The Small Differences Between Top Producers And Everyone Else Part 6

October 29, 2009

Here’s an example of how one the most successful real estate professionals in the US cultivates weak ties.  Alan Domb specializes exclusively in luxury condos in Philadelphia.  Since the early 1980’s he’s amassed a colossal contact database: detailed records of over 125,000 people, each of whom is a targeted prospect for buying or selling Philadelphia area luxury condos.  Within those records he records personal information very few other reps would such as anniversaries, even for people who were buyers in transactions when he was the listing rep.  He personally calls each couple on the anniversary day to wish them well.  He sends Just Listed and Just Sold postcards every 3 weeks to all people in all the luxury condo buildings in Philadelphia.  What a great maven!

So just imagine if those 125,000 people in Domb’s database have just 50 contacts on average in their network.  (Considering these contacts are wealthy, they probably have far more contacts per person on average than 50).  That means a conservative estimate of Domb’s extended network of people resulting from weak ties is over 6 million people!  It’s little wonder he is still selling 700-900 condos per year, despite our so called “dark” economic times.

Let’s quantify things a bit further so you know where you need to be to consider yourself a connector.  Remember when I asked you to remember Gladwell’s assertion that connectors have networks of at least one hundred people?  There appears to be a scientific rationale behind the number one hundred.

It’s called the Hundred Monkey Theory.  In general terms, it means once a certain portion of a population has heard a specific idea or learned a new ability, the idea or ability ‘tips’ and instantly spreads to the remainder of the population or like minded people who haven’t had direct contact with the idea themselves.

Here’s the story of the Hundred Monkey Theory.  In 1952, a group of Japanese scientists conducted a study of macaques monkeys on the Japanese island of Koshima.  The scientists observed some of these monkeys eventually learned how to wash the sweet potatoes growing on the island before eating them.  Gradually, this new ability spread through the younger generation of monkeys on the island in the usual fashion – through observation and repetition.

Filed under: Inspiration,Marketing Tips,Networking Tips

Tags: Agent Office, branding, contact management, follow up, following up, hundred monkey theory, Malcolm Gladwell, marketing, networking, prospect, prospecting, real estate course, real estate education, real estate educators, realtor education, systems, Tipping Point, Top Producer, what the bleep do we know?