I’ve had the honor of working with hundreds of coaching clients. Something strange is that, regardless of their productivity level, most of them have been making the same mistake. Worse, this single mistake stops them from reaching their full potential in terms of profitability. Not to mention it also causes frustration and burnout.
What is this mistake?
These agents reached out to us looking to receive coaching to establish additional lead sources. They wanted to generate more transactions. Let’s unpack why that’s a big problem.
What is this mistake?
These agents reached out to us looking to receive coaching to establish additional lead sources. They wanted to generate more transactions. Let’s unpack why that’s a big problem.
Automating Your Sphere
When a client approaches me asking for support in increasing lead sources, I always ask the same thing: what current lead sources are you working? I ask clients to tell me a bit about their sphere of influence (SOI) marketing plan.
Usually, the reaction from clients is the same — something like, “I don’t have to actively work my sphere. It’s on automation. I have an automatic drip campaign and I send my contacts an email every month (or every two weeks).” I then ask clients when was the last time they had a conversation with their sphere.
Crickets.
Usually, the reaction from clients is the same — something like, “I don’t have to actively work my sphere. It’s on automation. I have an automatic drip campaign and I send my contacts an email every month (or every two weeks).” I then ask clients when was the last time they had a conversation with their sphere.
Crickets.
Not Marketing to Your Sphere Consistently
In other words, your number one mistake is that you’re not marketing to your sphere consistently. You may be reaching out often, but only through an automated program that lacks personal touches. You may even be unknowingly using outdated techniques. There are two main reasons why this is costing you an enormous amount of potential gross commission income (GCI).
1. Converted Leads
No matter where leads originate from, they become part of your SOI as soon as they convert. This means the marketing plan for your sphere needs to be the most rock solid of all. Otherwise, it’s like pouring water into a bathtub full of holes.
2. Opportunities for Referrals
If you have a sphere of 500 people and each of them knows just 100 people, you have 50,000 opportunities for referrals.
1. Converted Leads
No matter where leads originate from, they become part of your SOI as soon as they convert. This means the marketing plan for your sphere needs to be the most rock solid of all. Otherwise, it’s like pouring water into a bathtub full of holes.
2. Opportunities for Referrals
If you have a sphere of 500 people and each of them knows just 100 people, you have 50,000 opportunities for referrals.
Take Advantage of What You Already Have
Before you tap into additional lead sources, you need to tap into the one you already have. Your sphere is made up of a warm audience that already knows you, likes you, and trusts you. With a consistent and personalized plan, you can provide this audience with constant value — and generate referrals because of it.
Your sphere undoubtedly knows more than one realtor. It’s possible that some people even know a handful. An automated system of boring canned emails isn’t going to help you stand out from these other realtors — and it certainly isn’t going to gain you referrals of friends and family members. Neither a monthly letter nor a recipe card will set you apart as the market expert.
Your sphere undoubtedly knows more than one realtor. It’s possible that some people even know a handful. An automated system of boring canned emails isn’t going to help you stand out from these other realtors — and it certainly isn’t going to gain you referrals of friends and family members. Neither a monthly letter nor a recipe card will set you apart as the market expert.
Seeking Out Referrals
Salespeople who actively seek out referrals earn four to five times more than those who wait for referrals to come to them. Plus, 70 percent of agents’ incomes originate from their SOI, according to the National Association of Realtors.
How Much Is This Mistake Costing You?
Let’s put this mistake into monetary terms. Say you have a sphere of 500. With a proper marketing plan, you could expect 20 percent of those contacts to send you a referral each year — that’s 100 hot leads a year. Even if only half of those leads converted, that’s 50 sales a year just from your sphere of influence.
In my area, the average GCI is $9,000. In other words, missing out on 50 sales means losing $450,000! Maybe SOI should mean source of income rather than sphere of influence.
In my area, the average GCI is $9,000. In other words, missing out on 50 sales means losing $450,000! Maybe SOI should mean source of income rather than sphere of influence.
The Takeaway
All I’ve told you should be great news. As a realtor, you don’t need to be good at everything, but you do need to be great at building strong relationships with your sphere. You need to always provide value and keep everything top of mind.
Once you have your SOI marketing sorted, you can adopt additional pipelines for leads. However, additional pipelines should never be a substitute for growing your sphere.
I’ve spent years perfecting a system to help my coaching clients gain massive value from their sphere. My system uses the latest technology to generate consistent referrals. Best of all, though, is you don’t need to call contacts in your sphere or feel like you’re bothering them.
If you need help getting started, message me. Perhaps you need a model and system to establish a sphere marketing system to generate a consistent flow of leads. In fact, I’m so passionate about this, I’ll let you try my system free for a limited time. I’ve seen it transform so many agents’ livelihoods — from unpredictable income to consistent and profitable businesses — and I want you to have the same.
Once you have your SOI marketing sorted, you can adopt additional pipelines for leads. However, additional pipelines should never be a substitute for growing your sphere.
I’ve spent years perfecting a system to help my coaching clients gain massive value from their sphere. My system uses the latest technology to generate consistent referrals. Best of all, though, is you don’t need to call contacts in your sphere or feel like you’re bothering them.
If you need help getting started, message me. Perhaps you need a model and system to establish a sphere marketing system to generate a consistent flow of leads. In fact, I’m so passionate about this, I’ll let you try my system free for a limited time. I’ve seen it transform so many agents’ livelihoods — from unpredictable income to consistent and profitable businesses — and I want you to have the same.
