Prospecting – Local Businesses Can Be Your Best Advocates (B-2-B)
Two major complaints from real estate agents are:
- The “Do Not Call List” makes it much more difficult to phone prospect.
- Many of the hours spent prospecting in real estate include weekends and in some cases even evening work.
Why not overcome both obstacles by prospecting with local professionals and small business owners. Successful entrepreneurs in any industry focus primarily on maintaining an expertise in their field. For example, a local tax attorney may know very little about criminal law or estate planning. A neurosurgeon is not an expert on cardiac care and certainly not podiatry. These professionals excel because they focus an inch wide and a mile deep on mastering their professions.
This intense focus can create social gaps. For example, we all know that during the past several years, real estate has been a major topic of conversation in most social gatherings. Given the fact that most successful business professionals and small business owners have a significant investment in real estate, it makes sense for these people to track local real estate trends.
This is where you as a trusted real estate advisor can meet their needs by providing pertinent information on local real estate market trends and the impact of economic conditions on real estate values. Follow these simple steps to build these relationships:
- Create a need. When talking to other professionals at social gatherings, always ask about their business and then share your thoughts about real estate. Also call your sphere of influence.
- Fill the need. Offer to share a specific article or report by sending it via email.
- Relationship Management – You should also offer to let them know about important events or information impacting real estate values.
Once these professionals and small business owners see you as a trusted real estate advisor, they are likely to refer you to some of the hundreds of people that they come in contact with. The best part about working business-to-business (B-2-B), is that there is no “do not call” list and you can contact them during normal business hours. This is a great way to gather email addresses and quickly grow your business. You can even increase your weekly face-to-face contacts by dropping by their locations during the day.