Are Your Agents Resisting Getting into Action?
By · CommentsAre your agents resisting getting into action?
I’ve just
published the 5th edition of Up and Running in 30 Days. In it, I’ve included lots of up-to-the-minute updates. You can read some of them, in these blogs.
Click here to see the updates in my fifth edition of Up and Running in 30 Days.
Below is an excerpt from the newest edition of the book.
{To agents}
Real Estate Sales IS Challenging!
Ia��ll bet you didna��t know how challenging real estate sales were until now. To cope with those challenges, your creative subconscious may be coming up with ways to convince you to avoid getting into action. You might even start believing your subconscious! One of the most common reasons is the old a�?I cana��t do that because I dona��t know enough.a�? Or, maybe your subconscious has convinced you that youa��re not organized enough to get into action, or that youa��re not perfect enough.
{Managers: Do you have some agents frozen into inaction–or trying for perfection before they’ll start?}
Getting Ready to Get Ready
Ned, an agent in my office, acted in a way that is an example of creative avoidance. In the business eight months, Ned had made only one sale. However, he was in the office regularly and appeared busy with paperwork. He attended law courses and was well-informed on financing. One day I saw Ned collating maps. I asked him what he was doing. He explained that he was putting together a series of maps for a buyera��s tour. I thought that was exceptional; buyers would really want to know the whereabouts of the homes they were seeing. Unfortunately, Ned had used his strategy with only six buyersa��all the buyers he had put in his car in the past eight months! He had spent his time on this nifty map system, but had not talked to enough people to get them into the cara��or have the opportunity to appreciate the map system! Which is more important to your goal attainmenta��talking to people, qualifying them, and showing them homes, or working diligently on a map system in case you find someone who wants you to show them homes?
How People Get into Action
How do you a�?get into actiona�??a��In a wonderful book, The Conative Connection, Kathy Kolbe explores the ways different personalities get into actiona��not how we learn, but how we get into action. Some people barge ahead and worry about the details later. We start badly, but, because wea��re tenacious, we surprise people by how good we finally get. Unfortunately, our supervisors often remember only how bad we were when we started. We must be tough-minded and keep at it; we must retain an image of ourselves as a�?finished products,a�? because others will not see us that way. Other people observe the action for a long time. Finally, when we feel ready to perform well, we get into action. We start slowly but well. Because of our slow start, we dona��t get much positive reinforcement from our supervisors (or coach or manager), who note our lack of progress compared with others in the office. If slow starters are tenacious and believe in themselves, they become very good because they practice perfectly. Kolbe points out several a�?get into actiona�? styles. This book will help you pinpoint your a�?get into actiona�? style as well as the barriers and challenges you face as you start your real estate career.
Embrace Embarrassment
Go aheada��be embarrassed.a��There is no way to be experienced until you get experience. No agents like to take risks, be embarrassed, or have buyers and sellers guess that they are new in the business. But face ita��everyone has been new in the business. Just go ahead and get those first few months over with. You will be embarrassed every daya��many times. As a new agent, my most common statement to buyers or sellers was a�?I dona��t know, but Ia��ll find out.a�? In music, little could stump mea��but in real estate anything could stump me! Still, I muddled through it, and you will, too.
* Big Idea: Your ability to get into action and risk being embarrassed is one of the attributes of a successful new agent.
Why not take your time?a��Ia��ve interviewed prospective agents who told me they really didna��t want to sell real estate right away. They wanted to learn everything they could. Then, after six or eight months, they would feel ready to sell real estate. It doesna��t work that way! I wish I could tell you that you can successfully launch your real estate career by taking lots of time to a�?get ready.a�? However, if you take all the time in the world, you will fail:
Real estate is a performance art. It doesna��t matter how much you know; it only matters how you interact with people. And that takes practice and performance. To remember and emulate good performance, we need to perform right after we have heard, seen, and practiced that performance. Learning something in a class and letting that skill lie dormant for months just guarantees poor skilla��and high stress.
* Big Idea: 99 percent of what we learn we learn by doing.
Managers: Are you unwittingly stopping people from getting into action by insisting on perfection?
Do You Have a Proven Start-Up Plan with Inspiration Built In?
Up and Running in 30 DaysA� has lots of up-to-the-minute updates. Plus, a proven, prioritized business start-up plan with inspiration, motivation, and action items built in. Check it out!
Do You Use Practice in your Coaching?
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I’ve just published the 5th edition of Up and Running in 30 Days. In it, I’ve included lots of up-to-the-minute updates. You can read some of them, in these blogs.
Click here to see the updates in my fifth edition of Up and Running in 30 Days.
Below is an excerpt from the newest edition of the book.
The Value of Practice
Ita��s painful to learn from your mistakes with real clients. However, therea��s an additional way to learn skillsa��practice. All too often, the value of practice is underestimated by both agents and managers. But ita��s worth the effort to role-play each segment that requires sales communication with people:
- Lead-generating scenarios
- Following up with Internet inquiries
- Counseling/qualifying buyer scenarios
- Showing and closing buyer scenarios
- Presenting and negotiating offer scenarios
- Qualifying seller scenarios
- Marketing/presentation scenarios
- Price reduction/review scenarios
Managers and coaches: How many of these situations do you coach to via practice?
Agents believe that because they can talk they can sell. But we have already discussed the realities of conversation versus the special communication skills required for sales success. I guarantee that if you take seriously the practice asked of you in Up and Running, your performance with people will improve quickly and your confidence will soar. Every successful salesperson I have known who started quickly in this business organized, systematized, practiced, and perfected each step in the sales cycle.
Caution: A reason new agents start slowly or fail early is that they underestimated their need to develop a mastery of sales skills in their first months in the business. So, they fail to convert those leads!
Perfect Practice Makes Perfect
The best kind of practice increases your skill and results. Back to my piano-practicing days: as a four-year-old, I picked out tunes on the keys and added the chords. I could play pop music reasonably well. Then, at age six, I started piano lessons. As I progressed to more demanding piano teachers, I learned that a�?faking it a��til you made ita�? just would not meet their standards. In fact, my best piano teacher, Mr. Green, taught me to practice very slowly, so there werena��t any mistakes. I found that if I practiced quickly, I practiced my mistakes right along with the rest of the piece.
Although his kind of practice was tedious, it was right. By using Mr. Greena��s method I became a much better pianist, gaining a degree in piano performance. Too often, real estate agents practice the mistakes and end up with a sales system that is a�?more mistake than effective.a�?
* Big Idea: Perfect practice makes perfect. Go for mastery, not just mediocrity. One of a coacha��s opportunities is to help you get into action, take risks, and work toward a�?practicing perfectly.a�?
What is the ‘Music’ You Use to Coach?
You need a guide–a solid business start-up plan, with the what, how, how much, and why built in. Take a look at the new 5th edition of Up and Running in 30 Days.
How Good is Your Start-Up Business Plan?
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How good is your start-up business plan for your new agents?
I’ve just published the 5th edition of Up and Running in 30 Days. In it, I’ve included lots of up-to-the-minute updates. You can read some of them, in these blogs.
Click here to see the updates in my fifth edition of Up and Running in 30 Days.
Below is an excerpt from the newest edition of the book.
Managers: Check these lists against the start-up plan you use to launch your new agents (and re-launch your seasoned agents). {You DO have a proven start-up plan, don’t you?}
Critical Analysis: How Good Is That Start-Up Plan?
You know what your training will do for you. So I hope you {the new agents} are convinced you also need to implement a business start-up plan to put all that information in perspective. But watch outa��there are more poor ones than good ones out there. As a CRB (Certified Real Estate Broker) instructor for 12 years, I taught thousands of owners and managers nationally. I saw plenty of poor plans managers shared with me. (These were the plans they were giving their agents, too.) Here are some commonalities of them:
- They are laundry lists of busywork activities interspersed with activities that actually make you money, so the agent doesna��t get any evaluative perspective to self-manage.
- They do not prioritize lead-generating activities, so the agent thinks all types of lead generation have equal payoffs.
- They do not have methods of setting goals, keeping track of results, and analyzing results to make changes quickly. (Up and Running provides sales ratios so you learn how many specific actions it takes to get the results you want.)
- They do incorrectly prioritize actions. For example, as a high priority, they direct the new agent to a�?see all the inventorya�? before doing anything else. The rationale is that ita��s very important to see all the inventory to build a knowledge base. It is important, but only as it relates to working with buyers and sellers. (Ita��s the means, not the end.) But new agents dona��t want to do the high-rejection, high-risk activities such as talking to people. So they gladly see all the inventory until it becomes their job descriptions!
- They do include plenty of a�?busyworka�? as equal priority to lead generatinga��such as a broker having an agent visit a title company to learn how it operates. This keeps the agent busy and out of the brokera��s hair! Also, the new agent loves the broker for a while, because the broker isna��t asking the new agent to do those high-rejection activitiesa��those activities that lead to a sale!
Bottom line: No would-be successful agent in his right mind would continue doing this type of plan any longer than he had to, because the successful agent recognizes the plan is a poor one.
* Big Idea: Be very critical before you commit to any start-up plan. It is prioritizing your mind! The start-up plan you may love because it keeps you out of sales activities isna��t the plan that is going to love you back (get you the sales you want). What you do every day becomes your job description.
An Effective Start-Up Plan
Here are the six attributes of an effective business start-up plan:
- Does not give equal weight to all activities
- Provides an organized activities schedule with certain activities prioritized first because they lead to a sale (in Up and Running, these are called a�?business-producinga�? activities)
- Includes an organized activities schedule with certain activities prioritized seconda��and explaining why (In Up and Running, these are called a�?business-supportinga�? activities)
- Provides a road map for a continuing plan (remember that a�?plan for lifea�??)
- Builds in the a�?whya�? of the plan structure, so you learn to self-manage
- Has a method to measure and make adjustments in your plan as you progress
- Has a coaching component, so someone can coach you effectively to the plan
Managers and trainers: Take a look at the business start-up plan thousands of new agents use successful to launch businesses fast.
A Big Training Manual: Does it Equate to Success?
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A Big Training Manual: Does It Equate to Success?
I’ve just published the 5th edition of Up and Running in 30 Days. In it, I’ve included lots of up-to-the-minute updates. You can read some of them, in these blogs.
Click here to see the updates in my fifth edition of Up and Running in 30 Days.
Below is an excerpt from the newest edition of the book. I want to give advice to new agents about what they need to succeed. Unfortunately, both new agent AND their managers tend to rely on the company training program to ‘fix’ the new agent. But, it never works that way. Why? Because a wealth of information is just that–just lots of information. As you read this, think about your training program–and that big manual. What’s it accomplishing? What do you want it to accomplish? What else does that new agent need to succeed?
That Big Training Manual….
Youa��ve finished your training program. You have a huge training manual. Now, what do you do? You know a lot of things, and you have a lot of information in that training manual. But, without Up and Running, you still dona��t know what do on Monday. I learned how new agents get the wrong idea about selling real estate firsthand. As a manager, I sent my new agents to the five-day company training program. When my new agents came back, they would ask, a�?Now, what do I do?a�? I would get out Up and Running, which I had introduced to them in their interview, and remind them that this is a business plana��a performance plan for real life. Sometimes I wished I just had not let them go to training, because they came out of training thinking it was optional to start the Up and Running plan! Why? They thought information was all they needed to succeed. They didna��t have to actually take any actions!
I told you I would include advice {in this newest edition of Up and Running} from very successful newer agents. Herea��s a quote from Kyle Kovats, who was recently chosen as one of the finalists for the a�?30 under 30a�? honors from the National Association of Realtors.A� These select nominations are agents chosen because they are under 30 and very successful in the business.
About training, Kyle advises: a�?Find a broker who has a comprehensive training program. Ask if you can speak with agents who have gone through it to get the agentsa�� perspective on whether it was helpful.a�?
My question to you: Do you have a precise, prioritized start-up business plan for that new agent? If not, what are you relying on to get them into the field and into action–fast? If asked, what would your newer agents say about your training?
Managers and trainers: Take a look at the business start-up plan thousands of new agents use successful to launch businesses fast.
Real estate trend: Lead generation is STILL King!
Dearborn Education Company just published my 5th (!) edition of Up and Running in 30 Days. It has lots of updates, including updates on 10 trends that I think newer agents should recognizea��and know the pros and cons. Herea��s an excerpt from my new edition of the book.
Trend Three: Lead Generation is Still King
In their excellent book, Game Plan: How Real Estate Professionals Can Thrive in an Uncertain Future, authors Steve Murray and Ian Morris also name this trend as one of the top ten for the next five years. In my view, lead generation is always king (I cana��t see how it wouldna��t continue to be a number one trend and priority). But, Murray and Morrisa��s point is that real estate professionals who want to be successful cana��t depend on leads just coming their way. Instead, they must actively go after them. That means creating systems, disciplines, priorities, and goals for capturing, working with, and keeping leadsa��forever. Herea��s what they say:
…contact management, lead cultivation, and customer relationship management systems can and will play a huge role in determining which agents and companies are most successful.
A recent study by Active Rain (a popular real estate blog and tech information center), showed that agents who spent more money on contact relationship management (CRM) made significantly more money. It just makes sense. Agents who capture their leads via a database and then keep in touch with them via contact management software assure they keep their names in front of their potential clients, and are able to management and help many more clients.
Agents who try to organize their clients via pieces of scrap paper and remember to call them once in awhile are woefully inadequate when it comes to staying in meaningful contact with their potential clients. Which agent would you prefer working with, as a client? An agent who regularly contacted you and kept you abreast of the market, or one who either never called you or contacted you irregularly?A�A�A� In that Inman Select survey I mentioned earlier {in the book}, How to Fix New Agent Onboarding, 47% of respondents stated lead generation is critical in initial training. And, they observed most new agents struggled with lead generation.A� Thata��s why this Up and Running start-up plan is so important to follow to the letter!
Herea��s what Kyle Kovats, that great a��30 under 30a�� nominee, {one of my top agent contributors to the book} said: a�?Get out there and just do it.A� Try different forms of prospecting and see what works. An ounce of action is more powerful than a ton of planning.a�?
Positives: For those of you who intend to be successful in sales, this trend should be a comfort. That means, if you invest in yourself, your work ethic, and your systems, you will be ahead of the pack. In Up and Running in 30 Days, Ia��ve laid out a plan of action for those of you who do intend this success. Ia��m not being facetious here. Some agents are surprised that, in fact, one must lead generate to be successful in this business.
Watch out for: Companies and/or managers who tell you that leads will simply come to youa��or that they will provide them to you . That would include all those reactive (you sit and wait for the lead) lead-generating strategies:
- The traditional ones, such as open houses and floor time or relocation leads
- The technologically driven leads, such as software and programs that capture leads for you (they dona��t just sell themselves; you must have an effective capture, engagement, and follow-up program)
Isn’t There an Easier Way?
Unfortunately, interviewers use the a�?we will take care of you and give you leadsa�? strategy to convince new agents to work with them. Then, after the agent is with that office, the agent learns there is no free lunch. Do I mean that you shouldna��t accept various types of leads from others? No. (Just know that you will be paying for that lead).A� But, consider this. If that lead source goes away, what are you left with? You are a first-day agent all over again! The Up and Running program will protect you from that, helping you build your own business so you always rely on yourself, not someone else.
Note: Ita��s very, very important that you capture your leads in a database, or better yet, in a CRM (Client Relationship Management) program from your first week in the business. Why? Because you cana��t remember who those people are, and you certainly cana��t remember how and when to stay in touch with them! Ia��ve provided a list of various databases and CRM programs in Section 14: References and Resources. Ia��m not endorsing any one of them. Ia��m just providing you several to research and to choose. See your manager for recommendations.
When I asked those agent and team leader contributors what technology is important to incorporate, herea��s what they said:
a�?CRM and lead management toolsa�?a��Diane Honeycutt
a�?A really good and easy-to-use CRMa�?a��Cerise Paton
a�?A good CRMa�?a��Chris Cross
So, dona��t be like the majority of new agents (and even seasoned agents!): Start using a database, or better yet, a CRM your first week in the business.
* Big Idea: To build a strong long-term business, order takers need not apply. To be successful, you must create relationship continuance, no matter your lead-generating sources.
Managers: Do you have a robust, precise lead generating program to start your new agents to success fast?
Click here to see the updates in my fifth edition of Up and Running in 30 Days.
The Technology New Agents REALLY NEED
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Dearborn Education Company just released my 5th edition (!) of Up and Running in 30 Days. This book is literally the new agenta��s business start-up plan. In addition, Ia��ve provided lots of training and advice to assure new agents know what to do and how to do it.
One of the updates in this edition is the technology new agents really needa��and what they dona��t need, so they dona��t waste their previous dollars!
What My Technology Experts Told Me
Use technology to support your dynamic business. The easiest way to organize the names of prospects and clients is on a computer. If youa��re not in the technology world nowa��jump in. Youa��ll need technology to do the following (these are not my priorities, just a list):
Technology Recommendations from Up and Running
Use technology to support your dynamic business. The easiest way to organize the names of prospects and clients is on a computer. If youa��re not in the technology world nowa��jump in. Youa��ll need technology to do the following (these are not my priorities, just a list):
- Work from wherever you are with a laptop so you can find properties, do market analysis, and create presentations anywhere, anytime
- Organize your prospects, clients, and affiliates (such as mortgage lenders) in a database (if youa��re not extremely computer literate, start with Microsoft Outlook, which almost everyone already has on their computers)
- Organize your follow-up programs for specific target markets viaA� client relationship management (CRM)
- Capture and follow up on your Internet leads with Internet lead follow-A�up technology designed for that purpose
- Measure your progress to your goals with specific software
- Keep in contact with your customers via cell phone and pager (you will find it truly amazing how few agents return phone calls)
- Carry your contacts (database), schedule, and so on with you on a personal digital assistant
- Create a personal Web site and/or blog that promotes you and/or provides your prospects and clients access to information they value, such as updates on their property, marketing, or transaction progress
- Take pictures with a digital camera and add them to your Web site or your flyers
- Invest in a video flip camera so you can promote yourself and your listings via video
- Budget for your expenses, track expenses, and create, implement, and analyze your profit and loss statements with financial software (such as QuickBooks, Quicken, or Mint)
Note: See the References and Resources section in UP and Running in 30 Days A�for resources for these valuable tools. And, the reference section offers dozens of references for other software, training, etc.
Get Advice Before You Invest
These references include only a few of the technologies agents use in business. Before you buy anything, interview three technology-savvy, high-producing agents in your office and identify the technologies they consider important. Dona��t expect your real estate company to provide them, although seasoned agents within your organization may be willing to provide direction on the best use of technology. Also, see your manager for advice on the most up-to-date technology you need to perform.
Caveat: Dona��t run around buying every marketing program and tech tool from vendors. As Gary Richter, one of the newer, successful agents quoted in my book, advises: a�?There are many different programs and systems that vendors will try to sell to you as a new agent. Many overlap in capabilities. Pick one that works for you and stick with it.a�?
Take a look at what’s new in Up and Running in 30 Days:A� updates in 5th edition. This invaluable book is only $32.95 plus shipping, and has been used by thousands of new agents to launch successful careers. Order here.
Straight Talk from Successful First Year Agents
By · CommentsI just received my copy of my 5th edition of Up and Running in 30 Days, the new agenta��s business start-up plan. Dearborn Education, a division of Kaplan, Inc., has published this book since its first edition. Ia��ve put lots of updates in this 2017 edition, including advice from successful newer agents. Rather than my trying to convince you of these principles myself, herea��s what theya��ve said:
On Training
Herea��s a quote from Kyle Kovats, who was recently chosen as one of the finalists for the a�?30 under 30a�? honors from the National Association of Realtors.A� These select nominations are agents chosen because they are under 30 and very successful in the business.
Kyle advises: a�?Find a broker who has a comprehensive training program. Ask if you can speak with agents who have gone through it to get the agentsa�� perspective on whether it was helpful.a�?
{Note: Up and Running in 30 Days has tips for you new agents in choosing the right training programa��a training program that actually assures you launch a great career).
The Importance of Coaches and Mentors
Therea��s a lot more to success than just attending even a great training program. Read this from Merrilee Prochaska, a�?I wish I had understood the importance of a mentor/coach before I began.a�?
{Up and Running in 30 Days discusses the trend toward coaches, and provides guidance in choosing the right coach for you.}
On What They Wish Theya��d Done Differently
Ita��s not all a smooth ride! Here are some comments from Cerise Paton, on what she wishes she would have done differently: a�?Followed up more and more consistently; understood the time and discipline and numbers needed for lead generation and lead conversion; recognizing the time it took to build trust; going on more appointments, failing more often, and getting better, practicing presentations with friendsa�?.
Gary Richtera��s comment on what he would do differently could apply to most new agents: a�?Contact all of my sphere and ask for business.a�? Gary admits he was reticent to ask them all for business.
On Prioritizing Your Activities and Lead Generation Sources
Dona��t take my word for it that clearly prioritizing your activities as business-producing or business-supporting is key to success. Hear it from Gary Richter, who used Up and Running in 30 Days to start his career. He says his priorities are big reasons hea��s succeeding now: a�?I am cognizant of my daily activities and recognized them as either business producing or business supporting. I spend the majority of my time on business-producing activities.a�?
And, Diane Honeycutt states, a�?Take the advice in this plan and be sure youa��re not a a�?secret agenta��! Develop a work plan and stick to ita�?.
Herea��s what Kyle Kovats, that great a��30 under 30a�� nominee, said: a�?Get out there and just do it.A� Try different forms of prospecting and see what works. An ounce of action is more powerful than a ton of planning.a�?
Gary Richter advises: a�?Get off your computer and go out into the areas. Focus on business-producing activities.a�?
More great advice from Kyle Kovats: a�?Be relentless. Follow up with handwritten letters rather than the generic form letters/cards most agents send people. Be unique.a�?
On the Importance of Client Relationship Management Technology
When I asked those agent and team leader contributors what technology is important to incorporate, herea��s what they said:
a�?CRM and lead management toolsa�?a��Diane Honeycutt
a�?A really good and easy-to-use CRMa�?a��Cerise Paton
a�?A good CRMa�?a��Chris Cross
So, dona��t be like the majority of new agents (and even seasoned agents who put off capturing all those leads in a database and then, even better a CRM!) Start using a database, or better yet, a CRM your first week in the business.
On Spending Money for Leads
Herea��s some advice from one of those Top 30 Under 30 finalists, James Pierce: a�?Don’t pay a dime to sites like Zillow, etc.a�?
From Cerise Paton: a�?You will get a lot of calls to sell you leads, google placement, banner ads, shopping carts, you name it. Dona��t do it. It either has no value, orA�you’reA�not ready for it, or you cana��t afford ita�?
Tip for managers: As you read these comments, ask yourself, a�?How is my training, coaching, and business start-up plan keeping my new agents on track?a�? What needs to be changed or refined so I get better results?a�?
How about YOU?
Are you following these principles? How many have you rejected or violated in your first few months in the business? Why? Success isna��t always easy, but it always has patterns and leaves clues! Dona��t try and re-invent the wheel. Follow a proven plan with assured results and you will be wildly successful!
Take a look at what’s new in Up and Running in 30 Days:A� updates in 5th edition.
Create your ‘Fans’!
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Create your ‘fans’! Yes, you want to create those who think you’re wonderful! Why? Because they are loyal and they are your best recruiters.
It occurred to me that the words “followers” (Twitter) and “fans” (Facebook) are borrowed from the performance world–a world I lived in for many years. I thought you’d like to get some skills in creating ‘fans’ or ‘followers’–not just how to use these programs, but, more importantly, how to create FF’s–admirers.
What’s ‘Admirable’?
If you’re reading this blog, you’re probably involved somehow in managing people (that includes managing families, too!). So, it would be helpful to know how to create admirers–in the best sense of the word. Why? Admirers do several things for you (and you must do several things for them, of course):
They refer others to you with enthusiasm
They provide ‘positive grapevine’ promotion for you
They help you discover strengths you may not have known you have (think branding)
They see the best in you when you’re sometimes not seeing it in yourself!
What You Need to Do to Create ‘Admirers’
I worked my way through college and graduate school playing piano in bars (I sure learned a lot about human nature!). As a musician, I learned, to have admirers, I had to do 2 things:
1. Play the music they wanted to hear
2. Play the music they wanted to hear the way they wanted to hear it
To do this, I learned literally thousands of tunes and dozens of styles. Now, I was set to gain followers/admirers (and tips, of course!. In other words, you have to make yourself someone that can be admired (when did you take your last true ‘people management’ course?)
Appreciation: The best Tool to Gain Admirers
There are many ways to gain ‘followers’. The easiest is to lavishly use appreciation. How often do you appreciate? Probably not as often as you could. This is one of the most effective, low-cost, and happy methods to motivate and gain admirers you can imagine. Yet, few managers use this effectively (and I mean to be sincere about it, of course). I’ve created a white paper on the principles of motivation, along with over 25 ways to appreciate. Click here to get your copy.
I appreciate you and your support and comments on this management blog!
How to Create Fans and ‘Market’ your Brand
How do you create trust? How do you differentiate yourself? How do you prove you really are what you say you are? In this market, everybody and their brother tells potential recruits and clients they are the best. You can’t afford to be one of the crowd! And, it’s more believable when others (your ‘fans’) tell potential recruits how wonderful you are.
This resource shows you, step by step, how to gain trust and differentiate yourself in a graceful, effective manner–a manner that’s comfortable for YOU. See it here.
Grab this No/Low Cost Effective Marketing Method
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Want a no/low cost effective marketing method? Herea��s an inexpensive, yet very effective method to stand out from the crowda��writing articles to establish yourself A�as the a�?real estate manager of choicea�?.
We become managers because we love to succeed through others. Most managers thrill to track their agentsa�� developmenta��and recognize that at least part of those agentsa�� successes are attributed toA�the managers who support themA� So, great managers develop the skills of training, coaching, and consultinga��the methods they use to develop their agentsa�� careers.
However, ita��s not enough to have the skills. These managers must also help agents find them! In this blog, I explore an inexpensive, very effective method for managers to use to promote themselves. (It works, too for agents to promote themselves as experts effectively and inexpensively).
The Problem
You can have the best product or service in the world. Yet, if you dona��t let others know about it, the product or service doesna��t succeed. Ita��s the same way with managers. Too often, these same highly skilled, highly effective managers think that agents will, on their own, simply figure out that these managers are exceptional and join them. Not so. Unfortunately, many agents think that their success will be due to other factors such as:
The amount of good floor time given in a particular office–or Internet leads, or Relo leads–or any of those ‘reactive’ lead sources unscrupulous managers promise agents to get them to sign up!
The name of the company
The real estate market at the time
The amount of desk fee or commission structure
If any of these were true, the agents in that particular office would all be making the money of their dreams! We know thata��s not so. You know youa��re a great manager. You know youa��ve helped agents succeed at a high levela��fast. How do you promote this fact to hire more great producers?
Advertising And Public Relations: Do You Have Both in your Recruiting Strategy?
Too often, real estate companies and managers use a one-dimensional approach to recruiting. They look to institutional advertising only to recruit agents, just as they look to home advertising to find buyers and sellers. There are three concerns with relying on paid advertising only for recruiting:
1. The agent is over-communicated with todaya��everyonea��s doing it
2. The cost of mail and newspaper advertising is ever-increasing
3.A� It relies on the strategy that all managers are the same, ita��s just the company thata��s better
Revving Up your PR
Instead of spending so much money in advertising, and/or relying only on one type of marketing, expand your recruiting strategy to a different method of promotion: public relations (PR). Specifically, add to your recruiting strategy writing articles, getting them published, and using them for various recruiting tactics. You can use the same articles in your blogs. Why PR? First, it costs nothing except your time. Second, an article has a much higher a�?trusta�� level than an ad. Third, youa��ve got little competition. Fourth, you can use those articles in a myriad of ways to promote yourself:
In mailers
In your office entry a�?Book of Greatnessa�? *
*See the link below for the contents in a Book of Greatness
In your pre-first visit recruiting package
In your recruiting presentation
Click here to get your complimentary ‘how to’:
Create your recruiting Book of Greatness for your entry.
How to ‘Market’ your Brand
How do you create trust? How do you differentiate yourself? How do you prove you really are what you say you are? In this market, everybody and their brother tells potential recruits and clients they are the best. You can’t afford to be one of the crowd!
This resource shows you, step by step, how to gain trust and differentiate yourself in a graceful, effective manner–a manner that’s comfortable for YOU. See it here.
Are You Promoting Yourself? 10 Tips for Managers
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Here are ten tips to gain platinum level trust. Why is gaining trust so important? Managers are also salespeople. We salespeople can’t sell anything to anyone without first establishing an exceptional level of trust–an increasingly difficult thing to do. The ten tips I shared on in a recent radio show can help sales and management professionals build a ‘platinum level’ of trust.
The Ten Tips
1. Learn non-verbal skills and apply them in writing, on the phone, and in person to establish rapport in an increasingly a�?cold inquirya�� world.
2. We believe what others say about a salesperson, not what the salesperson says about themselves. Use testimonials; check evaluation websites to see what consumers are saying about you.
Check out www.realestateratingz.com and www.incredibleagents.com. Find other sites (like Zillow and Realtor.com) that display testimonials from your agents’ clients. What are they saying about your company?
3. Help your agents create an after-the-sale survey and use it consistently. If therea��s something wrong, fix it fast.
4. We believe what we see, not what we hear. Show, dona��t tell. Use visual presentations consistently. And, as a trainer, I know that people retain only 10% 3 days after hearing it. But, when they also see it, they retain 60%. Which retention rate do you need to gain trust?
5. Flip your sales presentations. Ask questionsa��lots of questionsa��first. Educate. Finally, sell (well, you wona��t have to sell).
6. Tell the truth attractively. Show evidence, dona��t try to scare the client into action by predictingA� the future.
7. Evaluate the agent/client for long-term relationships. Is the agent/client someone you want to add to your a�?tribea��?
8. Use a�?tough lovea�� with a client to tell the truth, turn down a clienta��to stay true to your values. Do whata��s best for the client.
9. Re-cap. Regularly, stop and re-cap with the client. Do this, too, when you cana��t meet client expectations.
10. Book of Greatness: Dona��t brag about yourself in the middle of a presentation. Create a a�?Book of Greatnessa�� to use in your pre-first visit so your clients get to know you and your approach to sales.A� (See Marketing You for more information on that Book of Greatness.)
How to ‘Market’ your Brand
How do you create trust? How do you differentiate yourself? How do you prove you really are what you say you are? In this market, everybody and their brother tells potential recruits and clients they are the best. You can’t afford to be one of the crowd!
This resource shows you, step by step, how to gain trust and differentiate yourself in a graceful, effective manner–a manner that’s comfortable for YOU. See it here.