FAQ #3: I’m afraid that if I don’t let my friends know that I want their referrals, they’ll think I’m too busy.

Sounds reasonable, but in reality, that’s not how people think. When you ask for referrals, doesn’t that imply that you need business? And if you need business, doesn’t that imply that you don’t have as much as you want? And if you don’t have as much business as you want… doesn’t that imply that there’s a REASON you don’t have all the business you want?

Asking for referrals implies that you aren’t busy enough. And why aren’t you busy enough? Because you aren’t very good at what you do?

To me, that’s the first thing that occurs to me when someone asks for referrals. For example, I love my accountant and I’ve always assumed he was terribly successful. That didn’t stop me from sending people his way, though. However, a few years ago, he started a marketing campaign that included asking for referrals. When I got a mass-mailed letter from him asking me to refer my friends to him, I was shocked and even a little disappointed. I figured that someone as good as he was would never need to ask for referrals! My respect for him and his competence went down a notch.

People want to work with other people who are successful. They don’t usually hire someone because they feel sorry for them; in fact, inspiring pity from others is a quick road to failure.

The only way your friends are going to think you’re too busy for them is if you act too busy for them. Don’t ever whine about your business; don’t act frazzled, overwhelmed or rushed. Always behave confidently, as if everything is under control.

FAQ #2: You advise not to ask for referrals – so how do your friends know to send them to you?

There’s an art to inspiring people to refer business to you that doesn’t involve putting them on the spot. It’s not complicated, but it does require a bit of a paradigm shift away from thinking you have to ask for what you want!

If you’re good at what you do and seem to enjoy doing it… and if the people you know and the people you meet can tell that you’re good at what you do and enjoy doing it, they’ll want to send you business or even give you theirs. It really is that simple.

We’ll talk about this a lot in the program.

Welcome to the SOI Reality Show with Jennifer Allan!

This is going to be fun, I promise you. If you’ve never experienced the euphoria of depending on the people you know for most or even all of your real estate business, you are in for a treat, my friend. No more cold-calling! No more door-knocking! No more expensive farming campaigns that don’t work anyway!

Put aside everything you’ve ever heard about real estate prospecting (except, of course, whatever you’ve heard from me!) and open your mind to a new way of generating business. Instead of chasing FSBO’s or expired listings, you’ll meet a few friends for lunch. Instead of implementing an expensive postcard-of-the-month campaign, you’ll send out an interesting, personal, non-salesy email to everyone you know. Instead of begging for referrals, you’ll attract business to you without ever asking for it.

It’s a beautiful way to make a living. And we’re going to do it together!

Here’s what we’re going to do. First, we’ll make a list of everyone we know, regardless of whether or not we think they’d send us business. Next, we’ll track down their contact information and enter it into our contact management systems. We’ll then write a great announcement or reconnection letter and send it out, business card enclosed.

We’ll create an SOI business plan and set some goals. Not production goals, but rather activity goals. Such as “Every week, I’ll go to lunch twice, make five personal phone calls and send out ten personal emails.” Or whatever.

Then… the fun will begin! We’ll implement our plan, together, and help keep each other on track. I’ll hold you accountable to your goals and you’ll do the same for me. We’ll stay in touch via the Member’s Only Blog Forum, newsletters and email. We might even have a contest or two to keep the competitive spirit high. We’ll compare notes and share ideas. We’ll provide a sounding board to each other to brag about our successes … or even moan about our embarrassing moments.

And, oh yeah. We’ll sell some REAL ESTATE!!!

While the program doesn’t officially begin until March 1, 2008, those who are ready to get going right away can get a little jump-start on the process on this blog. Stay tuned!

All my best,

Jennifer

FAQ #1: How is this program different from the other referral-based programs out there?

First, let me say that I am not an expert on the other programs. I have a reasonably good grasp of Brian Buffini’s methods, but only passing familiarity with Joe Stumpff and Rick DeLuca. So, my response here is based somewhat on hearsay from agents who have tried these other programs, with various degrees of success.

The most significant difference seems to be that my focus isn’t on generating referrals, per se. I don’t push for referrals; in fact, my “program” can’t really be called “referral-based” at all. Sure, your efforts will generate referrals from the people you know, but believe it or not, those referrals aren’t the primary goal of the program.  

I think all the hype about building a “referral-based business” gives agents the wrong idea of where to focus their efforts. The intent seems to be to bombard the people they already know with their sales pitch, under the guise of being helpful, in the hopes that those people being bombarded will feel obligated to send the agent business.

My program takes a different approach. I’ll simply encourage you to expose yourself to the world (in an entirely proper way, of course!) as the wonderful person you already are. We’ll look for opportunities for you to socialize with the people you know in ways that are comfortable for you, as well as to meet new people to add to your Sphere of Influence. I won’t ask you to prospect to any of these contacts (in fact, I’ll specifically advise you not to), but you’ll learn how to respectfully let them know what you do and inspire them to care!

In short, my program teaches you how to draw business to you … without asking for it. You won’t be sending out monthly newsletters or dropping off trinkets that are simply thinly disguised pleas for referrals. You won’t be cold-calling your friends asking for business or categorizing them based on whether or not they commit to giving you referrals.  You’ll simply be YOU, a nice guy or gal, with a good head on your shoulders, who happens to sell real estate for a living.