How to progress the customer

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Prospecting is all about lead generation. You generate leads through activities like meeting people at open for inspections and sending market reports to homes in your market area. Most agents are clear on this and are successful in gathering plenty of leads, but often they fail to think about specific next steps to move the sales process forward.

The process between lead generation and lead conversion is called lead nurturing. This is how you prepare your client to enter the marketplace. Whilst we tend to focus on “how” the client would prefer to go to market and “when” they might wish to do so, the most important element is the “why”–the client’s reason for entering the marketplace–because it occurs on an emotional level and therefore drives the client to decide and act. Once you know why your client might wish to sell their property then you can create a sense of need and urgency for them to move forward.

There are two ways to approach lead generation:

• Geography
• Relationships

The geographical approach involves contacting people living near a property that sells to provide them with a market appraisal for their home. The point is to add more people to your database and send them your market reports. That’s fine, but what is the ultimate goal?

The fundamental goal of lead generation is to get face to face appointments with prospects. This is where you gauge whether a client is hesitant to list, is interested in learning more, or is ready to jump into the market and sell. From there you will help the client decide on a satisfactory price. Many agents stop here, but you want to follow up with the client to see how they are feeling about everything you have discussed. If you don’t do the follow-ups you won’t move those market appraisals into active listings.

Generating leads through developing relationships starts from the moment you meet a new prospect at an open for inspection or other event, and continues with a series of follow-ups. These are prospects who are already searching online real estate portals, coming through open homes, and possibly making appointments and meeting with agents.

Having a follow-up procedure in place and operating lets you begin pursuing new prospects as soon as you make first contact with them. A basic follow-up procedure can include an open for inspection callback, a second round callback, a 10-day callback and ultimately the just sold call. This approach is very effective in not only converting prospects into buyers, but it also establishes your relationship with that client as their trusted advisor for future real estate activity.

One mistake a lot of agents make is to try to push a client into buying the first home they show even when the client is obviously not interested in that home. You need to listen to your clients and pay attention to their needs and preferences so that you can find them more suitable properties rather than pushing them to buy the one home they have seen. This level of customer service and attentiveness is most likely to make your clients lifetime customers.

Always remember that today’s buyer is tomorrow’s seller. Stop thinking in terms of prospecting for business right now, and start prospecting for business in the future. This way of thinking will assure you a long and successful real estate career.

I hope you’ve enjoyed today’s Coaching Tip, and I look forward to seeing you here again next week.

How to prospect for Now

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It’s so tempting to approach potential clients as though they are ready and eager to launch their property into the marketplace, because that’s where your mind is working. But your clients may not be anywhere near that stage in their own minds. Slowing down and starting with where your client is right now may feel like a strategy that will put you way behind the curve, but it actually puts you in a position of working ahead.

Start thinking in terms of providing value first and invoice second. The dialogue you use with clients is critical to preparing them to go to market eventually—not right away, but when the client and the property are truly ready. This means that for all of your calls—open for inspection call-backs, just sold call-backs, just listed and just sold calls to past market appraisals, past market appraisal follow-up calls, and past client calls—you need to know exactly what your goal is for that contact.

For any contact with a client your goal is to first progress the client toward setting an appointment with you, and then to finally set the appointment. Most agents go straight for the appointment without finding out what the customer actually needs or wants from the sale of their property. You will have much greater success in the long run if you start by asking the kinds of questions that will encourage your clients to reveal themselves and their situations. With that information you will know exactly which next steps to guide them through.

Some of the best questions you can use include:

How have things progressed?
This allows the customer to tell you about themselves and their exact situation.
What are the next steps for you?
This will tell you how realistic their expectations are, and is a good place to refer them to any other professionals they may need to work with.
How can I help?
Your client’s response to this will tell you their comfort level with the process so far.

This is also the point at which the client may suggest a delay in the process. They may be unsure or not feel ready to move forward. What you say next in this pivotal moment will move the process forward or set it back. A subtle and effective answer would be to simply say, “That’s fine,” then add, “But—Quick question: If I had a buyer right now, could I mention your place or should I sell them something else?”

This is an extremely powerful statement to shake your client out of their fear mode, generate excitement, and nudge them into thinking of possibilities.

If the client says, “Sure, you can mention our place,” this is your opening to make that appointment and initiate momentum. You may not sign a listing agency agreement on the first appointment, but you are beginning a progressive dialogue with the client. From here you can learn how to properly bring them to market.

Putting pressure on yourself and your clients to hurry up and list their properties right away will result in more losses than conversions. This is where you need to slow down and begin to think in terms of listing ahead of the curve and getting listings for the future. This is how your business will achieve real growth.

I hope you’ve enjoyed today’s Coaching Tip, and I look forward to seeing you here again next week.

Helping Sellers to Sell

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Selling property is what we do, and the more we sell within a given timeframe, the more income we generate. Because of this sense of urgency our vendor motivation can drive us to list properties before they are actually ready to show. They may sell more quickly, but we won’t get the best price for them. In fact, a perfectly good property may be perceived as being overpriced if it is not presented well, especially if it is listed at the owner’s expected price.

There are some important aspects of presenting a property that are often overlooked in the rush to list. First, your asking price needs to be in alignment with the market, but pricing can go higher with a few cosmetic improvements. Before your first open for inspections or private appointments you want to make sure the property appears to be ready to move into with minimal work by the buyer. A little paint and yard work can make hundreds to thousands of dollars difference in what a buyer is willing to pay. It’s a good idea to make sure that everything is clean, and the interior looks and feels spacious and liveable. This kind of detailing might take a week or two extra, but the difference in your final sale price will be worth it.

Once the property is ready for viewing you can delay listing it long enough to present it to select motivated buyers before posting it to the market. If you have buyers who have pursued another property through a full campaign and then lost it, they are likely feeling hesitant to repeat that experience of loss and would be willing to pay a little more for a property they can secure. Once they are emotionally invested in achieving satisfaction rather than disappointment, they will pay more to make sure they can finalize the deal this time.

Another advantage to showing the home off market to prospective buyers is that you have an opportunity to get a feel for what buyers are willing to pay by asking them what they would offer for it. Show them all the value points, and then ask them where they see value. Most buyers have already seen several other homes and have an idea of what the market is like. They have decided what they are willing to pay and can give you a price range for realistic market value that you can take into the market.

Some brands have established “database only clubs” where potential buyers can sign up to receive access to online postings of properties before they go to market. This is a great way to expand your database with motivated buyers by offering them the added value of exclusive privilege to purchase properties before anyone else sees them.

For properties that do get listed and go to market you can get the best price possible by emphasising to buyers that they have competition and must act or risk losing the property. People are driven by fear, so if buyers are emotionally involved and feel that fear of competition and loss they will be more likely to pay more and buy more quickly.

Know these options and have a strategy for presenting well, motivating buyers, driving competition, getting the best price possible for your properties and meeting your vendor expectations.

I hope you’ve enjoyed today’s Coaching Tip and I look forward to seeing you here again next week.

A Players, B Players and C Players

Your business is only as good as the people who work inside of it. You need to be clear that your sales team is made up of dedicated, productive people. No doubt your team members are some of the best agents in the business, but is there anyone on your team that you feel less certain about?

Think about how much time you need to spend with each of your agents to keep them on track and meeting goals. Now go through your organisational chart and apply a grading system to all of those agents based on the time you spend directing them:

• A Graders: These agents require as little as 5 minutes of direction a week
• B Graders: These agents require a few hours a week of your guidance
• C Graders: These agents require significant time with you daily

Consider the time you spend with each team member as time you cannot spend with your family. How many B Graders do you have in your sales team? How many C Graders? The more A Grade agents you have inside your business, the less time you will spend providing direction and checking up on your sales team’s productivity.

Go through your organisational chart again and this time simply rate each agent with a plus or minus sign depending on whether you have a positive or negative feeling about their performance. This will help you to target coaching sessions with team members on areas that need to improve while evaluating their capabilities for achieving those goals.

Some of your existing people simply cannot perform at the level you need them to. This is why it is important for you to always be recruiting new talent. Recruitment is an ongoing task, not only to replace low performers, but also to expand your sales team and grow your business. New people keep your brand fresh and progressive.

Think about the last person you hired who became a real asset. What was your system to get them oriented and on track for success? What worked brilliantly and what could stand improvement? And what did this individual bring to the table that helped them become productive quickly?

As a principal it is your responsibility to make certain that prospecting is being done consistently. Momentum drives your business’s growth and is maintained by constantly generating leads. Open for inspections generate a large portion of your leads, so each of your agents needs to be doing 5 to 10 open for inspections each Saturday. If you have an agent who consistently produces on the lower end of those numbers then that person is essentially setting an organisational standard for low performance. That affects your entire business.

In order to prevent low standards from being established inside your business you must actively set and enforce higher standards. Visualize what success means to you, and then set benchmarks for performance expectations that each team member must meet in order to keep a position within your agency.

You will also need to have some required performance standards in mind when you are recruiting, but not necessarily industry-specific standards. A mistake many agencies make is to only hire from within the real estate industry, but there is much significant potential talent outside the industry. Consider that work ethic, corporate disciplines, and the ability to generate leads and sell properties are not limited to the real estate business. If you have a recruit who is doing very well in another industry that person will likely also shine in your organisation with the right training and good coaching. Of course you will also recruit from within the industry as you meet other agents in the course of conducting your daily business, particularly during open for inspections. Whatever their experience, you will need to orient new hires to work within your business environment.

It is best to start new hires in positions that align with their current level of expertise. If they have not worked in real estate and/or were under-performing in their previous position, then place them for the first year as an assistant to the lead agent. Not only does this help with the lead agent’s workload, it also trains that agent to be an effective coach for new hires. Of course, the new assistant will learn how the basic tasks they do are essential to the business, and they will learn from the ground up how your brand works and what drives its success.

Always make sure your new people have or receive this foundation of real estate experience and training before you move them into higher positions. It is important that they are able to work to capacity where they are before you move them upward. New hires are expensive if they do not produce. They are also expensive if they leave and take their average percentage of your income with them. Of course, when they do work out they add significantly to your profits. A good standard for consistency is to make sure that no one agent is producing more than 15% of your total revenue so that if that person does leave your organisation they don’t leave you with a staggering income deficit. Naturally this does not imply that you should hire mediocre agents. Just maintain a balance between the number of agents you hire and how much they can reasonably produce within their marketplace. This is where territories and relationships become a factor. Assign sales territories to agents best suited to them. Some agents will do better if you keep them focused on client relationships.

You will grow your best possible business by recruiting fresh talent all the time, maintaining a team of A Grade agents who personally want to succeed and grow with your brand, and making sure your time growing and directing your sales team is minimal and is spent as efficiently as possible.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this month’s Leadership Training Tip. If you would like more information about coaching opportunities by the Josh Phegan Company for your organisation, simply reply to this email. I look forward to seeing you here again next month.

What it takes to run a great team

It takes a great team to effectively grow your business. Whether you have already built your team or are still working alone, growth is necessary to your success. And putting on an assistant is your first step to growing your team.

An assistant allows you to focus your energy and expertise on the most important aspects of your business, mainly prospecting. Your assistant can handle all the office housekeeping tasks, data entry, making reports, looking up contact information, etc. while you make phone calls, field appointments and build relationships with customers.

As you prepare to build a solid team for your business, ask yourself these simple questions so that you know what you want to accomplish:

• What does success look like for us?
• How will we know when we’ve achieved it?
• How am I measured?

Make sure you are clear on these core business points, because you have to communicate them to your team members. One proven way to do this is for you to follow the Big Three concept.

Your Big Three states that every day:

1. You are responsible for listings, sales, and income production
2. You are always prospecting to generate listing leads
3. You are providing direction to your team

You will also have a Big Three for your assistant to focus on daily:

1. Campaign management: Organizing photography, copywriting, advertising, proofing brochures and text ads—all of those details beginning at the point the property is listed.
2. Database management: Entering and categorizing new contacts with all their details into the database.
3. Marketing automation: Setting up marketing campaigns for the proper categories and contacts inside your database.

Now, there is no reason a good assistant can’t do some prospecting along the lines of overflow open for inspection call-backs, 10-day call-backs, just sold call-backs, and following up on past inquiries from your major real estate online portal. However, remember that prospecting is the single most important task you do inside your business, and it is primarily your job because it requires your expertise, experience and connections. Prospecting is all about building relationships and those vital relationships need to be personal between you and your clients. Remember your assistant is there to allow you to do your job—not to do your job for you.

Once you have an assistant in place and handling all those maintenance tasks you can start building and growing your sales team. To do this you must be actively checking in with them daily.

A morning huddle with your team will keep everybody focused, on track and informed. They need to know what your expectations and focus is for each day. One of the most important things you will teach your team is how to use their time–and yours. Give them a structure, and tell them what you will be doing and what they are expected to accomplish. Other ways to check pulse with your team include quick surveys and recognition awards.

You teach your assistant to do the tasks you need done by having clear simple guidelines and streamlining the way your organization works. You build your team on your core business values and reinforce these values consistently to your team so that they always know what to do and why. It all begins with you knowing what you want to accomplish and communicating your expectations clearly so your team can help you achieve success.

I hope you’ve enjoyed today’s Coaching Tip, and look forward to seeing you here again next week.

End of Financial Year Planning

The end of your financial year is a good time to re-evaluate your budget, think about your numbers and decide how to pursue growth in the next year.

There are three areas where increasing your performance will make a tremendous difference in your profits. Those key initiatives are:

Increasing your fees
Increasing your average sale price
Increasing your volume

Competition has a way of influencing you to lower your fees in order to secure clients, but this may also cause you to charge less than you are worth. An interesting effect is that newer agents often command higher fees simply because they don’t “know” they can’t. They are not familiar with their marketplace yet and don’t know they are asking more than the average percentage. They are also eager, optimistic and enthusiastic. The result is that their positive drive and energy gets them the fees they ask. That same approach can work for you as well. Also, if your agency offers a performance based fee incentive you can negotiate to receive bonus payments when your sales rise above a certain percentage. Especially in a growing market even a 10% bonus can add significant profits to your bottom line.

Increasing your average sale price is another way to achieve growth. First you must determine whether that is possible in your area of the marketplace. Study properties currently on the market, asking prices and completed sales, to get an idea of profits that are possible in the areas you work. You do need to be in an average to high-end marketplace to realize this advantage because that is where you will meet the clients who have properties with the values you need.

Increasing your volume will also drive your profit margin upward. This level of work requires a team, or at the least an assistant, to help you with your expanded levels of prospecting and buyer work. Start by reviewing your numbers, then determine how many properties are active in your market and what percentage of those properties you need to book in order to realize your target growth. Study your market for average sale prices and volume of available properties. You then have to make sure your market generates enough active properties to provide the volume you require for growth.

Plan your active year based on a 10-month calendar. You want to make sure you have 2 months off each year to rest and recharge for the level of energy and consistency you need in order to maintain a successful level of work the rest of the year. Make sure that you download a copy of our financial spreadsheet and use it to structure a clear plan for your upcoming financial year of business. Then you can decide where to focus your efforts for your most successful approach to growth within your market through increasing your fees, your average sale price, or your volume.

I hope you enjoyed today’s Coaching Tip, and I look forward to seeing you here again next week.

Becoming a great Lister

A lot of agents like to have a structured listing presentation that they can step through without having to think about it. However, the point of the listing presentation is to communicate with your clients about what you will do for their unique needs that your competition won’t. They need to know how marketing, pricing, sale method, timing and fee delivery will apply to them, so your delivery needs to change to fit each individual client’s situation.

After evaluating hundreds of listing presentations we have identified some fundamental yet powerful techniques you can employ to ensure your process will be effective every time:

Have an agenda
Use a writing pad
Employ trial closures
End with a summary close

These simple tools make a game-changing difference in your delivery and outcome, starting with your agenda.

An agenda is a working structure that also allows you to be flexible with each individual situation. Its purpose is to make sure you stay on track and cover everything in an appropriate order. Of course, a good opener addresses the needs of the customer on their terms and from their point of view. You want to deal with their unique situation, considerations in selecting an agent, preferred method of sale, options for marketing, how pricing is determined, and next steps they will want to take.

The writing pad is a versatile tool that gives you immediate control of the flow of the conversation. It allows you to ask better questions by listening intently to your customer, taking quick notes, and responding to their input and queries with focused relevance. For example, if you discover this is their first property then you know they will need more time, more information, and more emotional support than someone who has been through the process before. If you have clients who have bought or sold before then they may already have specific preferences around how they want their property to be handled.

Another important question is whether they might let you bring buyers through for inspection, possibly selling before placing the property on the market, or if they might consider auctioning the property. Knowing these details allows you to tailor your pitch.

Also keep in mind that you do not have to finish your entire listing presentation in one sitting. Rushing clients into the marketplace will often work against you. Yes, you need to establish your fee and land an exclusive agreement, but often the best way to do this is to take the pressure off your clients and let them do the process in stages. They will be more likely to sign with you now if they feel comfortable with your methods and your intent.

A property is ready to list when its presentation, pricing and sale method are right. Getting those elements right is best accomplished using trial closures. Trial closures get clients to make necessary decisions about open times, auction times, photography times, supplying a key for access, choosing a conveyancer for legal paperwork, and of course, pricing.

The summary close then brings everything together you have discussed for final confirmation. This is where you finalize pricing, marketing, sales method, timing, and if not already done, choosing your agency and delivering your fee. If your summary close is incomplete then you are not in a position to sign for this business. This is why you need to have an agenda from the start. Your writing pad is the best tool for closure, too, so you have a list of items you can physically check off, making sure nothing has been forgotten.

You will never have one listing presentation that is finished. Each listing presentation is an interactive exchange with a new client and/or a new property. This is your only opportunity to outperform your competition. This is not the time to think about what you need out of the deal. Focus on learning your client’s needs, desires, doubts and fears, be responsive to them, and you will be a successful lister.

I hope you’ve enjoyed today’s Coaching Tip and I’m looking forward to seeing you here again next week.

Prospecting to Prosper

If you want to prosper in real estate, you have to prospect consistently and successfully. That means you are on the phone calling prospects every day. Of course, some days will be better than others, but there are ways for you to improve your results even on off days.

First, make sure you have a list ready every day of prospects to call. Don’t question the process, just start calling with your primary goal in mind. And that goal is not just to make those calls, but to book appointments. If you aren’t going to work to actually get appointments there’s no point in calling. And the way you get bookings is to be yourself when you talk to people.

Some people have a different way of talking to customers on the phone than the way they talk to people face to face. If you do this, stop. It comes off as fake if you sound too polished, and you will lose rapport quickly with the client. Be yourself, be genuine, be real and people will trust you more readily.

Next, make sure you are asking the right questions. Use the “Know, Feel and Do” concept. Ask yourself:

What does my customer want their customer to know?
What does my customer want their customer to feel?
What, then, does my customer want their customer to do?

Know, feel and do moves people from emotion to action. That’s exactly what you want to make happen when you are on the phone with your prospects.

You also want to maintain relationships with your clients by keeping in touch with them. Calling them often and talking with them on friendly terms keeps you relevant to them. Being good at talking with the people you know is even more important than talking with new prospects, because you will have more conversions with clients you are already established with. Cultivate new prospects every day, but communicate with them regularly so that they soon become people you know.

For example, if you see that a new property is listed in a price range close to the going rate in another market where you know a prospect, call that person and tell them about it. Put that information on their radar. When the property sells, call them again and tell them what it sold for. Then you can ask for an appointment with them to see their house and give them an idea what it is worth today.

Being clear about your goals for prospecting and what steps to take to get results is necessary for success. Remember the Pareto Principle – the 80/20 Rule that 80% of your business comes from 20% of your actions. Make that 20% of your work every day count. Maintain effectiveness – even on off days – by having your call list ready, being genuine in the way you talk with people, focusing on getting appointments, and working in 45 minute sessions so you stay fresh and energetic.

I hope you’ve enjoyed today’s Coaching Tip and I’m looking forward to seeing you here again next week.

What it takes – from hiring to working with an assistant

If you have not done so already, there will come a time in your career when you need to hire an assistant. This is an important step and you want to do it right.

Hiring an assistant allows you to concentrate on your primary areas of expertise that move your business forward such as prospecting, building relationships, and listing and selling property.

A difficult aspect of deciding to hire an assistant is knowing that you are personally adept at certain aspects of your business, such as writing emails or sending invoices. One thing to consider is whether you should actually be doing any aspect of your work that involves sitting at a computer. Your focus should center on the tasks you alone have the expertise to do – primarily face to face interactions with clients. This is what employing an assistant allows you to do.

Make sure you have sensible, understandable systems and processes in place. Checklists make a tremendous difference in the efficiency of your operations. For example, creating a checklist of 20 tasks to prepare for open for inspections can drastically improve your success rate for these events.

Don’t necessarily hire the first assistant who accepts your offer. Make certain you are hiring reliable people, and be willing to pay a little more for a candidate with demonstrated skills and reliability. Look for people who are actually better than you are at core tasks. Talented, accountable people make it possible for you to do the work you need to handle yourself.

Make sure you set the new assistant up well enough to perform the tasks you require them to do. They need a computer, an email address, and some specified training.

Some recommended reading suggested by professionals in the field includes:

– Cut to the Chase by Stuart R. Levine
– The Power of Full Engagement by Tony Schwartz
– Mastering The Rockefeller Habits by Vern Hannish

Consider requiring job applicants to read one or two of these books before you hire them. Then test them, not only on what they have read, but also on how well they fare in actual working conditions such as an open for inspection. Hire them for a day and see how you work together. Remember, you may well spend more time with your assistant than with your family. Make sure the relationship is a good one before you commit to it.

Also be prepared to lose assistants from time to time. It is a high-turnover position; most assistants do not intend to be with you for many years. Accept this reality and make sure you have built in scalability, and documentation that helps new assistants get up to speed quickly.

The fact is, you cannot build your business without hiring at least one assistant. Once you are making $30,000 per month in fees you have to think seriously about hiring someone to help you or you cannot grow. Don’t let fears or misgivings stand in your way – do your due diligence and hire the right person to help you.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this week’s Coaching Tip. I look forward to seeing you here again next week.

Great Business Turnarounds – Why Energy Matters

No matter how good you are at what you do, there will be times that your performance is off and things simply don’t work out as well as usual. The most important indicators of your business success are how well you handle these off times, and how quickly you can get back on track and moving forward again. The more momentum you maintain, the better your chances of regaining it fully after you hit a bump.

Momentum is created and driven through activity in your business. It’s about working multiple open for inspections each weekend, meeting as many buyers and sellers as you can, and then keeping in touch with those contacts. Momentum is vitally important to your career, and the best way to maintain it is through planning. Without a plan you will miss far too many opportunities and your business will decline.

Planning involves filling your calendar year with campaigns for holidays and other events happening in your marketplace, as well as actions you need to take in response to market conditions as they rise and fall. Planning also entails structuring your days for efficiency and productivity, from the time you wake up to when you will have meals and get to the gym – from when you make your phone calls to when you will meet people face to face. Schedule your greatest activity for when your energy is highest so you can get the most done.

Agents who are most successful have a plan and follow it every day. In general, morning is likely your highest energy time of the day and the best time for you to make your phone calls to vendors. Next up is prospecting for potential sellers and market appraisals, followed by checking in with past clients to ensure their future business. Part of your plan is to have a hit list of people to contact every day. Never limit yourself to going after just one potential client – always be contacting multiple prospects every day. The more prospects you have, the greater chance you have of working with at least a few of them.

On those days you are not at your best, having a structure to follow ensures that you will still be productive. For example, you can start your day by doing 45 minute call sessions. Make your calls in the morning while you are fresh. Have your hit list ready of people to call that day. Measure your calls, connects and appointments. Estimate how many calls you can complete out of the number of calls you make in order to make 1 to 3 appointments per 45 minute session.

Having an off day or week takes a toll on you in anxiety and stress. You can offset that negative effect and keep your momentum rolling by having a plan in place and protocols to follow.

I hope you’ve enjoyed today’s Coaching Tip, and I look forward to seeing you here again next week.