Getting Back to Basics

Taking control of your diary will actually set you free. In today’s Coaching Tip I’ll tell you how getting back to basics will simplify your life, increase your energy and improve your business.

How you manage your diary is how you manage your life. You need to run to the routine beginning with what time you wake up every morning. Set a time to have breakfast and a time to get to the office, then a time to make that first phone call. You’ll have a set time for having lunch, then times for your appointments. Be home on time for dinner, and go to bed at the right time every night.

Putting hard line appointments into your diary makes it easy to book other appointments around them. It also schedules other people according to your timeline. You see, an amateur will take business whenever it happens, but a professional knows that maintaining control of your diary helps you bring your very best energy to every client you meet with. It’s great energy that wins the business and gets results.

Scheduling private appointments is a classic example of getting better momentum from things you’re already doing. It’s a way to get more people through the home and create a sense of competition for compression selling. Also, if you invite someone to an open for inspection they have no real commitment to turn up. A private appointment changes that level of commitment.

Getting back to basics is vital, right down to setting that lunch hour every single day to make sure you have high energy for your appointments. Hard line appointments should be set a year ahead so you can consistently work to that routine. Plus, other people will know how to work with you and live with you. It’s not just good for the people you work with, it’s also easier for friends and loved ones to know when they’ll be seeing you. Using your diary will make life simpler and your business more successful for you.

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

Developing the Talent Bench

We recently opened a new position inside of the Josh Phegan Company. In my Growth, Leadership, and Management Tip this month we’re going to explore what I discovered about developing the talent bench of all the people you know who would be great working on the inside of your business.

I saw this position opening as an opportunity to test some theories and better understand how our business works. First, I wrote a list of people who’ve worked for our company and identified how we located them. It wasn’t major networking or social sites like Seek, LinkedIn, Instagram, or Facebook that connected us to our best talent. It was people I had met in my life and built a relationship with over time.

Looking at that I decided to go through my social lists and contacts list, then went to my key influencers who referred me to even more people who could be great on the inside of my business. In just one hour I had a list of 17 highly qualified candidates who would be outstanding in the new role inside of the firm.

Recruiting is an opportunity to establish a phenomenal brand by attracting the best talent. With that idea, we recorded a quality recruiting video to clearly articulate the position along with our company’s purpose, vision, and values. We then requested that candidates record a short video about who they are and why they should work for us to see who would jump barriers and follow instructions. As a result, we got a great list of potential talent.

What does your website’s career section look like? Why should amazing people choose to work with you? If you can’t articulate that, then those top people won’t join your business. So it’s critically important that you do this right. Identify your major lead sources, make your business attractive to great prospects, and get clear about developing the talent bench well before you need it.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this month’s Growth, Leadership, and Management Tip, and I look forward to seeing you here again next week.

Ep 118 – Market Dynamics

This High-Performance Podcast for Real Estate Agents features Josh Phegan and Alexander Phillips on market dynamics. Alex explains why market dynamics covers more than just basic market knowledge. Josh lists the numbers you want to measure, and they discuss several ways to predict dynamics before they occur. Josh offers some signs of a potential buyer to watch for, and Alex talks about share markets, interest rates, and the Australian dollar.
Josh then lists several areas of customer needs and desires that will be changing and tells how these will influence what and how they’ll be buying in coming months.

Josh predicts there will be counterintuitive dynamics within dynamics that will influence the market, and encourages agents to listen, read, and be open to fresh input from a variety of sources in order to stay ahead of the curve.

Auction Success

If you’re worried about what’s going to happen on auction day then you’re already in trouble. My Coaching Tip today is about how to set up for auction success with your sellers and buyers.

Everything you do from the moment you list a property determines what will happen on the day it’s selling. The first thing to do as soon as you list the property is hold a set up to sell meeting with your clients. In that meeting, you’ll prepare them for what to expect from inquiries, inspections, second appointments, contract requests, and how long it takes to get the first offers.

You will find that consumers have become impatient over the past 10 years. Many of them don’t want to wait three or four weeks to get to auction day. They may be impatient for a number of reasons, but these buyers are the ones you really want to work with. Get them excited about the home, let them see their competition at the open for inspection, and be ready for their early offers.

You’ll need to work with your sellers every business day around the importance of early offers and how those can change the campaign or the quote. They must also be aware that the market may be performing at a different level by the day of the auction then it is now. It’s your market knowledge that will indicate to them exactly where to set the reserve in order to sell on auction day.

You’re also going to do buyer meetings leading up to the auction. Explain their rights, responsibilities, and roles so they’ll know exactly what to do on auction day. Ask them some simple questions that are pivotal in setting up for auction success through clear communication. To gauge their level of commitment, find out if they intend to be at the auction, register, bid, or bid to buy. And finally, ask the buyers what you can tell the homeowner about their intentions.

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

Ep 117 – The Right Advice

In this High-Performance Podcast for Real Estate Agents, Josh Phegan and Alexander Phillips discuss the importance of giving the right advice to both sellers and buyers. Alex talks about understanding why you’re sitting with that client and how to advise them around what they’re looking for and why. Josh makes the distinction between being the client’s “friend” and being a trusted advisor. Alex describes having the right conversations at the right times and also talks about advising around offers. They discuss specific aspects of advising buyers.

Alex offers advice on delivery and presentation, especially face to face, and Josh notes the importance of how you make the client feel, and giving the right advice at the right time.

The Missing Millions

Once you understand the size of your missed opportunity, the pain of change will be worth the results. In my Coaching Tip today I’ll show you the missing millions you’re not seeing right in front of you, and you’ll discover more leads than you know you have.

If you’ve got properties under management then you have a variety of opportunities represented by those properties. Each property has a landlord, and every one of those landlords lives somewhere. Each is also an investment property with a potential to sell. If 8% to 9% of all property managements sell properties each year, and people move out every 10 years, then at least 10% of those landlords are selling, upgrading or downgrading every year.

Are you letting your landlords know about properties you’re selling where they live or own investment properties? All those potential transactions could be under your control. You do have to be careful and aware of some politics in relation to prospecting and property management teams, but there are ways to avoid those conflicts.

One innovative idea is to have full-time salespeople assigned specifically to looking after your landlords and their investment properties. This allows your people to build relationships with those landlords so they can offer one landlord’s sale property to your other landlords first. If one of them buys it, you’ll then keep the property under your management.

You can change the entire course of the game by playing to your strengths, and that means working with your existing customers. There are millions of dollars worth of mortgage loans alone you could be refinancing, not to mention the valuable leads you can offer to utility connections and insurance companies. Start thinking bigger and serving the customers you already have, and you’ll discover the missing millions of leads you need sitting right inside of your business.

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

Ep 116 – Getting Intentional with Your Business

In this High Performance Podcast for Real Estate Agents Josh Phegan and Alexander Phillips talk about getting intentional in your business beginning with Alex on having the right mindset on what you want to create. Josh talks about how to discover where your best leads come from, and they discuss the importance of spending your time and energy intentionally where you’ll get the most results. Josh notes the necessity for an assistant, and Alex adds the intent of being ahead of the curve. They discuss having clarity, structure and focus to get growth inside of your business.

Alex talks about challenging himself to always be doing more and getting better. Josh relates intent to what must be done to achieve your vision, and Alex describes the body language of an agent with intention.

The #1 Thing is Consistency

There are cycles in the marketplace around seasons and holidays, and the great real estate agents know to stay ahead of those cycles. In my Coaching Tip today I’ll tell you why the number one thing is consistency, and why all the great agents rely on a marketing calendar.

As real estate agents we’ve always got a ton of stuff coming at us, so as soon as we find ourselves in a position where we’ve got a lot of stock and the pressure is off, we stop marketing until market stops moving. But you need to be marketing all the time, and a marketing calendar keeps you rolling even when you’re busy.

Most marketplace cycles are no surprise because seasons, holidays and major events happen at the same time every year. You can plan ahead for email campaigns, topics for phone conversations, and direct mail content. In my business, we use a marketing calendar to consistently deliver our weekly videos every Saturday morning. We’ve done this for 8 years without fail.

You need to do the same thing inside of your business. Know what kinds of marketing campaigns you’ll be doing. Allow lead times for production. Target database categories with specific marketing messages such as buyer alerts, current market conditions, and monthly sales for specific areas and client categories. And use templates for visual consistency in branding, especially for mobile viewing.

The number one thing is consistency because it really wins inside of your business. It’s that professional presentation, relevancy, and regularity that will underpin customer confidence in making that decision to buy or sell with you.

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

Ep 115 – How the Standard of Marketing Pitches Your Brand

This High-Performance Podcast for Real Estate Agents features Josh Phegan and Alexander Phillips on how the standard of marketing pitches your brand. Alex talks about the importance of projecting a consistent image and message so customers feel comfortable dealing with you. Josh suggests targeting your marketing through finding out where the customer is actually looking vs. where and how you’re pitching. Alex adds how all this impacts the fee you can command, and Josh adds that where you set your fee also impacts the perception of your brand. Alex stresses the importance of consistency in marketing quality to keep your brand perception high.

Alex talks about different standards of marketing and how to determine what’s best vs. what’s familiar. Josh directs attention to the quality of materials and presentation in point of sale marketing, and how the little things add up to the total brand experience.

The Greatest Challenge in Your Business

You know, I see established businesses that have been around for years playing the game as though it’s their first year in the industry. In my Coaching Tip today I’ll show you that the greatest challenge in your business is realizing where your opportunities are sitting and how they can play for you. And it’s all so basic that you don’t even see it.

Too many agents don’t seem to know the most basic philosophies of creating a great real estate business. They’re not leveraging their relationships.

They’re not thinking about past clients and market appraisals, or where their landlords live. They’re not following up and working with possibly 20 years worth of prospects already sitting inside of their database. And they’re not prepared when an opportunity pops up at them.

Your business’s philosophy has a massive bearing on your potential for success. How do you generate leads? What simple disciplines do you follow? It’s all about how you actually work with customers. It’s about making lists and following up with those people, getting back face-to-face with them regularly, and staying relevant even when there’s no transaction happening.

This is what keeps your business moving. You’ll never run out of people to call on, to follow-up with, and to meet with every day. Forget about what your competitors are doing – worry about what it is you’re doing to serve your customers. This is the greatest challenge in your business: Three appointments per day, every day, to get in front of your customers. Do this consistently and the trades, the transactions – the magic – will happen.

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