Jay O’Brien

By Jay O’Brien

Now that I (maybe) caught your attention with such a money-hungry, eye-grabbing, cliché of a title, allow me to attempt to pave a thought process in your mind on how to achieve such an ambitious monetary goal without being too Robert Kiyosaki about it.

First, focus on connecting the dots more than selling houses. Learn how to spot opportunities.

Forget about the postcards, lose the expired listings scripts, and think. For example, is your neighbor having a garage sale? What’s their story? Maybe they’re gearing up for a move. What do you do? You have their address…now look up tax records, find out information, and send a personalized letter to help figure it out.

Here are two other ways to seize a business opportunity:

1. Have you ever received a phone call on one of your listings that was already in escrow? Think about EXACTLY how that conversation went. Most I have heard sound a little something like, “Nope, nope. Sorry. That property is pending and will be closing soon. Yep. Yeah. Thanks for calling,” in an annoyed and disturbed voice.

When a sign call comes in, prospective clients are calling your buyer’s hotline. It’s our job to capture this call, convert this lead, and represent this individual on a different transaction. I personally like to ask questions such as:

• What specifically are you looking for? Size? Cities? Price range?
• If you plan on financing, have you already been pre-approved?
• Are you currently working with an agent?

If this person answers favorably, you just earned a chance at acquiring a new client, and subsequently, a new sale. Do this for EVERY incoming call.

2. Consider who you are connected to online. Are they getting married, having babies, receiving promotions? Are you acknowledging these huge life events? These are precursors to big housing decisions that often  follows. Who is posting that they are moving out of the state or city you service? Income from referral business is still income.

Nobody is going to knock on your door and ask if you want a six-figure paycheck. You need to go fishing, and know where to fish.

Sending tablets of paper is like fishing on land.

Jay O’Brien is a REALTOR® with RE/MAX Prestige in Anaheim Hills, Calif. Aside from real estate, he regularly supports the Children’s Hospital of Orange County (CHOC) and is the co-founder of Mico York, a nonprofit organization that helps kids worldwide through their own personal artwork. Visit Jay on the web www.jayobrienrealestate.com or contact him at: Jay.obrien@remax.net.