Become A Lead Generation Jedi: Use The Force To Generate More Real Estate Leads
If you want to generate more real estate leads, keep reading to learn the ways of the Jedi, my padawan.
Here is your step-by-step guide to becoming a lead generating Jedi master.
I know this might sound crazy, especially if you are new around here, and especially if you are not on my email list, but hear me out.
You will learn a few things and we'll have some fun along the way.
Don't worry, I'm not suggesting that you take up a lightsaber or get yourself into a podrace.
You'll learn how you can bump up your real estate lead generation... which can lead to some extra transactions and commission dollars along the way.
First, You must unlearn what you have learned
The reality is, there is a lot of misinformation, outdated information and untested theories when it comes to real estate lead generation, online marketing and online advertising.
If your idea of a lead generation strategy is posting and commenting on Facebook and your website marketing consists of only have a page on broker's website with no specific traffic getting strategies, we have a lot of work to do.
Let me know if this sounds familiar:
Spend 30-45 minutes on Facebook in the morning
Check in on the drama in some Facebook groups
Click over to your email and weed through a few emails
Go over to a few of your favorite websites and "Pin" a few things
Flip a few articles in FlipBook
Maybe Check your Google Analytics
Head back to Facebook to see if you missed anything
Stare blurry eyed at your CRM, decide you don't feel like calling these people because it's been so long since you talked to them last
Walk out to coffee pot for a refill
Jump on to a webinar to learn about the "latest" lead generation strategy
Go back to Facebook and drop into a Group and post a question asking how everyone is generating their leads.
Go watch some videos on YouTube to try to find some motivation
Finally publish something on Instagram about the new local cupcake shop
You might think being online will bring you buyer leads, that time "hanging out with your sphere" on Facebook will lead to referrals and joining all those webinars and watching the videos helps you stay innovative and ahead of the game. Young padowan, you have much to learn.
You must start by forgetting what you think you know. Unlearn what you've learned. (Unless it's from me. ;) )
Find your Yoda
Every Hero has a Mentor. And you are the Hero of this Story.
Obi-Wan had Qui-Gon Jinn.
Luke had Yoda.
Rey has… I’m not sure who Rey has. That’s the problem.
A Mentor gives you guidance on your journey, helps you with limiting beliefs and pushes you to be better than you thought you could be.
They've already been there and done that, so they can seriously accelerate your learning process versus you trying to learn it on your own through trial and error.
Reading a book or taking a class is great, but it's generalized information. A mentor can customize and personalize it for you.
You need to find your own Yoda.
If you want to lower your golf score, find a local golf pro or someone that has a low handicap. If you want to eat better, find a nutritionist and learn how to grocery shop and prepare a few meals. If you want to make sure you're exercising with the right intensity and proper form, find a great personal trainer. If you want to generate more real estate leads, talk to an agent in your office or company that is generating massive amounts of leads.
Or
Learn the ways of the Force
In the original Star Wars film, the Force is first described by Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi as an energy field created by all living things, that surrounds and penetrates living beings and binds the galaxy together. When becoming a Jedi lead generator, you need to learn the ways of the Force and understand how everything in your life, business and world is interconnected:
Drinking too much caffeine can impact your ability to focus.
Your poor sleeping habits can and will impact your energy level.
Having alerts on your phone or computer for new email or Facebook messages can distract you and take you out of your flow.
Reading a negative email in the morning can put in you a bad mood for the day.
Not time blocking your To-Do List can lead to not getting your Top Priorities done.
Being "too busy" coordinating transactions to lead generate.
Marketing a great listing will lead to a new buyer lead.
Working with a great client who gives you referrals to other great clients.
The Force binds everything together.
One thing going wrong can cause a "disturbance in the force".
You need to identify your priorities, find a balance in rest, and focus on Consistent-Focused-Actions that are connected to your goals. And everything is connected. And everything you do and how you respond to everything that happens effects everything else.
Recognizing this will change your life and business. Showing discipline in one area can carry over as a positive into other areas.
For example, the better you manage your time, the more leads you can generate. It really works like that.
You might think you have a lead generation problem, but what you really have is a time management problem, or a focus problem.
You might wish you could be more productive and get more done, but what you really have is a limiting belief and mindset problem. The Force is always there, just depends if it is the darkside or lightside.
Control your emotions
"Control, control. You must learn control." - Yoda
"Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate leads to suffering." - Yoda
Yoda is telling you to recognize your emotions and get them under control. Most people don’t realize when they are angry that there is another emotion causing that anger. Knowing this is the first step to owning your emotions.
Let’s first take a look at things that cause failing businesses, poor business practices, frustration and burnout.
Emotions and ego.
When you make business decisions based on emotions or ego, you are almost certainly setting yourself up for failure, sooner or later. When you make decisions based on emotions, instead of relying on metrics, you are letting your fear of failure or rejection or desire to please people, run your business.
What this means is when you get a complaint from a small percentage of people, you're listening. Instead of looking at numbers that matter, you are listening to people who don’t. These are people that are probably never going to buy from you, sell with you, refer you, recommend you and are just perpetually unhappy in their own life.
That’s why, I don’t care about unsubscribes from my email list, or threats to UNLIKE or UNFRIEND, and you shouldn’t either.
Emotional Business Owners concern themselves with making people feel comfortable and not offended. Success Business Owners help people get the results they desire.
For example, “How do I stop getting unsubscribes?" is such the wrong mindset to have, but so many people ask this question. This prevents them from even getting started with email marketing or effective follow up.
Do you know how to make sure you never strike out at the plate?
Never step up to bat.
Do you know how to make sure you never miss a shot?
Never take one.
Do you know how to make sure you never have an omelet?
Never break any eggs.
If you want to do effective marketing, prospecting and lead generating, you are going to lose some people along the way. The key word in that last sentence was effective. Thus the reason I italicized it. It would be a mistake to make your objective be to make sure no one unsubscribes from your email list. That is operating your email marketing from emotion.
Guess what?
My emails that make the most sales ALSO have the highest unsubscribe rate. My emails that get the most replies of gratitude and thanks ALSO get the most hate mail and unsubscribes.
Marketing is like business. It's not for people that want to play it safe and can't deal with rejection. Your marketing, business development, lead generation and lead conversion can’t be driven by the few that complain or even the few that “tell you” you are awesome. You’re letting your emotions and ego run things. The only thing that matters is the result.
Do people take action on your marketing?
Are you generating leads? Are you capturing leads?
Are you people signing up on your website?
Are you getting referrals?
These metrics are the true feedback, not the the person that feels you are too “salesy".
What I’ve been talking about here is negative feedback causing you to making decisions with your emotions. Positive feedback can cause poor decision making also. TIm Ferriss writes in his book,“The 4 Hour Work Week” about testing products.
“Ask ten people if they would buy your product. Then tell those who said “yes” that you have ten units in your car and ask them to buy. The initial positive responses, given by people who to be liked and aim to please, become polite refusals as soon as real money is at stake. To get an accurate indicator of commercial viability, don’t ask people if they would buy -- ask them to buy. The response to the second is the only one that matters.”
Decision making on lead generation strategies and systems need to be made on metrics, and enough of them. Not emotions, negative or positive.
Don’t go crazy and let your emotions take you over to the Dark side.
That's how Anakin Skywalker became Darth Vadar.
Have A Plan
"This is some rescue. You came in here, but you did you have a plan for getting out?"
Remember the scene when Luke Skywalker busts into save Princess Leia? Princess Leia questions their rescue plan. They then find themselves stuck inside a trash compactor with the walls moving in to crush them. Let this serve as lesson that you must have a plan.
“I want to sell more homes” is half-assed.
“I’m going to increase my sales production by 50% in the next 6 months by (Fill in the Blank) ” is a plan.
“I’m going to prospect today" is half-assed.
“I am going to call all of yesterday's new leads, call every lead that has been active in the last week and then call 3 people in my sphere today" is a plan.
“I’m want to get better on the phone” is half-assed. “I am going create a script and practice for 15 minutes a day" is a plan.
"I'm going to generate more leads on my website" is half-assed.
"I'm am going to create a traffic generating strategy and make a lead capture offer on each page" is plan.
When you plan ahead, you don't have to make it up as you go along.
You don't have to wake up in the morning and wonder what you are going to do today.
When you plan ahead, you reduce your chances of ended up in a trash compactor.
If you want to be a master Jedi, you need to plan out your lead generation activities (calls, script, objective, etc) before you walk into the office in the morning. Know exactly what you want to achieve.
Be intentional. Be purposeful.
Need help putting your lead generation plan together?
Get committed
A Jedi must have the deepest commitment.
If you want to be a Jedi, it takes training, being mentored, learning and dedication. There’s no online Jedi webinar you can take. You can’t learn lightsaber skills via some Youtube videos. You don't develop your fighting ability by reading a PDF.
If you’re going to generate more leads, it takes training, being mentored, learning and dedication. And then you have to do. Not just try, but do.
You must implement.
Being a Jedi isn’t a job. It's who they are. Being a real estate agent, a business owner, an entrepreneur, isn't a job. It's who you are.
If Obi-Wan wanted to stop being a Jedi, he couldn’t walk up to Yoda and say “here's my letter of resignation.” He is a Jedi, and that will never change. Even when he is living in a cave on Tatooine, he is still a Jedi.
You need to take this committed mindset with your path as a real estate agent and business owner.
Do or Do Not. There is No Try
This is a pretty intense quote when you think about. And I believe trying does have some merit but the result is feedback to if you did or didn’t. That’s what I think Yoda is saying.
Think it's a stupid movie quote and doesn't make any sense?
Do this... Is there pen or pencil nearby? Try to pick it up.
Or if you're reading this on a phone or tablet, try to put your phone or tablet down.
Did you or did you not pick up the pen or put down the phone/tablet?
You can't try to do something. You do or you don't.
And this is what Master Yoda is saying to Luke, "Hey Luke, You can either lift that x-wing out of the swamp, or you can’t."
You can either drive traffic to your website and convert it, or you can’t. You can either pick up the phone and call your sphere, or you can’t. You can either write copy that gives people clarity and compels them to take action, or you can't.
Every January, real estate agents start off the year with some goals and good intentions. Sure, they try to make some calls for a couple of weeks. They try calling some expireds. They try holding an open house or two. They try to put together a newsletter.
But it gets hard, or boring. They run into roadblocks, or rejection. Urgent things and emergencies show up to distract them and pull them off course.
A Jedi is 100% committed. They are a Jedi. You have to be 100% committed to lead generation. Don’t just try. Do.
Now, I’m not saying you have to start prospecting for three hours a day. Or that you have to door knock 100 homes a day. Or that you have to make a 100 contacts a week and ask, "Who do you know who...".
Instead, you need to pick one lead generation strategy this month, look to enhance it, systemize it and do it. And/Or stop doing one tactic or activity that you know deep down is not working. If it's not bringing you leads, or closings, quit it. (And you know what it is, even if the EXsperts and Thought Leaders are telling you to do it)
As Obi-Wan asked, "Who’s the more foolish? The fool, or the fool who follows him?"
Then next month, continue to work on it while you pick another lead generation strategy to implement it, enhance it and systemize it. Just one thing a month and then focus on doing it and being consistent every day without fail.
Give up a social media platform - Between Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat +, Pinterest, Instagram, LinkedIn etc. There is probably one of those that you can give up to get back some time and reinvest that time somewhere else.
Remove yourself from one Facebook Group - There is probably at least one Facebook Group that not only sucks your time, but your energy and emotions because of the constant debate and disagreement that goes on.
Work on Connecting with 1 Sphere a Day - Eventually, work towards connecting with 3. (as I mention in this video the goal should always be to start with zero to 1.
Think Bigger because size does not matter
After Luke uses The Force to move some stones around, he attempts to move the X-wing out of the swamp. He fails and whines, "Master, moving stones around is one thing. This is totally different."
Yoda responds, "NO! No different. Only different in your mind."
What Yoda is trying to do is shift the mindset of Luke and get him to realize that if you can do one thing, you can do another. Just because the stones are small and ship is large, what's the difference?
Luke: I can't. It's too big!
Yoda: Size matters not. Look at me. Judge me by my size, do you? Hmm? Hmm.
If you can do one thing, why can't you do another?
If you can do one transaction, why can't you do 10? And if you can do 10 transactions, why can't you do 100?
If your mindset is "because 100 transactions is too big" or "doing 100 transactions is totally different than doing 10", stop.
It's only different in your mind.
After Yoda raises the X-wing out of the swamp, Luke goes to Yoda wide eyed and tells him, "I don't believe it."
Yoda responds, "That is why you fail."
May the Force be with you
So there you go. You now know how to move from padawan to Jedi Master.
How The Force can help you start to generate more real estate leads.
If you need a Mentor, aka a "coach" to work with you and help you "do", let's talk.
If you’re looking for a real estate team to join, Cantrell Persinger is looking for a few more agents right now.
I'll leave you with this thought from Qui-Gon Jinn.
Remember: Your focus determines your reality.
AND WHEN YOU’RE READY, HERE’S 3 WAYS I CAN HELP:
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