"Believe nothing, no matter where you read it, or who said it, no matter if I have said it, unless it agrees with your own reason and your own common sense."

Buddha said that back in the mid 5th century, B.C., and while he probably wasn't talking about prospecting for real estate business, his words apply perfectly to prospecting for real estate business!

Real estate agents are bombarded with tips, tricks and strategies to prospect for business, much of which makes very little sense. We're encouraged to assault others with sales pitches that would irritate the heck out of us if we were subjected to them. We're taught to use cheesy scripts and pushy closing dialogues that we'd see coming a mile away. We're told that we should "Just Do It" when it comes to prospecting, even if the "it" we're supposed to be doing is something that makes our skin crawl, our eyes roll, and our stomachs churn all in the name of generating business.

But it doesn't have to be that way. You don't have to do anything to generate business that makes you feel uncomfortable, silly or even a little icky!

You CAN choose the methods you'll use to build your business. As an adult, you can and should pick and choose among all the various strategies out there and select a few that suit you the best. Choose those that suit you, who has unique strengths, talents, interests, and goals.

You don't have to try everything that's suggested to you. If something doesn't sound quite right, you can and should reject the notion outright or tweak it until it does sound right and feel good.

When evaluating any prospecting activity to see if it's right for you, just apply these three "tests" and see how the activity fares. If it passes all three tests, then you've discovered a perfect prospecting strategy.

Is This Strategy One I'm Proud of and Excited about?

Sometimes we assume that by signing up for a program or hiring a coach, we'll suddenly become a different person. We assume that tomorrow we'll be someone someone who is excited and comfortable doing things that today seem kinda silly and cheesy. Even if our common sense is whispering to us that the approach we're signing up for is wrong (for us), we insist on giving it a try, just in case we're wrong about being wrong!

This is a bad plan. Before implementing any prospecting strategy, be darn sure that it's something you're jazzed up, revved up and fired up to do. And not because some superstar guru promised you the earth, moon and stars if you'll just sign on the dotted line and turn over a chunk of your precious marketing budget. Only YOU can make the determination of whether you are proud of and excited about something; no one else can (or should) do that for you.

Is This a Strategy That Would Work on Me?

If a particular strategy wouldn't be effective on you, you probably won't be able to pull it off with others. Never prospect for business using a strategy that you'd see right through. Show your prospects the respect that they are every bit as smart as you are and therefore deserve to be "prospected to" intelligently.

Does This Strategy Make Me Feel "Icky?"

While feeling "icky" about a prospecting strategy goes along with doing things that wouldn't work on you and that you aren't proud of, it's in a league all its own.

Feeling icky about any activity should be a clear indication that there's something wrong with the activity (for you). But, often we're told that that what we're really feeling is fear, not ickiness. However, there's a big difference between being reasonably nervous about something you haven't done before and feeling icky about it. Your gut knows the difference. Trust it.

When you choose and use the right prospecting strategies for you, you're proud of and excited about your prospecting efforts. You don't feel like you have to apologize for, explain or defend them. You can't wait to implement your latest approach and are looking forward to feedback from your audience. You have no real doubt that your audience will be receptive and responsive to your prospecting; in fact, you're pretty sure they'll get a kick out of it.

That's how you know it's right. You're excited about it. You're proud of it.

Published: April 21, 2011

Use of this article without permission is a violation of federal copyright laws.

Jennifer Allan-Hagedorn was a top producing real estate broker in Denver, Colorado before writing her first book in 2007. Since then, she has written several more books about the business of selling real estate including her flagship book: Sell with Soul: Creating an Extraordinary Career in Real Estate without Losing Your Friends, Your Principles or Your Self-Respect, the sequel, If You're Not Having Fun Selling Real Estate, You're Not Doing it Right and her latest, to be released in Spring 2011, Prospect with Soul for Real Estate Agents. Jennifer believes that the secret of success for real estate agents is not in aggressive marketing techniques or hard-core sales pitches, but rather in being competent in one's craft. Competence begets Confidence. And in today's world of increasingly suspicious and ad-weary consumers, having an air of self-assurance and enthusiasm will be far more effective than a slick sales campaign. Jennifer writes and speaks with this philosophy in mind. She preaches that salespeople should follow the Golden Rule in their day-to-day practice of business - treating clients and prospects respectfully, as the salesperson him or herself would like to be treated. Being competent, reliable and fair, and motivated by a true desire to earn a paycheck, not just show up at closing with hand outstretched. She is a regular contributor to several real estate newsletters and magazines, a member of the RE/MAX Hall of Fame and one of the industry's most popular bloggers. You can learn more about Jennifer's "soulful" philosophies at www.SellWithSoul.com. Subscribe Below to Enroll in the Daily Seduction Newsletter Mini-Clinic - Tips and Strategies to Generate Business and Referrals From Your Sphere of Influence! Your Full Name Your Email Address