​This year’s NCAA March Madness tournament has fully kicked off with the First Four games concluding yesterday—Kansas State winning over Wake Forest (95-88) and Mount St. Mary’s winning over New Orleans (67-66). The first two days has certainly been filled with lots excitement and unforeseen events and the happenings in the First Four showcase what college basketball fans can expect on the upcoming games over the coming weeks. Surprisingly, basketball fan or not, if you are a real estate leads prospector, a number of key takeaways from this segment of March Madness can teach you a thing or two about your prospecting efforts. 

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You’ve probably heard this countless times: that real estate is a “contact” sport. And just like the First Four, there are a couple of things that real estate professionals can learn to take that winning shot in their leads prospecting. 
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Oh, my gosh… Oh, my gosh… OH, MY GOSH!! You can see this in the faces of those who watched the match between Mount St. Mary’s Mountaineers and the New Orleans Privateers, with the Mountaineers beating the latter, 67 to 66, after they stole a full-court pass, denying New Orleans a second shot. It was certainly a close victory, and one could ask if this was just because of pure luck. 
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Whether its skill, luck or both, each team certainly prepared to the fullest and played their very best. In the world of lead prospecting, this is certainly the case—every real estate leads prospector should always start their calls warmed up with their scripts and dialogues and prepared with their lead management plan for every contact they make. Sometimes, you may just chance upon the most motivated of prospects from the least favorable lead sources; and when the time comes, you should be prepared to take that winning shot and set that appointment!

There is nothing more true in this year’s First Four. In the game between the Kansas State Wildcats and the Wake Forest Demon Deacons. The Wildcats, being rather underrated and disadvantaged a couple of occasions in the game, won by a good margin against the Deacons, 95 to 88.

Just like in prospecting, a real estate leads prospector will probably be on the wrong side of the fence for the greater part of his or her calling efforts. But just because you get a stream of no’s does not mean that these leads are not interested “forever”. It simply means that they are not ready to buy or sell a home during the time of your conversation but that may not be the case later on. So, don’t be afraid to circle back to these leads because you’ll never know until you get to talk to them again.

Looking back at the match between Mount St. Mary’s and New Orleans, it must have been a nail-biting wait for both teams (and fans alike) before the final buzzer. This is a classic buzzer-beater win, but it simply proves that it’s not over until it’s over!

Just like that game-changing steal that denied New Orleans their shot, when you prospect, a real estate leads prospector should find other ways to get in touch whether they get a yes or a no from a lead. For example, if a seller says that he or she is not interested to put their home in the market, come out of contribution and offer to send a free valuation of their property. Who knows, when the time (or price) is right, they may just consider to sell and get you simply because you offered to give free info rather than be pushy. Again, it’s not over until it’s over.


Lead prospecting is the easiest and most profitable solution to scale your business. Every successful real estate professional or team works with an effective and easy to understand lead management solution to get the best quality leads and have the most number of conversions. 

Our team at Real Estate Leads Prospector will show you how we make lead prospecting and management easy for you. For more information and tips, visit http://www.RealEstateLeadsProspector.com or call us at 407-401-9225.

As we are well into the second week of March, many fans of college basketball wait in great anticipation of the NCAA's March Madness. As we come closer to Selection Sunday and to the First Four, I can imagine this year’s top teams going full throttle with their preparations to make sure that they get all their shots covered and avoid making the tiniest (and often critical) errors in the game. And speaking of errors, in the real estate arena the spring market is in full swing across the United States; and agents just as well should up their game in their prospecting efforts. As it is a seller’s market in most areas, with less inventory to go around with, real estate leads prospectors should stay sharp and avoid making mistakes that can cost them finding and getting that appointment set with a strongly motivated prospect.
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In a highly competitive spring market, agents should be mindful of their leads prospecting habits to avoid wasting time and resources. Here are 5 common mistakes that agents that agents do that let them miss out on sellers, big time!
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Yes, there is a lot of competition in spring. So, if you do not allot enough time to prospect for leads, you are definitely missing out on a lot of possible business opportunities. Remember that prospecting is a dollar producing business practice, and it is important to be diligent when prospecting. Block off at least 2 hours a day for calling leads, and JUST calling leads. During this time, you and/or your team should be performing intensive prospecting calls, going through as many leads as you can in your system. This ensures that you do not let any potential seller out there slip through the cracks and end up doing business with your competition

Alright, so you decided to block off time for doing calls. However, you’re getting almost nothing but voicemail. With that in mind, it is important to adjust your call window. Almost everyone today owns a cellphone, so performing your prospecting calls strategically will increase the chances of getting a live conversation. Mostly, the best times to prospect are during low-activity portions of the day—between 10AM to 12NN and between 4PM to 6PM. Weekends are also a great since there is a very good chance that your leads are not at work. 

If you are unable to prospect during these chunks of time, consider hiring a dedicated real estate leads prospector or ISA to cover your business on these critical hours so that you do not miss out.

It is important for every agent (especially the newer ones) to appreciate that buying or selling a home is a very big decision that anyone makes, and not everyone you talk to is ready when you first touch base with them. At any rate, someone you have spoken to months back, or even years back, who was not ready to sell then may be in a different situation now. So, dig deep into your database, harvest those old leads and start calling. There are many cases where leads as old 3 years (and beyond) have suddenly expressed interest in getting their home sold. Some even “needing to” more than “wanting to”. Whatever the case may be, it is to their best interest if you are there to help them get their home sold.
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Many real estate CRM’s (e.g. Commissions Inc., Top Producer, Market Leader) do not only serve as a repository for your leads but also have many features that show you the search “behaviors” of those who visited your site. Behaviors such as property views, saved searches, and market report requests, tell you a lot about the level of interest of your prospects. That being said, you can greatly optimize your leads prospecting by creating call lists based on these behaviors. 

​Ages ago, telling the rest of the world that you are the best there was and the best there is in real estate may (take note…MAY) have worked. Today, however, going this direction makes you no different from a run-of-the-mill telemarketer which, quite frankly, people avoid like the plague! Many seller today would prefer someone who understands their situation and their needs; and will work to having these fulfilled. Coming out of contribution when offering your services is more powerful and infinitely more personal. I’m not saying that showing your team’s capabilities and achievements is not important, but this should come secondary to genuinely offering to help your prospects achieve their real estate goals.

Nurturing good real estate leads prospecting habits and methods opens more opportunities for appointments and closed deals. Of course, with any good habit, just like basketball, should first come proper implementation of a winning strategy and, most importantly, constant practice. For more information, tips, and resources on real estate prospecting and lead management, visit http://www.RealEstateLeadsProspector.com

Need help setting up a lead management system for your real estate team? Let’s talk. Call 407-401-9225 or send us an email at [email protected] 

​It’s probably no surprise for real estate professionals to know that the spring market has started early this 2017. However, for many buyers who do not have access to all the information that agents have, many probably do not know nor appreciate that the best time to start their home search is now. That being said, there is no better time for real estate leads prospectors to reach out to your prospects and let them know that a great sense of urgency is needed especially if they wish to get the home that they have been wishing for all this time.

​With a flood of buyers in the market this spring, anyone who is truly motivated to buy a home needs to be prepared to get ahead of the race or else risk losing the home of their dreams. Here are 7 things that agents should advise their buyers to help them stay in front of the pack.

Financials is the first, and possibly most crucial, step to getting started in the home buying process. Important as this may be, it is a sad fact that real estate leads prospectors encounter a lot of resistance when it comes to this subject matter. A lot of buyers feel that they don’t need a pre-approval until they find the home of their dreams, only to enter a nightmare when they DO find that home but end up not getting that much-needed pre-approval.

Especially in spring where the market is swarming with buyers, agents should let their buyers know the importance of getting pre-approved even before they make that home search. If your team has a preferred lender, what better time to endorse your buyer to your partner and assure them that you have been working closely with your lending professional and that you are confident that they can get their financials straightened out.

Getting your buyer pre-approved is like getting a boost of nitro in home-buying race track. 
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Although cash-buyers seem to be very enticing to most home sellers, a lot meet this with skepticism. The last thing any seller wants is to waste time showing their property to a supposed cash buyer and find out that this person can’t afford.

With that, it is important for cash-buyers to be prepared to show their financial statements. It is a win-win for both parties since 1) the buyer will know exactly how much he/she is willing to shell out and 2) the seller will know if the buyer is indeed a serious one and can truly afford the home.
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Being a cash buyer is already an advantage. All a buyer needs to do is prove it.
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Thinking of buying a car or changing jobs? If a buyer is truly motivated to get ahead in the spring market, it is best to advise them to avoid these major financial changes. Financial situations such as these have a great impact on a buyer’s ability to purchase a home. For one, depending on a buyer’s financial capacity, it may affect the loan pre-approval. There is a chance that a buyer can be denied unless he/she settles this items first.

Now, what if a buyer decides on these financial changes after a pre-approval has been given. This now leads to the next item on the list.
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Yes, let’s get real. Pre-approved or not, any home buyer has a pretty good idea how much he or she can truly shell out every month to pay for a home. A pre-approval is given based on the financials that the lender has, but this may not include the kind of lifestyle that the buyer/borrower wants to maintain. It is this “reality” that leads to loans (despite a seemingly hefty screening and approval process) ending up as foreclosures. 

No one wins here. So, motivated as a buyer may be, let’s be honest and realistic with what we can afford.
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​Is your prospect renting? Do they own a home and have a mortgage to pay-off? This is another hurdle that you should discuss with your prospective buyers. If they are renting, are they on a long-term lease or are they month-to-month? If they are long-term, is it possible to get out of the lease, especially if they find the right home now? Do they own a home that they must sell first or have a mortgage that needs to be paid-off?

Answering all these questions will determine what first needs to be done to ensure a smooth and seamless home search. With your help, your buyers can rest assured that they can get their home purchase moving or, at the very least, give them options on how to proceed.

This is something that buyers probably do not know. Most home-buyers would think that the only thing that matters to sellers is the amount of money that they will net in their pockets. While there is some truth to this, there are other factors that sellers take into consideration when selecting offers. If your buyer finds a home that has 10 offers being presented to the seller, it would help to find out what your buyer can offer that other don’t. It can be as straight-forward like a higher down-payment or something as subtle as letting the seller know how special the home would be for the buyer.

Which leads to our final tip.
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Yes. No matter what it may be, as an agent, this is where your prowess comes in—to help your buyers go through the home search and home buying process as easily as possible. So, do let your buyers know that you, especially if they hire you as their agent, are on top of things and will do everything realistically possible for them to get the home of their dreams.

Spring is an exciting time to buy a home, but it does have its share of challenges. Letting your buyers understand these hurdles and helping them get passed them is a crucial first step to a successful home purchase.

​More information and tips to help you move forward with your home buyers are available at http://www.RealEstateLeadsProspector.com. Reaching out to people and building solid connections between you and your prospects is our passion. Know how we do it. Call 407-401-9225.