Get to know those that know
Copyright 2006 Henry Winter
----------------------------------------
Creating a circle of local professionals is also an imperative for your Homefindingasabusiness.

But how do you create one?

First, for all those people on the list you have created since the last Blog post, you need to talk to your top scorers.

You need to talk to them for two reasons:

To let them know what you are doing and can they spread the word.

To find out who they may know in the Estate Agency field, Solicitors, Accountants, Removers, Surveyors, IFA’s (Independent Financial Advisers). This is the start of your important "Inner Circle" of professional contacts that will help you network your business some more.

Once you know who they are, score them in a similar why to your first list.

This time we are looking for “reach”.

Reach means, for the company suggested, how big are they, what customer base are they likely to have and how effective could they be in helping your business.

The help they can offer your business is two fold:
a) getting your name out there
b) creating a relationship with them so they can give you the nod on properties that are coming up for grabs. Some deals you do will be for properties that never come to the open market, others will be through the agents but where you get a head start through the door.

To get started with professional contacts, if your personal contact can fix a meeting with their contact that is great. It provides an endorsement of you as a person, not your business at this stage, and makes it easier.

If they are not comfortable with that then you can use your contacts name so when you ring the professional contact for the first time you can say “ Hello, XYZ, my name is abc, you may have head of me as (your contact) suggested I give you a call.”

And take the conversation from there.

When you have made the initial contact you want to fix a time to meet them.

When that is arranged, confirm it in writing.

This has now put you in a position where you can discuss both your business and how they can help you and you can help them.

Until next time,

Happy Homefinding

Henry Winter

Lists, lists, lists!
Copyright 2006 Henry Winter
-----------------------------------
Homefinding is a networking business.

I don’t mean networking as in MLM as you don’t build a”downline” or anything like that BUT, some of the techniques used in MLM are very useful in helping you get off the ground.

It is said there is a "300 hundred" rule.

Through family, close friends, and loose friends, if you really think about it, you can create a list of 300 hundred people you could contact to help you get your business known.

It is possible it could be true for you.

However, not all those people will of great use to you. Some will, some won’t.

Key to having them help you is to decide which of the contacts you have would be in a position to help you the most. So how do you do that?

You filter them by creating a list that enables you to qualify who would be a great contact who can help and those that will be helpful but less so.

To do that you need to score them. I use what I call the MILE. An acronym for:
Money
Influence
Location
Entrepreneurial

It works like this:
Depending on which section of the market you plan to operate in, do the contacts you have have enough money to circulate in the circle you want to operate in?
Do they have a role, authority, charisma that enables them to be seen as an influencer in that circle?
Are they in a location that is relevant to what you do?
Do they share an entrepreneurial spirit like you and would be willing to pass your name along?

If you ask your self those 4 questions, for each person you know, you can create a list. The scores on that list will help you focus your attention on the right people. The easiest way to score them is relative to yourself on the following:

Name Score
M I L E

If they have more of any of the above score them 3
If they have about the same as you score them 2
If they have less than you score them 1
As far as location is concerned whilst the person you know may be miles away they may still have connections in your area. If they do score them 1. If they do not score them 0.

Ultimately you will end up with a list that has some 10’s and some will be 3’s. Those that are 7’s and above are most likely to be your best bets to help you get your business known amongst their circle of friends/contacts. And it is most likley those friends and contacts could have a need for your services or at least know someone that might.

So that is for people, from a list you have created.

Next time we will look at how you do the same thing for the new group you need to get to know --- your professional contacts. Until then happy Homefinding.

Henry