Archive for communication
What Personal Benefit Are You Giving Your Agents?
Posted by: | Comments
What personal benefit are you giving your agents?
This month, I’m taking what I’ve learned as a musical performer from age 4 to the world of leadership and sales. (And, read my musical quotes at the end of each blog. I hope you’ll get a chuckle!)
Are You Just Following a ‘Template’?
As a musical performer, I know you first have to learn the music (the ‘template’). But then, you have to add YOU. That is, you have to add the interpretation that ‘speaks’ to you personally. Otherwise, it’s just notes on a page. So many times, I’ve seen leadership and salespeople merely follow the template. That’s great for a beginning, but it doesn’t create a connection to others. In fact, it creates a dissonance. You know what I mean. You’ve heard a salesperson say, “Does 1 PM or 2 PM Tuesday work for you?” You probably want to scream (as I do), “Be human, you’re not an automaton.” Now, it’s fine to give people choices, but, if you sound as though you just memorized those words, and are not actually interacting with another human being, you’re creating distrust, not rust!
Adding YOU, the Personal Benefit
As a leader, you bring to your associates some very unique and valued attributes. However, many times leaders do not use these attributes to commnicate and gain trust. Instead, they rely on the old ‘templates’–those cliches and sayings that we just don’t find ‘ring true’. For example: You have a background in art. Are you using that background to communicate and ‘share’ YOU with your agents? If not, you’re missing an opportunity to relate. And, in this day in age, relationships are what hold a person in a company.
Here’s a great quote that expresses what I’m suggesting:
Live your truth. Express your love. Share your enthusiasm. Take action towards your dreams. Walk your talk. Dance and sing to your music. Embrace your blessings. Make today worth remembering. ― Steve Maraboli
What’s YOUR Music?
When I’m teaching people how to be great instructors (Instructor Development Workshop), I give them ‘templates’ to follow to create course modules. However, I tell them to just ‘listen to the music, not the words.’ Translation: I don’t want them to memorize each word. Instead, I want them to feel the rhythm of the process and follow that. The outcomes: Great presentations with relaxed presenters!
Your Turn
Look back on your life.
What life experiences have added to your success? What skills do you bring to what you do today? How can you communicate those as a benefit to those you serve?Want guidance in how to teach with verve and confidence? Check out all my training guides at my website, carlacross.com.
Just for Fun
Last night at Carnegie Hall, Jack Benny played Mendelssohn. Mendelssohn lost.
Harold C. Schonberg
When she started to play, Steinway himself came down personally and rubbed his name off the piano.
Bob Hope, on Phyllis Diller
Remember Jack Benny and Phyllis Diller? They may not have been concert artists, but they used their musical talent to differentiate themselves–and make light of it, too!
Is Your Phone Voice Driving Them Away?
Posted by: | Comments
Is your phone voice driving them away? Recently, I did a presentation to a group of Luxury Agent Specialists. It was about sound and it’s impact on others. We usually think of visual impact. But, as agents, we come across way more people initially via email or phone than we do by sight. So, isn’t it time to polish your ‘phone voice’? It’s probably the first ‘warm’ impression people get of you (I call email ‘cold communication’ because it vastly shrinksA�the three major ways we communicate: sight, sound, and feeling).
Don’t Mistake Technology as the ‘End’A�
We are so focused on technology today, that we are in danger of forgetting to effectively use that technology. Herea��s an example. When I phone an agent today, I have no idea where that agent will answer his or her phonea��or from what phone the call is being answered. And, I dona��t really care. Technology allows the phone to follow the agent. Thata��s great.A�Herea��s whata��s not so great. The agenta��s message is so dull, powerless, or mumbled that it doesna��t sound as though the agent wants to talk to me. Or, the agenta��s message is so long, that Ia��m impatient by the time I get to leave the message.
Make a Superior Phone Message
For three days, listen carefully to the tone, intent, and messages your hear inA�phone messages. Listen carefully to how agents, managers, and your affiliates answer the phone at their offices. What do you think? If you didn’t know these people, what would you think of them? Are they excited to hear from you, or are they bored?
Here are 4 important tips to remember when recording your own message:
- Stand upa��youa��ll sound as though you have much more energy.
- Write out your script firsta��and be sure ita��s not too long. I dona��t really care where youa��re going to be all day!
- Modulate your voice pleasantly. Try to get some resonance.
- Sound as though youa��re looking forward to hearing from me!
Re-record Your Phone Message
Practice your phone message several times before you record it. Then, record and listen critically. Don’t just use the first recording. Make sure your ‘phone voice’ is the best first impression you can make.
P. S. Managers: Call each of your agents’ phone mails. What’s the impression you get? Are they professional? Do they state the company name? Do they represent your culture and image?
Create a quick class in phone messaging using the information in this blog.
Wasting Time Educating Too Much in Initial Interviews?
Why don’t you let me do the heavy lifting and answer those dozens of questions prospective agents ask? In my eBook, What They A�Don’t Teach You in Pre-License School,A�I answer hundreds of these questions–and give them the straight scoop on real estate as a career. There are also valuable self-assessment tools, too, to see if these would-be agents are good successful agent candidates. Order it and get it immediately–plus a unique checklist, Hit the Ground Running–what to do with that agent prior to their getting their real estate license. You’ll hire more winners who make more money fast!A�A�