Welcome and good morning to Mike Ferry TV … the week of August 21st. The year is flying by fast. Business is good for those that are working and those that are actively seeking, trying to get listings … and I want to just mention, as we start this segment for today … You know, yes … I’m getting a lot of feedback from people saying, “Well, why aren’t you talking about Buyers?”

Well, the market today is for the agents that are going after listings, and the reason for that, of course, is the fact that the abundance of agents and the abundance of Buyers working together is causing all your listings to sell that much faster. So, do you want to be on the positive side of getting listings sold quickly, or on the difficult side of being involved in showing property that are hard to find good ones for your Buyers and then being one of many, many offers that are being written? So think about that as we proceed.

Now today my topic is going to be one that you’ve never heard me talk about before. This is going to be exciting. Sit down … get your pen … prepare yourself for a topic that really is a game changer to use the words that most of my competitors use today. It’s a game changer. Are you guys ready? Okay … here’s today’s topic. Prospecting. Oops. Uh-oh, everybody just turned off Mike Ferry TV because Mike Ferry’s talking about prospecting again. Call it prospecting, call it lead generation, call it conversations with people, call it interacts, call it what you want … you got to think about the fact that the prospecting is the name of the game.

So I’ve got four points. They’re very simple. It’s not going to be a long Mike Ferry TV today. Four points about prospecting.

I wrote number one … To make your prospecting time a little better, more efficient, better quality, make your mornings media free. No TV until you’re doing prospecting. No radio, of course. No newspapers. No emails. No voicemails. No social media. Nothing to interrupt because your prospecting schedule, whether it be, “I’m going to prospect for 30 minutes or 3 hours,” should be an appointment that you keep for yourself to build your business. So prospecting is an appointment like a listing presentation is an appointment.

If you have a listing appointment at 4:00 in the afternoon, you’re not going to blow it off. You’re certainly not going to miss it. You’re not going to purposely say, “Nah, the heck with that.” Then why would you do that to a prospecting appointment that you have? Because a prospecting appointment is what allows you to have that other appointment in the course of the day with a Buyer or a Seller.

So number one … make your prospecting time more efficient, better by making it media free.

Number two … I wrote down … We have to work … and this came from a wonderful agent named Fahada Saad down in Naples, Florida, who is just, I don’t know, probably a 20 year client and a legitimate superstar by far. Her daughter, Yasmin, has taken over the business … another superstar in that Naples market. And Fahad is sitting on the stage in front of 4,000 people, just made a comment that I am telling you almost everybody that was good in the audience was writing down what she said almost immediately because it was such a great comment and I want to give you that comment, which is point two. We have to work to strengthen the link between the prospecting we do and achieving any goals that we are going to set and have set.

Okay … what is the strength of the link between my talking to people, finding Buyers and Sellers, and my ability to accomplish the things I’m trying to accomplish? And the truth is, if that link is weak, anything, everything gets in the way and disrupts you, interrupts you, keeps you from doing your job, but if that strength in that link is very strong, there’s nothing that’s going to stop you from doing your job. Strengthen the link between prospecting and your ability to achieve the goals you’ve set.

But the third thought … we have to understand why prospecting is at times very difficult, and the biggest reason it’s so difficult is because unfortunately, most of the leadership of our industry tells you you don’t have to prospect, and I don’t get it, I don’t understand it, I don’t know why they say it, but they do. You don’t have to prospect. Well, you’re a salesperson and part of the sales process is finding people to sell your stuff to, and our stuff is selling them a home or listing their home for sale. “Well, I’ll just buy leads off the internet.” Folks, if you buy leads off the internet, you still have to call them. They’re not calling you, so whether you buy the leads or you generate on your own, you have to talk to people.

So why is it so difficult? I wrote down first, “I don’t know how to prospect.” Alright. We can teach you how to prospect, just listen to the messages that we give. Second, “I don’t know what to say.” We furnish all the scripts for free. Just download the script, whether it be a By Owner or an Expired or a Past Client, download the scripts and practice them. “I have unproductive work habits.” Well, there is a new one. It seems to be about 80% of the industry has unproductive work habits and especially during this pandemic. “I can’t handle rejection, acceptance and embarrassment.” Tell me something I haven’t heard before. Rejection is what gets you to the goal.

Obviously acceptance … “What if they say yes?” Can you respond to that in a positive manner? And many people don’t prospect because they’re embarrassing themselves. “I don’t know what to say, and I don’t know what to do, and it’s uncomfortable so I’ll just sit in the office and go on Facebook.” Or, “I don’t prospect because I don’t track my numbers and I don’t know what the results are.” “I have a difficult time prospecting because I’m not getting enough results.” Practice, rehearse, practice, rehearse, practice, rehearse your scripts to improve the quality of the contact, which improves the quality of the results. And then, of course, “I have a basic fear of talking to people.” You know, we’re not psychiatrists at the Mike Ferry Organization and we’re not psychologists. You have to learn to get over that fear yourself. So, understand why prospecting is difficult.

And the fourth thing I want to say today is create an efficient pre-prospecting routine for yourself. A pre-prospecting routine. For example, get up at the same time every day … so you’re starting a work habit schedule. Do some form of exercise to get your body moving forward. If you have breakfast, a healthy breakfast. Don’t have three big donuts and four cups of hot chocolate … probably not the best way to start. If you use affirmations, do your affirmations early. Do them early. You know, arrive at the office or at your home office desk at the same time every day. Create the routine because the routine is critical.

Clear your desk and get your prospects numbers all prepared in front of you at a given time. Role-play before you start with some enthusiasm. You have plenty of people to role-play with. And then say to yourself, “I’m going to make this a fun experience, whether people reject me, and I smile and I laugh or they accept me and I smile and really get excited.” Make it a fun experience because, see, prospecting can be fun.

So, four points on prospecting. We’re at the 1st of September. We have a great opportunity … September, October, November, December to finish this year strong. As my friend Ed Kaminsky says, “Let’s make it a September to remember,” which is a great thought, but let’s expand it … let’s make September to December a great time to remember because we’ve done our job the right way.

See you next week. Thanks.

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Mike Ferry is the global leader in real estate coaching and training. Watch Mike each week as he discusses a variety of topics to help real estate agents and brokers. Grow your real estate business by improving your mindset, developing your skills and creating a plan of action to increase your production!