Last week I was facilitating a prospecting workshop for a commercial real estate brokerage firm in New York City. At the start of my workshops, I ask each attendee to define their respective prospecting campaigns. The most common answer is “I call, and if I get voice mail – I will call back next week.” To this, I ask the AWE question. And What Else? This generally creates a variety of looks on the faces of my audience. Some stares suggest they are thinking, others look down (suggesting they have no clue), while a few inevitably roll their eyes and suggest they find my question irritating.
To get the attention of your prospects today, you better have a robust answer to the question “And what else?”. Prospect calling, without a complementary campaign, is a tough way to make a living. It’s like cold calling, without a defined value proposition or target audience. You know, that thing we all did back in the 1990’s. Surely, no one does that anymore!
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Ok, still today, most commercial real estate brokers define their prospecting campaign as ‘simply picking up the phone and calling’. Don’t get me wrong, the prospect call is the most powerful and effective approach to winning meetings. And while a complementary marketing campaign around your calls will make the call more effective – marketing by itself does not create business to the level that prospecting does. You need both.
So, what does a comprehensive prospecting campaign look like? It has 3 essential variables.
1. A defined value proposition for a targeted audience
2. A complementary personal presence or property specific marketing campaign, consisting of: personal, physical, AND digital elements
3. A targeted prospecting campaign of calls, letters, and ultimately meetings – where you ask for the business
Need help putting together your prospecting plan? Join me Thursday, August 24th at 1pm EST. I will be presenting a special, free master class – ‘The Death of the Cold Call: New Prospecting Strategies’. During this event, we will review all three elements of a comprehensive prospecting campaign and share proven tactics for you to implement right away – tactics that will put you in position to start winning more meetings. To register for this free master class, click here.
