Prospecting – The Law of Averages Always Works

No one likes to be rejected. When it comes to sales, the fear of rejection keeps even the best agents from “taking the shots”. How does this happen? Every time a salesman prospects, the outcome is unknown, and the fear of failure and rejection is depressing. Or is it? It’s true that with any given prospect a win isn’t guaranteed, but what happens with constant prospecting?

Why not play the numbers and let the law of averages work for you? For example, if you make 100 calls to get listings, 95 or even 98 people may say no.  It’s not the overwhelming number of rejections that should be the focus. It should be the one or two people that say “Yes” that should drive the effort.  Even if only 2% of the people you talk to are interested in doing business with you, the math still works in your favor. If it took you 8 hours to make 100 calls, or door-to-door visits, and 2 of those prospects were interested, with one actually listing with you, the commission on the sale of that listing would justify the 8 hours spent prospecting.

Consider another example. If you were to spend 3 hours every Saturday and Sunday at an open house, and you only received 20 good buyers or sellers to work with, the open houses alone could generate a six-figure income. This prospecting would only involve a mere 6 hours a week to get good clients. In other words, the focus shouldn’t be on the “tire-kickers”, or people that aren’t good prospects. It should be on the number of good prospects you can get with the time you’re investing.

With listings becoming harder to come by as each month passes, it may be a good time to play the Law Of Averages.  You may just find a far more productive way to generate new business.