Start With Your Sphere of Influence

Your sphere of influence, or SOI, is comprised of your friends, clients, former clients, family, etc. Anyone you know or knows you is part of your sphere.

The nice thing about your SOI is you've already made some sort of connection with them. It's easy to pick up the phone and tell them how excited you are about your new career. Take advantage of social media or you might send them a post card, but your SOI is low hanging fruit. It's going to be up to you to make sure they don't just see you as a friend but also a good real estate agent.

I can't tell you how many times our new agents been disappointed when someone they knew fairly well bought or sold a home with another agent. When asked why they hadn't used them, the answer is usually "I forgot you were an agent or I would have called you".

Maybe they did forget and maybe they didn't. Maybe they were just nervous about letting you list their home for one reason or another. That will happen but it's up to you to keep subtly reminding your sphere that you're an agent now.

You can't just expect someone to give you their business just because you're friends, acquaintances or even family. Everyone knows an real estate agent and chances are they've already had a good experience with an agent already. They feel comfortable with them and will want to use them again.

When it comes to family, remember this, if something goes wrong it might negatively impact your relationship forever. Something could happen that's completely out of your control but costs your family member money. They'll blame it on your inexperience or incompetence whether deserved or not and then the chatter begins within the family. No commission is worth that.

Throughout your career you'll find yourself surprised and disappointed when a friend or relative chooses someone else to list their home. When it happens, don't dwell on it. You just have to let it go.