How Daniel Harnsberger took a listing after at least 8 follow-up contacts

Daniel Harnsberger00:00

Top prospectors aren’t afraid to pry. So the more information I can have, the better service provider I can be. And on top of that, the better way I can figure out how I can make it a now appointment if it’s feasible at all. Prospect, prospect, prospect. People are so focused on the results that they don’t think of what it took to get there.

00:22And for me, what helped me evolve as a prospector and someone who could handle an objection, it’s not like I just had these kind of natural sales skills. It was taking time and making note cards and learning objection handlers and then continuing to practice them, ’cause I noticed when I get away from practicing them

Aaron Wittenstein01:02

What’s going on everybody? It’s me, it’s Aaron Wittenstein. I’d like to welcome you to Vulcan7 Roadmap. This is where we interview agents across the country on how to take an additional lot of listings a month, okay? So speaking from experience here, we have our guest today, Daniel Harnsberger from Richmond, Virginia.

01:21How are you, my friend?

Daniel Harnsberger01:23

Doing well. Thanks for having me, Aaron.

Aaron Wittenstein01:25

You’re welcome. So I get a message at 11:56, ’cause we’re scheduled to meet at noon, and he’s like, “I’m running five minutes late.” And I’m like, “Okay, so why were you running late?”

Daniel Harnsberger01:38

I was running late because I took a listing, and the business always comes first.

Aaron Wittenstein01:43

There we go. And I’m sitting here, I’m like… He’s like, “I’m sorry.” I’m like, “Did you get the listing?” He’s like, “Yeah.” I’m like, “I don’t care. You can run 25 minutes late and you’re all good in my book.” So tell me, this listing that you took, how did you get it?

Daniel Harnsberger01:58

I think the way a lot of good agents will get listings, it’s very rare we call somebody and they’re like, “Oh, yeah, I’m ready to sell now, come over.”

02:07It was circle prospecting last year, and then constant follow-up with that lead, or consistent follow-up, I should say. And then getting a new appointment and getting pen to paper.

Aaron Wittenstein02:26

So how many times, let’s just call them Joe and Sally, okay? How many times did you contact Joe and Sally between last year and today to be able to secure this listing?

Daniel Harnsberger02:38

Oh, gosh. I would say at least eight. I mean, it was setting up the appointment, putting the initial… I called it a consultation ’cause he wasn’t gonna sell then, ’cause it was the last quarter of the year, and he was smart enough to know the timing of the market, and there was no objection handler I was gonna use to convince him otherwise.

03:04Real analytical guy. So initial appointment, follow-up to make sure he got the pre-listing package, that he reviewed it, see if there are any questions so you can flesh out any objections ahead of time, the appointment itself, and then every month giving him a proactive market update with what’s going on relevant to the market at that time.

03:27And I did that because he’s an analytical guy and he would eat up the numbers.

Aaron Wittenstein03:35

So what you’re saying is follow-up is where it’s at. Is that right?

Daniel Harnsberger03:40

I’d say that’s 90% of prospecting as far as leading to getting you the result you’re looking for.

Aaron Wittenstein03:48

So you go take 100 listings. Let’s say you take 100 listings.

03:54Good year. It’s been a good year.

Daniel Harnsberger03:55

Let’s say that,

Aaron Wittenstein03:56

yeah. Yeah. It’s been a good year. It’s been a good year. Out of those 100 listings, what percentage of them would be what we call now business? Like I call it slam dunks. You come in, you boom, you do you. And lead follow-up, what percentage would you say?

Daniel Harnsberger04:09

I would say that… Gosh, I’d be remiss to say if I could give you a percentage. I’d just be pulling it out my rear. But I would say the ones there are, those are the ones through calling, call it via contact with your database, and then they refer you to somebody. Sure. About 10% of your deals should be referrals from your database.

04:33So maybe 10%, and the other 90 is lead follow-up, being aggressive.

Aaron Wittenstein04:39

Oh, exactly. And like I said, ’cause what do they say? I can’t remember, but it’s like there’s a certain amount of contacts that you hit and then everybody else just drops off the board, right? All the other competition.

Daniel Harnsberger04:52

Oh, yeah, without question. I mean, most agents, if they prospect at all, they make that initial call and then that’s it. They don’t have any system of follow-up. And if you do not do lead follow-up, you are pissing your time through your hands. I heard that expression from Gordon Ramsay.

05:15He was talking about money, but the same thing, ’cause your time is valuable.

Aaron Wittenstein05:20

I think that just puts it perfectly right there. I like that analogy a lot, actually. So let’s say for example, you speak with me, okay? I’m a lead. I say, “You know what, Daniel? I’m gonna be selling in six months from now is when I’m putting my house up on the market.”

05:38What does that process look like to you?

Daniel Harnsberger05:42

My first question would be: What’s important about waiting six months?

Aaron Wittenstein05:47

We have a job that we’re retiring in six months.

Daniel Harnsberger05:54

You’re retiring in six months. Let me ask you, do you presently work from home or do you have to go into the office?

Aaron Wittenstein06:02

Oh, I go into an office every day. I’m a school teacher.

Daniel Harnsberger06:06

Okay. And when you move, where do you plan to go next? Are you looking to stay local or move outside or retire outside the area?

Aaron Wittenstein06:15

We’re moving to Hawaii, actually.

Daniel Harnsberger06:17

Okay. Okay. Well, that’s quite a trip. Okay. So you’re waiting six months.

06:24Okay. And you’re retiring. And is that ’cause you’re retiring in six months, or are you retiring sooner than that?

Aaron Wittenstein06:29

No, six months is my… December 31st is my last day of work.

Daniel Harnsberger06:34

Okay. And then how soon after your last day of work are you looking to be in Hawaii?

Aaron Wittenstein06:40

You know, in a perfect world, I would like to be there really quick, if not like around December 31.

06:47Right around that period of time, give or take a week.

Daniel Harnsberger06:51

Okay. So pretty much the day after you retire, it wouldn’t pose a problem for you if you were set to move into your new home, correct?

Aaron Wittenstein07:00

That is correct.

Daniel Harnsberger07:01

Okay. And let me ask you, do you know how long it takes to get a home sold in this market?

Aaron Wittenstein07:07

Oh, I mean the market’s strong. I would assume, what,

Daniel Harnsberger07:09

30 days, something like that? Well, it can, from start to finish, meaning initial consultation to the time we get under contract, get you sold, and any period that you might be staying in the home after you close, a rent back possession period, it can take anywhere from one month to four months.

07:30Okay. So wouldn’t it make sense to get that process started sooner than later so we can get you top dollar for the home?

Aaron Wittenstein07:37

I guess so. I mean, we do have the agent that sold us our house that we thought about maybe giving, Sally Mae, a call.

07:48But I don’t-

Daniel Harnsberger07:50

Okay. Well, that agent must be good, or otherwise you wouldn’t be considering Sally Mae. Now if, and this is a big if, if I can show you a plan to put more money in your pocket than Sally Mae, you wouldn’t be opposed to hiring me, would you? No hiring. I think we’re getting a little bit ahead of ourselves right now, but I mean, how would you put more money in our pocket?

08:12Well, that’s exactly why we need to meet, Aaron. Now, we can meet tomorrow. Which time would work best for you and your family? Would Monday at 6:00 work better or Tuesday at 4:00?

Aaron Wittenstein08:22

I’m not gonna sign anything. I mean, that’s not my intention. I won’t be signing anything when you come over.

Daniel Harnsberger08:33

Well, certainly you’re not gonna sign anything till you’re comfortable and ready. And here’s the advantage of meeting now. The appointment’s no obligation. They take about 15 minutes, and we can take a look at what you need to do to prep your home so we can get you top dollar for the home, meaning the highest the market will bear.

08:49So would Monday or Tuesday work better?

Aaron Wittenstein08:52

I swing by on Monday.

Daniel Harnsberger08:54

Okay. I’ll see you Monday at 6:00.

Aaron Wittenstein08:56

See, now see what you did there is you turned a six-month lead into a now lead. I’m talking to nobody. But if you guys pay attention to that, that was pretty impressive. That was a total, like an unintentional role play that we just did right there.

09:13So just walk me through that process of what just happened.

Daniel Harnsberger09:17

I guess I just put myself as if that was a real situation. I heard Mike Ferry say… One thing he said in a conference that really stuck with me is, “Top prospectors aren’t afraid to pry.”

09:34So the more information I can have, the better service provider I can be.

09:40And on top of that, the better way I can figure out how I can make it a now appointment, if it’s feasible at all.

Aaron Wittenstein09:47

Yeah, ’cause like I said, it was totally unintentional for us to do it that way. I just said the right thing at the right time, and he made sense of it. Now, all right, let’s say for example, let’s take this back to another scenario, okay?

10:03And ’cause I know we wanna talk about follow-up, ’cause a lot of people get lost in the follow-up. Let’s say I’m retiring in six months. Then after that, I don’t wanna move for… And I’m retiring. I wanna get situated. I wanna go find a house. I don’t have to sell to buy. So, like, springtime is what I’m looking at.

Daniel Harnsberger10:22

I would ask again what’s important about springtime.

10:25Also, you mentioned you’re moving to where… We’re just going over the scenario now. We’re not role-playing, I imagine. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So I would look at, like, at that point… And I’m an analytical person, so someone might totally disagree with this. I can’t just assume that if you’re moving to Hawaii, Hawaii’s market peaks are the same as ours here in central Virginia.

10:52So I’d wanna look at that and then just apply that to their situation.

Aaron Wittenstein10:57

Yeah. You’re definitely highly analytical. I’m the opposite. I’m the driver personality.

Daniel Harnsberger11:04

I don’t know that they’re so… Yeah, but… Different and the

Aaron Wittenstein11:08

same. It’s different and the same, right?

Daniel Harnsberger11:09

I default to driver in times of stress. So not my best look. But I identify… Drivers, I think, are the easiest to identify.

Aaron Wittenstein11:25

Yeah. That’s ’cause there’s only

Daniel Harnsberger11:27

10%

Aaron Wittenstein11:27

of us and we’re all crazy, right?

Daniel Harnsberger11:30

Well, no, it’s just they’re no nonsense, no BS. They want the information.

11:34It’s actually the easiest listing presentation, because I can skip a good portion of it and say, “Hey, you’ve reviewed the packet. How far apart are we on price?” Yeah. And a lot of people say, like, “Oh, you look at their personality style, it’s kind of like manipulating them.”

11:53No, it’s giving people information the way they best appreciate it. And to me, that’s just part of service is being proactive and giving someone what they want before they ask for it.

Aaron Wittenstein12:05

Exactly. And for those of you that don’t know what we’re talking about, okay? We’re talking about the DiSC personality profile, okay?

12:13D is a driver. Daniel, can you please explain what a driver is?

Daniel Harnsberger12:17

It’s someone who wants information really quick. Yeah. No nonsense, no fluff.

Aaron Wittenstein12:23

And then an I is interpersonal. I call them the huggy feely people, right? And how do they want information?

Daniel Harnsberger12:31

I refer to them as amiable, but you don’t wanna treat an amiable like a driver.

12:41An amiable’s gonna be a more emotion-based decision. So if I’m presenting to an amiable, I’m talking about who that next buyer is gonna be for their home. Don’t you want them to love the home the way you did and…

Aaron Wittenstein12:59

Yeah. Exactly. And then we have the Cs, which are the… I can never think…

13:07It’s the analytical people is basically what we have with that, right?

Daniel Harnsberger13:10

Right. Yeah. I mean, they want all the information so they can process, and they don’t wanna be rushed in a decision.

Aaron Wittenstein13:18

And then we have S, which is stable, okay? And I always define them, and maybe you define it.

13:25I define them as everybody else is, is the best way to put it.

Daniel Harnsberger13:29

Well, there’s the expressives, which are a tough bunch for me as an analytical, so that’s probably the one I need to be best at.

Aaron Wittenstein13:43

Oh, yeah. So that’s just a brief synopsis on what a DiSC personality profile is, by the way.

13:48Yeah. We started talking about it one iteration. We’re explaining

Daniel Harnsberger13:50

to the folks at home.

Aaron Wittenstein13:52

All you folks behind the camera right there. All right. So you’re a prospector is what it comes down to. And schedule-wise, how many hours a day right now are you typically prospecting?

Daniel Harnsberger14:05

I have five blocked into my schedule.

Aaron Wittenstein14:08

Five hours a day?

Daniel Harnsberger14:10

Yes. Three hours for cold leads, and then two hours for database calls and lead follow-up. So what hours are you typically prospecting? 8:00 to 11:00 and 12:00 to 2:00 on most days. I had an appointment, she could meet today at 11:00, so I did a…

14:32I knew I had this interview at 12:00, so obviously my schedule’s a little different today. But that’s just life and you’re gonna work around it. But the whole business is prospecting, so it should be a part of your daily schedule, in my opinion. I’m just one dude with an opinion.

Aaron Wittenstein14:51

Oh, you have a very good opinion, and I appreciate your opinion. Okay. So what percentage of the time would you say that you stick to the schedule?

Daniel Harnsberger15:03

I would say it’s 75%. If you get called by Vulcan7 to do an interview, you’re gonna do it, and just scrap your whole schedule.

15:12Or you have a high dollar listing appointment, you’ll make time for that. And don’t get me wrong, I know agents who are like, “I do appointments at 1:00 PM and 2:00 PM. If you can’t meet with me, too bad.” And I don’t roll like that.

Aaron Wittenstein15:33

No, but like I said, as long as you’re hitting your schedule 70%, 75%, 80% of the time, it’s called an almost perfect week for a reason, because life still gets in the way, and you still need to run a business. And as long as you’re hitting it, that sounds like what you’re doing, you’re doing very well for yourself, right?

Daniel Harnsberger15:52

Yes. May I share something? For the folks at home, I had this big epiphany. It’s not like it’s a new epiphany, but it’s just really emphasized this week. I added my first… I have an assistant, but then it’s like I can’t put everything on one person, and there was a lot of stuff I was doing that was not production-based.

16:17So I added a virtual assistant team. And now I put all the training manuals together and the video training, so it was a lot of work up front, but now they’re rolling and it’s great, ’cause it gives me a much better chance to stick to the production schedule. All this to say, I think this whole business is a constant bet on yourself.

16:41So just the act of becoming an agent, you’re betting like, “Okay, I’m gonna take this job, and I have no guaranteed paycheck, and I’m gonna make money with it.” That’s the first thing. Then, “Hey, I’m gonna get Vulcan7 as my dialer. I bet the investment I make on that, I’m gonna make more contacts and get more listings as a result, and it’s gonna more than pay for itself.”

17:05You make that bet. Then you add an assistant or two assistants or whatever. You’re saying, “I’m gonna spend X on this or that. It’s gonna get me a good ROI.” And to me, that’s the business in a nutshell, is it’s just a constant bet on yourself, and what you put into it, you’re gonna get out of it more than that.

Aaron Wittenstein17:29

Exactly. And what you just explained, it’s just, you’re here, then you jump it up a notch. Right. Then you jump it up a notch, then you jump it up a notch, and then there’s no notches. It never really stops. Correct. You may regress a little bit, but that’s normal. There’s normal regression to it.

17:44But as long as you don’t sit on the regression and you still bump that up, it’s exactly what you explained. We’re done. We don’t need to talk anymore. You just put it all perfectly.

17:56No. We’re-

Daniel Harnsberger17:57

That’s the George Costanza, Seinfeld. “I’m out, I’m out. I’m leaving on a high note.”

Aaron Wittenstein18:02

Oh, man. So, all right, so are you role-playing regularly right now, or how does that look?

Daniel Harnsberger18:08

Yes, I do role-play at 7:30 every morning, and then I added role-play at 11:30 every day, where I do an objection handler role-play, where it’s just objection handlers.

Aaron Wittenstein18:25

Okay. So this is what a lot of people, from what I hear, is you’re role-playing an hour a day, okay?

18:30Or 30 minutes, whatever that comes out to be. You’re lead generating for five hours a day, okay? And when are you doing everything else? Are you putting in 100 hours a week? What does that look like?

Daniel Harnsberger18:45

I wouldn’t say I’m putting in 100 hours a week. I mean, I have time blocked off for admin, and the issue I was running into was, I’d take a new listing.

18:59Well, to me, I owe my client everything possible to market that listing. So I was doing the reverse prospecting, which was, at times, cutting into my prospecting for new leads time. Reverse prospecting, to the folks at home, is when you reach out to other agents, say, “Hey, you have a buyer whose criteria matches my listing.”

19:21It’s a tool offered by most MLSs. So I was doing that. I was creating the marketing and posting it on social media. So it’s like I wanted to take myself out of those things, ’cause that was backing up to where some of my other critical admin was taking longer than I should to respond to emails, and it just wasn’t a good look, so I outsourced that part of my business.

19:51The hours I work are a lot, and of course the busier I get. But I think when you love what you do, it doesn’t… Now, I know it sounds so cliché, but it doesn’t feel like work.

20:06So I enjoy it. I love the business and I love consuming my time with it, and I think the only time it gets frustrating is when I’m not converting like I should, but that’s on me, and I’ll take that any day of the week versus working for somebody else and carrying out their agenda for salary.

20:28No, thanks.

Aaron Wittenstein20:28

Tell me how you really feel. Tell me how you really feel. All right. So let me ask you this. So you have a brand new agent, walks across your office, knocks on your door and says, “Daniel, I hear you’re amazing. I hear you prospect 93 hours a day. What type of advice do you have for me?”

Daniel Harnsberger20:50

If you’re just starting, my advice to anyone just starting, I’ve given it many times, is just make a list of everyone you know locally, wherever you are, who could either be a potential client or refer you business, and call every single one of them. Call them quarterly, but call them all as soon as you get that list together, and your first call can just be simple enough.

21:16“Hey, my name’s Daniel Harnsberger. I just started in real estate. Who do you know who’s looking to buy or sell?” And that can be your first database call. And then from there, branch out, ’cause a coach said this once: if you’re not actively trying to find people and they’re not trying to find you, how are you ever gonna meet?

21:41It’s good advice. Can you repeat that? If you are not actively looking for new buyers and sellers, and they’re not trying to find you, then how are you ever gonna meet? That’s about as true as it gets right there, Aaron. Yeah. On the new agent theme, a newer guy who joined a brokerage a couple months ago, he made that phone call to me, just asked for some advice for a new person.

22:13So I gave him that about the database, and he was asking about circle prospecting, as people call, and he’s like, “You know, I kind of find like it’s a waste of time, ’cause I call these people and they’re not looking to sell.” I was like, “Well, what are you gonna do with the rest of your day?

22:27I mean, do you have a bunch of business now?” “No.” “Okay. So how are you gonna get it? I mean, why not call? ‘Cause there’s gotta be someone in a five-mile radius of you who needs to sell or wants to sell, so why not make a conscious effort to find them?”

Aaron Wittenstein22:46

100% agreed. All right, my friend, let’s wrap this sucker up in a little bow here, all right?

22:52So,

Daniel Harnsberger22:53

Yes, sir, Mr. Driver. Okay.

Aaron Wittenstein22:55

This guy. No, but what are your final last words for Vulcan7 Nation, if you will?

Daniel Harnsberger23:04

Prospect, prospect, prospect. Here’s my final words. Have you ever gone to an NBA game?

Aaron Wittenstein23:15

Mm-hmm.

Daniel Harnsberger23:16

Okay. I love the NBA.

23:17It’s, to me, the greatest pro sports league in the world. You go to a game and you watch, just watch these guys warm up. They are swishing every single shot. So why is that? Well, it’s ’cause they are constantly working and perfecting their game. Not all of them, but the vast majority of them. That’s certainly how they got there.

23:40Now, when they get all that money, how they handle it differs, and that’s why you see guys in and out of the league. But professionals practice and professionals prospect. But with respect to the practice, just think of that sports analogy, or think about your favorite musician, Slash on the guitar.

24:06He put a lot of time in, but people are so focused on the results that they don’t think of what it took to get there. And for me, what helped me evolve as a prospector and someone who could handle an objection, it’s not like I just had any kind of natural sales skills.

24:27It was taking time and making note cards and learning objection handlers and then continuing to practice them, ’cause I notice when I get away from practicing them, my answers become less crisp and less sharp. So professionals practice, and professionals get paid.

Aaron Wittenstein24:48

There we go, baby. There we go. All right, my friend.

24:50Let’s say someone is moving from Hawaii to Richmond, Virginia, and they’re looking, ironically, for a real estate agent with the name Daniel. How do they get in touch with you, brother?

Daniel Harnsberger25:00

Oh, call me on my personal cell. It’s 804-380-1190. I don’t know my eXp handle, but you can find… Google my name, and you’ll find my Google Business page.

25:17My contact information’s there. Find me on Facebook, and then also just D-A-H, that’s Daniel Adam Harnsberger, sells in, the word I-N, VA.com.

Aaron Wittenstein25:31

There we go. All right, my friend. I wanna thank you very much for this. Everybody keep in mind, every week we get another agent from somewhere across the country, and we always ask you to remember to trust the process.

25:41All right, everybody, take care of yourselves. Daniel, thank you very much. This was great, okay? Thank you. You’re welcome. Appreciate it. Bye-bye.