Just three years into his career, Caleb Pearson is already topping $250K in annual earnings. Here’s how.
By Deborah Kearns
July 2015
Caleb Pearson
When he began his real estate career in 2012, Caleb Pearson, just 23 at the time, had a plan. And a phone. And a sense of determination.
From the start, Pearson blocked out two hours of every morning for non-stop cold calling. He made hundreds of calls each day, encountering more than his share of voicemail boxes, profanity and unkind comments, and the inevitable sound of the line going dead. But he kept making the next call, no matter what happened on the last one. It was not easy work.
On the rare occasion that someone answered the phone and showed even the slightest interest in what he had to say, Pearson used an adjusted Mike Ferry script to explain the services he could offer a buyer or seller.
As time went on and his delivery sharpened, his tenacity paid off. In the first year, almost all of his 39 closed sales came from cold calls.
“If you’re going to build your business off prospecting, reach out to potential and past clients through every outlet you can,” says Pearson, who suggests phone calls, texts, emails, direct mail, Facebook, LinkedIn and door knocking as viable avenues for business. “Do whatever you can to get in front of people and elicit a response. I’ve learned that cold calling is simply a numbers game. When you become better at mastering your scripts, you’ll convert more leads.”
The RE/MAX Balloon is like the Nike swoosh.
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It was a solid start to his career, based on focus and hard work. And that combination made him a perfect fit for RE/MAX.
In November 2013, Pearson and two colleagues – Betty Gales (who was also Pearson’s mentor) and Hank Johnson – joined Broker/Owner Robert Jeter as Co-Owners of RE/MAX Alliance in Mount Pleasant, S.C.
From there, his career skyrocketed. He developed a team of eight and worked with it to take advantage of all RE/MAX has to offer. He received “a ton of referrals” from all over the country. He used the technology. He leveraged the market share. And he experienced the power of the brand.
“The RE/MAX Balloon is like the Nike swoosh,” Pearson says. “It’s paved the way for my team to get more business. It’s making a huge difference for us.”
In 2014, his first full year with the network, Pearson topped $250,000 in earnings and reached the RE/MAX Platinum Club. And 2015 is going even better – the team is on track to top $1 million in earnings for the year.
Here are Pearson’s top tips for new agents:
Focus on lead generation.
You can’t sit around and expect leads to come to you. Create a schedule and put the time in. You can make a lot of money in this business if you have an entrepreneurial attitude and stick to a schedule.
Treat people right.
Whether a deal comes together or not, treat people as though they’re your top priority throughout the transaction. You’ll gain referrals for life. It comes down to putting the clients’ interests ahead of your own.
Find a mentor.
Copy what successful people are doing; there’s no need to reinvent the wheel. I’ve used Kinder-Reese Real Estate Coaching and Consulting out of Texas, and it’s made a huge difference in my business. Find a real estate or business coach – or sit down with successful people in your office – and follow their lead.
Don’t be afraid to cold call.
Cold calls are the lifeblood of my business. I blocked out two hours first thing in the morning on my calendar to make calls. It’s not the fastest way of finding leads, and it requires a lot of work, but it works if you stick with it.
Follow up immediately.
It’s critical to stay top of mind when you get a hot lead. I schedule dates for each follow-up email or touchpoint in Top Producer, and I add clients as friends on my personal Facebook page and our team’s page. Make sure you send items of value in your follow-up emails. People care about how much their house is worth and what the market is doing, which is why we send a market analysis every three months.
Set goals – and stick to them.
There are so many shiny objects you can chase in real estate that promise “easy” ways to make money. Don’t be seduced by these claims. You have to focus on growth and getting listings. Having the RE/MAX brand behind you opens the door, but the rest is up to you.
Be social.
Every time someone sends us a referral, we send a thank-you note and some cookies. We also give the person a shout-out on Facebook. That gets your Facebook followers to view your page as a resource and a place of recognition. We try to get everyone on our team to share the feel-good status updates. Social media is free, so use it to your advantage. But don’t rely on it as your only avenue for new business.
Get these tips in a Quick Tips format.
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