referrals — Chance Brown's Real Estate Blog

Book Review: Seven Levels of Communication

September 14, 2016 By Chance Leave a Comment

From the last post, you know that our brokerage has started a monthly Book Club. Our first book was Seven Levels of Communication by Michael Maher. As promised, a couple of times, here is my review of the book.

Bottom line: If you’re in sales or marketing, you need to read this book.

I have a general rule to judge the quality of a business book – If you can take two things out of a book and apply them to your business, it was worth the read. In the case of Seven Levels of Communication, if you can’t take a dozen tips out of this book, read it again. Seriously. It’s that good. Did I mention that I was serious? I don’t want to sit here and gush over 150 pages of paper, but this might be one of the best business books I have ever read.

First, Maher does a great job writing in parable format. The book follows a real estate agent, Rick Masters, as he transforms from a near drop-out to top producer through a coaching program that walks through the 7 Levels. I’m a huge fan of story-telling in non-fiction and Maher does it in a way that is both engaging and lacking arrogance. Honestly, as valuable as the information is, I’m not a fan of books by people like John Maxwell because they tend to be too much “Look at me and what I’ve done and you should be just like me.” This book is written from a perspective of a Coach and, as such, comes off as genuine and truly helpful.

Now, about the tips that the book gives you. The information contained in the book isn’t a reinvention of the wheel. To tell the truth, I imagine that the end product that Rick Masters becomes looks a whole lot like top salespeople from about 30 years ago. He’s more personal, caring, and doesn’t rely on technology and other new gimmicks to build his business. Instead, he relies on tried and true messaging and communication, but he does it with a plan and strategy.

The other great part of this book is that none of the strategies are really that hard to implement or expensive. The result of these strategies is a business that every agent dreams of, one built on referrals. The trick, like with everything else, is that the strategies have to be implemented with a personal touch and executed with discipline and consistency.

So, here’s the deal. I’m not going to reveal everything in the book because you really need to read it. I will tell you this, you will probably want to read it twice. Once you’ve read it once, you can go back
and take it tip by tip to implement in your business. Trust me, it’s worth it.

In conclusion, if you feel like you’re in a rut and need to get out of it, or your new to the business and want to get a jump-start, or are already producing at a good clip and want to take it to the next level, you need to read Seven Levels of Communication. Even if you only get a couple of things out of it or only implement a couple of the strategies, you will without doubt see the results in your business. You can pick up a copy on our Reading List page. Do it.

Our second book, Miracle Morning for Real Estate Agents, will be the next book review. You can also pick it up on the Reading List page.

The Communication Game

March 16, 2016 By Chance Leave a Comment

Not to get all deep and philosophical about things right out of the gate, but I have a serious fear for my children and my children’s generation. It’s a lack of communication skills. Between messaging and Snapchat and emojis and texting in slang or abbreviations, I have a serious fear that the communication skills necessary for success are quickly going by the wayside. I try, the best I can, to limit screen time, make my kids tell me stories or even just about their days, and teach them to look others in the eye when they are talking to them. I want them in speech in debate as they get older. Why?

I truly believe that your ability to communicate your point, regardless of what you are doing, is pivotal to your ability to be successful.

You may be asking yourself at this point just what the hell this has to do with real estate. It’s this simple: if you really get down to the nuts and bolts of what we do, we communicate. We aren’t the parties to a transaction. We aren’t attorneys or title experts. We aren’t lenders or mortgage experts. We communicate. From discovery to service to follow-up, we communicate. We discover needs and wants, we set expectations, we relay information and documentation, we problem solve, and we close. All of that, again, at the base level, is communication.

Selling Yourself

What is brand building? What is advertising? If you can’t guess by now, it’s communication, it’s story-telling. How you communicate your value to your audience is the essential part of creating brand recognition. Creating a solid call-to-action is an essential part of lead generation and capture. Taking those leads from interest to client is a direct result of your ability to tell your story and show interest in their story.

How can you become the first thing people think of when they think of real estate? Continuous brand building and consistent messaging are key to brand awareness with your potential clients. Whether you choose to be topical, clever, or resourceful in your communication to prospective clients, your delivery of the message over time is the key to your success. Being able to do it without being annoying is also pretty important.

Servicing the Client

From the time the prospective customer becomes a client to the time you close the transaction, your communication revolves around the service you provide. Beginning with the discovery phase, you have to be able to communicate with your clients to be able to best serve their needs and wants. Once you’ve done that, and found them either the home they want to buy or an offer suitable for acceptance, your communication expertise in negotiation becomes key. After that, you become a conduit for communication between all of the involved vendors, agents, title people, lenders, and, of course, parties to the transaction. Since we have beaten the expectation setting part of this like a dead horse on this blog, I will forgo it for now, but it is vital. Holding your client’s hands through the process with clear communication is key to creating a smooth transaction. Creating a smooth transaction is key to creating a happy client. Creating happy clients is key to building your referral base.

Building Your Referral Base

Do you have a plan to create a referral engine? When you’re with a prospective client, and then a client, and then a past client, how do you approach the topic of getting referrals? When do you start? If you don’t have that plan in place, I would submit to you that your business is not working for you. That doesn’t mean that your business isn’t working. It just isn’t working for you.

A plan to build a consistent stream of revenue from your current and past clients is pivotal. It should start the first time you meet a prospective client. It should continue throughout the sale/purchase. And, here’s the important part, it should never stop. Ever. The great thing about this plan is that a great deal of it can be achieved automatically through a CRM. You have to have the plan though.

Protecting Yourself and Your Clients

It pains me to say this, but we live in a world where everyone wants to sue everyone when they don’t get their way. In case you were wondering, you are one of the everyone. In this world we live in, we communicate in an ever-increasing number of ways. While I am a huge fan of face-to-face and telephone communication, it should be noted, for your protection and the protection of your clients, that everything should be followed-up in writing. Keep texts and emails. Store whatever other medium you might use to communicate, but make sure that verbal conversations are then put into writing to ensure that everyone is on the same page.

I’ll give you an example. In our new agent training classes we have an exercise we do. The new agents pair up and sit back to back. One agent is given a simple drawing like a house or a bird or a fish. Without telling his/her partner what the drawing is, they have to describe how to draw it. The results are often comical in a classroom setting, but are a perfect example of how easily verbal miscommunication can occur. Follow it up in writing to make sure that your house or bird or fish matches their house or bird or fish.

Going back to the original point, understanding that your primary role as an agent, as a business owner, is communication will help drive your processes and systems. Being an expert communicator will make the difference in your level of success. Even if it is not your strongest natural strength, it is one that can be rather easily developed. Whether you choose to join an organization like Toastmasters or just develop and practice scripts, working on your communication plan is something that should be done daily.

Presidential Campaigns and Real Estate

February 23, 2016 By Chance Leave a Comment

The 2016 Presidential campaigns are well under way with three primaries and two caucuses down. Now, whether you like it or not, if you’re involved in real estate in any form or fashion, politics play a large role in your business and you ought to be paying attention. How involved in that you’d like to be is up to you, but if you aren’t aware of the ramifications to your business that the policies laid out by the candidates can have, you may end up regretting your lack of attention. That, however, is a topic for another day.

Today, I’d like to take a look (again) at the lessons we can take from a political campaign and apply (or not) to our business. If you think about it, at its base level, a political campaign is nothing more than a very long (too long usually) marketing and sales campaign. Now, it’s a candidate’s dream to run unopposed, but that’s not always the case. If you approach your business as a candidate running unopposed, when you do have an opponent you will be unprepared to deal with it and will likely lose the election. So, here are just a few of the many things you could take away from a political campaign that could very easily translate to your real estate business.

Note: While I am going to use actual examples from actual candidates, none of the info contained herein should be considered a critique of a candidate or an endorsement. Please keep your political comments to yourself. This is a real estate coaching blog read by no fewer than 21 people on a regular basis, not Fox News or the Huffington Post.

Messaging

If you ask most political consultants, they will tell you that one of the most important things in a campaign is messaging, consistent messaging. Despite the scope of a Presidential campaign and sometimes the mud-slinging that happens, a campaign should be about policies and issues and the candidate who can clearly, concisely, consistently and, more importantly, convincingly communicate those points to the voter (buyer) usually wins. We’ve all seen the “flip-flop” ads accusing one campaign of changing positions based on voter attitude. Your value proposition should not change based on trends.

On the flip side of that, there is such a thing as too much messaging. Seriously though, how many of you have that friend who posts nothing on Facebook but things about their Advocare, Nerium, Plexus, Tupperware, Mary Kay, Seaweed Wrap, or Real Estate business? Being able to clearly communicate your value proposition is critical to your success. Wearing people out with it is, on the other hand, the fastest way to run someone off from being your brand advocate.

Distribution Channels

From a marketing standpoint, campaigns are generally excellent at using every available resource to distribute their message to the market. From traditional media to P.R., social media to word of mouth, commercials, print ads, video, radio, TV, newspapers, signage, and the list goes on, campaigns will literally use every single medium out there to communicate the messaging of the candidate and build brand awareness. What can you do to maximize your exposure to the public using the resources available to you? What are best modes of communicating your message to your intended audience? On that note…

Knowing Your Audience

So far, on the Republican side of this particular campaign, we’ve seen contests in Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina. The winner of the Iowa Caucus on the GOP side was Ted Cruz. Cruz did an excellent job of communicating a message to Iowans that fit what they wanted to hear, despite having one particular position that directly opposed the views of many voters. In New Hampshire, on the other hand, a far more liberal state, Donald Trump held firm to more centrist ideals and won overwhelmingly. In both cases, the candidates knew their audience well and communicated the message using every format they could and came away with the win.

Ground Game

Another big difference between the Trump and Cruz campaigns is how they have put together their ground game. Ground game in a campaign refers to the number of people going door-to-door or making phone calls for a candidate. Ted Cruz has been very good about setting up a solid ground game in nearly every state. On the other hand, Donald Trump has eschewed the traditional ground game strategies and relied more on large-scale events and making headlines. Traditional wisdom would tell you that the person with more people working the public will win. In this case, nothing about this election has been traditional. That being said, let’s go with tradition and try to build an army of advocates out there building your brand for you. It is, after all, the cheapest and most profitable way to build your business.

Differentiation

So, here’s where the rubber meets the road in a campaign. A campaign is a zero sum game. In order for one candidate to gain votes, they have to take votes from someone else. The only way to do that is to differentiate themselves from the other candidates in the field. Sometimes that is easy because of significant differences in opinions. Sometimes, however, many of the candidates look and sound a whole lot alike. Being able to effectively differentiate themselves from the others in the field, even if there are few actual differences, is what allows a candidate to take votes from other candidates in order to win. What is the value proposition you need to communicate to differentiate yourself from the other candidates to help a client buy or sell a property? Does your service differentiate you? Your use of technology? Your expertise in a certain niche?

Measurement and Adjustment

Analytics are extremely important in a campaign. Everything is measured. From opinions about immigration and economics to who is most handsome or pretty to, in the case of Bill Clinton, boxers or briefs, everything is analyzed and measured. Anomalies are tracked. Trends are forecasted to account for every possible outcome. Polls are taken regularly and analyzed. Adjustments, based on all of this data and its analysis, are made to ensure that the candidate’s message, appearance, marketing materials, or anything else that isn’t seen as favorable changes. Remember, the goal of the candidate is to earn votes. The goal of the real estate business owner is to earn business. What are you doing in your business to measure and analyze the results of your messaging, marketing and dollars spent doing both? How would you adjust that strategy if it wasn’t working?

Admittedly, the title and timing of this post is not coincidental, but that doesn’t change the lesson. Marketing campaigns are called marketing campaigns for a reason. From the standpoint of a business owner, your ability to look at the campaign in its entirety will allow you to come up with a more comprehensive plan for creating your value proposition and the marketing tied to it. Hey, you never know, you might just get elected in the process.

Takeaways from NAR’s 2015 Member Profile

October 15, 2015 By Chance Leave a Comment

Admittedly, there isn’t very much fun about sifting through 70+ pages of statistics and graphs. Those that know me well know that I would rather watch soccer than sit and read stats for a couple of hours. Ok, that’s an exaggeration. I really hate studying stats, but I’d never watch soccer. That’s ridiculous.

That being said, outside of political advocacy, one of the few things that the National Association of Realtors does very well is compile some pretty good stats. If you’re an agent and you don’t read their Profile of Buyers and Sellers, you are missing out on some pretty good info that could help shape your strategic plans. But why would you want to know about the “average” Realtor?

Knowing your competition might allow you to exploit areas of weakness, opportunity, and/or underserved markets.

So, on your behalf, I sat down with the 2015 Member Profile and here are, in no sensible order whatsoever, some of the things that caught my attention:

Social Media

This may sound crazy, but one of my biggest surprises of this survey was that only 65% of Realtors use social media. I may be showing my age, but how can that possibly be true? I seriously can’t even imagine a world where an agent wouldn’t use social media in some fashion.
This stat shows me that if I was over 50 years of age, I’d get really social savvy. For agents under 50, this stat goes up to 80 percent. If you could market to the over 50 crowd that is in the social sphere, I think there could be real opportunity there.

Business/Production

In 2014, the typical agent did 11 transactions for around $1.7 million in production and made $45k. All three of those are down year over year from 2103. I’m going to go out on a limb and suppose that has something to do with strong member increases and not market conditions. Either way, I never really pay that much attention to these kinds of stats because, like in everything else in your life, the 80/20 rule applies and you aren’t the 80 are you?
The typical agent received 20 percent of their business from repeat clients and 20 percent from referrals from past clients. If that’s the case, I think that there are a lot of agents doing things wrong. It would also explain the drastic drop in the statistics around repeat business from the Profile of Buyers and Sellers. I would love to see this (combined) number closer to 75 percent.
Only 5 percent of Realtors reported that real estate was their first career. Nothing really of significance here other than it makes me sad. I’d love to see more universities with residential real estate concentrations.
Only 18 percent of Realtors have assistants. If that doesn’t prove the 80/20 principle, I don’t know what will. Just a thought: there might be a larger crowd in the 20 percent if more agents had assistants doing the things that keep the agents from their business development. More on assistants here.
In 2014, 26 percent of agents did more than 20 transactions. Again, the 80/20 rule lives.
I’ve always thought there was something of a “war of attrition” in real estate and that if you could just hold out long enough you would likely be successful. The stats seem to somewhat back that up, even though the numbers are just kind of disappointing overall.
More agents reported that finding the right property was a bigger obstacle to closing deals than was financing. I find this both encouraging and concerning. It’s encouraging because it would seem to imply that financing is becoming more widely available to all buyers. It’s concerning because short supply has long-term economic impacts that can be harmful if the shortage remains in place for an extended period of time. I have enormous concerns for Texas in this regard. The fortunate thing about this particular category in the profile is that 20 percent of agents reported no factors getting in the way of them closing business. That’s really encouraging.
69 percent of agents still belong to a commission-split model of brokerage. However, if you look at the higher-earning and more experienced agents, they tend to be associated at a higher rate with fee-based or 100% commission model brokerages. Maybe (and I might be biased given that I own a 100% commission brokerage) the younger agents should pay attention to their wise elders.

Marketing/Communication

Members allegedly brought in three inquiries and two percent of their business from their website. I know that those are small numbers, but I highly doubt the accuracy of these numbers. That’s not on the NAR for the inaccuracy, but rather the agents answering the survey not really reporting correctly. In today’s world, these agents might be getting some business from some websites, but only the truly tech savvy have websites that generate real business. My cynical side is guessing that the agents that reported this as they got business from a website and not necessarily their website. Could’ve been Zillow, their broker, or anywhere else on the ole’ interwebs. Mind you, this question was being answered by a member population with an only 2/3 adoption rate of social media.
In the frequency of use of communications and tech products, there really weren’t a lot of surprises. But, this is where I think you can find some real opportunities if you look at what isn’t being used. In this case, blogs and podcasts were at the bottom of the list. So, how can you use a blog and/or podcast to grow your market share?
Similarly, the most underutilized tool in the business software category is the greatest opportunity for any agent. The amazing thing (to me, anyway) is that every marketing/tech/web guru out there has been preaching this tool for a decade. VIDEO!!! If you aren’t using video, start right now. Record a video of how you liked/hated/fell asleep to this post and send it to me. Just do it. We’ve talked about video on here before.
In the preferred method of communication with clients category, again, the losers show you where the greatest opportunity lies. The bottom three? Blog, podcast, and video chats! Facetime your clients. Record videos from your phone and send them instead of a lame email. Use blog posts in your CRM to communicate with past clients. Same thing can be done with recorded podcasts.
In the information on Realtor websites category, the two low scoring features that jumped out at me were live chat and appointment scheduler. Those are easy things to put on a website and wouldn’t you want a hot prospect to be able to instantly communicate with you or schedule a time to get together?
Shockingly (or maybe not), is that more agents reported, by over 10 percent, that they put their listings on third-party aggregators like Zillow, Trulia, etc. over their own local MLS. If that’s not a wake-up call to every single MLS/Association Executive in the country, I don’t know what is. Wake up, dummies!!! Put together a good, consumer website where buyers and sellers can connect with your members. Your failure to do so is the biggest threat to the industry.
Newspapers suck. Less than 20 percent of agents put their listings on their local paper’s site. Even online, newspapers are useless.

Demographics and Misc.

If you’re under 40 and thinking about a career in real estate, go for it. Only 11 percent of agents fit that description.
85% of Realtors are white. That is nuts! If you aren’t white and thinking about a career in real estate (especially if you are not white and under 40), you should jump all over that.
Similarly, 85% of Realtors only speak English. So, if you’re white, learning another language might behoove you. Spanish seems to be the language of choice and since only 8 percent of Realtors are hispanic, it would make sense to habla.
As I mentioned, Realtors tend to be involved in their communities, particularly politically. 96% of agents are registered to vote and 91% actually did in the past election.
They are also involved charitably. 70% of agents said that they volunteer in their community.
Realtors tend to put their money where their mouth is. 85 percent own their own home and more than half either own a vacation/second home or investment real estate.

I’d love to see the NAR do a Member Profile of Agents Who Really Produce. I think that would not only be far more telling, but it would give a lot more insight into how producing agents do their business. It could potentially shape how local, state, and national associations set up member benefits and tools. If nothing else, it would be a great tool for new, ambitious agents.

I know, this is a long post, but I promise, despite the boredom you’re encountering now, that it really is the meat and potatoes of the report. Now, go take a nap and when you wake up you’ll be ready to take on the world.

Utilizing a Pre-Listing Package

August 27, 2015 By Chance Leave a Comment

If you believe the statistics published by the NAR, somewhere around 70% of the listing appointments you go on will not be competitive. If that’s the case, your odds are pretty darn good every time you walk in a prospect’s door of getting the listing. Even if those stats are true, what are you going to do the other 30% of the time to win the listing? Even if you know it isn’t a competitive listing situation, why not take an opportunity to put your best foot forward for your client.

A great pre-listing appointment package can go a long way towards earning confidence, establishing your expertise, and winning the listing.

So, what is a pre-listing package?

Quite simply put, a pre-listing package is information about you, the market, their home, and how you plan to sell it. It should be delivered with enough time for your client to go through it, but not too far in advance that they will set it aside and forget about it. I like to drop mine off 2-3 days in advance, but ideally two.

The basic information that goes into the pre-listing package will not necessarily vary from appointment to appointment, but it’s presentation might, depending on the client and/or the property. Have fun with it. Be creative. Let your personality shine through. Remember, you don’t get a second chance to make a first impression. We’ll talk about this more in a minute.

Finally, in addition to the branding and the materials we are going to list below, a pre-listing package is a very unique opportunity, especially in a competitive listing situation, to take of ownership of information even if you aren’t the first to present to the client. How great would it be if, as your clients sit there listening to another agent make their presentation, they’re comparing everything that agent is saying to what they already received from you? You’re winning the listing and you aren’t even there! Unless that agent does something really special, the listing is your’s to lose.

What goes into a pre-listing package?

Your pre-listing package should include enough to help brand yourself, give a picture of the market, and prepare your clients for the upcoming appointment without giving away so much that you’ve got nothing to sell when you get there. Here’s a list of ideas to put in your pre-listing package:

Personal, and preferably hand-written, note of introduction
Your biography and resume
Info and stats on you and your company’s track record
Social proof/Testimonials
Samples of your marketing
Checklists or any other materials to prepare your client for listing/showing/moving
Step-by-step walk through of the selling process
Market statistics and reports
Personal guarantee, if you have one

Going back to our point about creativity from earlier, here is where you can really show your personality when it comes to presentation. Pair your pre-listing package with some snacks or popcorn and soda and make it a date for your clients. If it’s a luxury listing, print it on nice paper and bind it. If, part of your value proposition is that you are particularly high-tech, make it an online magazine complete with embedded video. There is no right or wrong way to do this. Just do it.

Your pre-listing package should set out to do a number of things. First, it should differentiate you from your competition and an expert. Second, it should show that you know the market as well as anyone out there. Finally, it should illustrate how you intend to market their home better than anyone else they might meet with.

Making a pre-listing package an integrated part of your standard listing appointment process will guarantee that you are able to walk through the front door of that listing appointment with a leg up on the competition. Your professionalism will show through and you’ll be that much closer to winning the listing and creating another happy client that will refer you to their friends.

Know Your Role

August 13, 2015 By Chance Leave a Comment

As a real estate agent you wear a number of hats at any given time. On the business side, you are CEO, marketing guru, accountant, customer service rep, and a number of other things. On the client side, you will serve at any moment as agent, advisor, psychologist, babysitter, marriage counselor, and hopefully friend. Not to mention, at some point, you’ll probably want to have a life of your own outside of real estate, right?

In addition to that, as we’ve talked about before, Realtors tend to be people pleasers. As such, we tend to do all that we can to serve our clients. Part of that is a tendency to prove our value to our clients by plying them with information. We believe that by doing so we prove our expertise. Sometimes we’re right. Sometimes, however, we run the risk of overstepping our role in a transaction and the result can be a negative experience for our clients, trade partners, the other agent and their clients. We won’t even get into the legal aspect, because, well, you know, I know my role and it isn’t a lawyer.

At the end of the day, you have only one hat that you need to be wearing…kick-ass agent to your client.

More often than not, in my experience, the most common opportunity for an agent to step outside their role in a transaction is when they try to speak on behalf of or convey messages from the lender. Don’t try to be a lender. You might know a thing or two about lending, but, if for no other reason than it puts you in an odd position when you know your client’s dirty money laundry, you should let the lender just do their job. On matters of finance, the communication should only be between the lender and the client. All you really need to know is the progress of the loan to make sure the transaction is moving along according to plan.

The same goes for trying to be an attorney or a title/escrow rep or a builder or anything other than an agent. Know your role and stay within it. It ensures that you’re focusing your efforts where they need to be in order to create the best experience for your client. Despite your effort to prove your value with your knowledge, doing everything you need to be doing instead of trying to be someone you aren’t is where you show your true value to your clients.

Setting Expectations for Success

August 6, 2015 By Chance Leave a Comment

Salespeople are, by their typical nature, people pleasers. They are constantly trying to go above and beyond for their clients to try to get more business. Unfortunately, they often fail at one of the easiest ways to truly satisfy their clients; setting expectations early and going back to them time and again throughout the process. Instead, they often try to “nice” their way through things, especially when problems arise.

Not sure if you’re aware or not, but buying and selling homes can sometimes be an emotional experience for your client. Sometimes, said emotions can be completely out of control and lack any and all resemblance to reason. It can take just the smallest of surprises to send those emotions into the full-on, bat $&it crazy atmosphere.

Setting expectations from the first meeting with a new client can make communication throughout the sale easier, reduce stress, minimize surprises, and create an experience for your client that will have them talking to their friends.

Expectations of the Process

First and foremost among the expectations you need to be setting with clients is how the process of buying and/or selling a house goes from start to finish. Go through each step in the transaction and what your client should expect. Then, as you go through those parts of the transaction, go back and reiterate the point. “Remember when we talked about this?”

It’s important at this stage that you not make assumptions. Just because the client has bought or sold a home before doesn’t mean that they are an expert at buying and selling homes. That’s why they hired you. It might have been decades since they last did a real estate transaction. I mean, I was pretty good in Mrs. Jones’s 10th grade Spanish class, but today the only Spanish I know is a few cuss words and how to order a beer. Don’t skip this step because you think they already know.

Expectations of Each Party’s Responsibilities

You have a job to do during this transaction. That goes without saying. What doesn’t go without saying is that your client often times has a very different idea of what your job is than you do. So, it’s important that you make sure that your client knows what you do during the transaction. If it surprises them by how much you do (which it usually does), it’s a feather in your cap and builds value in you and your brand. If it is less than they are expecting, you’ve set realistic expectations that will help stave off any disappointment.

You also need to make sure that your clients know what they need to be doing during the course of the transaction. Obviously, the explanation is a little easier with your sellers, but it needs to be explained nonetheless. With your buyers, their role needs to be talked about early and often. If you aren’t making weekly phone updates to your clients, start now.

Expectations of Problems that Arise

Your clients hate surprises. Surprises in a real estate transaction aren’t like surprise birthday parties. They are almost never good news and there is no cake. So, you need to prep your clients that problems happen in real estate transactions. People are involved and people screw up. So, preparing them that problems might arise is important. More importantly, setting expectations about how problems will be dealt with is just as imperative.

Setting expectations with your clients from the very beginning will make all the difference in how your transaction goes. It makes you the authority from the very beginning, demonstrates your control throughout the process, eases your client’s stress level, and creates an enjoyable experience for everyone. Setting proper expectations allows you the ability to revisit what you’ve already talked about with your clients and help them move through the process easily.

But, wait, there’s more…

Expectations of Helping You Grow Your Business

I’m always amazed by the fact that Realtors have no problem asking someone to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on a home, then they guide them through the process successfully, and then, nothing. If you look at the stats that NAR puts out, only about half of the people who use a Realtor to buy or sell use the same Realtor for their next transaction. Sure, there are a lot of contributing factors that account for that drop, but I can assure you that a big chunk of that is because of terrible follow-up from the agent. You did a great job. Your clients are happy. Ask for the damn referral. Then ask again and again and again. More importantly, set the expectation of giving referrals throughout the transaction. Have a plan, act on the plan, and build your business from your referrals. It’s the most profitable way to build a business.

Working In vs. Working On Your Business

July 30, 2015 By Chance Leave a Comment

As your real estate business grows and you find yourself getting busier and busier it becomes increasingly easier to get caught up in the day-to-day details and minutiae of what is happening in the moment. You’re working hard, doing everything you can to satisfy your clients, get them across the finish line, and, hopefully, get the referrals to grow your business. Outside of the client care, you’re still prospecting, marketing, and doing all of the other little things you’ve been doing to grow your business. That’s what you’re supposed to be doing, right? Of course it is. That being said, at some point, you have to step back and focus on your business from the CEO perspective, not the technician’s perspective.

If you aren’t spending as much time working on your business as you do working in your business, you’ll never transition from practitioner to true entrepreneur.

What’s the Difference?

Before I really get into the explanation, if you haven’t read The E-Myth Revisited by Michael Gerber, do yourself a favor and read it as soon as possible. To make an illustration most of you will understand, especially those from Houston where we have a restaurant every 500 feet, have you ever been to a restaurant where the food was great only to see it go out of business a few months later? So many of those close because they were opened by great chefs who knew little to nothing about the business of running a restaurant. You see, just because you are a great chef or a great cupcake maker or, for that matter, a great Realtor doesn’t mean that you would necessarily be a great restaurateur or bakery owner or brokerage owner. That’s really the difference.

Using the restaurant example to expound, the great chef worries about creating a great dish. They want to drive the business to the restaurant by having people tell their friends how great the food was. Sound familiar? The restaurateur, on the other hand, is concerned about the overall experience of the diner. They focus on decor, ambiance, seating charts, service, amenities, staffing, and a million other things, not to mention spin-off concepts, expansion, and, ultimately, an exit strategy. See the difference? The chef works in his business while the restaurateur works on his business.

The How-To

So, how do you step back to work on your business and where do you start once you do? First and foremost, you have to make time. You have to have scheduled time daily, weekly, monthly that is dedicated to your strategic planning for your business. These time blocks have to be non-negotiable. Zero distractions. If you have to get up and leave where you normally work, do it. Turn off your phone and email. Your only focus is your business as a whole.

Below is a short list of the items that you can and should do during this time. This list will expand over time as your comfort level with this grows and as you get deeper and deeper into your business operations, future plans, and all of the new ideas you develop.

Audit, Audit and Audit – To start off, begin with what you’re doing now and examine every piece of it. Make changes where necessary. Lather, rinse, and repeat.
Systems and Processes – What makes McDonald’s successful? The fact that a Big Mac in St. Louis tastes the same as a Big Mac in New York or London or Tokyo. Systems and processes make that happen. Your business, if it is ever going to grow, has to have them. From CRMs to lead generation to follow-up, everything needs a system. That’s how you create an asset.
Expansion and Personnel – That’s right. Most agents wait too long to hire and their business suffers. If you’re not at least thinking about it, you need to be. As your business grows, you need to grow your business and you’ll be glad you’ve been thinking about it all along.
Strategic Planning – Do you have a plan for growth? A real plan, not just ideas? Are there action steps associated with the plan to help you reach your goals? Do you have a plan for marketing, social media, farming, and everything else in your business? Now would be a good time to start. For every goal you have for your business, there should be an action-based plan in place.
Exit Strategy – You might just be starting in business, but, wherever you are in your career, you need to consider your exit strategy. Are you creating a true asset that you can sell one day when you are ready to leave the business or retire?
Technology – If you aren’t regularly looking at ways to leverage technology to increase efficiency, automate what you can, and increase your level of service, you are missing out on one of the best ways to stretch your time and productivity.

Like I said, the list goes on and on and will grow. The key is that you’re actually working on your business instead of always working in your business. I believe that once you change this approach, you will find yourself working more and more on your business. That’s when you truly begin to transition into the CEO role of your business.

7 Steps to Build Trust

July 15, 2015 By Chance Leave a Comment

One of the most difficult things about being a salesperson, whether or not it’s real estate you’re selling, is getting people to trust you, and to do so relatively quickly. Whether you’re prospecting, meeting with new clients, networking, or, for that matter, on a first date, your ability to get the recipient of your message to trust you is paramount to your success in sales. Why?

Bottom line: people buy from people they like and trust.

So, how do you get them to like and trust you, especially when you have a limited amount of time with them? It isn’t easy, but there are seven easy-to-follow tips for helping you bridge the gap between stranger and trusted resource. Next time you’re with someone you want to trust you, try one (or all) of these. After all, you want the second date, right?

1) Build Commonality

Building commonality is the easiest way to build trust because people like people who have shared experiences or interests with them. People also really like to talk about themselves, so having something to start conversations with is an invaluable tool. In my experience, the best salespeople are either well-read, well-travelled, or both. People who are one or all of those are able to talk on a breadth of subjects. So, if you aren’t well-travelled, start your bucket list. If you aren’t well-read, get a Kindle or hit up iBooks. At the very least, scan the local and national headlines each morning so you are up-to-date on what’s happening in the world.

2) Ask Non-Threatening Questions

Safe, broad-based, open-ended questions are the safest route to start a conversation with someone you don’t know well. Don’t touch on sensitive subjects, yet. Just get them, and keep them, talking. Remember the good ole 80/20 rule? That’s what you should follow when it comes to how much you are speaking during this process (you’re the 20, by the way). As you begin to build up a comfort level with them, then you can move on to the deeper stuff.

3) Give Positive, Non-Judgmental Feedback

Most people who are in the process of making a big decision just want to make sure that they aren’t crazy for making the decision. As such, they want help justifying their buying decision. Think of amazon.com if you need proof. People make decisions on fairly run-of-the-mill purchases that really shouldn’t require much thought by reading the opinions of complete and total strangers and taking them as though they are the gospel truth. Be there and be supportive. Don’t agree for the sake of agreeing or just to get a paycheck. Be honest and be yourself, but be objective. If you disagree, make sure you know the motivation behind the criteria and then weigh in with facts, not your opinion.

4) Do For, Not To

Be a resource. Be proactive. Go beyond average or what is expected. Be an expert. Be a resource. Don’t just sit there and make them ask every time they need something. Anticipate and act. Don’t be reactive. Systems and processes will help, but at the end of the day, having a servant’s heart is where you make the real difference with people. Empathy and understanding, true caring, that’s what makes people trust you. That’s when you connect with people on a level that others won’t. You want to build a referral engine? Want to be someone’s “Realtor for life”? That’s how you do it.

5) Listen, Listen, Listen

I had a boss one time, a really great boss, who would walk into every sales call, take out his notepad (this was way before the days of an iPad) and write, in big, huge, all-caps across the top of the page, SHUT UP! It was pretty awesome. It taught me early on that listening was the most important part of selling. The funniest part of the sales calls we would go on is that when it was appropriate for him to say something in response to the client he would just sit there. It was so awkward. Every ounce of my being just wanted to say something, anything to break the silence. Somewhere between 5 and seven seconds into the very awkward silence the client would just start talking and they would be scared to death to stop. So they would basically sit there and sell themselves. It was magic. Pure, freaking magic. Listen to your clients. Listen to their concerns, fears, ideas, motives, and everything else. Then, just when you think it is time to respond, listen some more.

6) Talk About Things That Interest Them

Remember the acronym F.O.R.D. if you get stumped. F.O.R.D. stands for Family, Occupation, Recreation, and Dreams. Ask questions about them and their family (careful not to offend by asking certain potentially uncomfortable questions), about what they do for a living, about what they do for fun, and about what the future holds. Kids, if they have them, are a great option for discussion. Just remember, if you don’t know whether or not they have kids, don’t ask. Let them volunteer that information first. People love to talk about themselves. Let them. It’s how you get to know people and build relationships, relationships built on trust.

7) Actions Over Time

Sometimes, you just have to prove yourself to your client over time. That’s all you can do. Do what you say you’re going to do. Follow through on your commitments and service promise. There are some people out there that just need to know you are going to be there for them. The only way you are going to do that is to keep your promises.

Trust is a tricky thing. It can take a very long time to build and moments to destroy. It requires the absolute best from you and, strangely, not a whole lot from the person whose trust you are trying to earn. You get to jump through hoops and all they have to do is say yes or no. However, it is the key to a successful sales career. More importantly, as an agent, if your goal is to build a referral-based business, trust is the only foundation for that.

Alphabet Soup

July 9, 2015 By Chance Leave a Comment

Let’s talk about designations for Realtors. One of the things that a lot of agents run out to get is a shiny set of letters after their name. They think it will instantly convey expertise in a certain area and result in an immediate increase in their business. In their defense, the issuers of those shiny letters are quick to market how much more money their designees make compared to Realtors that have no shiny letters. How could you possibly argue with that kind of logic? You need those shiny letters!

If we’re going to get all technical about things, my professional signature is Chance Brown ABR, CRB, CRS, e-PRO, SFR, SRS, TRLP. Want to know how much direct business that has gotten me over the years? You guessed it. Nada. Zip. Zilch. Do I make more money than the average Realtor? Yes, I do. So, how can it be that these shiny letters haven’t gotten me one bit of extra business, but I still make more than the average Realtor just like the grantors of the shiny letters said I would?

People who would take the time to go improve their professional education and earn a designation are the kind of people who take their real estate career seriously and would make more money than the average Realtor whether or not they had the designation.

That being said, let’s get more in-depth on why you should or shouldn’t get designations, how to use them to grow your business, and how to use them to make you a better Realtor.

Why You Should/Shouldn’t Get a Designation

It wouldn’t really be fair to say that you shouldn’t get a designation if you’re only getting it because you think it will result in more money. Of course that’s the hope. If it wasn’t, you could just study up on the subject and not worry about the shiny letters. If you think, however, that just sticking those shiny letters at the end of your name on your business card is going to start some flow of cash in your direction, you are sorely mistaken. So, if the only reason for getting that designation is money, it is probably not worth the time, effort, and expense.

Why should you get that designation then? Get the designation because you want the education. Get it because you want to be better. In most cases, the education and knowledge doesn’t end with the granting of the shiny letters. Most designation granting organizations provide ongoing education, newsletters, and webinars with their designees. Get the designation because you want to be surrounded by the best at whatever that designation conveys. Iron sharpens iron.

If your motivation to get a designation is to better serve your clients by being an expert in your chosen profession, then you are on the right track.

How to Use Your Designation to Grow Your Business

Once you have the shiny letters after your name and now that you know that the armored truck isn’t going to just back up to your front door, how can you use the designation to build your business? First of all, you need to promote what you do when it matters. For example, if you have the Accredited Buyer’s Representative designation and you’re working with a Buyer, tell them about it. Tell them how it makes you special. Let it build value in who you are as an agent and then use it to continue to build your referral business because your client thinks you’re an expert. That’s why you got the expert designation, right?

Also, other designees are a great referral source for business. Many of the designations have very close-knit groups, local chapters, and other ways for the designees around the country to connect and refer. Make sure that you take advantage of ALL the benefits that your shiny letters bestow upon you.

How to Use Your Designation to Make You a Better Agent

The ongoing education that your new set of shiny letters offers you is the best gift of all. Take advantage of it. Keep learning and improving. Get involved with your local chapter, if there is one. If not, look to create one. Like I said before, iron sharpens iron. Being around other agents (not being a secret agent) that have shared interests, experiences and business knowledge makes you, and them, better. If you aren’t taking advantage of those opportunities, I would argue that you are wasting your designation.

Designations can be great, but they are not a piggy bank waiting to be raided. Use the designations to their full extent and get the most gain you can from them. Use them to continue to grow your expertise and education. Like a CRM, or your database, or a postcard, a designation is another tool in your toolbox for success.