VanEd Newslog

SOI 104: The Four Branches of Your Sphere of Influence

I recently got a question from an agent I've been consulting with. She asked "So, my goal is to expand my Sphere of Influence database to a certain number by the end of the year?"

Well, sort of. At least, that's probably one of her goals. But as I answered her question I realized that there are really four different branches of a Sphere of Influence thus four different "goals" to shoot for as you build your Sphere of Influence business. 

Here are the four branches:

1. Your Direct SOI - that is - the people you know
2. Your Indirect SOI - that is - the people your SOI knows (i.e. referrals)
3. Your Third Generation SOI - that is - the people you meet via your SOI
4. Everyone Else - that is - every single person you encounter in your day-to-day wanderings

Your Direct SOI
These are the people who know you and know you sell real estate. It's made up of your Group One (your social network) and your Group Two (those people you know that you don't socialize with). You should try to have at least 200 warm bodies there; of course, more is better, but they don't "count" if the person wouldn't recognize your name off the bat. These are people who KNOW you, even if they aren't your best friends.

You'll get business from your Direct SOI, but it probably won't be your primary source of closings. Most of aren't blessed with an SOI who buys and sells houses on a regular basis!

Your Indirect SOI
These are the people your Direct SOI refers to you, who, of course, will be added to your Direct SOI once you've met. Your Indirect SOI should be a fairly consistent source of business for you, assuming your Direct SOI thinks a lot of you, and they know how to find you.

Your Third Generation SOI
These are the people you serendipitously meet as a result of your existing personal relationships. For example, back in 1996, I met my second and third clients ever at the wedding of a mutual friend. I met another client at a Pride parade I attended with my GLBT friends. Another at a Super Bowl party. Stuff like that. This can be an enormous source of business for you, if you're often out there in the world with a smile on your face and your antenna up, and can speak intelligently about your local real estate market to anyone who's interested (and please don't bore those who aren't!)

Everyone Else
These are the people you run into during your daily travels. Every single person you meet, every day, has the potential to be the newest member of your Direct SOI. Not all will, of course, but you never know who will end up being your biggest fan. It might be that young couple who stumbled into your Open House who had a child the same age as yours. Or that woman standing next to you at Ace Hardware getting a key made, who casually mentions she just moved to town. That guy you meet at the dog park. Your neighbor three doors down who is looking for his lost cat. The woman who calls you off your Craigslist ad to purchase your roller blades.

Again, HUGE potential with this category - if not today, then next month or next year.

So, those are the four branches of your Sphere of Influence. How might you adjust your goals to incorporate all four?

Guest Author Jennifer Allan-Hagedorn has authored multiple books and courses designed to teach agents her Sell with Soul philosophy that centers on four interrelated principles: Respect, Competence, Confidence and Enthusiasm.  The latest release of her book is available in the VanEd bookstore. You can also visit her online at www.sellwithsoul.com or attend one of her free teleseminars on a variety of topics of interest to the real estate community.

SOI 103: "I Think I've Blown it with My Sphere of Influence!"

"Dear Jennifer,

I've been reading your articles about SOI and my heart is sinking. I think I've blown it with my Sphere of Influence by constantly asking them for business and referrals. Is there a way I can redeem myself with my friends, or do I have to go make all new ones?

Bill"

I get this question a lot! Mostly from new or newer agents who have been brainwashed into believing that an SOI (Sphere of Influence) business model means that they're supposed to drive their friends nutso with constant reminders of their love for referrals. Most tell me that:

1) they felt it was wrong, but were convinced to do it anyway, and/or
2) they've felt their friends pull away and suspect they're avoiding the agent's calls.

Oops. Not at all good for business OR your social life!

Here's what I tell these distressed agents.

There are a couple of things they can do. If it suits their personality, they can address it head-on with an apology letter - very sincere, not too sappy, but friendly & apologetic, with a "let's move on" tone. I'm not convinced this is the best line of attack, but it might be effective if done well.

Of course, then the agent needs to follow it up with action - he needs to BE a non-referral-begging friend who happens to be a real estate agent. Coffee dates, casual emails, dinner parties - whatever socializing feels comfortable with the various members of his SOI. Oh, and he doesn't mention his real estate career unless it's appropriate, but strives to come across as a happy, enthusiastic, reliable, dependable, generally cool person who is probably a fabulous real estate agent, as well.

If the apology letter doesn't feel right, then he can just make a concerted effort to reconnect with his SOI, as above, and if the opportunity arises and it feels appropriate, give a little apology in person.

The other thing he can do is strive to beef up his Sphere of Influence by meeting new people and NEVER breathing a hint of referral-begging with them. He can meet new people thru his existing friends and by being out there in the world with his antenna up. An effective Sphere of Influence strategy is more about meeting people THRU one's Sphere, not necessarily generating business directly from the people in one's Sphere. It's a subtle distinction, but it's there.

Of course, the best approach is to not annoy one's friends in the first place, so that there's no need for apologies or redeeming one's dignity after the fact!

Guest Author Jennifer Allan-Hagedorn has authored multiple books and courses designed to teach agents her Sell with Soul philosophy that centers on four interrelated principles: Respect, Competence, Confidence and Enthusiasm.  The latest release of her book is available in the VanEd bookstore. You can also visit her online at www.sellwithsoul.com or attend one of her free teleseminars on a variety of topics of interest to the real estate community.

SOI 102: The SECRET to a Successful Sphere of Influence Business

Sphere of Influence = The People Who Know You

Wanna know the SECRET to running an effective Sphere of Influence business?

The secret to running a successful SOI-based business is to be a great real estate agent who loves her job and knows her market and stays in touch with the people she knows, without ever pestering them for business or referrals.

That's it! That's the secret! To be a great real estate agent who loves her job and knows her market and stays in touch with the people she knows, without ever pestering them for business or referrals.

Let's take these items one by one.

You're a great real estate agent
This is huge. Being a great real estate agent is not the same thing as being a great real estate prospector, even though that's what most of our training tends to imply. Being great means that you take  care of your clients as your first priority, not as an afterthought when your prospecting is done. Doing business this way helps you on so many levels. First, obviously, you'll have happy clients who will be delighted to refer you to everyone they know. Second and third, you'll be proud of the work you do and confident in the work you do, which will lead to the second requirement -

You love your job
When you're good at what you do and you know it, you'll probably absolutely love your job. And that excitement and enthusiasm is contagious to those around you.

When you're able to hold your head up high and announce that "I'm a Real Estate Agent and it's the Coolest Job in the World!" people will be drawn to you - as one agent I know puts it - they want some of what you're smoking! When the topic of real estate comes up in a social setting and you're able to say those magic words "I'm a real estate agent and it's the coolest job in the world!" people will ask YOU for your business card. It's beautiful.

Which leads to the third requirement:

You know your market
The best way to build rapport with strangers is be master of your market. If you know your local real estate market, and you KNOW you know your local real estate market, you'll find opportunities to share that knowledge all over the place.

It's amazing how much confidence this gives you and it's pretty easy, to strike up a conversation with a total stranger about real estate... if you know what you're talking about. You'd be surprised how many people will ask YOU for your business card if you sound like an expert.

So, for someone who needs to build a Sphere of Influence database from scratch, they should spend some quality time learning their market and putting themselves in social situations where they can share their knowledge with people who are interested.

You stay in touch with the people you know
This, of course, is really important. If you know a whole bunch of people, but you never make any effort to have a personal interaction with any of them (above and beyond drip campaigns), your sphere of influence efforts will crash and burn. To be someone's favorite real estate agent, you either need to have done a fantastic job for them in the past (and stayed in touch) or make an effort to be in touch with them on a somewhat regular basis. Especially if someone hasn't used your services before, it's really easy for another agent to swoop in and take your place!  

Just know that yes, if you intend to generate business and referrals from the people you know, you will need to take time to talk to them.

You never pester anyone for business or referrals
The last requirement is that you never pester the people you know or the people you meet for business or referrals. This is a tough pill to swallow for many agents. We're trained to ask for business and to make sure that everyone we know and meet is aware that we are desperate for business. I know, that's not what we say - but it's how it comes across. When we constantly or even sporadically remind the people we know that We Love Referrals, we send a message that is counterproductive to our goal of actually generating referrals.

Sooooooo.... Are you a great agent... who loves your job.... And knows your market.... And stays in touch with the people you know without ever pestering them for business or referrals? Excellent!

Guest Author Jennifer Allan-Hagedorn has authored multiple books and courses designed to teach agents her Sell with Soul philosophy that centers on four interrelated principles: Respect, Competence, Confidence and Enthusiasm.  The latest release of her book is available in the VanEd bookstore. You can also visit her online at www.sellwithsoul.com or attend one of her free teleseminars on a variety of topics of interest to the real estate community.

What we're reading: Internet Privacy tops our list this week

Don't be Evil, but Don't miss the train - This New York Times article sparked our interest as Google (among others) are both investigated and maligned for their internet security practices. What qualifies as a "best practice" in the online world may not be what the users think it should be. http://nyti.ms/HWvb4U 

There was a case that caught our attention where Bid Rigging in Foreclosure Auctions drew USDOJ charges that led to a plea deal in Alabama. The buyers wouldn't bid against each other but instead designate who would buy the property and then the group would have a second, secret auction later. This is illegal, so don't try this at home.  http://1.usa.gov/IzwBDj 

On a more entertaining note we enjoyed the story of the colossal cat on the Today show - check out this 39 pound kitty (which would equate to a 600 pound person) and see how sweet he was!  

There were also a few items of interest for instructors as we found articles on Ways to use Facebook effectively in class and Seven ways to wake the dead and inspire action with PowerPoint. If you're an instructor take a look at those quick reads for a few good tips.

 

And lastly, while staying on our instruction theme, we're at the Texas Real Estate Teachers Association (TRETA) Annual Conference this week in Fort Worth, Texas at the Historic Stockyards. There is a fantastic lineup of speakers including regulators and industry executives from all over Texas. Visit www.TRETA.org for more information or to see the schedule and we'll post any excellent updates that come from the conference.

 

Connect with us on any of our other social networks below to stay up on all that things social!

SOI 101: What Exactly is a Sphere of Influence (SOI) Business Model?

A Sphere of Influence business model is a strategy that focuses on attracting business to you from the people you know and the people you meet socially, as opposed to pursuing business from strangers. It's possible to run a nearly 100% SOI business and never have to make one cold call, memorize a prospecting script or knock on a strangers' door!

There are three primary activities in an effective SOI business model.

1. Nurturing the personal relationships you already have within your social network (that is, your friends - I call this group my "Group One." Clever, eh?)
   
   
2. Staying in touch with "everyone else" (that is, the people you know who aren't your friends - I call them my Group Two)
   
   
3. Meeting new people.

Before you panic and say that you don't have the time, money or energy to do all this socializing, don't! Running an SOI business is much less time-consuming and less expensive than just about any other systematized prospecting method, and can be far more effective, more quickly. 

Nurturing the personal relationships you already have
From a philosophical perspective, this means to ensure that the people in your social network (AKA Group One) know that you care about them. In a practical sense, it means that you strive to have a personal conversation with everyone in your social network as often as you can, at least once a quarter. A personal conversation can be a face to face lunch or coffee date, a phone call or even an email exchange. What it's not is a concerted effort to abuse your friends with a sales pitch. Always approach your social network as a friend first, and a real estate agent second, or third, or fourth.  Not the other way around.

Staying in touch with Everyone Else
Staying in touch with your "everyone else" group (AKA Group Two) just means that you keep your name in front of this crowd with periodic interesting, relevant, non-salesy written communications, delivered both through snail-mail and email. As long as your mailings are consistent and intelligent, you'll see a significant number of sales from even this minimal effort.

Meeting new people
An important part of an effective SOI model is to add to your Groups One and Two, especially in today's market where there is admittedly less business to go around. The more people you know, who know you, and think you're a generally cool person, the more that telephone will ring.

Running an effective SOI business model isn't nearly as complicated as some would have you believe. Yes, it takes some organization and commitment upfront, and an ongoing effort to stay in touch with the people you know and the people you meet, but once it's rolling and you're in the SOI habit, it won't feel like work at all! In fact, it might even feel suspiciously like FUN! And "the more fun you have selling real estate, the more real estate you will sell!"

Stay tuned for SOI 102: The SECRET to an Effective Sphere of Influence Business Model

 

Guest Author Jennifer Allan-Hagedorn has authored multiple books and courses designed to teach agents her Sell with Soul philosophy that centers on four interrelated principles: Respect, Competence, Confidence and Enthusiasm.  The latest release of her book is available in the VanEd bookstore. You can also visit her online at www.sellwithsoul.com or attend one of her free teleseminars on a variety of topics of interest to the real estate community.

It's already Spring and Tax Day is upon us ~ Have you taken time to create a Marketing Plan yet?

It's time to revisit marketing plans again!

If you didn't sit down in December to create your annual marketing plan, then now is the time. As the Spring market season quickly approaches agents should be getting ready now for what we hope is the busy season just ahead.

Do not worry about market forecasts or interest rates or even company advertising bills as you sit down to start planning. Instead, focus on what you can do to increase your personal traffic. Focus on your direct expenses and don't worry about indirect expenses that arise out of any given transaction. (Why not worry? Expenses are bad!) While you can save for a rainy day, you can't determine what calamity will befall any given transaction in advance, so planning for it won't help. Besides, we're looking for a positive year!

Clear some time in your schedule at the office. Don't plan in front of the TV while watching a congressional hearing or ER or even The Office. I assure you that your mood will be affected by any of those shows, and when planning it is best to keep an open mind to help you set some realistic goals and schedules. Another good reason to do this at the office is so that if you need help identifying what you did last year or the year before, you will be where the files are. Easy access to records will help speed up this process.

Now begin planning!

Sounds easy, but isn't. There are a variety of good resources out there that will help you get started. Programs such as Act! offer tools to help agents be more productive. I suggest that you start by reading a little bit on planning and goal setting, and Realtor Magazine Online has some good suggestions on where to start. You can read the article 8 Step personal marketing plan online. There are also links there that will show you sample plans and give you tips on Niche marketing and other areas that you may want to focus on. It's a good place to start, and now is the time.

Need a coaching program? Kelle Sparta of Sparta Success Systems offers an online coaching program that will help you identify your goals and plan and get you going.

What to Say (or not say) to Gracefully Decline the Monkey

I’m glad you stuck with me through this Monkey Series on the VanEd Newslog! You’ve made it all the way to the punch line. 

  

In the last installment, I promised to share some tips for showing your client the respect of letting him keep his Monkey (i.e. solving his own problem or dilemma). It’s really all in what you say… or don’t say as the case may be.  

  

Don't be an objection-buster. When a client throws out objections, concerns or stumbling blocks, think before you speak. Often these objections, concerns or stumbling blocks will be HIS Monkeys, not yours. Just smile, nod and make an "I hear ya" noise, and let the client continue. If he wants your input, he'll ask for it directly, but until he does, just listen without offering solutions.

 

If, after your moment of golden silence, you realize that this IS your Monkey, go ahead and offer a response or solution. If you aren't sure, just write it down or commit it to memory to ponder later. You can always accept a Monkey after the fact, but it's much tougher to return a Monkey after you've accepted it prematurely.

 

Ask "What's Your Plan B?" as if you are not guaranteeing the desired outcome... which you aren't. You can use this strategy with sellers who are being a little stubborn about pricing, accessibility or condition. Just sweetly ask them what they will do if their home doesn't sell for the price they "need" or, at all. This subtly lets them know that while you’ll do your best, you won't take full responsibility for their home selling - that's not a Monkey you’ll accept.

 

Check for Motivation. If a buyer or seller looks to you to solve a problem that isn't reasonably yours to solve (e.g. you give up some of your commission to put or hold a deal together), you can gently say something like "I've found that when a real estate agent wants to make a deal more than the other parties involved, it's not the right deal to make."

 

So, what IS the punch line?

 

If you know what Monkeys are yours to carry... and which are not... and you respect the other party enough to let him keep his own Monkeys, you'll be a much happier, healthier and RESTED real estate agent!

 

Guest Author Jennifer Allan-Hagedorn has authored five books and multiple courses designed to teach agents her Sell with Soul philosophy that centers on four interrelated principles: Respect, Competence, Confidence and Enthusiasm.  Her first book Sell with Soul is available in the VanEd bookstore. Her new book, Prospect with Soul for Real Estate Agents can be found online at www.sellwithsoul.com.

REALTOR® Association Professional Development Directors & Educators Summit this week

This week real estate educators and REALTOR® Association Professional Development Directors from around the country will gather in Wichita, Kansas for the RAPDD Summit. This full week will include presentations from top industry educators, Speaker Showcases and Instructional and Marketing ideas for trainers and associations. What are students looking for? What is it they really need? These questions will be discussed throughout the Summit.

If you are an educator, trainer, instructor or Association Education staff you can still follow along with all of the happenings at the Summit. Follow the RAPDD twitter stream or like RAPDD on Facebook. You can also look for updates on twitter from this years Summit. Learn more about RAPDD online at http://www.RAPDD.com.

Show Your Client the RESPECT of Declining the Monkey!

In the previous installment of this Newslog series, I wrote about CONTROL. Specifically, which issues of a real estate transaction (i.e. “Monkeys”) YOU control; which ones your CLIENT controls and which ones neither of you has any say over. The point in spelling it all out wasn't to give anyone permission to be rude to a buyer or seller when he tries to hand off his Monkey; no, rather to clarify which Monkeys are appropriate to decline. ("Declining the Monkey" means to refuse to accept responsibility for problems that are not yours to solve.)

 

Believe it or not, politely declining to take on your clients' monkeys has a lot to do with respect. Respecting your CLIENT'S intelligence, abilities and willingness to do his part. Acknowledging that your client has a brain and a checkbook, and that he can probably find some free time. A lot of us don't seem to give our clients the benefit of the doubt that they are willing or able to do their part, so we either offer to do it for them or walk away frustrated.

 

Sure, an upside-down seller will be more than happy to dump his upside-down monkey on you, if you agree to take it. A frustrated buyer would be tickled to let YOU figure out where that extra 5% down is going to come from when the terms of his loan change. But you CAN gracefully hand that monkey back to the buyer or seller without his even noticing the hand-off!

 

Let's use the example of the seller who owes $415,000 on a house that might be worth $399,000. To come out whole, he really needs to sell around $430,000. Oh, and he DOESN'T want to come to the table with money, or short sell the house.

 

What do you do?

 

Of course, you can refuse to take the listing, and indeed, that's what you might end up doing. Or you might agree to take the listing at a too-high price, and regret it every day for the next six months. But are those the only two options?

 

NO!

 

There is another solution to this problem. One that may result in a sellable listing. What IS this magic solution?

 

I don’t know. Neither do you.  

 

It's your seller's solution to discover. And if you let him keep his monkey, he may very well come up with the solution on his own. Maybe he'll decide to kiss up to Aunt Lulu and ask her for a short-term loan to cover the spread. Maybe he'll decide a short-sale isn't out of the question. Maybe he'll agree to make the improvements you recommend to give him a better shot at a higher price.

 

Or maybe he'll come up with something brilliant none of us thought of.

 

But... but... but... how DO you show your prospect or client the respect of letting him keep his own monkeys? What do you say? Or not say?

 

    Stay tuned! 

 

 

Guest Author Jennifer Allan-Hagedorn has authored five books and multiple courses designed to teach agents her Sell with Soul philosophy that centers on four interrelated principles: Respect, Competence, Confidence and Enthusiasm.  Her first book Sell with Soul is available in the VanEd bookstore. Her new book, Prospect with Soul for Real Estate Agents can be found online at www.sellwithsoul.com.

Instruction, Real Estate, Appraisal and Beer top our reading lists this week

The following were the eye catching stories that... well... caught our eyes this past week.

Instructors and presenters should be always looking to improve their skill set. This article in the Denver Business Journal might just help do that. Take a look at "How to get the most out of your PowerPoint presentation" and see if you agree.

The Wall Street Journal posted an article on the upswing in Manufactured Housing. The article correctly discussed the still commonly held view that manufactured = trailer home, but that just is not the case. We were struck by the uptick in stocks for the builders in this market. Is now a good time to bring this idea to your buyers? Maybe. Take a look at "Manufactured Housing under Renovation" to learn more.

As tax season is in full swing we passed around an article on record keeping. Bank of the West published a quick guide on "How Long to keep Financial Records" which, as it turned out, taught one team member that it was ok to discard cable bills.

Just in time for Spring the Appraisal Practices Board (or APB if you needed to add another real estate achronym to your vocabulary list) put out a notice, and our tweet hashtags say exactly how we feel about it;

Appraisal Practices Board (APB) http://bit.ly/GK0EJH Solicitation for Subject Matter Experts (SMEs): Valuation of Green Buildings  #abouttime #green

Our team also found interesting a story from Bloomberg on the fight to save light beer. While that normally would not have much to do with business, this story has everything to do with changing marketing concepts to fit current times. Being able to update a plan to the current end-user is critical in any industry. With a new type of real estate consumer, and an ever changing real estate market, real estate professionals may find this type of shift interesting as they try to create new marketing plans or update older ones. Check out "Light Beer fights for Life as craft brews invade shelves" and see what we mean.

And maybe the most important update came from our own guest author, Randy Kelly, who helped us understand the new "FHA MIP Changes" in his recent Finance Friday post. Not sure we appreciate the increased rates and fees on the Mortgage Insurance Premiums for these types of loans, but at least now we understand what they will be.

These stories and many more were or are available on one of our social network sites listed below. Please join us there!