SEEDS

In the real estate business, there is a concept called "farming."

An agent will pick a neighborhood as his farm and work the farm in various ways. Sometimes he’ll start by mailing out an announcement to each resident to make them aware of his services, his location, and contact information (plowing up the fields).

Then he may conduct a "doorknob hanger" program where he hires people to place flyers right on the doorknobs, reiterating the information he already mailed out (planting the first crop of seeds).

The agent’s next step might be to offer to do free appraisals via still another flyer, this one sent through the mail again (watering the first crop).

Now he may decide to do another doorknob flyer, again reiterating the free appraisal offer sent out by mail (cultivating).

Then he does another mailing to each resident, offering a free sales prep analysis to go in and personally point out things that can be done to profitably prepare the home for the market (fertilizing).

Then the agent personally drives through his "farm," making notes of any obvious home improvements that need to be done, along with the addresses of those properties.

Back at the office, he then writes personal letters to each of the addresses where obvious improvements are needed, if they haven’t already responded to his recent mailing (weeding).

He keeps on tending his farm, planting, watering, cultivating, fertilizing, and weeding, rain or shine. In other words, he keeps his name and services foremost in his prospects’ minds, so that when one of them does think of selling, guess who they are most likely to call?

Keep in mind that this "farmer" started from scratch. He first picked out his farm. Then he had to do the "back-breaking" work of plowing it up and planting the seeds of all the crops he wished to harvest. Getting everything started (setting everything up) was the hardest part, like everything else in life.

Once he got a rhythm going, all he did was to water, cultivate, fertilize, and weed on a regular schedule. And he got a good harvest. But note that he didn’t plant his seeds one day and expect that harvest the next. He realized that it would take a minimum of ninety days, depending on the crop he planted. The more bountiful crops take more time.

He also realized that he could start as many farms as he had time to tend, or as he could hire others to tend (in which case he would share-crop), so that his potential harvests matched his efforts.

As the Bible so clearly points out, there is a time and a season to everything . . . a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted . . . Ecclesiastes 3:2-8

Once again, another success lesson from the Lord Himself!