Here is an email I recently sent to our sales team in regards to the leads that they receive and work on a daily basis. My company uses internet leads to generate new business on top of our referral and repeat business (which makes up about 1/3 of our monthly volume). I received some good response to it from our folks so I thought I’d pass it along here to any new originators who read this blog for advice.
My email:
I love baseball and used to play it (poorly) for the better part of my youth. I was watching some highlights last night and it got me thinking about what we do here.
When I used to play I would really look forward to the 3 or 4 at-bats I would get each game. I knew that I would only have 3 or 4 chances to get a hit and improve my average. In baseball before you are “up” you are “on deck. I remember vividly being on deck going through the following checklist:
Who’s pitching and what have they been throwing lately? What pitches are their favorite? How have they gotten people out before me? What did people who already have hits against this guy do to be successful against him? How many outs are there? What’s the game situation? Who’s on base?
The big question I was asking myself was “What am I trying to do in this at bat?” Was it move a runner over? Was it get on base no matter what? Was it try to get in scoring position? And so on. I KNEW the answer every time I stepped in the batter’s box.
Here you may only get 3 or 4 at bats a day with your leads. Sometimes you’ll get less than that. Do you know what you’re trying to do with each and every at bat you get? What did you think about on deck before you picked up the phone? What were you trying to specifically accomplish with each at bat?
Hint: the answer is not “get a hit/take an app” That is the generic (wrong) answer; there should be a specific thought process unique to every lead based on its characteristics that you undertake before calling each of your leads.
Bottom line: CHERISH YOUR AT BATS – know what you want to do with them ahead of time.
Jeff Brown says:
And I thought I was the only one who kept telling my marketing guru that I need more at bats. 🙂
No matter how good he was, if Bruce Boche hadn’t penciled Tony Gwynn’s name in the lineup every night, he wouldn’t be on his way to the Hall of Fame this summer.
When I’ve trained agents over the years, the number one lesson I wanted them to learn was this: You need to get in front of as many folks you can who can tell you to go to hell. Those are at bats. They told you to get lost? That’s a strikeout. You listed or sold a property? Your batting average just went up.
Great post.
April 25, 2007 — 12:40 pm
Derek Burress says:
Coach speak, yes going up to the plate trying to get a hit is wrong, but so is trying to advance the runner over and other pre-defined goals.
Basically the correct answer is to go to the plate, tap your spikes, adjust your cup, wink at the pitcher, spit a wad of tobacco juice at the catcher’s opposite chin guard, adjust your cup once more and think about knocking the living tar out of the ball.
By the way, I am such a bad influence. I hosted a blog carnival with a baseball theme and everyone who has hosted after me has had some sort of theme it seems and now a whole lot of real estate agents are discussing baseball. But I like it!
April 25, 2007 — 8:55 pm
Derek Burress says:
Brown: You trained agents? I thought you were an umpire.
By the way, I think I am gonna write your little quote down… “You need to get in front of as many folks you can who can tell you to go to hell.”
Email me if you wish. We can discuss some baseball off the board if you want. By the way, I am writing a book on catching, got any tips for catchers working with umpires that you may want to share?
April 25, 2007 — 9:00 pm
Jeff Brown says:
Burress – Before each half of the first inning started, while I was standing behind the catcher, watching the pitcher warm up, I’d ask him the million dollar question:
What’s your job today son?
95% of the catchers asked, got the answer right.
Answer? Protect you Blue.
And keep the hell down when you’re waiting setting up inside!
April 25, 2007 — 10:32 pm
Brian Brady says:
Morgan Said: “Here you may only get 3 or 4 at bats a day with your leads”
If you hit .200 in baseball, you’ll never make more than the league minimum ($380,000).
If you hit .200 getting 3-4 leads a day in the mortgage business, you’re making the same amount of money($380,000)
April 27, 2007 — 1:25 am
Morgan Brown says:
Brian & Jeff – Great points. You have to get in front of a lot of people so that you can succeed and if you can succeed a very small percentage of the time you will have tremendous personal success.
Derek – I’m all for swinging for the fences over the course of the year or month or whatever, but I do believe there is a certain approach that works for each customer and there are some that don’t go for the home run hitter.
April 27, 2007 — 3:03 pm
Jeff Brown says:
Morgan – As a member of the Baseball Geek Hall of Fame, I actually remember the ’66 World Series.
Earl Weaver won games with, as he said, “20 game winners and three run homers.” It’s worth noting that he had a four man rotation with four 20 game winners. Amazing.
His Oriole team that year played the Dodgers in the Series. The Dodgers played what they called back then, ‘Dodger Ball’, but what is more or less known as today as ‘Money Ball’. They were big on pitching, defense, the stolen base, bunting, and on base percentage. They were world champs in ’63 & ’65 and lost in ’66.
Some folks like to hit homers, and some like to wow you with speed and defense. You know what the first question most folks ask after the game? Did you win?
Nobody cares about the ‘how’ until they hear the first answer.
You hit the nail on the head Morgan.
April 27, 2007 — 3:29 pm
Morgan Brown says:
Great point Jeff! nail-on-the-head award goes to you!
April 27, 2007 — 3:45 pm
Brian Brady says:
“he had a four man rotation with four 20 game winners”
Palmer, McNally, Cuellar and Dobson
Pat Dobson always wins you a beer.
April 28, 2007 — 10:24 am
Jeff Brown says:
And if I’m not mistaken, he finished his career with the Pads.
April 28, 2007 — 10:47 am