Lead Generation - Five Steps for Success

How often do you ever hear -  “ You have to lead generate” and “You have to make calls”?

Step back and put things into perspective. Let’s address the details behind these comments.  I want to bring some awareness, help break this down for you and I trust the end result will be you feel empowered and have some clarity.

Usually, this is an open-ended conversation - it’s a broad subject “lead generation” or “prospecting” I’ve found, since it’s such a broad topic - almost like when we say the universe - that’s a big space - in fact how big is it exactly?  No one really knows.  So, when we say “you have to lead generate - make so many calls each day etc.  It can easily become overwhelming.  As a result, we tend to shut down and become paralyzed with fear and the unknown. So let’s go over a few basic steps that should help you accomplish your goals.

5 Steps to setting up a lead generation plan of action -

Step 1 - Establish your 12-month production goals - How many homes or units are you going to sell?

1. You have to know what you’re shooting for or you’ll miss the target every time. If you don’t know what this number is, a simple way to begin this process is to divide the 12-month income goal by your average sales price.  Ex: 100K / 7.5K would be roughly 13 - 14 sales in a 12 month period. Clarity equals power and lack of it leads to drifting and frustration. As simple as this sounds, I would say at least 50% of the agents I have met over the years aren’t really crystal clear about this first step.

Step 2 - Based on your goal, how many lead generation systems do you need to use to achieve your goal?

1. I notice a few things going on - either we don’t have any real specific plans and are just wandering through the day - or - we have wandering eyes and start something while keeping an eye on what someone else is doing and jump around from one approach to the next.  Key:  Determine what works for you - put your blinders on and go to work.


2. EX: Goal- 12 maybe 1, Goal 18-24 maybe 2, Goal 30-40, maybe 3 … and so on. Recognize the idea is to go small and remain focused on the approach(s) you’ve decided to master … and stick to it. You only need to have enough streams of income to accomplish the end goal.


3. I want to stress here, you don’t need to do 10 things, information overload - it’s typically 1-2 maybe 3 systems done really well and you’re making a great income.

Step 3 - Identify the various ways you can lead generate?

Which approaches do you see yourself doing or appeal to you? Here are a few different ways you can prospect for business:

Some ways to lead generate - not all of them - just some to consider.  

• *Your Database Referrals- sphere of influence and past clients


• Knocking on Doors


• *For Sale By Owners


• *Expired Listings


• Internet Leads


• Business to Business


• Networking events/organizations


• Social Media


• Open Houses


• *Just Listed/Just Sold calls or doors

Step 4 - Create an action plan - and get going.  

1. Learn everything you can about the process. Benchmark for results, find other agents that have had success in that area and model what they’ve done, read articles or blogs, watch a  video or attend training events that go into further details on the subject.


2. Learn and develop scripts about the technique you can use when engaging this group.- Don’t forget to practice, practice, practice. I can’t stress this enough!


3. Add it to your schedule. What time of day, what days of the week are you going to focus on this new system? Include your numbers, how many contacts each week?


4. Speaking of systems, what systems do you need to create to support the activities?  For ex, follow up systems so you don’t miss converting any leads you generate, or drip campaigns to maintain and nurture leads.


5. Track your numbers, this will bring some predictability to what you do in the future and give you something to measure now. I recommend tracking  - attempts, live contacts, appointments set, contracts signed that will lead to closings. Having an understanding of these numbers will - allow you to know exactly what activity will lead to results - and - give you  feedback for areas to improve.

Step 5 - Create an environment of accountability.

1. Tell the world about your goals.  (Humbly) Confess what you’re intending to do.


2. Find at least 3 accountability partners. This can be family, friends, co-workers, broker/manager, coach. If you have kids, they can really be a great accountability partner.


3. Find people that will not only support/encourage, people that will confront you too. People you respect or want the respect from are good accountability partners. People you won’t want to let down.  Often we will do for someone else more than we will do for ourselves.

Last point -

Use the KISS strategy.  

Have a plan and work it - remember to give yourself a fair shot at winning - this is going to take a full 90-day cycle to really see results begin to show up on a more regular basis.  You’ll have some wins along the way, just keep this in perspective and don’t break the chain.