You don't need leads

What!?!?!?

Yes, you heard me: you do not need leads.

What are leads, really? Complete strangers who don't know you, you don't know them, and they probably distrust realtors. Typically they are people who have reluctantly opted into some trap of a marketing system. The company that developed that marketing trap has then sold you this person's info. This 'lead' does not want to hear from you. They will ignore your calls and texts and emails. If you do reach them, they will likely be rude or vague. (Yes, sometimes leads come from open houses and other sources.)

For every 100 of these "leads" - maybe you can 'convert' three of them. With a LOT of effort. They don't know you other than as some annoying, pushy, salesperson who is trying to 'get' them.

Remind me: why do you need leads?

I know you think you need them. You probably are never going to concede this point. You want leads. You feel you need leads.  The entire real estate industry pushes "leads".

Let me ask you this: would you like a database of 200 people with jobs, money, and own homes with equity?  More importantly, these people LOVE you! They know you are a realtor, they trust you as a realtor, and when they go to buy/sell they will call you first. Now, do you want this database, or do you want leads?

The answer is obvious. The database wins all day every day. But the real question is: what are you doing every day? Are you building and nurturing a database of these amazing people, or are you hunting and chasing leads? I guess there is a third option: doing nothing, hoping and praying that somehow magically the phone rings. But really what you might be doing is sitting around "thinking" about all the things you could be doing to build your business. That's still doing...nothing.

In any event, I will give you the benefit of the doubt that you are NOT doing option 3. So let me ask you again: do you really need leads?

The answer is you do not.

But what are you going to do instead?

Worry and be overwhelmed. Because while this solution seems so simple - go find a few hundred amazing people - you may not have that now. So to build that, you need:

• A database!  You need a place to put all these people. 
• Learn how to use the database.
• You have to regularly go out and meet and talk to people
• Patience. All these amazing people who love and trust you - we don't know when they will need us, or when they will refer us to someone who does. 
  
  

Ah...this seems too complicated. Too hard. It will take too long. Therefore the obvious solution is to go do something - like chase leads! 

I think I shared this a few months ago, but it bears repeating:

“The patient man is never desperate. The patient man has time to spare, while the man in a hurry is always on the verge of bankruptcy as far as time is concerned. In any situation you can think of, impatience is a source of weakness and fear, while patience represents substance and strength.”   - Jim Rohn

You build a database with patience. You build a business with patience. Real estate is a 30-year career. What's the rush?