This High Performance Podcast for Real Estate Agents features Josh Phegan and Alexander Phillips on increasing effectiveness through personal discipline. Alexander talks about his own daily regimens and ways he keeps his energy high. Josh observes that discipline comes from clarity and systems that keep you on track. Alexander details his daily routines and tells how he handles schedule changes on the fly to stay productive. They discuss how personal effectiveness determines the kind of work they will or won’t do themselves and, the importance of having committed team members you can trust to take care of those tasks. Alexander tells how he maintains clarity by making lists, and Josh closes on how time wasted in procrastination and confusion can be recovered by setting priorities and following through on them.
Focusing on the Numbers
Your numbers are the measurement of your business success, or failure. In my Coaching Tip today I’ll be focusing on the numbers that are most important: listings, open for inspections and appointments. If you’re not hitting these, you’re not going anywhere.
All of your numbers matter, but your most crucial number is listings. If you don’t list enough properties you won’t make the sales you need to realize profits. Listing consistently means selling consistently, and that gives you a consistent income. But you need a target number in order to list and sell enough to meet your desired income goal.
To set your target for listings you first need to know how much income you want to generate this year. Divide that amount by your average fee and you will have the total number of listings you need. Now you can break that number down into listings per month and per week to reach your goal. But remember all your listings won’t sell, so add a buffer to make sure your sales meet your target.
Let’s say you need to sell four properties per week. You’ll need five listings every week to make at least 16 sales for the month. In order to stay consistent you must track your progress. You can’t ignore this and hope it will all even out over time, because it won’t. If you’re not listing and selling enough each week then you have to change something to improve your outcome. Tracking helps you do that.
The second most important number is your open for inspections as they’re a primary lead source for callbacks and database entries. Visitors at opens are all potential sellers and market appraisals, and many are past clients you need to keep in touch with. Put those people in your funnel and work with them.
Your third key number is how many appointments you’re booking. If your diary isn’t packed with appointments you’re losing momentum for listings and sales. Target for at least 3 appointments a day because getting in front of people, building relationships, anticipating clients’ needs and providing value drives everything you do in your business.
Doing the work that matters is defined through focusing on the numbers you must meet or exceed for listings, open for inspections and appointments. Tracking gives you the opportunity to turn things around right away. If you aren’t making your numbers then change the way you work until you see results.
I hope you’ve enjoyed today’s Coaching Tip, and I look forward to seeing you here again next week.
Ep 38 — Teaching People How to Use Your Time
In this High Performance Podcast for Real Estate Agents, Josh Phegan and Alexander Phillips offer insights on teaching other people the value of your time and being efficient. Alexander gives examples for scheduling calls, tasks and appointments around your energy cycles, and enforcing your schedule. They discuss keeping others accountable, being clear on expectations and working quickly. Josh points out that being direct without being rude is important, and eliminating time-wasting distractions is key. Alexander tells how he handles incoming calls and texts, and focuses on being fully present during direct interactions. They discuss setting intentions for others by setting an example. Alexander notes his sense of obligation to deliver quality service to his clients, and Josh closes with getting results through getting the work done now.
What If It Doesn’t Sell at Auction?
Sometimes a home doesn’t sell at auction. This is a crushing blow to the owner, and it can be for you as well as you still have to sell the property and there’s greater urgency now. In this Coaching Tip I will tell you how recover quickly from this setback and move forward to a successful sale.
Before you go to auction or enter the marketplace it’s important to make clear in your listing presentation that the first attempts to sell may not work. Setting realistic expectations for pricing and conversion from the start makes recovery from disappointing results much easier, so set the stage early for all possibilities.
The set to sell meeting is your next critical step in making the vendor aware of current market conditions and setbacks that may occur. Stress the importance of marketing for greater visibility and upsell as much as possible. Schedule regular meetings with owners so everyone stays on track and adaptable.
Call every vendor every day with updates and recommendations, especially if they have lost a buyer to another property that presented a better value for the price. Clients must understand there is competition and they must be responsive to opportunities. Your input is crucial to helping them make their best decisions.
Setting the reserve price for auction may require pricing compromises the vendor doesn’t want to make. Your task is to keep the vendor informed on offers that are being made on their property and pricing in the market for similar listings. Then advise them on how to align their expectations with reality. Bring in a neutral third party if necessary to offer perspective.
When a property fails to sell at auction you have an even greater responsibility to get it sold quickly whilst calming your vendor’s emotional state. Make sure you have a plan and can explain to your client what you will be doing to sell their home. You will have to work even harder to generate buyer interest and qualify those buyers so that when you do get offers you can make sound recommendations.
Failing to sell on auction day does not mean the process has ended in defeat. Keep calm, move forward with your plan and you’ll fulfil your commitment to get the property sold.
I hope you’ve enjoyed today’s Coaching Tip, and I look forward to seeing you here again next week.
Recruiting to the Vision
The necessity to hire the right talent is a given, but you can’t expect them to come in knowing what to do. In today’s Growth, Leadership, and Management Tip I’ll be talking to you about recruiting to the vision for your business beginning with proper onboarding.
The induction process for a new hire is your opportunity to set them up for excellence. You want to make certain they understand your expectations and they’re clear on your vision for the business. You need an onboarding system in place that covers everything they need to know quickly and thoroughly.
Think about the experience you want your new hire to have when they enter their new workplace. They should feel they’re in an organized, productive environment. Everything they need to do their job must be in place, functional and ready to go. If you don’t take them seriously from day one, they’re never going to take you or your business seriously going forward. Make sure you set the stage for high performance with a solid induction system.
Induction begins in my company with a negotiable Letter of Offer within an hour of confirmation that a new prospect wants to work for us. Once the offer is finalised we give the inductee an email address and access to our calendar, send a welcome video, assign them books to read and supply them with a new laptop.
The new hire spends the first day with me learning about our top clients, systems and processes, and the vision the company is based on. Next we bring them through a workday to experience everything we do. All of this happens immediately. The result is a new team member who feels involved and committed from the start.
If you don’t have one already, you need to create a comprehensive induction checklist to make sure you are covering all the vital information your new hire must know coming in. Onboarding new talent by recruiting to the vision for your business ensures an outstanding team, and they will in turn recruit more talent for you at their same high level of performance.
I hope you’ve enjoyed this month’s Growth, Leadership and Management Tip, and I look forward to seeing you here again next month.
Ep 37 — All About Systems
Today’s High Performance Podcast for Real Estate Agents is all about systems. Josh Phegan and Alexander Phillips discuss knowing how you do business and outlining systems to get it done. Alexander describes the systems his business runs on and how he and his team execute on them, detailing phone work and scheduling, and emphasising time management and preparation. Josh notes that systems must be teachable and Alexander tells how his people stay on track by following systems from day one. Josh notes how systems support expectations, values, accountability and consistency as well as health and energy. He points to procrastination as a lack of clarity, and Alexander closes with staying focused on your desire to succeed.
Buyer and Seller Hit Lists
Of all the categories in your database the two most important are your buyer and seller hit lists. Active buyers and sellers are primarily important because these are the people you will be doing most of your business with, and this year’s market will be presenting you with some new challenges and details to watch for.
You need a system for determining which of the buyers in your database are still interested in buying property within your market. Many buyers are finding that the values of properties in their initial areas of interest are not what they expected and start looking in other markets for acceptable properties in their price range.
The best way to know who is on board with you is by calling them ten days after the open for inspection, then again when the property sells to find out if they’ve bought something else or are still looking within your market. And make sure the buyers you spend time on have been fully approved by their bank and are able to buy.
With sellers you should determine if they are in red light, orange light or green light mode and focus on clients you know are prepared to work with you. Call these people regularly with new listings and sales, plus open for inspections and auctions, and keep tabs on their why, how and when situation.
Project beyond immediate listings and plan ahead for those who are likely to come to market 30, 60 or 90 days from now. Watch for those future opportunities and know ahead of time which sellers will likely be coming to market later in the year.
Working your market effectively is all about being able to search your categories and get the reliable information you need when you need it, especially for these vital buyer and seller hit lists.
I hope you’ve enjoyed today’s Coaching Tip, and I look forward to seeing you here again next week.
Ep 36 — Creating a Future Greater Than Your Past
Today’s High Performance Podcast for Real Estate Agents features Josh Phegan and Alexander Phillips on how to work beyond past failures and realize future success. Alexander advises setting goals continually, knowing what you want out of life and loving what you do. Josh cites early influences in life and Alexander adds his own experiences and support structure. They discuss how good relationships with other dynamic agents, including competitors, enhance motivation and growth. They also note the importance of always having a number of prospects so that if one or two listings fail there are more to work towards. Staying mentally and physically prepared is also key. Josh closes with a reminder to focus on your future ambitions, not on the past.
What’s Your Unique Selling Proposition?
What is the one standout quality that identifies you as the best agent your clients can choose to work with? If you don’t have an answer you’re in trouble already. In my Coaching Tip today I’m talking about establishing your unique selling proposition to set you apart from other agents and demonstrate genuine value for consumers.
Your unique selling proposition (USP) is the quality that influences customers to want to work with you. It starts with demonstrating that you understand their needs and you have the solutions to fulfil them. First, demonstrate your viability by presenting lists of open for inspections and buyers you already have waiting to see the home.
Outlining ways your proven approach to maximizing sale price is more effective than other agents is especially impressive. Visuals are also powerful as clients really connect when they can see photos from successful campaigns, sales and auctions to help you get clients focused and engaged with what you’re telling them.
You have to identify which of the many things on a client’s mind is the most important outcome for them. I use the SPACER analogy, which identifies levels of need for Safety, Performance, Appearance, Convenience, Economy, or Reliability. Once you know which of these aspects is most compelling to your buyer you can zoom in on that, break it down and base your presentation around that need.
Lots of agents rely on preview and coming soon campaigns, but you can set yourself on a higher level using a list to launch plan, showing that you have a buyer hit list ready to go and can produce potential buyers right away. This progressive approach to marketing often eliminates the need to list at all by selling the property quickly to buyers you already know and are working with. It also allows you to command the best possible pricing for a property.
Differentiating yourself from the competition with your unique selling proposition is key because if you don’t offer clients a foundation of confidence, dynamic solutions and demonstrated value for your fees they will simply go with an agent that charges less for their services.
I hope you’ve enjoyed today’s Coaching Tip, and I look forward to seeing you here again next week.
Ep 35 — When a Property Sale is Off Track
Today’s High Performance Podcast for Real Estate Agents features Josh Phegan and Alexander Phillips on getting properties sold in today’s evolving marketplace. Alexander emphasises knowing your process and communicating clearly with your vendors about what is happening. Josh advises setting expectations right from the listing presentation. Both agree the vendor relationship and initial buyer experience are crucial. They discuss indicators for property tracking, how to evaluate where the vendor is emotionally and ways to get buyers more invested in a property. Alexander tells how to handle a property that previously failed to sell through another agency, or get an extension on an agreement you are handling.