The holidays are over, the decorations have been taken down, and it is time to get back to work and put some transactions on the books. Many agents find this a difficult time of the year. I heard a broker the other day calling it the January Jitters. The agents want to go back to work but they’re finding it frustrating to get back in the groove.
Think of it as Spring Training. You have to get back into a routine, and practice the basics that always work as a part of any successful agent’s business.
Data Scrubbing
Data scrubbing is the process of fixing or eliminating individual pieces of data that are incorrect, incomplete or duplicated so the information can be used better. The problem is that a database may have duplicate records and the agent to whom there is a relationship is the best person to determine what is correct. It can be a time consuming process but very rewarding. Not only will it yield a more effective merging for e-mail or regular mailings, it will actually generate business opportunities immediately.
Dirty data can be the result of poor data entry such as misspellings, typographical errors, transpositions, and variations in spelling. There could be data missing from fields like spouse names, phone numbers, e-mail addresses, mailing addresses, or notes. Another problem could have originated when the data was imported from another source. Each of these different problems can be exacerbated by having multiple people doing data entry.
As you are going through your database to scrub each record, go ahead and make calls to people who are past customers or could do business or send business to you. Talk to them with a positive attitude and try to discover ways that you can help them and teach them how they can help you by referring customers to you.
There is not a doubt in my mind that these exercises will return a high degree of success. On a regular basis, I go through my database exactly the way I’ve described and it always results in immediate business.
Mailings
The next project I’d embark on is to make decisions for your direct mail pieces for the rest of the year. Select or design 12 mailings that you will send on the same date each month to your sphere of influence. Make a recurring appointment in your calendar so that you will remember when it is time to mail.
Equally as important as the first two steps, will be to outsource the mailing to a third party company who can actually do it cheaper and better than you can. Companies like expresscopy.com will print the mailing in color on two sides, address them, CASS certify them, bar code them, UV coat them, affix first class postage and get them to the post office by 7:00 PM tonight. Not only will this get your mailing done efficiently, it will be done cheaper than you can do it yourself.
CRS
Sign up for a CRS class to improve and hone your skills. If you don’t have you CRS designation yet, make a commitment to earn it. Consider going out of town to take a class. It will free you from your local distractions. Also, you may be the only person in the class from your town which will increase the likelihood that you will receive a referral from other people in the class. That is, assuming you take the time to meet the other people in the class and let them know you’d appreciate their referral. Check out http://www.crs.com/ for class schedules.
Smart Phones
Invest in a new phone that will synchronize with your Outlook data. You’ll be able to have your entire database, contacts, calendars, notes, and task list with you every where you go. You can even get your e-mail if you want. Models like the Treo 650 will work on the Palm operating system, Treo 700, Audiovox, iPaq and Siemens all make smart phones that operate on Windows. And even the Blackberry will sync with Outlook and still give you the chance to be in touch by e-mail everywhere you go.
These activities will get good results. You need to apply them with confidence and give them a chance. Consider them along with getting up and dressed early each morning. Get back on your diet. Get regular exercise. Get plenty of rest. Get in front of people who can either buy or sell a home or can refer someone to you who can.