Excruciating Pain.
I have yet to meet a real estate agent that is willing to state, "I love lead generation." It's the one thing we all seem to hate. Whether we dislike the rejection, the awkward silence on the other end of the phone, or just feel uncomfortable intruding; we all go through periods where getting us to call and convert leads (for the record, I hate that word) is akin to having root canal surgery with a rusty spoon and no Novocaine.
In Chapter 8, "Social Media and Lead Conversion", of Ben Kinney's ebook Soci@l (which you can download for free at the RainCamp page on ActiveRain), Ben discusses his aptly titled 10 days of pain. When I first read the book, I chuckled over the title of this and thought of how many times I sat in front of the phone about to call a new lead. Picking up that phone is like lifting a few thousand pounds on that first call. It's painful. Every time though, as the conversation begins, I find myself thinking, "why was this so hard to do?" Conversing with people is something I can do. It seems picking up the phone is the hard part. The actual act of lifting the receiver is where the pain is.
The 10 days of pain campaign that Ben Kinney has developed gave me three things to think about - 1) how am I at converting leads, 2) a funny way to describe it (a little humor makes everything slightly less painful), and 3) actionable steps that I can implement (often I find there's a lot of talk about how to convert, but not enough substance in the form of a simple how-to). While I won't attempt to summarize the 10 days of pain here (you can read about it for yourself), I do think this is something I can personally implement. One of my goals this year is to really buckle down and get the conversion part of the business a bit more refined.
How much are you willing to give?
Ten days sounds like a lot at first. That's more than a week! Immediately after reading the chapter, I thought about it for a few minutes. Am I willing to through 10 days of pain to get one day of closing? The answer is obvious? Of course! Ten days of pain beats thirty days of pain because I have not closed a transaction. In my recent time away from real estate, I had the ability to truly look at my real estate business and analyze what I liked, what I didn't like, as well as what was working and what wasn't working. I was able to step back and look at my business from a new angle - one which didn't require me to deal with the daily work of being an agent (it's easy to get distracted from the tough questions when you're working hard).
Once I compared the ten days of pain to one day of closing, I began to think of it in a different light. Ten days suddenly seems a little easier to swallow. We all want more closings, yet we all struggle to do the things necessary to get the leads turned to clients that will get us to those closings. Tom Ferry and I have been building a plan for the year for myself (thanks to the free coaching calls I received via ActiveRain) and I can already see how implementing Ben Kinney's 10 days of pain will help me implement some of the work that Tom and I are discussing (more on that later).
Looks like I'll be experiencing a painful year and somehow, that's exactly what I want.
photo courtesy of Racchio
This blog post is a review of Soci@l: Attract Friends, Followers and Connections to Your Business. Soci@l is a free download written by Ben Kinney in conjunction with ActiveRain and Jay Papasan. In exchange for downloading the free copy of Soci@l and writing this review, I have a chance to win a free iPad and I'm getting 2000 ActiveRain points.
Download a free copy of Social here and find out how you can have a chance to win an iPad and be guaranteed 2000 ActiveRain points.
All content ©2008-2010 by Matt Stigliano unless otherwise noted.
Matt Stigliano, Realtor® Becker Properties | (210) 646-HOME | www.RErockstar.com
"Your all access pass to San Antonio real estate."
No Pain No Gain! Great post.
Too funny - it is very similiar to a root canal!!
Rich - I'm willing to go through hell to get to nirvana.
Laurie - As a guy who has had Novocaine injected directly into the nerve on a tooth, I know true root canal pain. I'm hoping this won't be quite a painful.
Great post, Matt. I was already planning on beginning my Days of Pain next week! We'll see how it goes!
Matt- Please go get a massage!! Give yourself a prize for the pain!
Shelley - I'm with you. The more people in pain, perhaps the less it will seem painful?
Margo - I'd rather the iPad. Haha.
What a great post! This is my next book to read. Its exactly what I was looking for. I have been dipping into social media from time to time but havent been able to really pull it all together to create a system. Thanks for bringing this up!
Ben's book has been on the back burner for the last week.....I guess it is time to put it on the front burner. Thanks for bringing it to my mind again!
Sounds like I need to read Ben's book. But I got sidetracked when I realized you didn't renew your license. Hope all is going well for you.
Matt- WOW...Great Post...haven't gotten that far into the ebook Soci@l YET...Will finish it tomorrow...You are candid and I think people can relate to you.
Thanks
Jen Dulmaine
I think I may give it a shot. Will see what happens.
Ryan - Compared to some of the tomes agents devour and live by, this is a pretty short book as well. It took me little time to get through it and as it's an ebook, I can easily jump back to it for more ideas when I need them.
Damon - I saw it and had heard a lot about Ben, although I've never met him in person, so I figured I ought to dive right in.
Kay - Sorry to sidetrack you. I'm back in full swing now. You can read about the return at "Knock, Knock. Who’s there? RErockstar. RErockstar who?"
Jen - Candid might be an understatement. My goal in blogging was to always tell it how I saw it, even if sometimes I had to show the ugly side. Thanks for the re-blog and good luck with the ebook.
Ralph - Feel free to come back and share what happened.
Matt, now I am intrigued and must download that book! Excellent post - nice to hear that this type of pain is shared by others.
10 days of pain is better than zero days of brokeness:) I'll take 10 days please! Looks like I need to download this book!!
I saw Ben ad a rain camp here in Denver. He had some good ideas.
I had to read this from the title. I am glad I did because I was unaware of the e-book. Funny... and I think you are spot on, what you echoed is how most of us feel... really the most difficult for me personally. I think I will read it and see how brave I get!!! Great post
Thanks for the encouragement. I've got to give the 10 days a try.
Picking up the phone to call a new lead is not my specialty as well. I try to distract myself and just do it. Answering the phone has the same affect on me as well, but I just think if I want to eat I need to answer the call and then it turns out well, like you I find it easy to talk to clients. Great post. Thanks
Matt, We began this process at my office recently and when I was prompted to take a look with a message that we're not alone, there you were! Great minds think alike! Of course it was no surprise that it was you! Someone who "gets it."
Hope you're doing great man!
Great post. Thanks to your catchy title, I've found an ebook that looks helpful.
Matt, This is certainly worth jumping in and giving it a shot. Our office is believing in it. So there you go. Let us hear how you are progressing. Thanks
Matt, Funny that you wrote this post! We just started the 10 days of Pain in my office for my agents....they aren't thrilled about it, but I feel certain it will work!
Lead conversion sucks, doesn't it? Our market has changed and is internet driven. (as if you don't know what, lol). It's hard to build trust via email and that's what we are all up against. It can be done and is done on a daily basis, if we try.
Loved your post!
Great read! Thank you!
what a great title
Good post Matt, I'm hoping you get what you're asking for - a very PAINFUL upcoming year! Just do it!
Your friend in Fort Worth,
Kent
;-)
Gimme some pain! Gimme some points!
HECK, JUST GIMME THE iPAD!!!
Seriously, though, this is great - I can't wait to read it and hopefully it will help me get my act together to do more blogging here in the Rain - thanks so much for sharing!
OK ... I'm no in search of the 10 days of pain, can you believe it?
Matt:
i downloaded the book and a good read and some great tips. Thanks for directing me to the download.
Ty
10 days, huh, Matt? I have to get to that chapter in a hurry, it seems. I'll have tow write my post on it after I finish reading it. Thanks for the encouragement, and I hope to see more of you here...you've been missed...
Even if you write 10 days of pain, most Realtors will want that time frame reduced..................chris
All soooo true! I am picking up the phone now! :-/
I enjoyed getting coached by Tom & his dad in the past. He's an excellent coach & will make you/force you to confront things that you never thought of before in your business. It's an excellent plan & process. It's going to be a great 30 days for you. The books he suggests too are awesome.
What is your 'funny way to describe it'? You didn't mention that. Well? Fess up & tell us.
Great post. We all have some sort of issue, whether it's "smilin' and dialin" or whatever. We can all benefit from your post. Thanks!
It is better than the pain of not being able to pay your bills! Great post!
Matt - thanks for the link to the download of Social. Looking forward to reading it -but not to the pain.
Always looking out for your friends Matt and sharing great information and books! Thanks.
The 'pain' label is a bit of a misnomer. It's really just a systematic way of approaching lead generation. The only real pain is if we don't keep growing our businesses.
Pain? I love it. I find lead generation MUCH more fun than some of the other drudgery of our business. Which is why I hire someone to do THAT part of the job.
Interesting idea and way of describing payoff. Thank you for sharing this post.
Bring on the pain! Great Post Matt.
Nice work my friend, you took a rather dry subject, (yes I also downloaded it after raincamp)and made this into something well worth reading! Nice to see you back here!
Good post Matt,
This looks like the contest I'm about to enter.
The only question I have, Matt, is why you are still using your goattee pic on AR? LOL
Otherwise, congrats on the featured post.
Matt - I'm finally getting around to reading Ben's e-book now. So far, it's good stuff! I intended to read it in February, after the Dallas Raincamp event, but (amazingly) I managed to get idetracked by running my brokerage, and having four kids, and helping at church, and....you get the picture. However, I intend to finish it this weekend. :)
Matthew, welcome back. You have a great coach with Tom Ferry and Ben's book is awesome.
I actually don't hate lead generation, maybe it is me.
Geez, Louise - I do love lead generation. But then I don't do calling.
Downloaded the book and will read it. Really, I will. Thank you for the heads-up!
great blog Matt - i too downloaded the book and can't wait to read it - thanks a million....
Oh Matt, what an awesome post! Anyone who said they don't get call reluctance now and then is lying....we ALL do! Your post was really timely because between my home-grown videos and some SEO effort, my buyer's search site (using Market Leader still) is racking up at least 1-2 leads a day and more on the weekends....it's so EASY to reason with yourself that you don't need to call them back, and as a result, I've now got about 20 to call! (Don't tell Tom!).
Glad your coaching is going well...I knew it would.
Big hugs from Sacto.
Tamara
Pain is not necessary. Practice PULL advertising and the consumer will come to YOU.
You'll be solving their problems, not being one.
Very nicely written, Matt. I'm almost done with the book, I thought it would be boring but I can't put it down.
welcome back, my man. i've missed your musings.
Matt:
Great post. I went to just about all of Ben's classes at KW Family Reunion in February. I have read S@cial and our team is starting the 10 days of pain on July 1. We are so ready. I like LG but the rest do not so it should be fun.
Thanks for a great post.
Lisa aka Allstarmom3
Wow, I'm wondering why in the world you are still doing something so archaic as cold calling. No wonder it is so excruciating for you!
If you utilize today's technology, you can set up a lead generation system that connects you with prospects when they first start their search, and then build rapport and a relationship with them over time. You will then have a much better, highly targeted lead, to work with.
I haven't cold called in the past 10 of the 12 years I've been in this business, and have managed to be a top producer (without all that headache).
~Michelle
http://secretagentblueprint.com
Michelle - Nowhere in there did I say I was cold calling. I have never cold called. Unfortunately, I think your comment was little more than a veiled attempt at getting your website address in there, but since it's not a link, I'm going to allow it.
As for the rest of you - I'll be looking forward to hearing how the process is going. I'm eager to write some more about it in the near future. Good luck to everyone.
Matt, great post!
I remember that chapter from the book as well. And, no, it has nothing to do with cold calling. Simply a ten day plan to getting a lead to respond and let you know they're serious or not. Either way, you get an answer. I need to get back to THE PAIN!
I have the book downloaded and looking forward to some pain!
Matt,
you are saying that you are looking towards a 'painful' year. Guess you still have all your teeth. I am afraid I am not gonna last that long ;-)
In sales no is a good thing. You have to hear so many nos before you get a yes. Each no means you are that much closer.
Michael - I deleted the double message. I don't see it as harrassment (as you mentioned in the second comment). Personally I don't think emails of the latest properties on the market really build trust either. Either way, the advertising of your system isn't what this post was about, so I leave the URLs, but remove the links.
No, Matt, I really did feel that you were talking about cold calling. Do you spend the day calling people? I think there are lot of great ways you can provide value to your clients through technology, without having to interupt their day with a phone call, unless you are actually calling past clients and referrals. Guess I'm unclear on what calls you were making.
Just suggesting that there are a multitude of ways to connect with prospects, through SEO, Blogging, Lead Capture, and a series of either messages or videos to help people and give them info and tips about the buying/selling process. I find that through this type of marketing, I can develop a relationship with prospects, weed out the ones that are looky-loos, and demonstrate my knowledge and expertise (by focusing on their problems that they may be having). I end up with more targeted prospects that are easier to close.
~Michelle
(no web address this post)
Great post.
I DL the eBook and will start it once I finish 2010 Trends.
Michelle - Yeah, definitely not cold calling - you'll find me doing that right after I take up knocking on doors. The idea of the 10 days of pain and what I'm talking about revolves around those leads that come in that aren't referrals or anyone you "know." Whether you buy them from a service, get them from your broker or company, or bring them to you yourself (through blogs, websites, IDX, Twitter, Facebook - doesn't matter) - these leads are not necessarily in a state where they think you're the best agent for them...yet.
We've all had that sign up on our website that we email or call back and we don't hear from. The 10 days of pain is just a way to try harder to hear from them. To find out what they're looking for, to find ways we can help them, and to (hopefully) have them as a client. Internet leads are one of hardest to cultivate because of the mask of anonymity. Someone can surf your site all day long and never have to speak with you. They might use your site for all their research, but they choose their uncle as their agent. Without some sort of direct communication between you and that consumer, in all likelihood, you will not be their agent. Communication builds the trust that we're all seeking.
I agree. A great way to start the communication and build a relationship is to create "landing pages" that offer free tips/information for buyers or sellers (each landing page is set for a specific purpose and a specific type of prospect), in exchange for just their email address. Then you can have a system set up that will keep in contact (through an autoresponder), with more free information and tips that helps build rapport with potential clients. It's all about building that relationship. People don't trust "salespeople", but they gain trust with people who give them value, and they end up being more reliable and loyal clients in the long run.
I downloaded that book a while back and never read it. Thanks for the reminder.