How Much Do You Know About Soi?

Your Sphere of Influence can (and should) include every person on the planet who knows you, even if you doubt they'd ever send business your way.

There are many paths to success in a real estate career, and SOI is only one of them. You may find that SOI is all you need, or you may find that you also enjoy other more traditional prospecting methods. Discover what works for you and do more of that!

Introverts and extroverts alike can do very well with an SOI business model. You don't have to be a social butterfly to inspire the people you know to care about you and your business; in fact, often introverts are the best SOI'ers!

Everyone you meet has the potential to become your next biggest fan.

Believe me, while your friends may care about you and want your business to succeed, they will not appreciate being asked for business or referrals, and may eventually start to avoid your calls.

Geographic farming is one of the most expensive and time-consuming ways to build a contact database. Conversely, an SOI business model can be implemented with almost no financial investment and has been known to produce results within days of implementation.

While newsletters and calendars might have a place in your SOI strategy, they shouldn't form the basis of your business model. If the people you know never hear from you on a personal basis, they won't feel much sense of loyalty to you. An effective SOI business model must include periodic personal contact.

Sending out a friendly reconnection letter with a business card and maintaining contact afterwards is the best way to remind your sphere of influence (SOI) that you sell real estate. This approach allows for a personal touch and shows genuine interest in reconnecting with individuals. By including a business card, you provide a tangible reminder of your profession, making it easier for them to contact you if they have any real estate needs. Maintaining contact afterwards ensures that the connection is not lost and helps to build a long-term relationship with your SOI.

Offering incentives to friends to send business your way will make you appear desperate and somewhat unprofessional. If your friends know you'll do a good job for anyone they send your way, they'll be happy to support your business without any incentive to do so. If they don't believe you'll take good care of their business, no incentive will overcome their hesitation to recommend you.

Do this only if you want to be avoided at the next social gathering you attend!

The more, the better. But 200 seems to be a good number to shoot for. Remember, though, if someone doesn't know you, they aren't in your SOI. So just because someone is in your farm area or made an inquiry on your website five years ago doesn't mean they should be counted in that 200. Strive for at least 200 people who know you and care about you, even if only a little bit.

If your friends think of you as a reasonably competent human being in your day-to-day life, they'll probably assume you're a great real estate, too. Fortunately or unfortunately, the general public thinks our job is easy, so your friends may not be too concerned with your inexperience - again - as long as you seem like a generally intelligent and reliable person overall.

While all of the above responses are correct, the best answer is "everyone who knows you." Your Sphere of Influence may indeed include your past clients and current prospects AND your friends and family AND everyone you know... but unless all of these people know YOU, they are not likely to be sources of business for you.