Planting Seeds

Today I was fortunate to have lunch with someone who has worked his way up from nothing to one of the top producers in his industry in less than 5 years. Mark Rafail, a Farmers Insurance agent started his career in insurance with nothing. Since then, he has created an insurance agency that is in the top 1% of all Farmers agencies. His agency has been very deliberate in forming relationships with real estate agents and brokers, sponsoring events in the real estate community, and devising systems and processes that help agents and brokers do their jobs more effectively. To say the least, they have been extremely effective. So much so that Mark was a co-author of a book called Change Agents with world-renowned sales expert, Brian Tracy.

How did he do it? Hard work? Sure. Perseverance? You bet. The thing that caught me as the big "Ah Ha" moment was the planting of seeds that have now grown into a nearly 100% referral business. In the early days of his agency, right as the economy went in the tank, Mark created a website that allowed a renter to enter their information and get a rental insurance quote from a live person in a short time. You might be thinking it's a crazy idea because you don't make any money doing that, but therein lies the genius of the plan.

You see, because you don't make any money doing it, no one was doing it. But, Mark knew that people renting would be buying one day. Oh, and they probably had a car to insure. And might need life insurance one day. And might know some other people who would need him. See where this is going?

Today he has a similar website that he markets to Realtors, www.referyourbuyer.com, and gives buyers a quote from a live person the same business day. His sponsorship of Realtor events has led him to be the agent of choice for brokerages around Houston (including their own personal and business needs). Not a bad result for a guy pounding the pavement and hitting up apartment leasing agents, right? And, he did it in just a couple of years.

So, what's the correlation to your business? It's easy, especially if you're new in the business. Pick up lease leads and run with them. Most busy agents hate them so they're easy to come by. Most lease clients have probably been mistreated by an agent who didn't make them feel important or take the time to service them right. You have an opportunity here to be a hero to them. That won't be forgotten and when it is time for them to buy, guess who they'll be calling? You got it.