Prospecting seems to be almost a dirty word in the real estate sales arena, but prospecting is an integral part of the sales process. It is not only essential; it is one of the most profitable, inexpensive ways to increase your business.

Before a sale can be made, some type of prospecting must be done. Realistic agents know that there is no way to avoid the necessity of prospecting; successful agents wouldn’t avoid it if they could.

Prospecting doesn’t always have to be done over the phone or in person. It doesn’t have to be cold-calling, expireds, FSBOs or knocking on doors.

Personally, I have found no path to success in sales that doesn’t involve some form of prospecting. I've studied everything available to agents today, and there are a lot of speakers and trainers trying to sell the "magic system" that will be prospecting-free.

Unfortunately, there is no "magic system," no place on earth where success in sales precedes the work of prospecting. Like the old saying goes - "The only place where success is found before work is in the dictionary."

Zig Ziglar, the well-known motivational speaker, said, "Life is like a cafeteria line - first you pay, then you get to eat." Zig is exactly right. We all have to pay the price of hard work before we receive the reward. And that's true of selling as well. Prospecting has to come first.

The good news is that prospecting doesn't have to be as hard as it looks. There are ways to improve your success in prospecting. The secret is to find the techniques and systems that work best for you. Some techniques are more face-to-face, and some methods require a higher tolerance for rejection than others do. Not everyone should pick up the phone and call expireds or FSBOs. We should all prospect our past clients, with whom we already have positive relationships, as well as friends, neighbors, and co-workers that we can serve.

Just as you have to train yourself to put the necessary time and effort into prospecting, you must train your past clients in order to generate referrals from them. Sending out mailers and newsletters monthly will put you in front of your past clients; only clients who are thinking of you can send business your way.

But to really drive referrals your way, pick up the phone and call your past clients. Maintain your relationship with people you have helped, and ask them if they know of anyone in their curch, neighborhood, or among their family and friends who may be thinking of selling, looking for a home or otherwise need the services of a good agent. Ask them to keep their ears open for you.

When you do this, they will actually think of people, instead of saying, "I don’t know of anyone." Over time, you can train your past clients to keep their antennae up for you and your services.

Working with your past clients is one method of prospecting that does not require nerves of steel. But like any method, it does require the discipline to do it, and to do it regularly; and a new discipline in turn requires motivation.

Agents sometimes don’t prospect even past clients because they don’t see how the time spent prospecting will pay off for their businesses. The perceived pain of prospecting, then, becomes far greater than its rewards. Since they can not see the benefit, the thinking goes, why even attempt the perceived pain?

Prospecting has its benefits, among which is the ability to work with a better grade of client. Someone who has been referred is more likely to have greater respect for your services and abilities, and you will have a little background about the client, or customer, from the person who referred them.

Take the powerful step to prospect daily so that you can run your business and your life as you intend for them to be run, and you will have found the magic answer to sales success.

Published: January 11, 1999

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Dirk Zeller is a sought out speaker, celebrated author and CEO of Real Estate Champions. His company trains more than 350,000 Agents worldwide each year through live events, online training, self-study programs, and newsletters. The Real Estate community has embraced and praised his six best-selling books; Your First Year in Real Estate, Success as a Real Estate Agent for Dummies®, The Champion Real Estate Agent, The Champion Real Estate Team, Telephone Sales for Dummies®, Successful Time Management for Dummies®, and over 300 articles in print. To learn more regarding this article, please visit www.realestatechampions.com.