The More You Know…

The most successful professionals I know are committed to life-long learning. By this I don’t mean they are attending classes at the community college or getting and MBA. Rather, they have a discipline of learning something new through their interactions with clients, their failures and successes, and from studying their industry. I’ve identified four essential areas of knowledge I believe are important for professionals to be gaining in knowledge and understanding so they have what it takes to provide great customer service and help their clients achieve their goals.

Knowledge of Yourself – As professionals we must have a keen understanding of ourselves if we are going to achieve the highest levels of success. We must understand the behavioral aspects of our personality style; our personal communication style and how it affects our interaction with others; our learning style and in what settings we are able to absorb and retain the most information; and finally, we need to have an understanding of our strengths and weaknesses. Two resources that I recommend for helping you gain knowledge about yourself are DISC Profiling from TTI and Strengths Finder from Gallup Inc.

Knowledge of the Client – This type of knowledge is best gained through direct communication with the client and from questionnaires on needs, wants, and expectations. Taking the time to research industry articles on consumer trends is also great way to stay ahead of your competitors. In real estate there are many different types of clients from first time homebuyers to seasoned investors to commercial clients to farm and ranch clients. The ability to discuss the “basics” around many different types of transactions demonstrates your knowledge and value to a client. The best site for real estate agents to gather hard data on consumer trends is Realtor.org and for up to the second consumer research all professionals should be using Twitter. This relatively new social media service provides amazing research capabilities for professionals in the service industry, giving them information on customer satisfaction, expectations, and popularity trends.

Knowledge of the Market – Understanding the economic market consumers are operating in is a major strategic advantage for you in your business. Being able to articulate the specifics of the market and how it affects your clients’ buying and selling decisions will set you apart in any presentation. I encourage you to have a weekly discipline of reviewing the current market, emerging trends on pricing, marketing, and sales. Being armed with this knowledge will not just differentiate you, but help you provide better service to your clients resulting in them achieving their goals faster. The Kiplinger Letter is a good resource for national market trends in all industries. If you are Portland metropolitan agent, you can find market stats on my blog as well.

Knowledge of your Business – While this knowledge area could potentially seem overwhelming, I encourage you to focus on two key components: Your Numbers and Your Services. Sales professionals must know how many contacts it takes to generate a lead/referral, how many leads/referrals turn into appointments, how many appointments turn into signed contracts, and how many signed contracts actually turn into paychecks. Remembering all of this can make your head spin but if you start the year off by using these metrics you will quickly gain the knowledge you need to set weekly business generation disciplines that will lead to better use of your time and money.

Secondly, you must know your services and product better than anyone else. Too often we fail to know how the services we provide can positively impact the experience and outcome for our clients. We assume that our reputation, brand name, or smooth talking will win their allegiance. This is not true. Consumers want choices and they want to have explained the benefits of all the services you offer. If you cannot articulate everything that you bring to the table you leave the door open to your competition or someone from your own office. Take the time to learn all of your companies’ services and products that are offered to potential clients. Get training in any areas where you are weak in presenting or need more knowledge.

As you review each of these four areas of knowledge, I encourage you to write down 3-5 action steps you can take in the 30 days to gain more knowledge. Set goals with timelines for completion and share them with a peer or your manager; asking them to hold you accountable.

Question: What knowledge area do you need to work on the most in 2010 and what 3-5 steps will you take to grow in this area?

Make it a great day!

Coach Dan

Stop Working By Referral Only!

Early on in my career I learned that working by referral only was a comfortable but unsuccessful way to run a sales business. In those formative years I believed the only true way to stay in the business was to focus on the people I knew (sphere of influence). I was told people who were cold calling, door-knocking, and doing other selling activities that helped them meet new people through hard work and determination were crazy and wasting their time. I discovered quickly that nothing is further from the truth and the most successful sales people follow a Business Growth Formula that yields consistent business growth year after year regardless of the type of market. The formula is simple and one that by referral only agents are missing out on:

Why can’t you work only by referral and spend your days calling and meeting only with the people you know and love? Because that is only half the equation and we’ve learned over the past four years that when a real estate market and economy are both in decline, referrals from past clients and sphere of influence drop considerably.

I wish I knew the full answer as to why this is but I think it has to do with existing home owners being depressed about the value of their home and many home buyers being unable to purchase due to the stricter guidelines on lending. People would rather find more positive things to discuss than the real estate market. This translates into your sphere of influence not doing business with you and not referring business to you either.

The formula above has worked for me and I highly encourage you to implement it into your 2010 business plan. The goal in executing each phase of this formula is to build a high trust relationship with new people, friends, family, and referrals. This takes time, effort, and determination. New relationships do not automatically have a high trust level. You will need to prove your commitment and value to these people.

The question you have to answer going forward is, “How am I going to meet new people and convince them to work with me?” There are lots of ways to do this and you need to commit to trying multiple ways before you abandon the idea altogether. Here is a list of some ways you can begin to create relationships with new people:

• Follow-up your Just Listed postcard with a personal invite to an Open House
• Call cancelled and expired listings
• Call For Sale By Owner listings
• Hold an Open House 2-3 times per month
• Join a networking group
• Use social networking sites like Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter connect with friends of friends
• Hold Real Estate Market Update seminars in your hometown – invite everyone!
• Start a Blog that is focused on the real estate market in your hometown
• Call your Sphere of Influence and ask for referrals

In the next few days I will discuss with you four key knowledge areas of a successful broker. It is within these knowledge areas that you are able to demonstrate your value and convince new relationships that you are the best person for them to work with when it comes time to buy or sell real estate.

Question: What are some of the unique ways that you have created relationships with new people in your business?

Make it a great day!

Coach Dan

P.S. – If you would like to brainstorm how you can use the Business Growth Formula in your business, just drop me a line and we can setup a coaching session.

Sign of Success

A simple formula for building trust and credibility with past, present, and future clients is:

Demonstration + Proclamation = Credibility

I learned this formula from John Maxwell and implemented it into my marketing plan right away. I found it to be a fantastic way to help me increase the level of trust and credibility that I had with my Sphere of Influence and farming area.

I put this formula to work in what I called my Sign of Success Campaign.

The purpose of this campaign was not to brag or shout from the rooftops all of the great things I had accomplished. Rather, it was a tool that I could use to proclaim that I knew what I was doing when it came to helping people buy and sell homes. When I closed a home and provided great customer service I demonstrated my ability to my current client, but I needed to let other people know as well so that I could gain their trust and establish credibility as someone that could get the job done.

Our past clients, referral partners, and sphere of influence don’t call us every day and ask, “Did you list or sell a home today?” They are living their busy lives and focused on their priorities.

Which is why it is important for them to see proof of your ability to do what you say you can do. Remember anyone can market services, but customers want to see results before they do business with you or send you referrals. The Sign of Success campaign allows you to share your passion for helping people achieve their goals and helps build credibility with future clients. I highly encourage you to implement a similar type of campaign into your sales business.

Here is an example of the type of postcard I sent out on a regular basis:

Question: Have you used a similar type of Sign of Success campaign in your business, and what were the results?

Make it a great day!

Coach Dan

Building A Realistic Plan

As we finish a less than ideal year for many sales professionals the temptation to create a grandiose career saving plan for the new year is strong. However, there is danger in this type of plan because it often results in unrealistic expectations, goals that are not achievable, and pressure on ourselves that leads to an unbalanced life. Our challenge is to create a plan that addresses our current reality while at the same time stretches us personally and professionally.

As I confronted this challenge in my own business I developed three different scenarios based on my current reality. I list out these three scenarios below and encourage you to use a similar approach when writing out your plan and goals for 2010.

1. Best Case - This scenario says it all in the name. Best case essentially lays out the goals and production numbers you will attain in a world where your plan is executed perfectly and all external factors impact you as predicted and with positive results. This perfect world would include you being able to make up the losses from the previous year and gain market share in the year ahead. This is the plan we usually all enjoy thinking about and striving for. In my experience it is also the only plan, to their detriment, that most professionals make.

2. Break Even – This plan outlines a strategy that you believe will allow you break even and keep your head just above water. The break even plan is not the most exciting plan to write or read. It is an important plan to have because it outlines the baseline numbers that you must hit each month, whether you use this as your primary business plan or not.

3. Most Likely – This scenario is the plan that you believe most likely will be executed by you and your team. Hopefully, this plan will land somewhere in between the other two plans and close to the Best Case scenario. However, there are times where our Most Likely will actually be below our break even plan. Facing this reality, while difficult, is important for us as professionals and leaders. If your market research and analysis of your previous year’s profit and loss statement shows that it will be difficult under your current model to reach a profit or even break even, you have some big decisions to make. You may be able to ride out another year without profit or you may have to change your entire business model to position yourself for better results. You may make the decision that its just not worth it and its time to get out of the business.

Tracking Your Results

As you design your plan be sure to have the systems in place to track your results. This should be done every 90 days, with new objectives being written to help you reach your goals for the upcoming business quarter. If you are hitting your benchmarks and your pipeline is full keep pressing forward and look at how you can stretch yourself beyond the benchmarks. Remember, you can adjust your plan. It should be a living document, especially in a challenging and fast moving market where external factors are changing your approach to conducting your business frequently.

Have you written out your plan for 2010? If so, have you confronted your reality and written a realistic plan?

If I can be of help, please let me know. I’m happy to review your plan and provide you with planning tools to make your 2010 a great year!

Make it a great day!

Coach Dan

Building Your Lead Generation Systems

As you start to plan for 2010, remember to focus a portion of your planning time on defining your Lead Generation Systems. In my career as a real estate broker and leader I have found there are two key lead generation systems that must be in place and running smoothly for there to be a high probability of success.

The first lead generation system is called a Stay-in-Touch System. This system must have a balance of selling and marketing activities that are focused on your Sphere of Influence (SOI). Your SOI includes your friends, family, past clients, and referral partners. You want to make sure you are staying in touch with this group of people a minimum of three times per month with one of those contacts being a face to face appointment, phone call, or an e-dialogue.

The goal of this system is to build TRUST and grow your relationship with this group of supporters resulting in repeat business and referrals. You must never take this group of people for granted and assume that you will always get business from them. Treat them with respect, ask for referrals, and demonstrate consistent value to them.

The second lead generation system is called a New Relationships System. This system also must have a healthy balance of selling and marketing activities. The goal of this system is to bring you potential new clients and qualified prospects. These leads can come through a variety of sources ranging from target niche websites to target marketing campaigns to social networking. The system must be measurable and get you in front of as many new people as possible.

Don’t be fooled into thinking that you can always be working By Referral Only. You must be adding new people to your database every month that do not come from referrals. In real estate, many agents suffered tremendously over the past three years because they focused only on their past clients and referral partners while not spending enough time developing new relationships. When the market turned, business dropped, and the amount of referrals from Stay-in-Touch Systems aimed at SOI diminished. Many brokers were unprepared and lacked the skills to effectively develop new relationships with people they did not know.

Remember, both of these Lead Generation Systems require you to know the difference between selling and marketing activities and act accordingly. You will achieve a higher probability of success when you follow-up your marketing activities with selling activities.

If you need help building your lead generation systems for 2010 please contact me. If you would like to know more about the difference between marketing and selling activities, click here.

I’d love to learn more about your business and how we can make 2010 a success for you.

What are the key elements of your Stay-in-Touch System and your New Relationship System?

Make it a great day!

Coach Dan