Would You Re-Hire Your Team?

Is the team you’ve got today capable of taking your business to double, or even triple its growth? For my Growth, Leadership and Management Tip this month I want you to ask yourself, would you re-hire your team today, or are there people in your organisation who are holding back your business potential?

You need to be clear about the type of person that you want in each role, the skills they need to bring to the table, and what you want them to achieve. But you also have to give them the opportunity to do it – or if they’re not a good fit, give them their freedom to seek growth and opportunities elsewhere.

The interesting thing is you already have a gut feeling for whether or not you’ve got the right people inside of your organisation. So what’s preventing you from putting a new person in place? Do you have a talent pool? Are you clear about the type of person you want in those roles? Have you given everyone the opportunities they need? Maybe you simply don’t believe you can find great talent so you hold on to the people you have.

When you bring on a new hire their joining experiences make the difference in how they feel about your organisation and what they’ll expect. Make sure they’re immediately exposed to great systems, dialogues, tools, and people. It’s your responsibility as a business owner to have a clear vision for a much bigger future than your past.

Great businesses build great people. They’re the backbone of what makes your business great. You want the best talent available to take your organisation to where it’s capable of being.

So ask yourself, would you re-hire your team today? If you’re prepared to have tough conversations with your people around what your standards of excellence are then you can ensure that your people live that out for you.

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

How Do You Learn?

When you finished school you probably didn’t have a plan to continue learning as an adult from that point forward. That’s a mistake you can’t afford to make. My Coaching Tip today is a conversation to get clear on, how do you learn? Because the faster you learn, the more quickly you’ll earn.

There are lots of different ways you can get exposed to new information. You can watch videos, listen to podcasts, and read books. You should also hang out with people who are better than you because the success level of the people you spend the most time with determines your own level of achievement.

A lot of people say they aren’t good at reading. That’s probably because they don’t do it. I’m telling you that the more you read, they better you will get. Here’s a tip: Use a highlighter. Mark the key points in what you read. When you finish the book go type up the things you highlighted so you can reread them. This will help you learn.

Think about how well you learn when you’re dissatisfied with your current condition. You’ll go out and find new information, and learn it as quickly as possible because you want to fix your situation. You can just as well increase your knowledge when it’s not relevant right now. Once you get clear that you’re always going to be in some situation that needs a solution, then you’ll continually look for opportunities to learn more and get better before those situations occur.

When you think about, how do you learn, you’ll realise that getting inspired by people doing better than you helps you raise yourself to their level. Avoid egoism – that false sense that you’re better than other people. You’ll never learn anything from that position. Practice humility by helping other people realise their talents, achieve their potential and gain the skills they need to be successful. Helping others get better puts you in your own best position to grow.

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

Ep 100 – Selling Vendor-Paid Marketing

In this High-Performance Podcast for Real Estate Agents features Josh Phegan and Alexander Phillips on selling vendor-paid marketing. Alex tells some things you can do to encourage vendors to pay for marketing, especially if you’re just starting out. Josh explains the law of comparison and how to use it, and Alex tells why case studies are important in selling marketing. Josh shows why your confidence in your pitch is crucial to convincing the client to buy, and Alex tells how to know if the client is economically driven.

They discuss the importance of believing in your own product and asking the right questions. Josh stresses getting the pitch right by learning where the customer hangs out so you can recommend the right marketing to differentiate their home.

How Customers Can Fuel Your Growth

Everybody wants to make better decisions for the future. In my Coaching Tip today we’re going to talk about how customers can fuel your growth if you focus on being super relevant to them.

Too many agents are concerned about the extras and they don’t make the most of what they’ve got. It’s the basics that are most important starting with understanding where your customer lives. If you show them specific properties they could upgrade into they can become a seller overnight. Getting that information you need means asking the right questions in the right order, and asking permission.

I’m going to break down that dialogue for you in the video and show you how it works. The key elements to it are using language that is different from the normal real estate agent dialogue, making yourself specific and relevant, asking for that permission, and making it hard for them to say no to your requests.

You also need to know what to do once you’ve got those customers in your database. Think about how you can build relationships with them and upgrade them to face-to-face clients. From there you want them to be someone who refers to you because they see that you’re good at what you do.

I’ll also give you some dialogue that works to help you book those appointments. You’ll learn what to say to make your services look attractive, personalised, and valuable. You’ll see how customers can fuel your growth if you’re doing those simple, basic things. Get the information you need to help them make better decisions for their future instead of wasting time on extras.

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

Ep 99 – Quarter On Quarter Growth

This High-Performance Podcast for Real Estate Agents Josh Phegan and Alexander Phillips discuss quarter on quarter growth and why agents must track and measure their numbers. Alex tells why he tracks the numbers he does, how it helps secure the next listing, and how that makes his business better every year. Josh clarifies those results in terms of GCI dollars and percentages, and Alex explains the difference that knowledge makes to a career. He goes on to tell how to break down each goal into a routine to maintain focus and structure.

Josh notes that checking your progress allows you to change course if you need to. He advises working further ahead, and Alex tells why it’s most important to focus on listing numbers. Josh ends with getting intentional and knowing where you’re growing.

Let’s Talk About Change

If you want to make a change in your business you need a vision for where you want to go. So in my Coaching Tip today let’s talk about change: why you want it, the steps you need to take, and where you want it to take you.

The formula for change inside of an organisation is that the person who can learn the most, change the most, and can adapt to the situation of the day is the one who can grow the business. Your level of dissatisfaction for your current condition needs to be greater than your resistance to change. You also have to have a clear vision of the outcomes you want and the amount of energy you’re prepared to put into it.

There has to be a level of dissatisfaction great enough to overcome your resistance to change. You have to see a bigger vision around how you want to serve your customer’s condition and bring a more valuable contribution to the table, or you won’t have a reason to change.

Businesses fail when there are problems and people are complaining, but there’s no vision around what to do to get growth. No one wants to work for an organisation like that. You have to be really clear about where you’re going and what you’re doing to stay inspired. Change begins with a higher level of thinking and the desire to take the first steps.

So let’s talk about the change you want to make in your business. What’s really important is that you’re clear about how you’re going to make that change happen. Why do you want to make changes? Where would you like to go? Who will be involved? What steps do we need to take? Get those things in alignment, then you can do what’s needed to make those effective changes in your business and in your life.

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

Ep 98 – How to Build Your Personal Brand

In this High-Performance Podcast for Real Estate Agents, Josh Phegan and Alexander Phillips talk about how to build your personal brand even if you’re just starting and don’t have a lot of money. Alex starts with ways to gain presence and momentum in the marketplace, and Josh reminds us to start with everyone you already know. Alex adds ways to use social media with your database to target your marketing and build rapport. Josh talks about social proof and Alex tells why it’s the best kind of marketing. Josh continues with getting all you can out of what you’ve got and notes how that doesn’t cost anything.

Josh continues with the effectiveness of being active in your community and Alex relates his personal experience doing that. Josh ends with ways to build your brand by building responsiveness and relevance into all your relationships.

Pitching “Why You?”

What is it that makes you unique compared to other agents? In my Coaching Tip today I’ll help you with pitching “Why You?” We’re going to find out why your customers should choose you and then learn how to tell them your story.

First, forget what everybody else is doing. You don’t want to be like them, you want to be better. And your customer wants the agent with the best ability to get their property sold for the very best price in the shortest period of time. And the listing presentation is where you show them what you can do for them that all the others can’t.

I want you to really think about what makes you great and identify what you do so well so that you can play to your strengths. It could be about your age or energy, or your years of experience. The number of transactions you’ve done or properties you’ve sold, or the people you’ve helped move. And it’s about tactics – how many potential buyers you can produce right now, referrals you can count on, and other agents working with you.

It’s what you do that makes the difference, along with your passion, energy and confidence. These are the qualities that differentiate you as you’re pitching “Why You?” Stop worrying about what everyone else is doing. Understand what makes you unique enough that customers will choose you, and then focus on improving your customers’ condition.

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

Ep 97 – The Speed of Life

This High-Performance Podcast for Real Estate Agents features Josh Phegan and Alexander Phillips on the speed of life and how to handle growth spurts. Alex agrees that the world moves 10 times faster than it did 10 years ago and explains how he copes with these demands. They discuss ways to either slow life down or take control as things threaten to spin out of control. Alex stresses being prepared and advising the customer of processes and scenarios they need to address quickly. Josh suggests some useful coping mechanisms and Alex reinforces the benefits of preparing for meetings and events ahead of time.

Josh describes commitment creep and tells how to use your diary to avoid it, then Alex offers ways to maintain your energy, know when you’re at your best, and gain clarity on what’s really important. Josh ends with recruiting the help you need to get more done.

Basics Versus Extras

The best thing you can do as an agent is to get clear about basics versus extras. In this Coaching Tip, I’m going to talk about what they are, how they differ, and how you need to prioritise your focus for success.

Building your database is simple, but it’s fundamental to running a great business. Those people you enter and categorise are your audience. You want to get the right marketing to the people who need your help through their transformation. Nurturing your database is about being in the conversation when it counts for listings and sales. It’s about how to communicate with the client over the phone to book those appointments that lead to conversions.

Your job as an agent is to improve conditions for the client. Ask the right questions so you can help them make better decisions and get their best results.

Too many agents don’t really look at the marketing they’re putting out. They just copy each other. They bypass the basics and instead focus on the extras, like their social media activity and their own image as a successful agent. That kind of marketing is all about the agent. It doesn’t relate to the customer at all.

What you want to communicate to your customers is that you can meet their unmet needs because you understand where they’re at. You’re the agent who will help them through their situations regardless of market conditions. You do this by getting clear on basics versus extras. Focus on getting face to face with the customer and making sure you’re hitting your listings numbers. This approach will change everything on the inside of your business and make you an incredible agent.

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