Do You Want to Get Leads and Build Your Business but Feel Stuck?

That used to be me. I wanted to get leads and close deals so badly, but I didn’t know how. My manager told me that reading scripts and cold calling was the formula for success, but I couldn’t bring myself to pick up the phone.

Cold Calling Sucks, and We Both Know it.

If you can’t bring yourself to swallow the rising bile in your throat and dial for dollars, read ahead to discover 5 ways to get leads without resorting to cold calling and scripts.

1. Make a list of SOI (Sphere of Influence)

Your SOI is the starting point and the all-encompassing list of every person you know. Cast the net as wide as you possibly can so you are constantly stretching and growing. 

Make A Game Plan

When my kids were little, we used to begin each summer and each fall season with a ritual of making a list of all the things we wanted to do. We knew from experience that the season seemed to disappear and at the end it felt like the time flew by. We didn’t do any of the things we wanted to do.

It was so easy to get up in the morning and spend an hour or more back and forth deciding what to do that day, and before we knew it, we gave up and stayed in our pajamas till dinner time.

Although there is nothing wrong with that, what we wanted was to seize the day- but without planning- the day would escape us.

So, We Made a List.

And we blathered and dreamed of all the things we wanted to do even though we knew we would never get to them all.

At least we had a guide, so on the lazy days we could go down the list and grab something to do. We didn’t get everything done on that list, but we spared ourselves wasted days languishing about the house wondering what to do.

Your SOI is Your Dream List for Your Business.

It is the possibility of all the people you already know as well as the inspiration for the people you can add to your list.

2. Find ways to add people to your SOI- COVID makes it hard.

Remember the olden days where you just picked up and went? Depending on where you live, that may or may not be possible, but everywhere people are exercising caution.

The game has changed, and it is more challenging now to meet people.

I find myself really relying on the day to day tasks to take advantage of meeting people. I am so starved for connection and living this shared experience that I often find myself speaking to people starting the conversation about masks or simply acknowledging how weird this whole process is.

Zoom

In zoom meetings, I take some time to look around at the people in the meeting as well as any of the comments people make. Any shared experience we have is a great way to start a conversation. I do not ever feel like I have to force it because I am genuinely so attention starved that I feel the need from deep within to connect with people.

in fact, I met a woman recently at a sales training. She asked a question and happened to mention her contingency planning business. It was intriguing and I wanted to know more about it, so I sent her a private chat. We connected after the meeting and are doing a joint venture webinar together next week.

I fed my soul by making a new connection as well as my business by connecting in shared business goals. 

As the world is slowly opening back up, with caution, go to events that interest you. We have all been cooped up so long and affected by the pandemic that any contact we have is appreciated on a deeper level. Take advantage of the natural momentum and meet people! 

I have a new appreciation for simple pleasures that I used to take for granted. I think back to all the times I sat in a coffee shop passing an hour with a book and didn’t even look up and make eye contact or a smile to the people around me.

As soon as I get back into the world, I cannot imagine being silent all day. The opportunity for connections is all around. Take full advantage of it for your business and your life.

3.Touch 5 people a day- zoom fatigue is real.

A loner by nature, even I yearn for human connection more than I ever have. I am missing out on even the day to day encounters that happened in my regular day.

Now I look forward to the time I get to touch 5 people a day, and often spend more time on this than I had planned because I crave it so much. I noticed that some of my connections are actually getting deeper and I am much more open to making new relationships or bringing the ones I have to a new level. 

I go down my list every day and pull out the names of 5 people that I will touch the next day. I do this without fail like breathing. It keeps me alive as well as my business.

In many cases, we have extra time on our hands that is no longer spent on commuting, but even if this is not the case for you, touching 5 people a day is time well spent.

Talk to People, Not at Them

Cold calling usually takes longer and even if you get lucky and find a lead, you still haven’t satisfied the need to connect socially. That leaves you with yet one more time- consuming thing to do, and if you run out of time, you don’t get to feed your soul by interacting with your humans.

Especially now in the time of COVID, I find it life and soul saving to reach out and touch people every day. I simply feel lost and isolated without connecting with people, and this SOI is my savior. 

We are all in similar positions and I find that before where I always felt too busy and rushed to take the time out to call people that I haven’t spoken to in forever, I now am much more relaxed and crave that time.

4. Get your head in the game.

When I call people, if I go into it with the mindset that I am looking for something (business) rather than catching up or just connecting, the call falls flat.

But if I call with the intention of making a human connection, I open myself up to receiving. That’s why I always remember to be interested, not interesting. I want to know how this person is and how they are doing.

I already know about me, so rather than calling and talking about myself, I call and ask a question and let the conversation and the connection flow from there. 

5. Convert contacts to clients.

The purpose of your call is to make a connection and check in with people from your sphere, but the end game is to let the conversation turn to real estate naturally.

For this to happen, you need to have real estate top of mind so that you actually have something to discuss, if and when the topic comes up.

Since you are a real estate agent, you probably have lots already to talk about, but what if you are in a slump or just starting out?

Simply get your head in the game and fake it till you make it. You must immerse yourself in the business and the more you do, the more you will have to discuss so you don’t have to use cold calling scripts.