Not every area is worthy of farming. Here are the most important considerations about where to farm.

Consider whether an area has a Sense of Community before farming it. 

Every community has a different feeling. And not every neighborhood has a sense of community. 

What do I mean by that? 

A place with a sense of community is somewhere people plant themselves and stay. These are neighborhoods where people have lived for 30 years. Everyone knows their neighbors and loves their community. They are also less likely to be rude to somebody at their door. You want to find neighborhoods with this feeling. 

Communities where everyone is from somewhere else don't have a sense of community. Examples of transient areas without a sense of community are downtown and central locations. It’s transient there. People come and go. In places where people come and go, you’ll get a lot of client churn and very little client longevity. That’s why these are not good neighborhoods to knock. They do not support long-term business. For example, you may have a client who’s a downtown bachelor. When he meets his wife, he moves to a family zoned area to have a baby. At that point, he ditches his downtown agent. When you target downtown, you get that one condo. You get the transient people who don’t plan to stay and could end up moving anywhere afterwards.  Insead, you want to knock on places with a sense of community, where people stay long-term. Knocking there supports your long-term business goals. Good neighborhood farming should always feed you. You don't want to door knock your whole career. You want to knock in the beginning to establish your connection with the community. Afterwards, you can simply work to maintain your connection to the clients there. 

Places with a sense of community usually have people moving in who will stay in the area even if they upgrade. They won’t keep switching areas the way downtowners do. They’ll set roots in the community. Younger people will plan on raising their children there. They’ll upgrade homes within the same community. They might step up 100 grand every five years and get an extra quarter of a million in the market. They’ll move from first house, second house to third house all within a small radius as they upgrade into their forever home. In the modern market, people make more incremental steps. They start out in their goal neighborhood but not in their long-term goal house. They keep making local moves. If you farm a neighborhood with a sense of community, you're good for a long time. Then, when those families grow up, you can also help the kids transition into the market too. Overall, family zoned, community-based residential areas are the best targets for your long game. 

ACTION STEP: After this video, review your chosen neighborhood from earlier.  Assess its potential based on what you just learned. Is it a community focused place where people will move and stay? I’ve included a downloadable checklist to help you review it. 

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