(My opinion will be glaringly apparent in about 10 seconds).
I'm horrified on a daily basis by the emphasis in our industry on PROSPECTING PROSPECTING PROSPECTING! Anyone who reads my blog already knows that, but here I am again with my jaw dropped to the floor at some recent comments on another blogger's post. I won't repeat them here because I have no desire to publicly criticize anyone (must be feeling abnormally sweet today) and besides, it's only my opinion, but JEEZ! To imply, heck to outright state that our most important duty as LICENSED real estate agents is to focus on finding new business as opposed to taking great care of what we already have... literally nauseates me.
My friends, I'm not stupid or naïve. I know that as self-employed people we need to ensure a steady stream of business to our door, but for heaven's sake - show those people who find their way there and HONOR us with their business the respect they DESERVE - and take care of them AS OUR FIRST PRIORITY! Yes, BEFORE our prospecting activities. I'm serious.
Because you know what? If you approach your business with that attitude - if you get up every morning asking yourself what you can do for your clients to make their lives better (and frankly, impress the hell out of them with your service), they will take care of you the rest of your career. I promise.
Is it that many in our ranks don't really know how to take good care of their clients? That they were never trained in the nuances of buyer or seller representation? Or never cared enough to figure it out themselves? All they learned how to do was prospect, GET that sign in the yard and then waltz away to pursue the next victim prospect? Say it isn't so!
Be assured, I'm not asking anyone to do something that will hurt their business by begging them to spend more of their time on their clients instead of their prospects. The very best prospecting you will ever do (and by far the cheapest) is to prove to your clients that you are a fabulous real estate agent who knows how (and cares enough) to get the job done. Not surprisingly, that's awfully darn rare in our business, and will make an impression on those whose paths you cross.
This, by the way, is the essence of Sell with Soul. Be worthy of the business you attract. And as a result, attract lots more of it.
Rant over. Tomorrow I'll pick back up with the Confident Rookie Series.
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I was in the Telecom Business before this so your clients were your clients every month. When I go into Real Estate one of the things I really loved was the fact that after the closing you were done. But I have come to realize that this is not so. So your blog for me is on the moneyty and I have come full circle in my thoughts
Your rant was a much needed one. It is obviously something that you are passionate about. I have to agree with your statement" if you get up every morning asking yourself what you can do for your clients to make their lives better (and frankly, impress the hell out of them with your service), they will take care of you the rest of your career" This has been true for me and will work in any business. What we send out into the lives of others is what we manifest in our own. Keep on being compassionate and servicing your clients the way you do, it will make you successful in more ways that you can imagine. Keep on keeping on and have a great Monday!
Smart agents...of course, alot time for both...evaluating the listings you have on the market on a regular basis with new entries, price reductions...solds, offers..and checking with prospective buyers to be sure that they have been getting the kind of listings they want and need to make a decision...If you want to stay in this business and value the work you have done and the relationships you form, you work toward maintaining those you have and growing more...one of the very golden rules of this business.
I agree, however, I've learned that there are times when the focus needs to be on YOU - taking care of YOU so that you have the best to give your clients.
Benita - Yes, I'm extremely passionate about this and perplexed that so few others seem to be!
Sally & David - During the peak of my career when I was selling 50+ houses a year, without an assistant, I had no time for prospecting, nor did I need to. All my business came from my SPC's (satisfied past clients) and people I met during my day-to-day wanderings who asked me what I did for a living. Being a terrible salesperson, this is the only way I can effectively build my business anyway since I can't sales pitch anyone to do anything!
Janice - agreed! I definitely make sure to keep ME time on the calendar!
Charlie - Actually, it's pretty easy to keep the good faith of past clients if you did a great for them. I still get referrals from clients I last served in the early 2000's and while I have stayed in touch with them, it hasn't been anything fancy or complicated. Do a great job for someone in this business and it will be noticed!!
My favorite part...
"Be worthy of the business you attract. And as a result, attract lots more of it."
Jennnifer, taking care of your past and present clients is in fact prospective. One really has to do it all and find the right mix to be effective.
Gabe - indeed it is! And it's my favorite kind of prospecting!
JoAnna - Mine, too! Seriously - agents should try it more often. They might be surprised by the results!
Jennifer-
Thank you for reminding me to take care of my family and friends first. Imagine that, taking care of the people that we are closest to rather than forsaking them as we look for more friends.
And to Charlie Post #1...you reminded me of one of my favorite lines on my purchase contract: "This Agreement shall survive the closing."
Chuck - you are welcome. However, please don't confuse "friends and family" with "clients." I think that's what you meant, but just want to confirm! Anyone who honors you with his or her business deserves your utmost attention.
Hi Jennifer, Good post. Thanks for sharing.
Best - Sash
I'll admit, I struggle with this. By that I mean that sometimes I forget and have to remind myself that my best prospect is the client I already have. It's a delicate balance to keep the flow of prospects coming in without compromising the quality of service one gives your current clients.
Christina - absolutely! And they DESERVE our attention, whether or not they ever refer to us in the future, right?
Amen Girlfriend!
Jennifer, I know why I subscribe to your blog.... because you and I think alike! It is so much easier and cheaper to keep an existing client than to find a new one... (bird in the hand)... and happy clients become raving fans!
Rob - and they don't become raving fans just because you send them a recipe card...
You are right on - we need to find time to prospect, but if we do a great job with our current clients, the business will line itself up. Obviously not in every situation, but word of mouth marketing is so much more accurate than any glossy ad or SEO results. I can be #1 on google, but that doesn't tell anyone why! I could just be a marketing machine and a lousy stager. It is more important to me to be a good stager and develop those relationships with the people who have used my services. Thanks again for being the voice of reason!
Jennifer - I second that on what Robert said. I couldn't agree with you more Jennifer and I love that saying you have up in the corner graphic. It is so much more important to service the clients we have than the ones we don't even have yet. The other way around is such an unprofessional way of operating. I bet those are the same people that hand off a client to an assistant once they client signs on and the client rarely hears from them again except through the assistant.
I totally agree with you, Jennifer. This is coming from my past experiences as a home saller and buyer. The agent that has continued to stay in contact with me over the years and who I consider a friend now, is the one that I will go to for future Real Estate business. She impressed the heck out of me with her service, dedication and genuine concern for my best interest. That's what works for me. And if you consider the fact that she's gotten to know my friends & family now over the years, she's grown her network by that many people who trust her. My family alone has gone to her for several sales and a purchase in the last year. Personally, I don't like agents that use the hard sales-like tactics because its just not genuine to me and I just don't trust those types.
I have not been notified of a single comment today - I assume this is a wide-spread issue and not just me personally??
Studies show it's much much less expensive to KEEP a client than to find a new one. Use your current/past clients and treat them like gold! They will send you referrals--or not, depending on how you treat them.
Erica - VERY TRUE! I always say that those who prospect full time better enjoy prospecting because they'll be doing it the rest of their careers!
Be worthy of the business you attract.
Outstanding.
Tim, who wishes he were as pithy and insightful
Theoretical "Shortcuts" to money.
I see this any many businesses but it is worse in real estate. As businesses go (not jobs, businesses), Real Estate is a relatively easy, relatively low-risk opportunity to make big money. And that makes it easy for people with little business sense to be involved in high-dollar deals in some capacity. That leads to ego problems as well as a large pool of people that are all looking for a shortcut to a pay day instead of a solid business. Good stuff Jennifer! G
I was recently reading about this very issue and I have to agree with you Jennifer, we have to take care of our clients! If agents forget about their clients because they are more focused on lead generation, they may end up losing the business they already have!
Patricia - I can guarantee they WILL lose the business they already have!
Glenn - good point. Although I have to say that for me anyway, it's way more fun (and therefore easier) impressing my current clients than chasing new ones.
We real estate agents always compare ourselves to doctors & lawyers & such... okay, fine. So how would you feel if you got the distinct impression that your doctor felt his prospecting activities were far more important than taking care of your health needs? If you came home and found blog after blog after blog by him extolling the virtues of one lead generation technique after another? This obsession in our industry with lead generation over service is SO unprofessional!!!
"On to the next VICTIM" is an absolutely accurate description!
I recently had the experience in working with an agent who did NOTHING to educate their buyer client in how the transaction needs to run and what they need to do to stay on track. When I asked the agent if the buyer had obtained her home insurance policy, she responded, "She really doesn't know any better that she's supposed to get one...this is the first house she's buying." YOU CAN'T MAKE THIS STUFF UP!!!!
The buyer was horrifically uninformed about every stage of the game and furthermore kept everyone waiting for an hour when she was late for the (it's a miracle it even happened) closing. Awful, awful, awful and this person is right in my marketplace along with her "team." Furthermore, it came to light that she is PATHETICALLY UNEDUCATED on the rules and regulations of our MLS system!!!! Have mercy!
Great entry Jennifer!
Jennifer...in response to one of your comments. I'm not getting any comment notifications either, and haven't for over a week now.
Jennifer,
Absolutely true and as always, well said. I just came from a "list(en)ing appointmrnt" where to my amazement, found out the a previous "champion lister" returned calls to the client "in a week or sometimes TWO"!!!!
What the....?????
It is such a sad state of affairs when the only s e r v i c e that some "great agents" give is to grace a front yard with their sign and name!!!
OK...mini-rant over. Have a great day everyone!
And y'know what Bill - those agents truly think they earned their commission. Amazing, isn't it?
Antoinette - My jaw drops on a daily basis at the incompetency of some in our industry.
Great blog, Jennifer. I struggle to find a balance and it's so nice to hear someone say IT'S OK to lavish time on existing (and past!) clients.
Margaret - Lavish away! It's not only "okay" it's the right thing to do!
This notification thing not working is a PIA!!
If I have realllly good recipe cards they become raving fans! (JK of course!) but the silly thing like the recipie cards etc help to keep you in front of them and remember how tightly you held their hand through the process.
Hi Jennifer,
Great post! This is so true for ANY business, not just real estate. About 100 years ago, when I was in the Ad Agency business, we used to always say, "The best source of new business is our exisitng clients."
You're posts are always great. You should be a writer or something. I can see you on Oprah. ; )
Jennifer - To quote Brian Buffini - "Work Like a Hunter, Think Like a Farmer" - I have that quote up on my White Board!! Service - Service - Service and that takes care of the prospecting!!!!
Thanks for your rant - I agree!! Kathy
I don't subscribe to Broker Agent News - its a piece of JUNK. They wanted to do a profile on me - all I had to do was pony up roughly $4000.00??? Are they nuts???
Anyway, I don't prospect, I market with blogs and postcards etc. The work for that is best done in the evening when it is unlikely that you are going to get a fire of any kind. Issue resolved.
Jennifer, great post! It is important, however, to follow up and keep in touch with past clients. Even if you did a fabulous job for them during their listing or search and transaction, lots of people (me included) do not have a great memory for names. I can't tell you who sold my house for me only 6 years ago, and it was under contract in 8 days and progressed to settlement without a hitch! I don't do fancy follow-up either, but an occasional email, a phone call and now a monthly email drip campaign.
Jennifer,
I find that everything in our business must be balanced...prospecting for new business....keeping in touch with past clients....but by far the clients now are the one that should always take top priority. Great post!
With property management, keeping the client/property you have is ALWAYS easier and cheaper than finding a new client/property; however, prospecting for NEW clients is very important. Few property managers use direct mail and I actually have "farm" areas where I have current property listings....keeping what you have is GOOD - getting more is GOOD also...
I agree ,but alot of agents actually stop prospecting or low priority serious Lead Generation !