We are all very lucky to be living in this current day and age, especially when it comes to generating new business.
50 years ago, there were no computers, cell phones, email, social media or even faxes.
If you left the office you were unreachable and if you needed to make a call you better be close to a pay phone.
If you are in the office 50 years ago, you are tied to your desk because that’s where your phone is.
Today, we have so many more business development resources at our fingertips.. and it’s all in our pocket.
This creates huge opportunity for us all because it allows each of us to create a very unique approach to generating business that fits our specific personality and preferences.
It’s like a fingerprint
Bottom line, this business creates opportunity for you to lean in on your strengths.
There are endless opportunities for you if you can identify your business development preferences and double down on those.
While you are perfecting those strengths, it would also be wise to keep a pulse on the other areas of business development that you are not necessarily strong at and learn all you can about this.
What you will find, is that you can generate new business from countless sources if you build your business around it.
You won’t be strong at everything but that’s where your team comes in to play.
In brokerage or acquisitions for example, you would be wise to hire people who can bring in deals from sources you know nothing about and partner with them while paying them very well for their success.
Here are a few tried and true methods for generating new business based on where you are in your career and then how to find the right team members to fill in the gaps so you have full coverage.
Old School Way
Senior brokers and investors in 2023 were traditionally trained by the people who came before them.
This means that the old blocking and tackling of building lists, making calls, personal visits, networking and referrals was how the senior brokers of 2023 were brought up in the business.
Due to this, the younger brokers in 2023 are also being encouraged to continue on with these methods and to perhaps ignore the other business development ideas because the older brokers (mentors) just simply don’t understand them.
There is nothing wrong with the old ways. The old ways STILL WORK!
You should keep doing them.
Every single day as a person in sales you should be making calls, sending mailers, dropping off materials to hot prospects, networking events, connecting with referral partners and getting face to face.
Let me be clear.. the old ways work! Don’t stop doing them!
The problem with the old way is that they involve much more direct contact and communication with prospects which can lead to rejection.
The era of email and social media has provided us all the ability to reduce rejection by simply sending an email or using social media to connect, educate and engage.
This creates a huge opportunity for the younger and older sales folks who are interested in harnessing both old and new ways of generating business.
