Selling Soulfully with Jennifer Allan

Prospecting with Soul... that's the name of a six-week Workshop I'm hosting that kicks off September 13th and goes through the end of October. And yes, there's a cost to participate and I suppose by writing this blog, I'm hoping you'll be interested enough in the Workshop that you'll consider participating. But that's totally up to you (well, duh, Jennifer, of course it is) - I won't be pushing or pitching it on you; if it's right for you, you'll know it.

Anyway, what do I mean by "Prospecting with Soul?"

Those who know me know that I'm not an airy-fairy, new-agey, karma-obsessed kinda gal. I'm actually pretty practical, so when I talk about doing Anything with "Soul" I'm not referring to anything, well, airy-fairy, new-agey or karma-obsessed!

The back cover of my book defines SELL with Soul as:"To enjoy a wildly successful career selling real estate by treating clients and prospects respectfully, as you yourself would like to be treated."

So then, what does it mean to PROSPECT with Soul?

It's quite simple. Basically, you don't subject your audience to a sales-pitch that would irritate you if you were the audience. You don't use prospecting strategies that wouldn't work on you, or that make you feel icky. When you Prospect with Soul, you come from a position of confidence drawn from the conviction that you are the Best Thing that Could Ever Happen to this Prospect.

When you Prospect with Soul, you never feel icky. You don't worry that your audience is dreading or is irritated by your approach. You never feel the need to apologize for your prospecting activities.

Which, I guess, probably makes it clear what I mean by Prospecting withOUT Soul. When you Prospect withOUT Soul, you do unto others stuff that would annoy you if done unto you. You ignore your gut when it tells you you're doing something icky. You have to psyche yourself up every day as you head into your blocked-off prospecting time because you absolutely dread it. You're starting to suspect that your audience (particularly your precious sphere of influence) is getting tired of you.

Most real estate training programs encourage, even celebrate Prospecting withOUT Soul. They tell us to suck it up, just do it and assure us that we'll get used to, even enjoy, all the rejection we'll encounter. They push us to venture way out of our comfort zones with dire warnings that if we refuse, we'll fail miserably.

But it doesn't have to be that way. You can prospect for business using strategies that feel good, feel right and, um, WORK.

And that's what the Prospecting with Soul Workshop is all about.

If you've gotten this far on today's blog, you're probably feeling one of two emotions:

One, you're certain I'm full of krap and are rolling your eyes in disbelief that it's possible to effectively prospect without annoying people - after all - annoying people is an integral part of the game.

Or two, you know I'm right.

If you know I'm right, but want to know more, please join me on
Wednesday for a free info-seminar on the upcoming
Prospecting with Soul Workshop.

REGISTER HERE

REGISTER FOR THE SHOW

I've been running a little series of teleseminar shows in the SWS Virtual Studio this summer about various topics of interest to agents who want to improve their listing strategies. From commission negotiation to intelligently pursuing expired listings to helping a seller price right - lots of fun stuff!

To wrap up the series, the next show is about being an exceptional listing agent who is truly a blessing to his or her seller clients. And being an exceptional listing agent is so much more than simply writing good MLS copy or creating beautiful brochures or even pricing right, although those things are certainly important.

Being an exceptional listing agent means that you know how to sell houses in your market. It's that simple... and that complex.

If you know how to sell houses in your market, you'll enjoy a power over your business that is exhilarating, even intoxicating. Even better, your confidence in your abilities as a listing agent will be apparent to every seller you talk to which will inspire them to BEG you to take their listing! (Okay, well, maybe not, but you know what I'm sayin').

Seriously, when you can walk into a listing appointment knowing that you ARE the best thing that could ever happen to this seller wanna-be, you'll get every listing you want. And what's more... you'll SELL more of those listings, thus enjoying the love, affection and referrals of your happy seller AND that sweeeet commission check you'll have earned for yourself.

Sound like fun? It IS.

Join us? It's on Wednesday, August 11th, at 7pm Eastern. Here are the details!

THE DETAILS
Date: Wednesday, August 11th, 2010
Time: 4:00pm Pacific / 5:00 pm Mountain / 6:00 pm Central / 7:00 pm Eastern
Duration: 60 - 90 minutes
Equipment Needed: Nothing fancy - just a phone and/or computer
Price: Freeeee, but you have to register, below

REGISTER FOR THE SHOW

Pricing it Right - Helping Your Seller See the Light! (A free teleseminar at Sell with Soul)

REGISTER FOR THE SHOW HERE

Pricing is tough enough in today's market (well, any market really), but sometimes the most difficult part of getting a listing priced right is convincing your seller you know what you're talking about!

Many real estate trainers advise you to use condescending scripts and dialogues to persuade a reluctant seller to price his home to sell. Hmmmm...the last time I checked, insulting the intelligence of your audience is a lousy way to build the trust and rapport you'll need to have a successful professional relationship!

There are alternatives to beating your seller prospects over the head with your facts, figures, opinions and dire warnings. Alternatives that won't only win you the listing, but will win you that listing at a price you can sell.

Join me and Loreena Yeo this Wednesday afternoon/evening in the SWS Virtual Studio for a discussion of intelligent and respectful methods to help your seller see the light.

THE DETAILS
Date: Wednesday, July 28th, 2010
Time: 4:00pm Pacific / 5:00 pm Mountain / 6:00 pm Central / 7:00 pm Eastern
Duration: 60 - 90 minutes
Equipment Needed: Nothing fancy - just a phone and/or computer
Price: Freeeee, but you have to register, below

REGISTER FOR THE SHOW HERE

In mid-May, I spoke at the F.C. Tucker CE Extravaganza in Indianapolis. I was one of four speakers who each delivered a 2-hour CE-approved presentation on a topic (hopefully) of interest to the crowd of 250 or so real estate agents.

The first speaker of the day was Michael Russer - aka Mr. Internet. He talked about Dominating Your Online Market. Up next was Dirk Zeller who spoke on The Top Ten Things to Build and Grow a Successful Real Estate Team. Then me, talking about Turning For Sale Signs into Paychecks. Last, but not even close to least was the delightful John Hamilton who kept the audience awake after a long day of classes with his lively discussion on Negotiation.

Four different speakers. Four very different voices. Different philosophies, messages, approaches and strategies to accomplish basically the same goal - success as a real estate agent.  

After my presentation, several audience members pulled me aside to tell me that they loved what I had to say and that my message resonated with them "more than the other speakers' did." Now before you think I'm just telling you this to blatantly brag, I'm 100% positive that the other speakers had similar post-program conversations.

And that's cool. Because you know what? There isn't one path to success in a real estate career. No, not even "mine." There are a gazillion different personalities who enter this business and it seems patently obvious that no One Approach Fits All is going to, well, Fit All.

But I guess it isn't obvious to many corporate real estate training directors. I can't tell you how many agents write to me in frustration that their office pushes a certain brand of training (usually affiliated with one or another Big Name trainers), to the exclusion of any other approach. These agents are usually asking me for advice on how to break it to their brokers that they are followers-of-SWS and won't be knocking on doors or begging their friends for business, but this dilemma applies to any agent, regardless of their preferred prospecting style.

In fact, every once in awhile I'm approached by a real estate broker/owner asking if I'm interested in helping him or her put together a SWS-based training program. Am I interested? You betcha. But I always tell the broker/owner that I don't think it's a good idea because not every agent is a good fit for Selling with Soul, and I hate the thought of my beloved philosophies being shoved involuntarily down anyone's throat.

So, first, hat's off to Kathy Collings and F.C. Tucker for bringing in a variety of voices to speak to their agents about successfully selling real estate.

And second, if you're in charge of your company's training program, please give some thought to offering your agents a variety of training philosophies; not just the one that resonates with you, or is, ahem, highly recommended by corporate. You might find your agents happier, more productive and more likely to stick around! Everyone wins!!

In early June, we (expired-listings-god Borino and I) held a teleseminar in the SWS Virtual Studio about Soulfully Prospecting to Expired Listings. Our goal was to assure agents who Sell with Soul that they can, indeed, succeed with expireds without resorting to pushy, cheesy or silly tactics and pitches.

But so many questions came in during the show ABOUT the nuts and bolts of an effective expired listing strategy that we realized it made sense to DO a nuts and bolts show about an effective expired listing strategy.

So, that's what we're doing. (And no, it is not an infomercial for his or my products; promise).

In this follow-up show, we'll talk about...

• The 3 most effective ways to contact expireds
• What to say (and NOT to say on the phone)
• What to bring with you when meeting them in person
• How to set up an effective mail campaign
• Three things you can do to instantly stand out from the rest of the crowd
• What if they say: "We don't know what we gonna do" or "We're not ready."
  

If you're considering adding expired listings to your prospecting plan, or hoping to improve the plan you're already using, please join us! And invite your friends!

THE DETAILS
Date: Wednesday, July 14th, 2010
Time: 4:00pm Pacific / 5:00 pm Mountain / 6:00 pm Central / 7:00 pm Eastern
Duration: 60 - 90 minutes
Equipment Needed: Nothing fancy - just a phone and/or computer
Price: *Freeeee, but you have to register HERE.

REGISTER FOR THE FREE SHOW HERE

The program will be recorded, but not distributed publicly. You can attend the live show free, or purchase a recording of it afterwards for $3.99 here. Or, you can join Club SWS for $10/month and receive all recordings of all SWS shows and a bunch of other stuff.

I rarely write about politics. Mostly because I don't care about politics. I'm clueless about politics. I've never attended a City Council meeting and I have no idea who my state representatives are. Put me in front of the TV during a political debate and I'll be asleep in minutes.

I'm just not into organized politics.

I do, however, have a political ideology. I'm right of center; some might say way right of center. I don't think I'm a "right-wing nut-job" as I was referred to elsewhere on AR (is it really nice to name-call in a public forum?), but I've yet to find a liberal bone in my body. It's not a decision I made one day; it's just who I am. And probably who I shall always be.

But because I've never written about politics, I didn't realize how touchy a topic it can be. Oh, sure, I've always HEARD that you should never discuss religion or politics in public, but call me naive; I guess I thought I was above that sort of thing. Believe me, I'm usually up for a good debate, but the venom that came my way a few weeks ago from my blogs ‘bout BP left me shaken.

I expected some disagreement and debate over the issue at hand. And I got that, to be sure. But I also got slammed by those on the other side of the political aisle for being a supporter of Big Business (yes, I am; small business, too); for being a capitalist (no argument there) and for being suspicious of the current administration (um, yeah).

More than one person wrote to me saying that they were not interested in taking real estate advice from someone so clearly on the "wrong" side of the aisle; even that they regretted listening to my advice in the past. Not in those words, exactly, but that was the spirit of the messages.

I spent a sleepless night pondering this. First, was it a mistake to be as transparent as I was on my public blog? (I don't think so; click here for my thoughts on the matter). Second, is it appropriate to choose your mentors based on their social/political ideology?

I'm thinking that maybe, yes, perhaps it is appropriate. But before I ramble on more... what do YOU think?

In the last week, I've been contacted by three (or was it four?) aspiring real estate agents who began the conversation with some variation of the words "I know you don't approve of selling real estate part-time, but..." and proceeded to tell me why I might consider "approving" of their situation.

Sorry. Ain't gonna happen. Okay, well, let me confess that one of the three (or four) aspiring agents actually had a potentially viable proposition for success as a part-time new agent, but the others (love y'all, but...) did not. Their main argument to my proclamation that part-time ain't gonna work was "I'd really like to go full-time but I can't. What do you think?"

Um, sorry m'love, but I think exactly what I thought five minutes before I got your call or note. Whether or not you "can" go full-time doesn't change the fact that selling real estate is a full-time job. Take it or leave it.

But, don't despair; there IS a solution for you!

Really, Jennifer? Tell me; tell me, what is it?

I dunno.

I don't know what the solution is, but there is one. Wanna know how to find it? Okay, here goes.

Simply acknowledge to yourself that you want to sell real estate for a living, and accept the fact that in order to succeed, selling real estate needs to be your primary career. Then relax and let it go - let your creativity subconsciously work on the problem. Don't rush it, don't fret, and don't force anything. The answer will come, I promise it will.

I don't know what that answer will be, but I'm almost positive it won't be "I'll sell real estate nights and weekends." That's the WRONG answer.

But there is a right answer. One that will seem oh-so-obvious once it smacks you on the head.  

I recently played this game with myself in my personal life. There are two things I want and they appear to be mutually exclusive. I can have this... OR that. Not both. So, I just said out loud what I wanted and waited for inspiration on how to have both... or some other satisfactory solution. And, I think I've found it. Once the solution occurred to me, it seemed so obvious.

Be patient and show your new career the respect it deserves. It may just be the best decision you ever made. And if you come up with a Right Answer to the dilemma - please share!

RELATED BLOGS
Is it Your "Right" to Dabble in Real Estate?
Aspiring Real Estate Agents - Can't Go Full-time?
Revisiting Part-Time versus Full-Time in 2010

p.s. Before you jump on the band-wagon of protesting that I'm anti-part-timer, please read Comment #28!

I used to lump the pursuit of expired listings (and for that matter, FSBO's) into the same category as cold-calling, door-knocking and farming. As in (and I quote from the introduction of Sell with Soul):

"For those of you who shudder at the thought of chasing down your prey, this book is for you. First, I'll help you build your business using respectful, non‑invasive techniques. No farming, cold-calling or door-knocking. You won't have to hunt down For Sale by Owners (FSBO's) or Expired listings if you don't want to."

However, upon further reflection, I'm realizing that there is something truly "soulful" about helping sellers whose (who's? I can never keep it straight) homes failed to sell (I balk at calling a real person an "expired"). In fact, I'm pretty darn sure that the soulful crowd might just be the best thing that could ever happen to a Seller Whose (who's?) Home Failed to Sell.

But... the problem remains of how to get in front of those Sellers Whose (who's?) Homes Failed to Sell so that we can get a shot at being the best thing to ever happen to them. Oh, and preferably without resorting to all those ridiculous, cheesy, patronizing tactics so celebrated in our industry.

That's the subject of this Saturday's SWS Teleseminar - how to Soulfully Prospect to Expired Listings! I'm going to interview my good friend Borino of Expired Plus (www.expiredplus.com), asking him all sorts of questions I've asked myself, and had asked of me through the years about approaching these sellers without making a fool of yourself.

Questions like...

• Do I really HAVE to call or stop by? Can't I just send a letter?
• How often should I expect to be rudely rejected?
• Does it get easier? How long til I'm not nervous?
• Should I pursue listings I don't really want?
• How much research should I do ahead of time?
• How do I compete with all the other agents going after expireds?
• How do agents get an expired listing within hours of it expiring? ("going behind the sign")

Do you have questions you'd like us to answer? Just ask!

The show starts at 8:30 am (Pacific) / 11:30 am (Eastern) sharp on Saturday, June 5th. It's a freebie show if you attend live ($10 for the recording which includes lots of other goodies).

Here's where you register: http://www.sellwithsoul.com/sws-expired

See you Saturday?

Just a head's up... every week (or so), on no specific day (shooting for Mondays, but life gets in the way sometimes), I'll be posting an updated calendar of the upcoming free teleseminar shows in SWSLand.

I'm putting the summer calendar together and am committed to doing at least two shows a month. These are content-rich programs; not just infomercials for someone's product or service. All are free and open to the public (upon registration), and at the end of almost every show, we'll give away a cool prize!

Will they be recorded? Yes. Will the recordings be distributed? No.

In order to get recordings of the shows, you'll need to be a member of Club SWS which will cost you $10/month. There are other benefits of being a Club SWS member as well; you can read about it here if you like.

Okay, here's what's on tap.

Saturday, May 22nd (THIS Saturday)
"What Do I Blog About?" with Erica Ramus, Loreena Yeo and Jeff Belonger (Broker Bryant had to bow out due to TLW's insistence that he help with their move, but he'll be there in spirit!). It's a show about finding the inspiration to blog. Details and registration here!

Wednesday, May 26^th
"The Rookie-to-Rookie Show" - the third installment of a series about surviving your rookie year in real estate. Perfect for newer agents and those who train them! Details and registration here!

Saturday, June 5th
"Can Soulful Agents Succeed with Expired Listings?" (Yes we can!) Details and registration here!  

Future Shows (details and registration information to follow)
Saturday, June 19^th - "All About the 'C' Word (Commissions)" with Mollie Wasserman

Hope to see you in the SWS Studio!

Whether or not one can succeed/survive in this industry doing it part-time is always a good topic for debate. Emotions run high, tempers flare, feelings get hurt. Bummer.

But it really is an important question, especially TO those considering entering the field.

I've been thinking about it a lot, so I'll take one for the team and open up that can of worms yet again.

For the record, I've always been of the seemingly obvious opinion that if you're going to do something, do it 100%. And in an industry where far more practitioners fail than succeed, it only makes sense that the ones who devote themselves wholeheartedly to their career have a better chance of being one of the ones who don't fail... right?

Well, in the last few years, our industry has changed (really, Jennifer, y'think?) and it's not uncommon for a new real estate agent (or any real estate agent, frankly) to go months and months without a paycheck. And that's a tough situation to volunteer for.

So, new real estate agents approach their careers a little more circumspectly. They keep their day job (or night job as the case may be) and only stick their toe in the water... okay, maybe they wade in up their knees or even their waist. But they don't jump in. They don't fully commit. And they tell themselves that they're being practical, logical and responsible.

I get that. I really do. In a business where new practitioners might go a year before seeing their first payday, it's a tough sell to convince them to leave their regular paycheck and benefits behind.

But... practicality and responsibility aside... it still doesn't work. I know a lot of first-year agents and they run the gamut from having zero business to having more business than they can handle... and without exception, it's the part-time agents who are at the zero end... and the full-time agents who are at the more-than-they-can-handle end. (Of course, there are plenty of full-timers who are failing, but I don't know any part-timers who are succeeding).

The thing is - to succeed in a new business, you have to immerse yourself in it. Every day. All day. With all your passion, all your energy, all your resources. Sorry, but that's a fact whether or not you want to or can afford to. New agents who are succeeding are giving this career their full attention... not just sticking their toe in the water.

What's the punch line? If you can't afford to immerse yourself in your new real estate career, maybe now is not the time to begin your new real estate career.

p.s. please note that I am speaking primarily to new agents and pre-licensees here. Experienced agents with established lead generation and administrative systems can often make it working part-time. But rookies?  Sorry...

RELATED BLOGS
Aspiring Agents - Can't Go Full Time? Consider this...
Can a New Agent Make it in Today's Market?