From Lead Chasing to Lead Creation: Transforming Your Real Estate Business

I continue to see agents ignoring their most valuable asset while chasing expensive leads and giving away half their commission. 

Your database of past clients and sphere represents an untapped goldmine of business opportunity that most agents aren't leveraging effectively.

I call it your Databank!!

• Stop stepping over $100 bills to pick up pennies by ignoring your database
• Each past client knows 250-600 people who could potentially need real estate services
• Don't let fear of reconnecting stop you from reaching out to past clients
• Stay top-of-mind through consistent, strategic communication
• Conversations equal currency—the more touchpoints, the more business
• Fall in love with sales or consider leaving the business
• True leaders take 100% responsibility for their results
• Never cap your goals—aim for "this or better" rather than limiting yourself

Ready to transform your real estate business and tap into your database properly? I provide elite-level coaching without the expensive team splits or monthly fees. Reach out to learn how to get from where you are to where you want to be.

Chapters

• 0:00 The Problem with Buying Leads
• 2:45 Past Clients: Your Overlooked Goldmine
• 5:47 Overcoming Fear of Reconnecting
• 9:15 Staying Top-of-Mind Without Being Salesy
• 11:39 Running Your Business Like a Business
• 13:55 Taking Responsibility for Your Results

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:37

buying leads. That is what I want to talk about today on today's episode. So I continue to meet and talk with agents who have been in this business three years, five years, eight plus years, some 20 plus years, and they are still out there looking hard for leads and potentially buying leads. Some give up to half of their commission away for leads and there is a caveat to this. So if that's what you want to do, by all means build your business that way and I'm going to continue to go back to the fact that if you're doing that and not what I'm about to touch base on, you are stepping over $100 bills to pick up pennies. Business as a business, because so many agents get into this business for freedom. You know I want to be able to have my own schedule and do my own things, and if you're in production, you know that you have to run your calendar, which I'll do a whole other episode on that. You have to run your calendar or it will run you, and when you say yes to something, what do you say no to? And it actually is really important that you start saying no to more things. But getting back to leads, if you have been in this business for a fair amount of time. You should be tapping into your past clients and sphere. Now, so many agents that I coach and mentor and talk to just are not doing this period and if they're doing it, they're half-assing it, to be very frank. They kind of do it, they kind of have it set up, but they're just out there chasing, chasing, chasing, chasing all this business and trying to find it and trying to figure this out, when truly in front of their face, at the tip of their nose, they have so much business waiting for them. It would blow their mind if they actually looked at running this business like that, like a business. So think about this.

Speaker 1: 3:04

I was. I talked to a gentleman yesterday and he'd been in the business for eight years and I asked him you know, how many past clients do you have, how many transactions have you done? And just like most agents, he had no idea. He threw a number out and I said well, you told me what you did last year, you told me what your goal is and you told me what your average is. And that does not equate. You know, I'm not the best at math and yet I can do pretty quick math and know that he had no idea what his numbers were and on top of that, he was running a CRM, a customer relationship management, but at the drips with really staying top of mind in front of his database, his sphere and his past clients.

Speaker 1: 4:08

And there's just such a missed opportunity. And at the same time, these are the low hanging fruit agents that I love to work with, because it's truly just either peeling the blinders back and giving a whole different perspective or putting the blinders on and getting very, very specific and strategic and methodical and just doing this at a high level and saying no to other opportunities, no to giving away half your commission, no to buying leads or joining a team because you need to chase leads. It's just a revolving door. So great, you chase these leads, you go pay 50% of your commission or whatever it is, somewhere up to 35% to 40%, plus your broker split. I mean, some people are paying astronomical amount of leads. Great, you land the lead. You should close the deal. Then what? You go chase another lead. What are you doing with that past client and referral? You know, get referrals. So that's the first and foremost thing. And really think about how and be honest, how are you running your business If you sat down and looked at it.

Speaker 1: 5:25

I have also coached agents that just they don't want to. They don't want to run the CRM, they don't want to do the drip program, they don't want to do a whole bunch of stuff. But they've been in this business 20 plus years and have so many opportunities, so many past clients that it would blow your mind. And yet they're out joining teams, they're out trying to figure this out, trying to find more business. They have a data bank, they have so much business waiting. But then they get in their heads they're like oh, I haven't talked to that person for like five, 10 years. So what? You think? This person on the other end of the phone or email or whatever is just sitting around waiting. Oh man, I really hope Angie reaches out to me today or this week or this month or this year, because it's been four years, three months, two days and an hour since I've talked to her. No, they are living their own life. They're doing their own thing, probably not even giving much thought. Own thing, probably not even given much thought. And if your name popped up on their phone or if your email came across their inbox, they might be like oh wow, I haven't seen or heard from Angie in a while.

Speaker 1: 6:37

Interesting, especially if you had a good transaction. Again, it's not what you say to people, it's how you make them feel. They'll remember that feeling when they see your name. So stop getting in your heads about it and get out there and talk to people. Conversations, equal currency, even if you sold John Smith a house four months ago. It's not all about John Smith, it's about everyone that he knows. He knows 250 to 600 people on average.

Speaker 1: 7:12

So let's say you're just checking in hey, john, how's the house? You know? I just wanted to do my quarterly check-in so that now he knows he'll hear from you quarterly and see if you need any vendors or any contractors or if there's anything that it can be helping with. Come from contribution, if you can educate at all. If you know something that was happening with a home that you want to follow up on, or he was really excited now that spring's here to see you know a different project that was happening. I mean, keep these notes in your CRM. Understand what your clients are doing. Be a human about it. And no, yeah, john's probably not moving anytime soon, but by you staying top of mind and in front of him when someone mentions real estate that's within his earshot or asks him about it, or the person next to him at work, or a friend that he hasn't seen in a year or two, out to lunch and talking about real estate. When anyone in John's sphere mentions real estate, your name should be the first one that pops up in his head. Oh my gosh, you got to talk to Angie. She was an amazing realtor and you know why he remembers me? Because he just saw my name last week on my monthly newsletter or I just called him or text him or just checked in.

Speaker 1: 8:36

Your job is to stay top of mind so that when the prospect, your past client or a person in your sphere, when their hand goes up, or someone around them, you're the first person they think of. That's it. We make this so much more complicated. We tell ourselves stories oh, but I haven't done this, but this would happen, or what if they think this? Or I don't want to be salesy. Salesy that's another one agents use. I don't want to be salesy. Well, you know what? Fall in love with sales or get out, because truly, you're selling every single day. You're selling your kids on what to eat to go to school. You're selling your spouse or significant other on where you want to eat, where you want to shop, maybe where you want to go on vacation and get really good at sales. And if you need help with that, reach out to me.

Speaker 1: 9:33

Because I had to go through this. I didn't know much about sales when I got into real estate. I had to learn to get out of my own head in my own way, fall in love with sales and know that the people out there that are either your past clients, your sphere or people that can refer to you, they're going to use a real estate agent anyway, so why shouldn't it be you? If it's not you, then I say that's on you. You need to be top of mind and you need to be in your data bank dripping on them, talking to them, texting to them, and, by all means, if you want to buy leads in addition to that, I'm all for it. Okay, that's fine.

Speaker 1: 10:18

But 99 out of 100 agents that I talk to are not in their data bank, running it at a really high level, letting those deals and that stuff pop off down the road and filling their pipeline and being very, very intentional. And if you're not doing that, I will say it again you're stepping over $100 bills to pick up pennies. It's so, so important that you start viewing this and looking at this as a business. And you know, I'm all about teaching agents and people in my life how to fish, not catching the fish for them and cleaning it, frying it up and feeding it to them. You need to be self-sufficient and figure this out. And again, absolutely, if that's your thing and you want to buy leads, buy leads.

Speaker 1: 11:08

But what would it look like if you were to join me? Get the coaching and the mentoring at an elite level, not have to pay extra for it and not have to pay a team split? Think about how much money you would have left where you could buy your own leads and they wouldn't be the teams, they wouldn't be owned by anyone, but you and you got the leads. You didn't have to be on a round robin and all of that stuff. So that's something that I provide where I'm at and it's just been amazing. It's been amazing that I can show up, I can pour into agents, get you out of your own way, get you out of your head and do this at a really high level.

Speaker 1: 11:48

I like to meet agents where they're at and explode their goals, your goals where you meet them, but I want you to exceed them. Never cap your goals, because then you'll get that or less. Let's go for that or better, this or more. So, as we're closing today, just really think about that. I just want you to be honest with yourself. Are you running your business like a business? Are you in your CRM? And a lot of people are on a team and they let the team manager run it or they hire someone. It still falls on you. This is your business. This is your name on your 1099. You're the one that's getting paid out.

Speaker 1: 12:33

You need to know what's going on in your business. Do not leave it up to your team lead or manager. Do not leave it up to some TC or a VA that you've hired. This is still your thing. Now, by all means. I'm for leverage and you need to leverage it out Absolutely. But at the end of the day, if you are a true leader and not a victim, true leaders take 100% responsibility for their results. So, if you're not getting the results and if you were one of the about 70% of agents that didn't do much business last year, if any at all. Reach out to me. We can change that very quickly and it won't cost you a team split and it won't cost you $1,000 a month in coaching Elite level coaching. That's what I do to help real estate agents get from where they are to where they want to be. So get honest with yourself, make a plan and look me up. I'm here to help in any ways Make it a good one.