It used to be that sphere of influence had a political connotation like when a larger country wields influence over a smaller country. For example, Japan was known to have a large sphere of influence over Korea, Taiwan, Vietnam and other countries in Asia who at earlier decades did not measure up to the economic stature of Japan.

These days, sphere of influence is used in practically all fields of endeavor, even in real estate. Especially in real estate, as it is an appropriate concept covering both novice and seasoned agents who can benefit tremendously from a defined sphere of influence.

Sphere of Influence: Significance in Real Estate

Statistics have proven that the housing market is healthy and still firing on all four cylinders. The month of June is National Homeowners Month so this is probably the best time to harness your resources and come up with a well-managed sphere of influence. Did you know that there were over 6 million housing units sold across the United States recently? This is proof that real estate is not about ready to go bust. Add to that the fact that for the first quarter of 2006, home ownership went as high as 68.5%, and that homeowner vacancy rates for the same period was a meager 2.1% (US Census Bureau). So, boom it is, and definitely far from bust. There is, therefore, plenty of room to grow your sphere of influence.

While it is true that growing a sphere of influence is a lot like networking, which we all know is a popular strategy that people use to increase marketing and sales, creating a sphere of influence is like art imitating science in that there is a consistent indeed almost scientific management style that contributes not only towards enlarging your base of contacts, but also reinforcing it. In other words, experts have considered it as having the ability to control your real estate practice and not let it control you.

Sphere of Influence: Excellent Prospects Productive Leads

A real estate writer believes that even new and inexperienced real estate agents can derive numerous benefits if they carved out a sphere of influence for themselves. They should realize that they are not really starting out from scratch. The beginnings of a sphere of influence can take shape from immediate family members or a circle of friends, as well as the community in which they live. If both your parents work in corporate environments, request them to let their colleagues know, because word spreads like wildfire in offices. If you leave your business cards with your butcher, grocer, baker, dry cleaner, and hair stylist, imagine the volume of human traffic that go in and out of these establishments. Right there you have a gold mine of prospects, leads, and potential clients. Let the people in your immediate range of vision and contact know that you provide services in real estate. With consistency and perseverance, it has a wonderful way of triggering that phone to start ringing non-stop.

Neglecting your Sphere of Influence

The answer is not difficult. One web site article argued that if a real estate agent neglects to nurture his sphere of influence, that sphere that he has painstakingly developed will forget about him. That is how reality bites these days. One single mistake can be an expensive one. Your house of cards will tumble. An expert who has been coaching people on the optimal use of influence suggests staying in contact with every individual in your sphere of influence at least once every quarter.

I personally recommend that this be done on a monthly basis. This continuous contact will eventually pay handsome dividends and majority of your client base will make you their primary real estate agent.

Positive Outcome of a well managed Sphere of Influence

Experts recommend that a good number of influence is 100 people. These are the people you have to call once every quarter, and extract from them referrals or potential leads. Good places to start are the people who run relocation services for executives and managers who transfer people coast to coast and beyond local borders. Another would be your banker and dentist who see people every day. Your local parish is also a valuable vehicle for your marketing efforts.

Writing or contributing to an e-zine or holding real estate seminars on the most fundamental subjects can also enlarge your sphere of influence. Taking the first initiative opens many doors and before you know it, you already have 100 people on your contacts list.

A well managed sphere of influence does generate more referrals and leads, increases commissions and income, and minimizes cold calling. Part of your management efforts should be to record the highlights of every single contact you make and following up on those.

Carried out relentlessly, you should be well on your way to higher commissions!