Prospecting is an integral part of the sales pipeline and it should be part of every agent’s daily routine. It’s the art of opening new relationships. In order to improve your prospects, you need to acknowledge its importance in your sales, and set aside the time and energy to prospect.
Here are the top five prospecting techniques for agents:
- Be a Prospect-Driven Agent
A prospect-driven agent is someone who understands the significance of prospecting. Many agents only prospect when sales are down.
These are agents who enjoy the results of prospecting, but disregard the process of finding prospects.
To be a prospect-driven agent, one must focus his or her attention and resources on uncovering prospective buyers and/or investors.
- Focus on the Right Prospects
It is crucial to know who your prospects are before prospecting. Some agents spent time chasing would-be prospects who aren’t interested.
The key to focusing on the right prospects is determining exactly who fits the profile of the property you’re trying to sell or rent and then building a profile on that prospect.
These profiles will help you focus your prospecting activities on potential buyers and investors.
- Cultivate Continuously
Prospecting is not a quick fix. It involves more than making a call and receiving a response. Continuous cultivation is building a relationship with the prospect even if the initial contact is a negative response.
Some of the biggest clients will take the longest time for you to win them over, but with consistent cultivation these relationship will open you to bigger opportunities over time.
- Ask for Referrals
A happy buyer and/or investor will spread the word if they’re pleased with your services. How they feel about you can impact your sales revenue.
The best time to ask for referral is immediately after the deal is made as the sale experience is still fresh and buyers and/or investors are more amenable to providing a good referral.
It’s is important to keep in touch with existing buyers and/or investors as they will turn to you whenever they are thinking of buying or selling a property.
- Use Every Method Available
In today’s world, using a variety of methods is crucial to uncovering new prospects. As an agent, you need to use different platforms and learn how to communicate effectively in any one of them.
If you’re great at cold calling, that doesn’t mean you should never focus your time and effort in using email marketing, networking, attending conferences, social media or referrals.
Each prospects have their preferred method of communication, thus, you shouldn’t exclude any method when you’re prospecting.
Having a relationship with a buyer and/or investor is built upon an agent’s ability to prospect. Prospecting effectively on a regular basis will help you in achieving your sales goals. Consistent prospecting execution will lead to long-term success. By following these steps, you’ll improve your prospecting results.
