Almost any agent in real estate can improve their results by doing more prospecting. When an agent is brand new in the business, oftentimes prospecting takes up a large part of their time because they really have no active transactions they're working on.

But sometime thereafter agents can get out of the habit of prospecting regularly once they feel busy and working on activity. The problem here is that feeling busy doesn't necessarily translate into making more money, oftentimes leaving agents feeling frustrated at why their results aren't improving.

Sometimes when leading seminars in front of audiences I ask everyone how much their income would increase over the next 12 months if they made sure to prospect 10-12 hours during every week that they're working. When answering this question, the majority of people in the room feel that their income would at least double, some even feel it would triple, and most everyone in the room feels that their income would increase by at least 30 percent.

And sometimes when working with my coaching clients I ask them to track the number of hours they're prospecting every week. I do this because oftentimes agents have lulled themselves into believing they're prospecting more hours than they really are in their business. And once these clients recognize that the number of hours per week they're actually prospecting is abysmal, they recognize that it's definitely time to get themselves moving.

So in case you're wondering if you're prospecting enough in your business right now, I've identified what I consider to be the three warning signs to watch out for that may indicate that your level of prospecting needs to be improved.

Warning Sign #1

After Years in the Business, You're Still Doing a Lot of Cold Calling, Not Warm Calling

If you find after years of being in the business that when you prospect people, they still don't know who you are, you're not prospecting these people enough to build the kinds of relationships that will easily lead to more business for you. Agents who prospect a lot get to a point where many of their calls are "warm calls," meaning that they're calling and talking to people they've already talked with before. So if you're not experiencing a lot of warm calls after having been in the business for a number of years, it may be because you're not doing a lot of prospecting.

Warning Sign #2

You're Finding People and Companies Who Have Requirements, But After It's Too Late to Begin Working with Them

This is one of the biggest nightmares a real estate agent can experience. You've identified someone who's ready to take action, but they're already committed to working with someone else ... your competitor. So why weren't you in contact with these people months ago when they were just beginning to realize they needed to talk to a real estate agent? It may be because you haven't been doing much prospecting on an ongoing basis throughout the year.

Warning Sign #3

You Hear About Transactions Closing in Your Area That You Never Even Knew Were Happening

If you find out through others or through the media that someone has bought, sold, or leased a property that's in the territory you work in, and you didn't even know that the property was available, or that the people or company were looking for a property, this too is a sign that you may not be doing enough prospecting.

So how did you measure up? Did you find that any of these three warning signs applied to you?

Prospecting is one of the most difficult activities for many of us to continually do in real estate. Who normally wants to put themselves out there in a situation where maybe nine times out of ten you'll be rejected or end up talking with people who just aren't interested in doing anything?

The point is, though, that the one call out of ten where the people may be interested in doing something is the one that will make you huge amounts of money throughout the year, as long as you're making these calls every single week (or canvassing in person if you prefer).

So evaluate where you're at in your level of prospecting right now. And if you feel your income could definitely be improved by prospecting 10-12 hours or more every single week, do what you must to make sure you get this prospecting done.