Get Your Sphere Under the Influence
Sphere of influence - it’s a term thrown around a lot in real estate.
“Get your sphere into your database.”
“Market to your sphere.”
“Your sphere of influence is your lifeline.”
“Take care of your sphere and your sphere will take care of you.”
“I want to focus on my sphere.”
“I want a sphere-based business.”
Like most real estate jargon, few agents stop to really think about what it means.
At first glance, you’d probably say your sphere of influence is your friends, family and past clients.
But is it?
Let's take a moment to reflect on the phrase.
First, we have the word “sphere”. As a sphere expands and contracts, so does the ability to put things in it. Take for example the Sphere in Vegas (by the way, if you haven’t been, you MUST go). It seats 18,600 and has an additional capacity for 20,000 in the standing-only section. So a total of 38,600 people can fit in Vegas’s “sphere”.
What’s your sphere’s capacity?
It’s not 38,600.
Relationship scientists and psychologists would suggest it maxes out at about 50.
I would argue it maxes out at about 20 (stay with me).
Now let’s look at the second part of the phrase – influence. That’s an interesting term when you stop and think about it. If you’re “under the influence” of alcohol, that would be to say the cocktail you’re drinking is impacting you. It impacts your thought patterns, your physical abilities, your speech, your reactions, and even your outlook on the world.
The actual definition is “the capacity to affect the character, development, or behavior of someone or something.”
Hhhhmmmm.
Within the list of people you would create as your “sphere of influence”, how many would you say you can affect their character, development, or behavior?
Friends, I think we in the real estate industry are guilty of over-inflating our list of “sphere of influence”. We’ve exaggerated it and in doing so, fooled ourselves into thinking we’re more influential than we are. And the bad news is social media giants like Facebook and Instagram have an entire business plan that NEEDS you to believe those lies. If you haven’t watched The Social Dilemma, there’s your homework.
It’s helpful to disrupt our thought patterns from time to time, especially those thought patterns that we take for granted.
Here’s one way: stop using the term Sphere of Influence. Instead, simply change your terminology to Sphere of Impact.
Then, ask yourself, of the people I have tagged in my database as “Sphere”, how many do I have an impact on week by week? That analysis will give you a MUCH better idea as to what you can expect from your “sphere” as a real estate agent.
And remember, your sphere of influence (impact) will expand and contract. People move away. Once close friends fade into the background. People who were once acquaintances become besties. New people you never knew before all of a sudden become ski buddies.
It is imperative to have an honest, accurate grasp of who truly is in your sphere of influence (impact).
How?
Quite simple – stare at the list of people you’ve classified as being part of your sphere of influence (impact), and ask yourself three questions:
Do I routinely and frequently have an impact on this person?
Does this person routinely and frequently have an impact on me?
If I called this person up to grab a coffee, or cocktail, go day skiing, take a walk, see a movie, toss axes…would it be weird?
And this is why I would suggest you probably only have 15-25 in your sphere of impact.
Others may be in your sphere, but they’re not in your sphere of impact.
There are several different experiences you can have when you see a concert at the Vegas Sphere. You can be right up on the stage in the standing section. You can also be in the standing section, but at the back. You can be in the mezzanine level, you can be in the upper level, and you can be in the nosebleed section. All provide various experiences.
The same holds true for your sphere – there are different levels and different experiences based on those levels. Not everyone in your sphere is in your sphere of impact. The sphere of impact is the nucleus of your sphere.
Your job is to consistently and methodically move people from your sphere to your sphere of impact by building authentic relationships, advisory relationships, or best, both.
Be careful with what you consider your sphere of impact - otherwise, you’ll be caught in a vortex of misleading measurement that results in a lot of projections that never come to fruition.
Don’t join the graveyard of agents who didn’t make it because they overinflated their “sphere of influence (impact)”.