We all know that the best form of communication is face-to-face. It stands to reason the more people you talk to in person about real estate, the more successful you will be. This is why active participation in groups, clubs, or different organizations, is one of the most effective ways to grow your business.
Consider a club that has 50 members. If you attend a meeting every month and have an opportunity to socialize with its members, you’re networking tally would be 600 face-to-faces each year (50 f-to-f x 12 months). If you were a member of four different clubs and spent 2 hours networking each week, (1 club each week) you would only need to spend 2 hours each week to accumulate 2,500 face-to-face contacts during the year (50 per week x 50 weeks).
Compare this 2,500 face-to-face communication with the number of contacts you presently have. Many agents are lucky if they discuss real estate with 10 people face-to-face per week. It’s nearly impossible to grow your business or even make a living if you are only talking to 500 people per year. It’s interesting to know that telemarketing agencies will initiate 500 phone contacts every week.
When determining which are the best organizations to join, there are a few simple rules to follow:
- Do not join a group that already has many successful agents as members.
- An organization you join should be one that you have a strong interest or passion for.
- The members economic status should be consistent with the type of production that you would like to have. In other words, if the members love you and do business with you, will they qualify and will the home they purchase or sell be consistent with your income expectation.
Listed below are many great possibilities:
1. Alumni associations
2. Junior Women’s League
3. Neighborhood POA’s
4. Golf clubs
5. Tennis clubs
6. Fishing clubs
7. Yachting clubs
8. Bowling clubs
9. Bocce clubs
10. Car clubs
11. Travel clubs
12. Exercise clubs
13. Garden clubs
14. Art clubs
15. Symphony clubs
16. Private school committees
17. Church groups
18. Charitable organizations
19. Italian/American club
20. Irish club
21. Rotary club
22. Polish clubs
23. Kiwanis clubs
24. Lions club
25. Music groups
26. Choir groups
27. Animal clubs/dog walking
28. Professional affiliations
29. Teachers club
30. Local unions
31. Conservations clubs
32. Environmental groups
33. Political groups
34. School PTA groups
35. Book clubs
36. Civic groups
37. Camping clubs
38. Boy scouts
39. Girl scouts
40. YMCA
41. Elk’s Lodge
42. Children’s play groups
43. Business clubs
44. Tea party
45. Retirement club
46. Coffee klatches
47. Parade committee
48. Sports teams
49. Country clubs
50. VFW Lodge
51. Motorcycle club(?)
52. Bridge groups
53. Poker groups
54. Red Cross
55. Humane Society
56. Habitat for Humanity
57. Start you own club
The list goes on and on. You should have no difficulty attending a meeting each week. If you don’t have any business and choose not to get involved, you may not be a people person and may want to consider a career change unless you love phone prospecting or have a lot of money to spend on advertising.
P.S. Internet groups don’t count because they aren’t face-to-face.