Monday Miscellany – Mother’s Day and Prospecting
Another Monday and various things are floating around in my mind. This week’s miscellaneous thoughts that are taking up brain space include Mother’s Day and real estate prospecting.
Mother’s Day
Perhaps these thoughts should fall under a heading of “transition” instead or “the oldest generation” or something. But since the thoughts derived from yesterday being Mother’s Day, that’s how I will think of them.
As the days led up to Mother’s Day, I thought of my mom, Barbara, who passed away in 2011. And I thought of my mother-in-law, Beulah, who died in 2018. I also remembered my grandmothers, Sally and Celia, who of course both passed on quite a while ago.
It felt somewhat strange to not have anyone to spoil on Mother’s Day. In my family, there is now no one older than me to buy flowers for, or to purchase a card for. There is no one to call up and chat with, offering them my love and time in exchange for all they have done. In fact, it feels as though there is now a hole in my life.
As I continued my contemplation in terms of my family, I realized that I am now the oldest female, the one who others might think of on Mother’s Day. There is no one older than me, it is me. I’m the mom, and will hopefully someday be the grandmother. It’s an interesting process as all those older than us are gone, and we move into their place.
As it happened, my Mother’s Day was wonderful. My son Mike gave me a call and we chatted. And my son Dan came over, gave me a wonderful card, and took me out for a delicious and fun dinner. So my day was full and enjoyable.
But for some reason, I did miss giving on this day. So I have decided that on future Mother’s Days, I am going to pick someone who is in the same situation as I am (they are the oldest living female in their family), and I am going to buy them flowers or a card or take them out for a meal. That thought makes me smile.
Prospecting for business
A few months ago, I made a decision to stop prospecting for new business in the Monroe NY area. As anyone who has read my recent posts knows, I will be relocating to the beautiful state of Montana sometime in the late Spring/early Summer. And I thought it made sense to focus on my pending and active transactions, and not purposely look for new ones.
As a result of that decision, the phone is definitely ringing less often. I’m still working with new clients, but at a much slower rate than I would be had I continued actively marketing. So where are these thoughts going?
If you are a real estate professional, it is truly so important to never stop letting people know what you do for a living. Whatever methods you use, whether it includes post cards, newsletters, emails, phone calls, community activities, door knocking, blogging, just talking to people or even paid-for-leads, keep doing them, even when you are busy. Or even when you are moving (!). There is definitely a direct correlation between all the prospecting we do, and the amount of business in the pipeline. People will not remember us unless we are in their email, regular mail, phone, computer, or standing right in front of them.
And those are my thoughts of the moment. I wish you a wonderful week!