Prospect Your Way to the Next Level: Prospecting Secrets from a Pro.

Your prospecting success relates directly to your ability to take your career to the next level. As such, your prospecting plan, literally, serves as your blueprint to success—and career gains. While prospecting plans are as individualized as each agent, all good plans encompass similar characteristics and key points. You should be spending 70 to 75 percent of your time prospecting. With that kind of time investment, you need to back it up with a solid plan.

So what makes a prospecting plan a success?

Choose a clear goal. Your plan should define a clear, realistic goal that you can update annually. “Is your goal to get clients quickly? Then you’ll definitely want to include open houses prominently in your plan,” explains McClure. Keep your strength and weaknesses in mind when determining your goal and developing your marketing. “You want to stay within your comfort zone. You’ll have more fun and success.”

Know your niches. There are thousands of niches to focus on: first time home buyers, income properties, foreclosures. But how do you know which niche is right for you? Choose the niche or niches that are most important to you. “Your base niche is always your sphere-of-influence—the people you know right now. Pick your other niches based on who you like working with,” says McClure. “I’ve always liked working in multifamily so that’s always one of my niches.” Due to market fluctuations, McClure suggests having at least three niches that you develop in your prospecting plan. For example, while first-time home buyers are a good niche now, it wasn’t the greatest niche in 2005.

Mind a mentor. Find a mentor to help you evaluate your prospecting plan and, later, ensure you’re working your plan. “Your mentor can be anyone who will keep you accountable. It’s got to be someone whose opinion and input will add value, but also someone you respect enough to take what they say seriously,” says McClure. Your mentor should help you tweak your prospecting plan yearly.

Develop a script. When reaching out to potential clients, a script can be your lifeline to staying on target and savior from awkward pauses. The goal of your script is to allow you to develop a personal relationship within the first 15 to 25 seconds of your conversation and also to gather information that will help you gain a new client. To that end, use the 5 “w” questions: who, what, when, where, and why. “Yes and no questions are conversation enders. You don’t want to hear ‘no’ so don’t give them a chance to say it. Use the ‘w’ questions instead and you’ll get more information,” explains McClure. “Once you have that information, you can use it to solve their ‘problems.’” Here’s an example:

                You: What did you like about the house you saw this weekend?

                Potential client: I liked the open floor plans.

                You: I know of many listings with great open floor plans. Now, where are you focusing your house search?

                Develop your script in a flow chart style. If answer a, see response a, if answer b, see response b, etc. By anticipating many different answers, you’ll be ready with a successful response that keeps the conversation on track.

Practice, practice,  practice.  Whether you role-play with your mentor or your spouse, practice in entirety your scripted scenario in a realistic manner. Memorizing key parts of your script is a good idea. “You need to be careful when you’re reading.  It can come across as very dead pan. By memorizing some parts, it’ll come across more naturally

Plan to prospect.   Failure to adequately schedule your prospecting is one of the biggest pitfalls of prospecting. Include in your prospecting plan, a rough estimation of the number of hours you’ll devote weekly to executing your plan and then follow through. Schedule your time each week to meet your plan goals.  Remember when scheduling your prospecting time to accommodate your clients’ availability. For example, McClure says, “If you’re niche is first-time buyers, you want to approach them after work or on weekends when they’re available.”

Anticipate the unplanned. Sometimes your best prospecting opportunities occur when you’ve least anticipated them like at the grocery store or library. Because you never know when you might meet a potential client, McClure suggests always being mindful of your appearance and ready with your business card. He adds, “Don’t be afraid to talk to the person behind you in line at the grocery store. You might create the right real estate moment and gain a new client.”

About Kevin McClure: Since 1999 Kevin McClure’s Powerhouse Realty (www.azpowerhouse.com) has served the greater Phoenix area and Yuma. With more than 14 years of real estate experience, McClure devotes much of his time to training and educating new licensees at real estate schools and Powerhouse Realty. In addition, McClure consults for the Arizona Association of Realtors Contract Committee.

Contact Kevin McClure at 1-480-947-6048 or e-mail This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .Visit online at www.azpowerhouse.com.