Hey guys, when’s the last time you put an in-search-of ad out on social media? We’ll call it an ISO.

An ISO ad could be as simple as saying, “Hey guys, I have a buyer looking for a home in the Jacksonville area. Three bedroom, two bath, up to $600,000. They’re looking in this school district. If you hear of anybody thinking about selling, please send them my way.”

This has so many benefits you don’t even realize.

You might say, “That’ll never work. I’m not actually going to get somebody who says they’re interested in selling. That’s a waste of time.”

That’s not the point.

The point is that you’re telling everybody in your sphere, everybody in your social media audience, that you are a busy REALTOR and that you will leave no stone unturned in finding homes for your clients.

They’re going to say, not only is Jim busy, he’s actually going the extra mile for his client.

If you do this consistently, you’re helping people see you through a different lens.

Some of you have a problem w...

Almost every week I have a new agent come to me and say, “Hey, I want to tackle a new area of the market.” Maybe it’s for sale by owner, maybe it’s expired listings, maybe it’s farming— all very valid areas to market to.

But my first question is always, “Let’s talk about your sphere of influence first. Tell me about that.”

A lot of times they’ll say, “Well, I don’t really have a good number on that.” That’s how I know they’re not really dialed in on their sphere. I’ll ask, “How many people are in your sphere?” And they’ll say, “It’s like 100… it’s like 200.”

They can’t tell me a specific number because they’re not actually in control of their business.

So the number one thing we have to do—before we chase rabbits, before we look for other business, before we search for something else—is get our sphere of influence dialed in.

Why? Because 70–80% of your business is going to come from this source. We have no business spending time, resources, money, and energy elsewhere when we have...

Quick question: Have you put your sphere of influence to work? If not, you’re missing a huge opportunity.

Think of your sphere as a massive sales army. Maybe you have 100 people, maybe 200, maybe 500. But are you actually putting them to work?

That means programming their reticular activator—the brain’s pattern recognition system—to look for real estate opportunities. We all have it, and you can tap into it. I’ll give you two simple techniques.

First technique:

When you’re talking to someone this week, try this script:

“Here’s a crazy stat that might blow your mind—within the next two weeks, you’re going to hear of someone who wants to buy or sell real estate. You might not think so because you’re not tuned in to it, but just watch. And when you do, think of me. If you can, I’d love for you to send me that referral.”

What happens? Almost inevitably, they’ll hear about someone buying or selling a house within the next couple of weeks.

For the second strategy, say this:

“As we he...

As a REALTOR, you've heard the word farming, right?

Well, I want to give you a different thought process on farming that I think will be really unique:

Instead of doing a shotgun approach where you're sending out a generalized postcard or letter (which can be effective if done right), I want to introduce you to what I call “Vertical Farming.”

So instead of reaching out to 200 people, reach out to 20. And with those 20 people, go deep.

Here’s how: I might send them a CMA or a neighborhood report (both of which you can generate for free at NAR.com if you're a REALTOR). That system allows you to create a beautiful 81-page report on someone’s home anywhere in the country.

You can choose between a seller report or a neighborhood report (which might be shorter, maybe half the size).

Then, add a cover letter that says something like:

“Hi, my name is Jim. I'm with ABC Real Estate. I'm reaching out to a select handful of people in your neighborhood today to give you a quick update on you...