In this post we are going to discuss the importance of creating your bullseye list. A bullseye list is a list of names of your top advocates and business associates who are most likely to refer you at least one transaction this calendar year. The goal for us is to work smarter, not harder. Many real estate agents do not like the idea of prospecting with strangers. They cringe at the idea of calling FSBO’s or expired listings. Even the less “confrontational” calls, like circle prospecting and just listed/just sold calls can be intimidating for some agents. Most agents that don’t like prospecting with strangers, have no problem calling their sphere of influence.
I have always been at the other end of the spectrum. I could make 100 cold calls a day, and get rejected on 99 of them without it bothering me. But calling my SOI (sphere of influence)? I would freeze in my tracks. I guess in the beginning I just didn’t feel confident enough. Maybe I felt like I couldn’t bring enough value. All I know is that whatever the story that my mind was telling me on that particular day, it was compelling enough for me to listen. So for the first few years I was in business, I lost out on a lot of potential business. Now that I have been studying personal development, and have found the power of having coaches and mentors, I realize all those stories I was telling myself was nothing more than self-imposed limiting beliefs.
It is these limiting beliefs that we have all had at some point, in some area of our lives, that can stop us from reaching not only our goals, but our true potential.
Once I joined Cindy’s team, she introduced this concept of creating my bullseye list. She asked me how many transactions I wanted to close that year. My next step was to create a list of as many advocates and high level business referral partners I needed to accomplish my goal. The idea is for every 1 transaction you want to produce, you should have 1 name on your bullseye list.
30 transactions? No problem, create a list of 30 names to put on your bullseye list. 50 transactions? 50 names go on the list. You get the idea.
So what happens if you have more transactions in your goal then you do names to put on your bullseye list? Well, it’s time to get to work creating stronger relationships with your potential advocates. The idea isn’t that you never need to prospect. You should have about 70% of your business coming from referrals, and the other 30 coming from “new” business. This way, your real estate company is always growing.
You are treating your business as your company, right? If the answer is “no,” don’t worry, the goal of this site is to help get you there. We will take it one step at a time, so that you truly create a company, whether it is a company of 1 or a company of 200+.
For now, let’s keep the focus on creating our advocate, or bullseye list.
Now that we understand the concept of having at least one person on our list for every one transaction we want to close this year, we need to build our list out. First things first…we need to brain dump. We need to go through our database and phone contacts and pull out every single name who is most likely to be a top advocate for you. Yes, you can include your mom on this list.
Remember, a top advocate is someone who is either going to do at least one transaction with you this year, or will absolutely recommend you to someone who needs an agent. Basically, they are your raving fans, your walking billboards. Next, we are going to add to this list any past client who we had a successful transaction with (and this part is key…) and that we enjoyed working with. Remember, most people surround themselves with people who are similar to them. So if you sold a client a million dollar home, and they were very happy with you as an agent, but they were a pain in your butt the entire transaction, chances are their friends and family will be a bit difficult to work with as well.
Okay, so now we have advocates and past clients on the list whom are most likely to refer us a transaction this year. There is one more group we want to add, that we sometimes forget about…business referral partners. Think about all the businesses you interact with over the course of a year. Yes, lenders, title companies, and home inspectors come to mind rather easily. However there is a whole other segment in this category. I am talking about the businesses that are in your community, where you sell homes to new neighbors ever day. In many instances these new homebuyers need to plant new roots in the community. They need a mechanic, a barber or hairstylist, the best pizzeria to go to, a dry cleaner, a new dentist, and family physician, car and property insurance agent, perhaps a new accountant or attorney. You get the idea. These community business people are the ones that you need in your preferred vendor list. These are the people you need to be doing business with, and making sure they are referring you business as well.
I am going to end this post with a tried and proven formula for success in working with your bullseye list. In order to have success with this type of business growth, you need 4 things:
Someone who will bring value to your clients.
Someone who will refer you to their friends, family, and clients.
Someone to whom you can consistently refer your clients.
The above list is the who, and now we need the how…You must be in contact with these people at least twice monthly either by text, email, or phone. That is the first half of the equation. But in order for this to work at a high level, you should be meeting in person with your bullseye list at least twice a quarter, and ideally once a month. Each time you meet, make sure you are coming to the meeting with a servant heart. “What can I do in the next 30 days to help you grow your business?” That is the key question, I want you to not only ask, but also listen intently to their answer. Then, I want you to execute on what they say. This is the best approach for the business vendor portion of your list. This approach may also work for your friends, family, and past clients if they have a business as well. It may even be something simple, like sharing their business page through your social media outlets. But what happens if they don’t have a business of their own? Well, first things first, don’t overlook helping them to grow the business they work for, as this may help get them promoted, or get them a raise. However if this is still not an option, just ask this simple question: “What additional service or service provider can I connect you with in the next 30 days who will make your life easier?” Again, listen to what they say, and execute on it. I promise you will get rewarded with a referral from them as soon as the opportunity arises.
Until next week…