If you are invited to a business or real estate networking event, it is crucial to enter it with a game plan.
First, Know Your Purpose for the event. Are you there to socialize and have a good time or to generate referrals? If your answer is to generate referrals, keep reading.
When you are at the event, be prepared to work the room and talk to at least 15 people. And when you approach these people, don’t simply hand out your information, ask them for theirs. This will allow for easier follow-up and you hold the cards.
During the conversation make sure you let them know right away what you do for a living. “What do you do for a living? I’m a real estate broker.” Inevitably, someone will ask you: how’s the market? The best way to answer is to say that it depends if you are buying, selling, renting or investing.
This can spark a conversation as you they are in the market for real estate, and if so what type. Once the talk is over, make sure to have a business card ready and ask for theirs. If they do no have one, kindly ask for their information (have your Blackberry, iPhone, etc. ready).
If someone seems reluctant to hand out their info, offer an incentive such as “I send out an email newsletter once a month with valuable information about the market. It’s free, easy to read and very informative.”
Once you have a list of names and contact information, don’t forget to send a follow-up email. This will show that you are diligent and help separate yourself from the competition.
Additionally, this unique tactic I ran into at a networking event can also be used: I once met one of the best salespeople in the business and I asked her for her business card. She told me she didn’t have one. I was pretty shocked and asked her: how come one of the best in the business doesn’t carry a business card, and she replied: Give me your information and I’ll be happy to send you one…”
It was a great way to get my information and assure another contact.
We’ll see you home.
Friday, October 29, 2010
Friday, October 22, 2010
Thinking Forward
After finding an outstanding article by Inman News, we at BARAK Realty would like to echo the strong goal-oriented thoughts written by Bernice Ross.
Ross mentions an impressive statistic on how goal-setters are routinely more successful in their careers. According to a study devised by Mark McCormack on Harvard Business students: “At the beginning of the study, only 3 percent of the graduates had written goals, 13 percent had goals that were not in writing, and 84 percent had no goals whatsoever. Ten years later, the 13 percent who had goals were earning twice as much as those who had no goals at all.”
The process of setting goals and writing down affirmations are often overlooked and can jump-start your career and productivity. Practice writing down goals and personal affirmations and before you know it, you will see immediate dividends. Especially in real estate, – where income is a concrete figure – set your goals for the year beforehand and monitor them.
No. 3 and No. 4 are also items that we preach at BARAK: Lead and Referral Generation. The first step in building a large business is to generate leads. This should be at the top of your list. Focus on your Web presence and sphere of influence and target ones who are more inclined to do business with you, not ones who will waste your time.
Generating referrals is also a major step in keeping your business running on all cylinders. Stay in touch with your past clients and send them information, reminders, anniversaries or thank you cards at least three times a year.
Our last point of emphasis revolves around monitoring your progress. If you don’t keep up with your goals, who will? Remember to stay in control and keep yourself motivated and watch the results follow.
We'll see you home.
Ross mentions an impressive statistic on how goal-setters are routinely more successful in their careers. According to a study devised by Mark McCormack on Harvard Business students: “At the beginning of the study, only 3 percent of the graduates had written goals, 13 percent had goals that were not in writing, and 84 percent had no goals whatsoever. Ten years later, the 13 percent who had goals were earning twice as much as those who had no goals at all.”
The process of setting goals and writing down affirmations are often overlooked and can jump-start your career and productivity. Practice writing down goals and personal affirmations and before you know it, you will see immediate dividends. Especially in real estate, – where income is a concrete figure – set your goals for the year beforehand and monitor them.
No. 3 and No. 4 are also items that we preach at BARAK: Lead and Referral Generation. The first step in building a large business is to generate leads. This should be at the top of your list. Focus on your Web presence and sphere of influence and target ones who are more inclined to do business with you, not ones who will waste your time.
Generating referrals is also a major step in keeping your business running on all cylinders. Stay in touch with your past clients and send them information, reminders, anniversaries or thank you cards at least three times a year.
Our last point of emphasis revolves around monitoring your progress. If you don’t keep up with your goals, who will? Remember to stay in control and keep yourself motivated and watch the results follow.
We'll see you home.
Friday, October 1, 2010
Ways to Get Motivated and Improve Productivity
Working long hours can be draining on an emotional and personal level. It can be easy to fall into a rut. At BARAK Realty we’ve put together a series of tips to help motivate and inspire people whether they are in the real estate business or any other for that matter.
No. 1: Forget About What’s Missing: Focus on What You Have
When things change for the worse, many desirable resources are inevitably missing – including information, knowledge, tools, systems, personnel, and capabilities. These deficiencies can paralyze many people, who believe they can no longer make decisions and take action. A strategic response is to take advantage of every resource that is immediately available in order to achieve as many small results and make as much daily progress as possible.
Work with every resource and opportunity at hand, and your confidence will continually grow. This goes for both your professional and personal life. Focusing on what is at your disposal will increase productivity and overall morale.
No. 2: Forget About Events, Focus on Your Responses.
When things are going well, many people think they are actually in control of events. That’s why they feel so defeated and depressed when things turn bad. They think they’ve lost some fundamental ability. The most consistently successful people in the world know that can’t control most events, but they continually work toward greater control over their creative responses to events. Since you can’t control the forces of nature, the weather or the economy and given that times are uncertain right now, it is best to focus all of your attention and energy on being creatively responsive to all of the unpredictable events that lie ahead.
No. 3: Forget About Who You Were, Focus on Who You Can Be.
Many people are stuck living in the past and dwell on mistakes or their own shortcomings. The same people define themselves by external circumstances. When these abruptly or unexpectedly change, they don’t know who they are, so they keep trying to be who they used to be. Right now is a great time to take your cues from the inside – from your dreams, ideals, values, and operating principles. These need never change, regardless of the circumstances. Become self-directed, self-managed and self-motivated.
It is our hope that this motivates everyone to reach for their dreams and look ahead at a brighter future.
We'll see you home
No. 1: Forget About What’s Missing: Focus on What You Have
When things change for the worse, many desirable resources are inevitably missing – including information, knowledge, tools, systems, personnel, and capabilities. These deficiencies can paralyze many people, who believe they can no longer make decisions and take action. A strategic response is to take advantage of every resource that is immediately available in order to achieve as many small results and make as much daily progress as possible.
Work with every resource and opportunity at hand, and your confidence will continually grow. This goes for both your professional and personal life. Focusing on what is at your disposal will increase productivity and overall morale.
No. 2: Forget About Events, Focus on Your Responses.
When things are going well, many people think they are actually in control of events. That’s why they feel so defeated and depressed when things turn bad. They think they’ve lost some fundamental ability. The most consistently successful people in the world know that can’t control most events, but they continually work toward greater control over their creative responses to events. Since you can’t control the forces of nature, the weather or the economy and given that times are uncertain right now, it is best to focus all of your attention and energy on being creatively responsive to all of the unpredictable events that lie ahead.
No. 3: Forget About Who You Were, Focus on Who You Can Be.
Many people are stuck living in the past and dwell on mistakes or their own shortcomings. The same people define themselves by external circumstances. When these abruptly or unexpectedly change, they don’t know who they are, so they keep trying to be who they used to be. Right now is a great time to take your cues from the inside – from your dreams, ideals, values, and operating principles. These need never change, regardless of the circumstances. Become self-directed, self-managed and self-motivated.
It is our hope that this motivates everyone to reach for their dreams and look ahead at a brighter future.
We'll see you home
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