See, I was talking with Tamara Dorris about lead generation.  We were talking about the fundamental importance of lead generation and the fact that most agents simply don't have enough leads and why I think most agents simply fail when it comes to this activity.  Below is an exerpt from that conversation from Twitter (If you don't use Twitter, I am talking to Tamara here):

@tamaradorris A high percentage of agents are just lead starved. They just don't have enough leads in the first place.

@tamaradorris Most agents operate on a subsistence level and then wonder why they don't have more clients. It's because they are lead starved.

@tamaradorris Whether they use their own lead generation efforts or rely on brokers, websites, etc...Most agents simply don't have enough.

@tamaradorris Lead generation should rank within the top 3 things an agent must do DAILY. Cold calling, buying leads, sending emails or newsletters, etc.

@tamaradorris What ever the effort used, it MUST be done daily.

@tamaradorris And, those that have the leads to work, don't dedicate the time required to do it effectively...or lack the ability to do it right.

Yeah, I went there.  Most agents simply fail at being able to work a "lead" into a client.  More on that in a minute...

During this conversation with Tamara, a good friend of mine and fellow Twitterati, Todd Waller, sent me an email with a story that directly proves that last point.  Todd's email is listed below:

"My business partner made $365K last year.  He compiled a list of all of his leads, internet generated or other, and, while at the copier, was asked what the list was (by a newer agent).  Instead of answering, he simply grabbed the list, handed them to the agent and said, "If I told you that you could make $365K just simply by calling these folks, would you do it?"

Know that the agent said????

"Nope. (That's) too much work."

Never mind agents having enough leads or not, they don't want to work (the ones they have)!!

This entire conversation was also witnessed by another fellow Twitterati, Vance Shutes, who stated that it "made his jaw just ".

TOO MUCH WORK!!  *That* was his answer?  It's too much work???  It's too difficult to make a phone call??  It's too hard to follow up with YOUR potential customers to ensure that YOU have an income????  Good grief.

Now, many of you know that I work for an internet-based referral service.  And, in my position, there is no more powerful tool than the phone.  That is how we sell our product...over the phone.  Roughly around 75% of my sales on any given day are to people that received a cold call from me at some point.  Whether that be the same day or weeks prior, at some point I had to speak with them...usually numerous times.  If I didn't speak with them, they would never know who the heck I am or what I am doing. 

Also, without that initial point of contact, they would never have become my customer.  And, without continued follow-up contacts from me, they never would have remembered who the heck I was or why I was calling in the first place.  It was me speaking to them and developing a rapport with them and discussing their needs that lead them to the decision of working with me.  And, agents are no different.

Opportunity is usually passed by because it comes knocking on your door dressed in dirty over-alls and looking like hard work.  You see, much like Mr. Too Much Work above, these activities appear to be hard and scary.  Most agents fail at this activity simply because it's "too hard" or "too time consuming" or "never leads to anything for me" or any number of excuses. 

I hear a lot of excuses from agents as to why they are in such dire straights.  Unless you are independently wealthy and can just sit back and wait, you have to make one of these two choices.  Taking the current state of the economy and the industry as a whole out of the equation, with regard to this fundamental requirement of lead generation, it boils down to laziness or fear. 

Laziness usually cures itself.  Either they realize that they just can't sit back and wait for business to land on them and must become proactive to seek it...Or, they go and get a "real job". 

Fear, on the other hand...that's a much harder obstacle to overcome.  One of the best quotes about fear I ever heard was from the movie REMO WILLIAMS: AN ADVENTURE BEGINS by a character called Chun played by Joel Grey.  "Fear is nothing more than a feeling.  You feel hot.  You feel cold.  You feel hungry.  You feel afraid.  Fear can never kill you."

Agents have to realize that they are in an industry where rejections occur.  If you are scared of hearing the word "no", you are in the wrong business.  And, if you do not overcome that fear of rejection...and the fear of hard work...you will fail.  End of story. 

Agents like the one in Todd's email lack both the skill set required to be successful at effective lead generation and the intestinal fortitude to be able to actually get it done.  Even if Todd's partner had given the list to the agent and the agent overcame his fear and called, would he be able to effectively convert those leads to clients with the attitude that it's just "too much work"?  Probably not. 

So, how do you make lead generation easier?  Well, there is really no way to make it "easier".  But, there are thousands of ways to make it more effective.  One of the ways that I make my lead generation efforts easier is blogging and social networking as whole.  But, not because that is the solution...because its not.  I use it because it allows me to build a rapport with others so that I can effectively trip a "trigger" that will spring them into action.

What am I talking about?  I am talking about the emotional triggers that every single human uses when making a decision.  There are 7 of them in total and I added a quick line or two after explaining what the trigger is and how effective agents use them to help push contacts into becoming clients.

The Friendship Trigger - Activates both trust and agreement through bonding on a social level. (SOI at its core.  These are friends, family, close acquantances, etc, that you rely on as your base clientele. You want them to react to your friendship and work with you as a result.)

The Authority Trigger - Activates acceptance through expertise. (A perfect example of this is people that specialize in REO property...or specialize in luxury property. That makes them an "authority" and those that need this type of specialized help would instinctively choose them as a result.)

The Consistency Trigger - Motivates consistency with past actions and repeat contacts. (Follow up!  Follow up!  Follow up!  Remember, it's the squeaky wheel that gets the oil.  So, squeak!)

The Reciprocity Trigger - You give, you receive. (Use the services and businesses that your clients own or work at...and they will do the same for you.)

The Contrast Trigger - Side by side comparisons of options to make one more attractive than the other. (From listing presentations to financing options, we do this all the time probably without knowing it.)

The Reason Why Trigger - Emotional reasons to make decisions and actions. (Buying is an emotional thing. So, we keep coming up with emotional reasons to say yes.)

The Hope Trigger - Instills positive expectations to help persuade one side of an argument.

Whether you know it or not, you are using something to your advantage to get someone to buy from you.  Regardless of which trigger you are trying to hit, you are doing one of the 7 above.  Or, perhaps more truthful, you are applying pressure on more than one of these triggers.  Either way, one of these 7 things above will make someone buy from you.

I'm not going to sugar coat it.  Lead generation is hard work.  But, without it...you are not going to survive for long.  It MUST be done.  And, it must be done EFFECTIVELY!  If you don't know how to do it, ask someone for help.  If you don't know how to do it right, ask for help!  Make sure you gain the knowledge to be able to do it right before you are forced to make a choice between real estate and Burger King.  Or worse yet...develop the attitude that it's just "too much work".

If you would like help with your lead generation, contact me, Clint Miller, at 800-977-7058.  Or, follow www.recr.com and Clint on Twitter by going to www.twitter.com/recr.

I catch alot of interesting information on Twitter.  Some of it useful...some of it hilarious.  Some of it just plain wrong.  And, some of it that just sounds too good to be true.  One of those was a recipe for Oreo Truffles I saw one day.  After thinking about this potential decadent treat for roughly 7 seconds, I googled a recipe.  That was pretty much the end of my will power. 

Fast forward to last night.  I was chattin' with a few of my fellow Twitterati last night. (Or, as I prefer to call them....My Syndicate.)  And I mentioned that I was going to make some Oreo Truffles this holiday season.  Little did I know that by merely mentioning this concept I was inviting myself to the cyber version of an NFL style gang tackle.  Several of the folks I was talking with requested the recipe.  So, rather than overload the Twitter stream with how to do this, someone suggested I blog it.

Fair enough...

Below you will find the recipe for the simplest Oreo Truffles you will ever find.  I hope you enjoy it.

Oreo Truffles

Ingredients

• 1 lb Oreo cookies (REGULAR version...not the Double Stuff ones...trust me on this)
• 8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
• 1 lb milk chocolate (Use candy bark for this, not chocolate chips or Hershey bars. The consistency is just not correct using those.)
• 1/2 lb white chocolate (Same here)

Directions

1. Using a food processor, grind cookies to a fine powder  (Yes, filling and all.  When it is all said and done, you should have what looks like Oreo sand...)
   
   
2. With a mixer, blend cookie powder and cream cheese until thoroughly mixed (There should be no white traces of cream cheese when youre done with this step.  It should look like black spackle).
   
   
3. Roll into small balls and place on wax-lined cookie sheet. (You can use your hands or a candy scoop, if you have one.)
   
   
4. Refrigerate for 45 minutes. (Don't skip this step!!)
   
   
5. Line two cookie sheets with wax paper.
   
   
6. In double-boiler, melt milk chocolate.  (If you don't have a double boiler, just put a large glass bowl on top of a pan of boiling water....same thing.  Or, melt in the microwave.  Just be sure you don't burn the chocolate.  Burnt chocolate is nasty!)
   
   
7. Dip balls and coat thoroughly.
   
   
8. With slotted spoon, lift balls out of chocolate and let excess chocolate drip off. (Or, you can use two forks if you don't have a slotted spoon.)
   
   
9. Place on wax-paper-lined cookie sheet.
   
   
10. In separate double boiler, melt white chocolate. (See #6 again)
    
    
11. Using a fork, drizzle white chocolate over truffles.  (Nothing fancy, just a smattering of additional eyeball candy...thats really all this step is.  You could easily eliminate it.)
    
    
12. Let cool.
    
    
13. Store in airtight container, in refrigerator. (These MUST be refrigerated because of the cream cheese. Leave them out too long, youre puking. Nuff said.)
    
    

One side note to this - You can alter the flavor of these by using flavored extracts. Orange, butterscotch, mint, etc would all be good.  Basically, any flavor you would like in your hot chocolate, you can use in these.  Although, I wouldn't use more than a teaspoon of any of them as you will overpower the Oreo flavor with it.  As with any goodie like this, subtle flavor changes can make all the difference. 

BTW - I tried orange ones and raspberry ones.  Both come highly recommended. 

Ok...I have a confession to make: I am a Twitteraholic. 

More than that, I'm a BAD Twitteraholic.  I don't mean that I'm highly addicted to social networking (although that is certainly true).  I mean that I am guilty of using Twitter incorrectly. 

Yup.  I'm a bad tweeter.

Twitter was originally designed as a micro-blog - a short snip-it of what is occurring in your life at this exact moment stylized in 140 characters or less.  So...nothing worth of a full-blown blog...but, a snapshot of what is happening right now.

"I'm at Starbucks meeting with clients"

"Just closed on a $372,000 home! Party time!"

"Working on a blog post about being a bad Twitter user"

"Just washed the dog and now my house smells like wet St. Bernard"

You know....that kind of thing. 

But, what it has turned into is something so much more for me.  And, I am guilty of being a bad tweeter.

I am guilty of using it as a way to communicate and establish relationships with agents across the country and around the world like some kind of wordly rolodex.  I am guilty if using it like a giant global chat room; a resource center that I would never had been able to tap without using Twitter. 

Yup...I'm guilty alright.  Guilty of using Twitter to my FULLEST advantage!  I have learned more and met more supremely qualified people on Twitter than I had ever hoped to when I started this experiment.  I have relationships with some of the industry's top dogs and have developed friendships with some of the best, most qualified people I have ever had the opportunity to meet. 

I'm guilty of talking to my friends daily and knowing what is going on with their kids, their dogs, their farms, their commutes on slick roads, their caffeine addictions, their blogging habits, their successful attempts at becoming a blogging coaches, their followers and un-followers, their radio shows, their peculiar habit of wearing a tux to their closings, their work habits, their successes, their failures, their favorite foods, their favorite music, and even what color of underwear they have on currently.  And...I share mine as well. 

Oh...and the crimes get worse!

I am guilty of tapping into the business power of Twitter as well!! 

Yes, I said business power!  (And if you don't think there is business power in Twitter, you are very wrong...)

I have used Twitter to access agents (my customers) and am currently working with many of them on www.recr.com SOLELY because of my involvement with Twitter.  In fact, since I joined Twitter 4 months ago, I can attribute nearly $30,000 in sales for myself alone just to Twitter!

Yup.  I'm guilty. 

I'm a bad Twitter user.  I'm a bad tweeter.  I'm a bad ‘Twit'.

But, I wouldn't have it any other way. 

If you would like information on www.recr.com and how we can get you more closings, you should contact Clint at 800-977-7058 or follow Clint on Twitter at www.twitter.com/recr.

One of the common misconceptions that most real estate agents in today's market have is that they are there to please people and appear to be committed to that very detail.  But, the truth of the matter is, by "pleasing people" instead of "helping people", they are actually setting themselves up for failure, whether that be consciously or unconsciously. 

Bottom line You are not in this business to "please" people.  You are here to "help" people. 

It's easy too!

You work with your client to build a rapport...spend hours working on their listing or providing property after property to them...helping with credit issues...and working tirelessly to get them to the point of "being pleased" with your efforts and being able to move forward.  At this point, this can go two ways.

#1. The client is satisfied with your efforts and is willing to commit to the purchase/sale of a home with you and moves into negotiations with a buyer/seller.

Or...

#2. The client can start to take advantage of an unsuspecting agent by coming up with more and more things that need "fixed" that aren't important...and probably aren't even a real concern simply because they need someone to "please" them again.

Now, that is just one example.  I'm sure I could come up with a host of examples ranging from family members to co-workers and so on...but, I think you get the point.

You see...people are not thinking machines.  People are EMOTIONAL machines that can THINK also.  You would never have to prepare yourself for the possibility if being taken advantage of by a thinking machine.  But, an emotional one...now THAT'S another story.  And, being another emotional machine like you are (and face it, you are one whether you like it or not) you can fall victim to those emotional needs in others because you suddenly feel the need to "please" them rather than actually "help" them.

So, having said all of that...below you will find a short list of things that you should watch out for when dealing with people to help ensure that you don't fall into the career killing trap of "pleasing" a client rather than helping them stay on level ground.  Keep in mind that this list is by no means a list of rules...more like guidelines. 

• Your clients are running you around constantly.  You adhere to THEIR schedules and not your own and you don't think that you are in charge any more.  (Set some boundaries.  And adhere to them!)
  
  
• You find yourself wasting time with what you thought was a "prospective client" only to find out that they have no intention of being committed to working with you.  Yet, you still to please them enough to want to work with you.  (Don't be afraid to jettison this type of emotional baggage.  Cutting ties with "clients" like this will free up more time to help your real clients.)
  
  
• You want your clients to like you so much that you bend over backwards to meet their needs.  (I read a story about an agent that took on the job of babysitting a client's kids in order to push them into working with her.  Yes....really.)
  
  
• You let your colleagues monopolize your time.  Chit chat is a killer.  And, the more time you spend "chit chatting" with other agents that apparently don't have enough to do, the less time you have to spend helping your clients.  (Start setting some boundaries.  Don't be afraid to say "Sorry, I'm busy.")
  
  
• You would rather not call people and have your lead generation efforts suffer than to "bother someone" by calling.  (Whether that be your sphere of influence, cold calls, expired listings, whatever...if you think that by calling someone you are going to "bother" them, you have lost it completely.  And, you need to turn around quickly before you fail completely as well.)
  
  
• You take on clients that any normal person wouldn't.  You don't see the red flags in front of your face because you would rather be nice to them than tell them that they will not be working with you because you don't want to hurt anyone's feelings.  (Again, if you let your emotions run the show, logic is thrown out the window.  You have to have logical control of the situation and then allow your emotions to assist.  Not the other way around.)
  
  
• You find it hard to tell your clients the truth.  You find it hard to explain how to price their listing...or you are having issues with getting a buyer to sign a buyer's agreement with you because you don't want to offend them.  (Again, this is a business.  And, by being such, you have to treat it as such.  Take control logically and emotionally before you are taken advantage of...)

I have written numerous times that real estate is a PEOPLE game, not a numbers game.  Yes, you need to keep track of the numbers.  I am not saying that those are not important.  But, it is the people that you are here to assist that are of the most importance.  The real key to "helping" your clients is to avoid the pitfalls of wanting to "please" your clients along the way.

You can not please someone and then expect a reward in return.  There is no incentive for them to offer one because they have already received what they wanted out of the deal.  "Pleasing" someone comes as a reward of effort.  So, if you do your job as an agent and HELP your clients get into a new home or HELP them sell their home to the best of your ability, they will be "pleased"!  Remember that.