Bernice Ross

Have you ever wondered what it would take to have your real estate business filled with clients who appreciate you, are fun to work with, and who regularly send you referrals? The process is much easier than you may expect.

You have probably heard of the Law of Attraction, but do you know how to apply it to attract your ideal client? If not, here the steps to follow.

Create your personal “top 10 best client” list: The first step in this process is to examine what you have already attracted in your business, both the great clients as well as those you wish you never met. To do this, look through your CRM of past clients and pick out the your personal “Top 10” best clients ever. List each name on a sheet of paper or on your mobile device.

What made them the best? As you remember the transaction(s) you did together, what exactly made them your best client? Were they easy and fun to work with? Were they always prompt about returning their paperwork? When there was a problem, were they reasonable to work with in solving it? Are they still happy to hear from you? How many other transactions have resulted from your knowing them? Write down as many reasons as possible.

Transaction details: The next step is to list key transaction data and demographic factors. This includes area and price range where they purchased, the type of home and neighborhood, plus key factors about their lifestyle. Also, note your clients’ approximate age, gender, marital status, career, whether they have children, any pets, hobbies, favorite charities, etc.

The most important transaction detail, however, is how you met them. Whether it was a past referral, paid leads, door-knocking or open house, you want to go back to the same “gold mine” to find more like them.

Look for patterns: In the corporate world, it’s common for companies to create a persona that represents their target buyer for their product. Many companies often give these personas names such as “Mike” or “Mary.”

To apply this approach to your business, look through what you have written for each client. Distinct patterns generally emerge. Sometimes the patterns are tied to a specific neighborhood, school or lifestyle. Almost always, however, there is a clear pattern in terms of age, marital status and careers. You may discover that your best clients are easygoing and fun to be with or they may be straight-forward, no-nonsense types. You may be attracting more international clients or perhaps first-time buyers or multi-generational families.

Now create your own “Mike” or “Mary” who typifies your ideal client. Finding more “Mikes” and “Marys” will now become your primary lead generation goal.

Your worst nightmare: Repeat items one through four, but this time with the top five to 10 worst clients you have ever experienced. Again, pay special attention to what lead generation activities put these people in your path, what made them difficult to deal with, as well as any transactional details that may be relevant.

Have clarity about what you want to attract: Attraction is always at work in your life. The secret to attracting your ideal client is to have clarity about what you want to attract. Steps one through five provide you two distinct sets of profiles of what does and not constitute an ideal client for you. You will use each list to create your personal “Ideal Client Profile.”

The first list already has all the positives from your top clients. Make a list of these positives – the longer the better. As the old saying goes, “Be definite with the infinite.”

Your nightmare client list also has a wealth of information, but you must reframe it in a positive light. This approach works best if you only use positive statements, i.e., avoid using the words “not, no and don’t.”

For example, if you had a client who was an alcoholic, avoid saying, “I don’t want to work with an alcoholic client.” Instead, the positive reframe is, “My ideal client lives a healthy lifestyle and is addiction-free.”

You attract who you are: Your clients reflect what is best and worst in you. For example, if you are attracting dishonest clients, are you being dishonest somewhere else in your life? On the other hand, if you are honest and dishonesty is showing up in your business, chances are you didn’t heed the gut feeling that told you this client was trouble. Raise your standards by being willing to turn down clients who are not a good fit.

Bernice Ross, CEO of RealEstateCoach.com, is a national speaker, trainer and author. She may be reached at Bernice@RealEstateCoach.com.