerpted from my soon-to-be-released third book, Prospect with Soul (woo hoo!!)
Is it Mercenary to "Use" Your Sphere of Influence for Business?I often toss around the phrase "You never know who might lead you to your next $10,000 paycheck."
What I mean by that is that in our business, we get big paychecks we perform. And since most people you're going to meet either own or know someone who owns or wants to own real property, most people you're going to meet can potentially be or introduce you to your next client.
I've always been pretty transparent as to my "mercinariness" … (23 comments)
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sphere of influence: Using Your Contact Management System to Sell with Soul (A Free SWS Teleseminar)
- 01/04/11 11:13 PM
Contact Management! Woo Hoooooo! Now THIS is a topic you've been waiting all year (well, six days anyway) for, huh?!
Actually, I get more requests for recommendations on contact management than almost any other topic. Since I'm a big fan of running a Sphere of Influence (SOI) business, which naturally involves getting and staying in touch with one's Sphere of Influence, it seems obvious that I might be the perfect person to point you toward the perfect system for you.
Well, unfortunately, there is no perfect system and which one you choose will be a decision you'll need to make for yourself - which … (16 comments)
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sphere of influence: "Secrets of Successful SWS'ers" - The Unanswered Questions
- 12/10/10 01:06 AM
On Wednesday evening, we had a fantastic discussion (if I do say so myself) in the SWS Studio about succeeding in real estate without selling your soul. In other words - doing it YOUR way, using methods and strategies that feel good, feel right and don't feel, um, icky! It can be done - in fact, it should be done! So many agents think they have to do things that conflict with their gut instincts to be successful... and then wonder why things aren't going as well as they'd hoped. As one of my guest-hosts asked, rhetorically: "So, how's that … (15 comments)
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sphere of influence: Your Sphere of Influence - It's a Perfect Time of Year to Reconnect!
- 12/07/10 11:53 PM
Pretty much everyone agrees that one's sphere of influence can be a great source of business. But lots of agents hesitate when it comes time to actually implement a sphere of influence campaign - they don't know how to take the first step without coming across as phony or even mercenary.
I mean, really, you have this list of people - some friends, some acquaintances - to whom you've never, ever written, and most haven't heard boo from you in years... and suddenly you're just supposed to start communicating with them out of the blue?
Seriously?
I hear ya. Even … (36 comments)
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sphere of influence: "Dear Jennifer, I Don't Wanna SOI - I'd Rather Work With Strangers"
- 12/06/10 12:13 AM
"I don't want to work with my sphere of influence, I'd rather work with strangers!"
As the self-proclaimed Master of All Things SOI, I hear this a lot. Agents write to me (and occasionally call) to tell me why they don't wanna sell real estate for or to their spheres of influence. They explain that they don't want to risk their friendships, they don't want to mix business with pleasure, they don't want to discount their fees for friends and family, they don't wanna, they don't wanna, they don't wanna... yada yada yada.
And that's fine with me. To each … (14 comments)
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sphere of influence: "Dear Jennifer, Did You REALLY Do All This Stuff With Your SOI?"
- 11/16/10 12:18 AM
The other day an agent who is going thru my Savvy Prospector, Eight Weeks to a Full Pipeline for Life program emailed me to ask "Jennifer, did you really DO all this stuff when you were selling real estate?"
He asked because the Savvy Prospector (which helps agents build a sphere of influence business model from scratch) is pretty intense and he was feeling a little overwhelmed. My initial reaction to the question was "Well, of course I did. I wouldn't tell YOU to do it if I didn't do it! I practice what I preach!"
But... before I fired off … (14 comments)
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sphere of influence: How Often Do You Need to "Remind" Your Sphere of Influence that You Sell Real Estate?
- 10/12/10 01:24 AM
Had an interesting conversation with a friend of mine the other day. I was telling him about my recent Go-Giver Chronicles and interactions with Bob Burg (co-author of The Go-Giver). My friend mentioned that his first real estate agent helped him find a rental house when he moved to the area, free of charge. Just helped him. No compensation, no contracts, no obligation. Just helpful help.
So, my friend continued, when it came time for him to purchase a home in the area, he called up the agent and hired him to be his buyer agent. His point was that because the … (98 comments)
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sphere of influence: Your Sphere is More than Just Your Friends and Family
- 07/27/10 02:51 AM
Got a google alert this morning about an article that was just posted 'bout me in the Pennsylvania Association of Realtors' newsletter. I rather like it, so I thought I'd share...
Sphere Includes More Than Friends and Family
Tuesday, July 27, 2010 By Kim Shindle
Working a "sphere of influence" business is not about pestering friends and family to help you get leads, according to Jennifer Allan, owner of Sell With Soul, a real estate consulting company based in Florida.
"Your sphere of influence (SOI) is more than friends and family," Allan said. "To categorize your friends as to whether … (7 comments)
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sphere of influence: The Dorky Announcement Letter Refresher Course 2010
- 03/23/10 12:08 AM
Back in 2007, I wrote one of my most popular (and deservedly so, she says modestly) blogs ever. In fact, this one blog has brought more real estate agents to my website than any other, and continues to attract new souls to my midst on an almost daily basis.
I'm referring, of course, to the classic "Let's Do Away with the Dorky Announcement Letter." In this blog, I sternly advise new real estate agents to Think Before They Write to their spheres of influence, BEFORE they announce their venture into real estate as if it's the most exciting news since... oh, … (18 comments)
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sphere of influence: Turning Cheese into Soul - Newsletters - The Difference between "Meaningful" and "Interesting"
- 12/03/09 11:14 PM
The other day I got a very timely question from my cyber-friend Ron, considering this week's Cheese-to-Soul series.
Ron asked if I knew of a source for good real estate-related newsletter content that would be "meaningful" to his Sphere of Influence (his "SOI"). He's frustrated by the material available for purchase, most of which simply feels canned. Moreover, he's uncomfortable using much of it because it relates to topics he's NOT an expert in, such as tax planning, home staging and credit reports.
I agree. As I may have mentioned a time or two, I refuse to use canned, boilerplate material. I think it's cheesy … (13 comments)
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sphere of influence: 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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sphere of influence: 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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sphere of influence: "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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sphere of influence: 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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sphere of influence: 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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I had an interesting conversation last week with a gentleman who wanted to pick my brain about how I transitioned from a full-time real estate career to a full-time writing and training career. He was thinking maybe he'd like to do the same. 
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