Sales Leadership: Passion & Profit Aligned

SF Market Trends - New Chart

2009-08-20T14:40:00.001-07:00

Great Expectations

2009-02-03T11:53:00.000-08:00

The key and also the down fall the most of the managers that I've spoken to recently have involved setting clear and succinct expectations. From what I gathered to most effective managers us some of the following to maintain high job satisfaction, high retention and increased morale.

Here are key components to setting clear expectations:

Be clear yourself – understand where you are driving to and what it will take to get there
Keep it simple – the best expectations are ones that you can translate easily
Write them down and repeat often – avoid thinking that people “should” know and make it clear, visible and say it often.
Provide Support – if you’re expectation is to do 10 sales calls a day or fulfill 15 customer service requests a week (both tangible and easy to measure) then make sure you’re creating the time and space for you’re employees to do those things
Be sure that you’re expectations are about what people can DO – managing by result is something we so often default to because results drive our business, but getting people focused on what they can DO and how often you expect them to DO it is critical for morale and for turning your business around

Why do clear expectations matter?

People thrive with clear expectations: most of the sales people I talk to are given clear results objectives, but nothing about the thing that they can control, which is the activities required to get the results.
You provide yourself or your employees a framework in which they are able to define success and link those things to their own activity
There’s a saying that people don’t leave jobs, they leave managers, well clear expectations can lead to higher job satisfaction and lower turn over

Six Things You Must Stop Doing to Reach the Top in Sales

2009-01-05T09:45:00.000-08:00

I found this article in an old archive and thought it pertinent to today's market... enjoy.

Six Things You Must Stop Doing to Reach the Top in Sales
By Dave Anderson

In sales as in life, there are things you have to give up so you can go up. Making tradeoffs is part of paying the price to reach your next performance level. Following are five strategies for building a higher degree of excellence and consistency in your career.

Stop waiting for something to happen and get busy to make it happen. Stop living passively and take action. You can't sit or wait your way to the next level. You'll have to climb there and that mean's you need to make something happen….today…..right now!
To develop an action-bias: Strike early each day and stay in motion all day. Resolve to go from order-taker to order-maker.

Stop just putting in more time and begin putting more into your time. It's not important that you get everything done each day; what is vital is that you get the right things done each day!
Work within the disciplines of priorities or you work yourself to death : Identify your highest-return activities and schedule them. Identify your highest leverage customers and make time for them.

Stop making excuses and start making results. You can go from failure to success but you can't go from excuses to success because excuses stop you from acknowledging what the real problem is: you.
What is the number one excuse you use to explain away your lack of greater success? Decide to give this excuse up now!

Stop treating training like it is punishment. If you don't realize the value of training you are either arrogant, ignorant or both. If you don't think you need training, let me set the record straight for you: you're not that good! Professionals in any field never get so good they don't need to practice so don't think for a minute you're the exception.
The level of your practice will determine the level of your play: Which skills are you working on this week? Which product or services are you committed to learning more about this week? If you can't be specific, you need to get serious about the selling profession. You can't get more than you have until you become more than you are.

Stop planting the seeds to your next rut during the good times.
When you find yourself in a rut it's not the result of something you did last night. It's a series of bad decisions and failed disciplines you've sown over time just now manifesting themselves.
The good times can put you to sleep. They make you believe that since you've “arrived” basic disciplines like prospecting, practicing and planning no longer apply to you. The results of this foolishness don't show up overnight but they will show up over time. It's inevitable. You don't have to do anything extraordinary to make a great living in sales but you must consistently do the ordinary things extraordinarily well.

Stop hanging around with losers.
Don't hang around with an easy crowd because you won't grow.
Spending time with the fellowship of the miserable: whiners, complainers and gossips will cut your paycheck in half: at the least. Those you associate with on the job influence your values, attitude and discipline. Choose your associations carefully because eventually you become like them. Associate with people who elevate not devastate you.

The Problem of Service

2008-12-10T10:27:00.000-08:00

The Problem of Service

No discussion of marketing challenges in sales would be complete without mentioning the problem of service. In many industries, service levels tend to decrease as volume rises. When the market is slower, everyone competes for the business at a feverish pace, motivated to action by fear and increased competition. As the market starts to gain momentum, service levels become strained. Order volumes swell and customers begin searching for other options, hoping that changing companies will resolve their need to have phone calls returned promptly and to have a less apathetic service level. Then as the market takes a breather, sales people and sales managers point to the constant outflow of customers that occurred which causes market share to remain stagnant, existing customers to leaving for greener pastures as they are being replaced by new customers. At the end of all of this, the company is left in a similar market share position where it was in the beginning, only with different customers.

Creating consistent service levels is a group effort. Operations and Sales must be service driven and embody a customer-oriented work habit. Sales people must communicate with operations and customers, facilitating service level improvements. Sales managers need to be cognizant of service level fluctuations and help the sales force to communicate these fluctuations to the marketplace, while informing escrow and county managers about potential service weaknesses. When all these things work in systematic unison, service levels tighten and customer attrition slows.

The successful sales manager is one who defines themselves and their company as different, builds a knowledgeable sales force, creates and implements accountability systems, and actively participates in the evolution of service levels. This is an extremely difficult set of tasks in many industries with little to no existing resources for sales managers.

The Problem of Accountability

2008-12-03T10:26:00.000-08:00

The Problem of Accountability

Any comprehensive list of the consistent frustrations of many sales managers would have to include the problem of accountability. In many ways, the lack of the ability of sales managers to track and grade performance could be considered the largest inefficiency in the marketing arena of the title business. Too often, sales people focus on entire offices rather than specific target customers, or fill out general call sheets rather than activity-driven tracking reports. It is physically impossible to gauge a sales person’s actual performance without activity-specific business plans and individual target lists. These tools provide insight into a sales person’s strengths and weaknesses and provide aid to sales managers in both market share forecasting and profit projections. When sales people are held accountable to the right activities, their efforts yield more focused results.

Accountability is a difficult discipline in an industry where business originates from so many possible areas. It is sometimes difficult to determine whether a business development officer, a sales person, or some other activity brought in a deal. More importantly, it is difficult to determine who controls a customer over long periods of time as the customer becomes attached to many people and services within an operation. Long-term efforts to secure customer loyalty are hard to track and difficult to quantify, causing many managers to live in fear of a seasoned sales person’s departure. Accountability systems solve this challenge by giving sales managers the ability to measure results, both short and long-term.

The Problem of Knowledge

2008-11-20T10:23:00.000-08:00

The Problem of Knowledge

The most elusive of all marketing challenges in many industries; the problem of knowledge, can be broken down into two major areas: a lack of knowledge about the customer and a lack of knowledgeable sales people. The lack of knowledge that most sales people have about the customer begins with assumptions that have trapped the their industry into buying business rather than justifying worth in other ways. For Example in many in the Real Estate Services Companies (Title, Escrow, 1031 exchange etc...), sales people make the assumption that customers do business with companies because of long-term operations-driven relationships. The truth is that some customers do business with their present company of choice because of a internal relationship, but most customers would change companies if a competitor could show them how to increase their business or efficiency. In a recent survey of 300 customers, RightNow Business Development Systems found that over 77% of would change services companies if another could show them how to operate more effectively. The overwhelming message that these customers are sending is that these companies should be providing success resources and “intellectual capital,” rather than trying to sell basic feature and benefit services. Orders are the compensation received for providing these resources. The trick is to help sales people to get past assumptions by asking the right questions of prospective customers, even when they think they know the answer. The best armor against assumptions is questions, questions lead to answers that the customer feels are important, building customer specific knowledge in the process.

The lack of knowledge that sales people have about the customer’s business creates a significant barrier to developing new business relationships. Real estate agents have shared with me that “all service companies are alike” and that the best thing they can do is provide the basic service. In most cases, customers feel that sales representatives don’t know enough about their business to be helpful and consider the reps to be nice, but unworthy of respect. The most successful sales people in any industry are considered to be experts by their customers whose business savvy advice and opinions are necessary and important. While knowledge that sales people possess about business is often perceived to be important by sales managers, knowledge about helping customers to run a more profitable business outranks product or services knowledge ten to one in the minds of top customers. Because of this, one of the goals of an effective sales management program should be to find, train, recruit, and evolve this knowledge.

The Problem of Differentiation

2008-11-15T10:05:00.000-08:00

From a previous post in October I thought some elaboration was called for with regards to the 4 problem areas that Sales Managers must deal with to be successful. Here's the first...

The Problem of Differentiation

A sales manager must separate his or her sales force from the competition to be successful in building and retaining profitable market share. Many times, it is difficult to tell one company from another in any given geography. Every company has good escrow officers and bad escrow officers, similar title products, and roughly equivalent price schedules. To be different, a sales manager must identify a potential opportunity (or opportunities) in the marketplace that the competition has not uncovered and define their company’s “brand” within that opportunity. This can include things such as developing a computer training program for real estate agents, teaching agents to market their services on the internet, or any number of other unique ideas. The basic rule of thumb should be that nothing the competition does well is worth doing the same way. Great sales managers look for ways to define their sales force’s uniqueness in the marketplace rather than giving in to the urge to look like every other company. Differentiation from competitors is critical for marketing success.

5 Inhibitors to Success

2008-11-06T08:53:00.000-08:00

A colleague of mine recently put this together and I thought it was so good I had to post it... Thanks to Anthony George.

Five Inhibitors to Success

Reality continues to sink in. We have all recently felt the effects of the shifting market. In fact, we are reminded daily that ‘the sky is falling’ from a variety of sources: the media, the internet, the news and perhaps most notably, from our clients (or lack of!). During challenging times, sometimes we need to “let go” in order to “grow”. We need to stop doing the things that have gotten us here and focus on the things that will get us there. We need to step out and step up!

Here are five inhibitors you must STOP doing in order to grow your revenue and take your territory to the next level. These same five inhibitors can be shared with your clients/prospects to help them increase their sales and in turn strengthen your business relationships.

Stop standing still. Stop being passively paralyzed and get into action. Start moving now! Get into action early each day and stay in motion all day. Set your attitude the second you wake-up and resolve to become an order-maker not an order-taker.
Stop worrying about how much work you need to do and focus on what you need to work on. Spend more time on doing the right activities, such as those that contribute to new revenue growth, that are going to get you the best results. Prioritize based on productivity. Drive your schedule based on highest-return activities instead of letting your schedule drive you. Spend more time with top producing clients and prospects.
Stop complaining and start contending. Excuses will get you nowhere you want to go. Identify the real issues and take action to get results.
Write down your top three excuses for lack of greater achievement. Now tear up that piece of paper and let them go!
Stop thinking of training as a luxury. Start thinking of training & education as a necessity for you and your organization. Now more than ever, we need to be the best and brightest professionals in the business.
Practice makes pros who out perform the competition. What is your current skill level? How effective are you as a sales reps? What is something new you’ve learned in the past week that will contribute to your success?
Stop hanging around with nay-sayers. Don’t answer the calls from Pessimistic Pete and Debbie Downer.
Spending time with losers will contribute to your losses. Cultivate a can do/will do attitude by associating with leaders who have a positive influence on your values, discipline and production. Reach out to other in and out of the industry that will pick you up and prime you for success.

Successful Sales Management - Four Problems to Solve

2008-10-09T13:51:00.000-07:00

Over the past couple of years I have spent a good deal of time helping my clients to handle the trials and tests of managing sales reps in the real estate services industry. I have observed from my experience inside the industry and out that sales managers often feel powerless and frustrated, searching for resources that often don't exist and are generally hungry for guidance.

Many times sales managers find their way into that position through a variety of means, be it they were in operations and we needed a sales manager so voila! Or as a retention tool to keep a top producing sales rep, we promoted them to manager. Many organizations don't have the internal resources, training, or tolls which are designed to increase the effectiveness of sales management efforts.

All of the above contribute to four core problems of managing sales efforts (and specifically in the real estate services industry).

The four problems are (which I'll elaborate on in future posts, so stay tuned)

Differentiation (separating your sales team from the competition)
Knowledge (knowing your customer or knowledgeable sales people)
Accountability (focused on activity)
Service (consistency)

Peter Drucker - Management Thoughts

2008-09-08T11:31:00.000-07:00

Couple thoughts from a recent article on the book – Management: Revised Edition, by Peter F. Drucker

Drucker considered management to be a blend of action and contemplation. The words "think" and "thinking through" appear throughout. Managers must take the time to consider what they are doing and just as important, why they are doing it. He produced a vast body of work, nearly 40 books and countless articles, before he died in 2005 at 95.

Many of his classic themes are on display, including:
•Management by objectives. Your organization's strategy for the present and future, converted into targets and assignments in such areas as marketing, innovation, human resources, productivity and social responsibility.
•The theory of the business. Collectively, it's the assumptions an organization makes about markets, customers, competitors, technology and other factors that make up its reason for being, or as he bluntly puts it, "what a company gets paid for." If your theory is outdated or no longer valid, you're headed for trouble.
•Management revolving around people. A manager's job is defined by relationships with colleagues, "upwards, downwards and sideways."
•Information responsibility. You must ask yourself what information you need to do your job and where you will find it. Related questions are what information you owe to others and what they owe to you.
•Getting out of the office. The key areas affecting your organization will inevitably take place in the outside world. Go out and talk to customers and find out who your non-customers are. Become a volunteer in a non-profit agency, not only for personal growth and helping others, but to work with and learn from people who don't necessarily see things as you do.

a few good pearls from Peter Drucker... Hope you enjoyed.

Sales Scripts - Prospecting Emails

2008-09-08T08:35:00.000-07:00

I've been getting some questions about prospecting emails so I've compiled a few that might be helpful.

Prospecting Email Samples
Please cater these emails to your company and your territory… Several Industries can apply

Example 1 – for when the market tightens…

Hello Mr. Curtis,

As you already know our market has shifted considerably. A large percentage of Realtors and Title Companies will not survive.

I am grateful to say that the ABC Title is a leader in financial strength giving policyholders over “1 billion dollars- or insert appropriate amount here” in protection, and also provides valuable tools and resources to help Realtors be more successful.

With the disappearance of so many of your competitors I would like to help you capture as much of their market share as possible.

I am committed to help my clients not only maintain their success but to continue to grow their business by 10-15% over the next 6 months, despite the fluctuation in the market. Obviously, I won't know if we can reach this goal together until I sit down with you to better understand how you run your business and how I can help you build your business.

The best case scenario is this: I will provide enough value to your business to increase your closings by 10-15% in 6 months and in return you allow me to close a percentage of your directable transactions.

The worst case scenario is that our combined efforts do not result in an increase in your business and you proceed as usual.

I have time available to meet with you on Tuesday August 3rd or Wednesday August 4th in the afternoon. I will need just 20-30 minutes of your time so that we can have a dialog about your business and explore possible ideas and solutions for increasing it.

Please let me know what time works best for you. You can either email me back or call me at 515-xxx-xxxx.

Sincerely,

John Repp
ABC Company

Example 2

Hello Kay,

Thanks again for meeting this morning, and I apologize for the confusion. I have attached the photos we took so that you also have a copy of them, and I have sent them on to Sam Smith with Broker Associate Magazine. I am so excited that you are going to be the "Cover Girl", it is very well deserved, as I know you are a great role model to my mother and I as well as many others in the real estate community.

I would like to take you to lunch as I mentioned this morning. Please let me if you are available next Friday (the 20th), or another time that would work better for you.

I recognize, and appreciate your loyalty and friendship with Ginger at Security. I want you to know that I am also here to help you as well with any of your title or business needs. I would love the opportunity to earn your business as your #2 or #3 title person, and to do what I can to continue to help your business excel further.

One of the goals that I have set is to help successful agents like youreself to increase your busniness 10% to 20% over the next year. I believe that with a little better understanding of what you do now to be successful, I can help you increase your revenue and the amount of time you have to enjoy all of your CAR and board activities, as well as your grandkids a little more. Together I think we can achieve this goal.

Thanks again, and I hope you have a fabulous evening.

Susy Title
USA Company

Real Estate Investors Invade California

2008-08-29T09:29:00.000-07:00

Here's a press release we just put out... important information - timely, enjoy.

If the real estate market is in a meltdown, California real estate investors haven’t gotten the memo. In fact, residential real estate investment activity has grown over 65% in the past year alone.

Walnut Creek, CA, August 28, 2008. According to an analysis of current California real estate statistics, residential real estate investors are the most rapidly growing population of buyers in California. RightNow Consulting announced today the results of a research project analyzing purchasing activities of California residential real estate buyers. Preliminary July 2008 residential property data reveals that the percentage of residential purchases by investors has risen from 6.74% to 11.41% since July of 2007. This represents a 69% increase in year over year proportional activity.

Despite fewer financing options and lots of bad publicity, investors are taking an aggressive stance. “We wondered whether investment activity might have increased in California given current market dynamics, but were truly surprised by these results,” says Dan Miller, CEO of RightNow Consulting. “Not only did the percentage of residential purchases by investors increase, but so did the number of investor transactions, increasing 16% from July 2007 to July 2008. Given that California median home prices continue to slide – down 3% from June and over 33% from July of last year according to CAR statistics – the dramatic increase in investor activity is surprising.”

By any measure, the increase is an encouraging nod to the perceived long term value of California real estate. Despite the doom and gloom, for investors and home buyers still sitting on the sidelines, favorable interest rates and price declines might push the California real estate market towards a recovery a bit sooner than expected.

[Research Methodology: Total monthly index records searched ranged from a low in July 08 of 67,329(preliminary data) to a high in July 07 of 160,275 inclusive of refinance activity. Refinance activity was removed, and non-owner occupied percentages of total purchase activity were calculated using property data provided by First American Core Logic. The final analyzed data set consisted of non-owner occupied purchases (excluding corporate owned properties) and included all CA counties, extracted from indexed property transfer records monthly from July 2007 to July 2008. Purchase transactions which did not require financing were excluded. Data analyzed and compiled by Laura Compton of RightNow Consulting.]

Branding your self - Niche Marketing

2008-07-29T15:46:00.000-07:00

Most title companies and title agents I’ve spoken with have not taken the time to really put down on paper what they will do to “specialize” or how they will service a particular niche differently. The differences may be subtle but going able to articulate those differences are very important to building a niche brand.

As you read through some of the examples below – be sure to ask yourself the following questions, in doing so you’ll get a clearer idea of what niche you might want to go after.

Could you create a division in your company specifically to serve the needs this niche?
How would you operate differently?
Who in your operation has the skills to services a particular niche? Or even more broad, what are the skills required to service this particular niche if any?
What services and adjustments would be necessary to achieve success?
What would you call it?
What kind of sales and marketing effort would best attract these clients?

A few examples worth talking about given current market conditions and should help to illustrate this concept of developing a niche.

Top Producers: Let’s say you have been noticing the national trend which suggests that top producing residential real estate agents (those in the top 20% of production in their market) are gaining more and more share of individual markets. This trend also shows that top producing real estate agents have increased their share of the market over 160% during the past twelve months). Creating a “Private Client Services” division that is more in tune with these high volume targets and clients can enable you to be the company of choice for this niche.

Reverse Mortgage: Rapidly growing in volume and expanding in product type, the Home Equity Conversion Mortgage or HECM is a great source of business. Over 100,000 have closed in the FY 2006/2007 according to HUD, and these are likely to grow at the current rate (over 35% growth in the past two years) or higher given the aging of the baby boomer population. Isolating this business as different and unique, serving its customers specifically, and branding that effort separately from your core products and services will give you a high return. Everyone might be closing reverse mortgages, but who is serving the needs of the clients in such a way that they become recognized as the provider of these services? Who is marketing themselves as the reverse mortgage expert? Might as well be you.

Loan modifications: If you have mid sized mortgage bankers in your area, chances are they are performing loan modifications in order to stem the foreclosure tide. Although the national lenders have contracts which handle these limited title searches on a nationwide basis with title information service providers, there are opportunities at the local and regional level. Be sure to talk to your banker to see if your bank is actively performing loan mod’s in their servicing department and if so, get their title work.

Credit Unions: One of the fastest growing locally sourced high quality areas of refinance transactions. Don’t overlook the multitude of Credit Unions, many of which out produce community banks at a rate of approximately 2 to 1 in certain markets (CUNA Stat.)

Private banking and private mortgage services: The Private Banking and Wealth Management department of national, regional and local banks represent the majority of deposits in the United States owned by wealthy clients. Many of these people own lots of commercial and residential real estate and their banker can approve commercial mortgages as well as refer residential refinances and purchases. None of your competitors call on these accounts and your upside in terms of deal sizes and frequency is unlimited.

Pre-foreclosure/Short Sales sales: Teach real estate agents to handle pre-foreclosure transactions, becoming the local expert in this rapidly growing market segment. In certain parts of the US, over 20% of all residential transactions are predicted to be “short sales” over the next year or two. Even if your area is less affected by this issue, it is still a great way to get introduced to real estate professionals around a hot topic.

A little time spent asking yourself questions about how you'll "specialize" in a specific niche might just be the next step to winning more accounts and adding to your bottom line.

Do's and Don'ts of Sales and Marketing - Part 4

2008-07-07T11:02:00.000-07:00

Leadership and Management - Driving Results from the Top Down

Do

DO Make sure everyone in your operation knows the goals (Open, closed, clients, revenue)
DO Focus on individual targets - offices can't give you business, individual agents or LOs can.
DO involve everyone in your organization in the sales effort with specific action items, tasks and goals
DO make sure that everyone in your organization knows what differentiates you from your competitors - You're customers should be able to finish the sentence, "I use you because...." and your sales people should be able to help your customers articulate that
DO make sure each person knows what their role is in achieving the goals

Don’t

DON’T assume each person knows how to sell or ask for business
DON’T pay for customer service reps….incentives should be based on mainly new business

Short and Sweet. Happy selling!

Do's and Don'ts of Sales and Marketing - Part 3

2008-06-30T10:57:00.000-07:00

Execution - Sales Activities that Drive Results: here are some very specific tactical things that you should pay attention to...

Do

After an interview with a target, schedule/calendar a plan for the next follow up – don’t leave an appointment without setting the next one

Make 1 hour of outbound phone calls daily to targets and other prospects of interest
(if you think about it this is only 12.5% of a 40 hour work week. Make it mandatory for yourself or for your reps. (you can make between 15-25 calls in an hour – if you use 5 call blocking)

Interview broker managers every other month to get speaking engagements and other opportunities

Sit with Closers while they make customer phone calls (they will not do it otherwise). Help create 'message' – empower them to make warm calls (not cold) – in fact here are 5 areas to call: Orphaned Clients, Lender in the middle, Non directing Agent, Best clients to ask for referrals, Cheaters

Internal public relations – regularly/daily inform your Closers of all sales activities
I have seen reps live and die by their ability to communicate with their closing/branch teams. It will be very difficult to over communicate what you’re doing as a rep to gain new business. It’s very easy to under communicate

Ask for the sale. Ask for the appointment. Ask for the next step. Don’t rely on “accidental” results. (Know and) ask for what you want.

Learn to Listen

Don’t

DON'T deliver anything if you can convince an EO to do it. Get EO to set drop off appt with agents.

DON'T spend time creating marketing flyers; or limit it to one hour a month.

DON'T spend more than 30 minutes on your email per day.

DON'T do lunches, unless that is the only way to get a target to talk to you. Quite coffee houses are better. Best case scenario, get them to meet you at your office.

DON'T join committees or task forces that have little or no exposure to top producers, unless it is your first year in title sales, and even then be choosy.

DON'T talk too much. Know when to shut up. People like to hear themselves talk...ask questions that get your prospect talking and let them go...continue to ask follow up questions to show that you are engaged.

DON'T Sell the same way to every person. Be skilled in reading others, and then make sure you can flex your style to best suit your prospect.

In sales it's all about the execution - make sure that you're DOING the right things with the right people.

Happy Selling!

Do's and Don'ts of Sales and Marketing - Part 2

2008-06-16T10:50:00.000-07:00

Planning and Strategizing - Make it happen...don’t be happy with accidental results!

Do

Know what activities are most productive for YOU and understand your activity ratios...they may be different from other people on your team. Most top producing sales people can tell you their highest gain activities (things they do that pay them the most amount of money). In our business those activities typically are:
Asks (referrals and for orders directly)
Face to face appointments / interviews
Conversations with prospects
They can also tell you that metrics like, “I need to set 10 appointment to have 7 show up” and constantly tweek those metrics.
Set goals and create a daily activity plan to achieve them...look for incremental successes to celebrate, not just the final “close”. Spend 10 minutes at the end of each day planning your strategy for the next day. Ask yourself how much different your days would be if you spent just a minimal time the day before planning what you’d like to do. Someone said, not having a plan is planning to fail… I think they’re right.
Measure and track your progress and results, know where you are daily so you can tweak and adjust your plan. Don’t over do it (but I really meet great sales people or marketers that overdo tracking), typically it’s the other way around. Make it simple and just track the four things I mentioned above on a daily or weekly basis. The simpler the better.
Have a daily contact and interview goal: minimum 2 per day.

Don’t

Wake up without a defined plan/strategy for your day – based on our recommendations for what to DO – this goes without saying
Go a single day without any selling activity. Keep your skills sharp and your pipeline full by making sure that every day has purposeful selling activity included.
Literally, if we’re not living for getting new clients and doing something everyday that puts us in a position to get a new client we’re missing the boat

Do's and Don't of Sales and Marketing - Part 1

2008-06-06T10:41:00.000-07:00

I constantly get asked to describe the do's and don'ts of sales and marketing for our industry. As easy as the question may sound the answer I've discovered is somewhat complex. I've divided the the answer into four areas or four parts each having a brief list of what we consider at RightNow, the do's and don'ts of sales and marketing:

Attitude and Demeanor - Acting and Dressing “The Part”: this is about how to “be”, behaviours and attitudes that will positively affect, or detract from your sales results.

Do

Think and act positively. Negative self-talk will only reinforce negativity. Good sales people are by nature positive and this attracts (Law of Attraction) positive results.

Make sure your outer appearance matches your inner self...always dress professionally and make sure you look polished. Appearance matters, whether we like it or not – marketing and sales people are the “face” of your company. Don’t be afraid to set expectations or standards about how you want your companies image portrayed in the market place.

Constantly evolve your skills, mindset and perspective. Read voraciously, “interview” other top performers in other industries, try new things, recognize stagnancy, try and be ahead of the curve when change is imminent. Don’t be afraid to learn and keep learning, sharpening your saw (if you’re the president of a title agency on this call, ask yourself when is the last time you made a cold call or when on a sales appointment with a new prospect – hopefully it’s been recently, if not schedule sometime to make some calls this week

Be accountable to YOURSELF first. Remember this... “If it is meant to be, it is up to me.” You can only be accountable if you have committed to measurable objectives. Get clear on how much you want to make, how many orders you want (the results), then work backwards to the activities you need to do to get those results and hold yourself accountable to the activity that you can control.

Don’t

DON’T get stuck in price wars-it is not about price, it is about perception of value. This is easier said than done, but with few exceptions when we can demonstrate value to our customers, they are willing to pay more – and at the end of the day they’re not paying anyway…)

DON’T “buy business" or get stuck in that sandbox. If you’re in TX – P53 pretty much lays it out for you. Find ways to add value through your knowledge or tap into the knowledge of your company and it’s employees to create mutually beneficial relationships in an ethical way.

DON’T believe that anyone is off limits…everyone cheats! This is all about assumptions. Assumptions about our prospects without actually asking or finding out for sure leads us to inaction. It’s typically us looking for an excuse not to do something out of our comfort zone so for example instead of asking and hearing no, we assume a target is off limits and don’t ask.

DON’T do it ‘because everyone else is doing it’ Otis spunkmeyer cookies… need I say more

DON'T Work for someone else. Create the mentality that you are “self-employed” regardless of whether you have a base pay or not, and plan and work your day/month/year as if no one but you were responsible for the results you achieve and the money on your paycheck

Next we'll dive into Planning and Strategizing do's and don'ts

Happy Selling

Management Time Woes - Managing your Return on Time Investment

2008-05-27T10:54:00.000-07:00

70/20/10

Jack Welch, Chairman and CEO of General Electric from 1981-2001 has discussed his simple management strategy which served him well as he built GE into the success it became. According to Welch, all your employees fit into one of three categories, 70/20/10. Most fall in the middle 70%, employees that are generally meeting your expectations, neither flying above nor below the radar. About 20% fall into your most coveted employee category…those who are highly productive, highly motivated, and are a great cultural fit for your organization. The bottom 10% is just that, they either need to elevate into the middle 70, or they need to leave. Here are some strategies to consider in working with your people after you have identified where they fit.

Talent Strategies
Top 20 – Deepen the relationship
Most of these people are vocal when the need something, but otherwise go about their business quietly. Because they don’t demand very much management attention, they can be vulnerable to recruitment. Make sure that you are creating purposeful strategy for retaining your BEST employees while at the same time taking action to move out the bottom 10%.

Create challenges
Create participation in leadership direction
Reward performance
Connect personally
Create opportunity

Middle 70 – Accelerate performance
Many of these individuals need little to now management support to achieve mild success. Some of these people can blossom with the right support and mentorship and can become the next generation of Top 20’s in your organization. Pay attention to “influencers” in this group, and look for the leaders of tomorrow.

Create individual expectations
Formalize coaching/learning
Implement skills enhancement/practice
Specify growth progression
Communicate progress regularly
Praise successes

Bottom 10 – Upgrade
If you combine the mental energy you devote to these people, with the actual physical time and energy you have to commit to, these people take up an inordinate amount of your time, especially in relationship to their contributions. Simply, move up or move out...they can become “a cancer” in your organization.

Execute written Performance Improvement Plans
Require skills development
Closely monitor progress within defined timeframes
Terminate decisively

If you would like a talent scorecard that helps you identify and create action steps for your employees in these catagories please email us at info@rightnowconsulting.com

Also remember that the 70/20/10 rule can also directly to apply to our customers and prospects. Think about it... would love your comments and your stories.

Happy selling.

Coaching for Results

2008-05-20T07:29:00.000-07:00

Coaching/Counseling

We have developed the coaching model here, for use with performers all along the spectrum. Depending on where someone is (70/20/10) your coaching may be more collaborative and less directive, or more directive and less collaborative.

Consistency is the key to successful coaching. In order to create a “culture of accountability” within your organization, you must communicate what you want, and then follow-through to assess progress and results.

For your Bottom 10, define desired outcomes, meet frequently, give support/training if need be, and then act decisively. If you allow your Bottom 10 to stay, you unwittingly communicate to everyone else that lackluster performance is acceptable.

Be prepared to deal with the following coaching challenges:

Salesperson “too busy” to be coached
• Politely insist
• Go to them
• Make it fun

Not being prepared
• Delay the meeting
• Ask when he or she will be ready

Talking too much:
• Reiterate time constraints
• Use a timer

Bringing other issues into the session:
• Make a follow up appointment to discuss

Not doing what he or she agreed to:
• Counseling

At the end of the day coaching is about helping your people to succeed and having real conversations with them that ENABLES them to do the right activities. Coaching is one of the most powerful ways to motivate and demonstrate thoughtful leadership.

Let me know how it goes.

Planning a Sales Meeting

2008-05-08T15:06:00.000-07:00

Do you ever dread going to meetings? Those extremely long meetings where all you want to do is check your blackberry the whole time that leave you feeling why am I not in the field with my customers or better yet, in front of a new one. Yeah, I thought so.... Effective sales meetings are valuable for everyone involved, not just a venue to cover requisite housekeeping issues.

Here are a few tips for organizing your next sales meeting:

Determine a reason for your meeting...

Reasons for Sales Meetings:
· Train or retrain
· Communications
· Motivation/Recognition
· Solve Problems
· Introduce a new product or contest

Encourage Participation: Extremely important and helps get buy in
· Tap everyone’s creativity
· Create team spirit
· Stimulate interest
· Reward and recognize
· Hone skills
· Increase motivation for self-improvement
· Evaluate salespeople in-depth
· Receive feedback on effectiveness of training

Pitfalls to Avoid:
· Lack of form or content
· Overly administrative
· Generalizing problematic behavior/results
· Irrelevant topics

Some things to consider…
· Off-site meetings
· Guest speakers
· Duration and timing
· Monthly meetings for everyone…weekly meetings for non-performers

Meeting Topics…some examples: (don't try all of these)
· Industry updates
· Market/customer knowledge
· Cold Calling
· Setting Appointments
· Overcoming Objections
· Systematic and strategic follow-up
· Time Management
· Product knowledge/new product training
· Customer service
· Role-playing
· Building goodwill
· Contests and special promotions

Ways to Make Sales Meetings More Interesting and Lively
· Show films or video
· Update product knowledge
· Create a game show
· Case studies/role playing
· Increase competitor knowledge
· Allow “show off” time
· Conduct brainstorming sessions

Sample Agenda

Icebreaker/Team Building activity

Provide agenda and desired outcomes of meeting

Representative reporting – Provide to sales reps (prior to meeting, ideally at least 1 week before) an outline for their 3-5 minute update. Include:
a. Report on prior months production…new clients, total orders, revenue, etc
b. 3 things that went well, and 3 things they need help on (take notes, because after the meeting, you can either pair people up to contact each other, or include in the meeting notes so some may take initiative and call each other)
c. Territory update: competition, branch challenges, opportunities, etc.

Overall report out for your profit center. Include all measurements including total new clients, total revenue compared with prior month, retention statistics, etc…

General company announcements

Training or Guest Speaker
a. Consider having your reps take turns presenting their area of specialization
b. Ask a top performer to prepare 15 minutes worth of training

Exercise (tied into speaker or training)
a. Role playing
b. Group brainstorming
c. Group Activity: Share best practices. (Getting interview, kicking off interviews, good interview questions, asking for business, prospecting). Have groups work together for 5-10 minutes, then have a report out so all the groups can hear what each other said.

End the meeting with each representative giving their own personal goals related to revenue (orders), new clients, and interviews with Top 25 prospects. Have someone take notes. Compile notes, and send out updates monthly.

Books for Building and Growing Successful Businesses

2008-04-23T15:02:00.000-07:00

Books for Building and Growing Successful Businesses

The E-Myth Revisited – Michael Gerber (Business strategy)
7 Habits of Highly Effective People – Steven Covey (Sales/Management)
The Game of Work – Chuck Coonradt (Sales Management)
The 5 Dysfunctions of a Team – Pat Lencioni (Leadership)
How to Become a Great Boss: The Rules for Getting and Keeping the Best Employees – Jeffery Fox (Management, Leadership)
Everyone’s A Coach – Don Shula & Ken Blanchard (Sales Management, Leadership)
Execution – Larry Bossidy & Ram Charan (Leadership)
How to Win Friends and Influence People – Dale Carnegie (Sales, Leadership)
Guerrilla Marketing Excellence – Jay Conrad Levinson (Marketing)
21 Things I Wish My Broker had Told Me: Practical Advice for New Real Estate
Professionals – Frank Cook (General Real Estate)
The Millionaire Real Estate Agent – Gary Keller (General Real Estate)

Effective Client Business Reviews

2008-04-10T11:55:00.000-07:00

Business Reviews

Strategic objective - It is OK to tell your client what your objective is...if you want to insulate them, tell them, if you want a bigger share of their pie, tell them... this will help you:

Insulating Your Best Clients from Competitors
Growing Your Share of a Low Revenue Client

Tactics and guidelines
Do client business reveiws no less than annually, but ask your best clients if they would like them more often; make it a scheduled meeting or call, not part of a file update or routine visit
Seek to understand their business and their goals, ask how you can help.

Service review - Ask and understand their perception of your company’s and your customer service (this information helps you sell to new clients)

Include 5 simple questions

What are your goals this year and how do see me helping you to achieve them?
What one thing can I improve or refine? (Probe for an answer if they decline; once you get one, makes sure to ask “is there anything else?”)
How much of your current directable business would you say you send my way? Is there a way for me to earn a larger percent this year?
Would you be willing to help me grow my business this year? (When they say yes, and they will, tell them that you would like at least 1 referral per month; someone who is either experienced in the business or a seriously promising newcomer. Tell them exactly what you want.)
Can I count on you to talk to me first, if you ever consider taking your business somewhere else?

Business reviews have been extremely powerful rention and sales tools in my sales and marketing career and would love to hear how you're using them to deepen your relationships with your clients.

Happy Selling!

Prioritizing your accounts...

2008-03-24T11:50:00.000-07:00

As a sales person I’m always waging the classic war against time. Since there are only 24 hours in a day, and I’m only willing to work during my waking hours, I have to be smart about where I allocate that time. This is especially important for those of us who are paid on performance – if where we spend our time doesn’t pay, we don’t get paid.

Sound familiar? In another context we need to look at how we prioritize our account to make sure we’re maximizing our return on our time invested (ROTI)

Take a look at your entire client list and rank them into the following catagories
A - Low maintenance/high revenue (Coddle and protect, leverage for referrals)
B - Low maintenance/low revenue (Grow share)
C - Low or high maintenance/low revenue (low producer) - Dump them or resist any time investment whatsoever
D - High maintenance/high revenue (Selectively dump/recruit layers from leadership)
E - High maintenance/low revenue - Dump them

Don’t forget to assessing “aggravation” factor...is it worth it (think of all the mental and physical energy exerted, how can you better spend that time) In some cases it’s worth “firing” a client that is not yielding a return. Get focused and spend "appropriate" amounts of time with each client segement. Work with A's, B's, and D's and dump your C's and E's.

Happy Selling!

War against time...

2008-03-13T10:04:00.000-07:00

Administrative work (expense reports, tracking results, planning, attending meetings – I never let this take more that 15% of my time)
Maintaining my current clients (where I spend a majority of my time - 60%)
Prospecting (purposefully going after new business – the rest, 35% or so)

Administrative work I must do or I’d get fired eventually for not doing it.
Client Maintenance I will never forget since those are the people I like (usually) and they pay my bills.
Prospecting… Ah there’s the trick, it’s the most elusive time of all, spending it purposefully focused on getting new business. It’s the first time that goes out the window in lieu of a client need or at the drop of a hat. It’s talking to people that I don’t currently do business with – let’s be honest, I’d much rather talk to my favorite clients over someone whom I don’t know and may tell me to got lost.

If I don’t focus my time on prospecting I’m lost, I’m beholden to where-ever the market takes my current clients – oh and by the way, it’s a fact that current clients are always a dwindling species (they move, they cheat, they get unsatisfied with service, they don’t forget mistakes, etc…).

Take control of your business, take control of your time by guarding your prospecting time with your life… you’re future paychecks certainly depend on it.

Next I’ll talk about how to effectively work with your clients and how to prioritize accounts and how to do business reviews to check in and leverage your best relationships.

The Key to Sales Success - Listening

2008-03-12T11:55:00.000-07:00

The Key to Sales Success
By Brian Tracy

A vital key to sales success is listening

Learn to Listen Well
A vital key to sales success is listening. The ability to listen well is absolutely indispensable for success in all human relationships. The ability to be a good listener in a sales conversation is the foundation of the new model of selling. It leads to easier sales, higher earnings and greater enjoyment from the sales profession.

Being A Good Talker is Not Enough
Many salespeople have been brought up with the idea that, in order to be good at your profession, you must be a glad-hander and a good talker. You have even heard people say, "You have the 'gift of the gab'; you should be in sales!"

Focus On the Other Person
Nothing could be further from the truth. As many as seventy five percent of all top salespeople are defined as introverts on psychological tests. They are very easy going and other-centered. They would much rather listen than talk. They are very interested in the thoughts and feelings of other people and they are quite comfortable sitting and listening to their prospects. They would much rather listen than talk in a sales situation. Poor salespeople dominate the talking, but top salespeople dominate the listening.

Practice "White Magic" With Everyone
Listening has even been called "white magic." It is too rarely engaged in by business people. When a salesperson develops a reputation for being an excellent listener, prospects and customers feel comfortable and secure in his or her presence. They buy more readily, and more often.

Practice the 70/30 Rule
You've heard it said that God gave man two ears and one mouth, and he is supposed to use them in that proportion.Top salespeople practice the "70/30 rule." They talk and ask questions 30 percent or less of the time while they listen intently to their customers 70 percent or more of the time. They use their ears and mouth in the right ratio.

Action Exercises
Here are two things you can do immediately to put these ideas into action.

First, resolve today that, from now on, you are going to dominate the listening in every sales conversation. Become comfortable with silence.
Second, practice the 70/30 rule in every sales conversation. Listen 70% of the time and only talk and ask questions 30% of the time.

Wise words by Brian Tracy...

Why you can’t live without a 90 day sales plan…

2008-03-04T15:36:00.000-08:00

Why you can’t live without a 90 day sales plan…

It’s true. Every top producing rep I talk to has in some way shape or form a 90 day plan that outlines a couple of very key things. We’ll get into those in a minute.

Sales Manager / Profit Center Manager:
“Why 90 days, when I have to do a budget for the whole year?”

Simple – creating a budget is a critically important for the health of a business and budgets are typically designed to hit an over all expense number subtracted from an over all revenue number to give you an over all profit number. We’re then asked as managers to come up with metrics of opened orders and closed orders to “figure out” the revenue on a monthly basis. This is absolutely reasonable if you just stick with the big picture and use it as a management tool to ENABLE your sales reps to plan for themselves quarterly while allowing them to adjust for seasonal and market conditions.

Sales Rep:
“Why do I have to plan if my boss has already done the budget?"

Budgets and 90 day sales plans are two entirely different things that sometimes get lumped together. In simplified terms; budgets for our business or sales team project where revenue and expenses will be and how we’re allocating each to hit a profitability number (basically why we’re in business). 90 day sales plans identify both business metrics that an individual wants to hit in the next 90 days AS WELL AS what that individual will do to get there.

Function:
The function of a 90 day sales plan is for a rep to clearly articulate what results they want (I work backwards from how much commission I want to make this year, break it down to quarters, then figure out how many open deals I need based on my book of business – see the post that more clearly explains how to do that…) AND to help that rep define the activities that he or she knows can bring them results.

Here are some examples for both results and activities:

Results

Open Orders
Closed Orders
Revenue
Market-share
Commission

Activities

Asking for referrals
Face to face appointments with prospects
Business review meetings with customers
Asking for orders
Conversations with prospects

As sales or marketing reps we should be diligent about creating a 90 day plan every quarter, and commit to tracking what’s working and what’s not working so we can focus on DOING the things we know and have directly experienced in getting us new customers or more revenue. Commit to a minimum activity for each week, because at the end of the day – it’s the ACTIVITY that gets you the results, not just saying I want the results to happen.

By being diligent in creating a 90 day plan and keeping track of your activities, you’ll emulate the top producers both inside and outside our industry. Visit our RightNow eStore for a free download of the template of the 90 day sales plan we use in the real estate services industry. It is provided as a free Excel download, with permission to modify and use.
http://www.rightnowconsulting.com/store/index.php?p=catalog&parent=4&pg=1

Happy Selling!

Do you have a Sales Process?

2008-02-11T08:54:00.000-08:00

Ask yourself this question: "How would I describe the process I use to develop a prospect into a client in a step by step manner?". Most marketing and sales reps I ask this question of have vague answers to this question and in many cases - top sales reps do have a process that they haven't clearly defined for themselves.

My position is simple: If you have a sales process, the process alone will help you win more business. Having a process allows you as a rep, sales manager, or president of a company clearly define what activities are required to move a prospect through the sales cycle. Once that is done you just have to commit to doing those activities that you know yeild results.

Here is the sales process I use in our industry - although it relates outside our business as well.

We're creating a set of "Audio Boosts" in the next few months that will delve into each step of this process more indepth and will be available at our website - the link is also to your right.

Basically, imagine $$$ at the top of this pyramid and the foundation which it sits is your 90-day sales plan (see previous post to see what that means). You will work your prospects step by step hitting each milestone along the way until you've reached the top.

A sales process in itself is not rocket science. Sticking to one and holding yourself accountable to activities that help a majority of your prospects move through the process is where great sales people distiguish themselves. If you have a need get a coach, leverage your sales manager and above all, have fun doing this!

Happy selling...

Find Me Some Buyers...

2008-02-04T09:20:00.000-08:00

We’ve heard this very comment countless times in the last 60 days, perhaps more notably in the Western United States, as the market continues to shift. The average days-on-market is longer. There are more houses on the market. And, the tables have turned in favor of the “all mighty buyer.” The market has shifted, and this inevitably means for some, on its way back to ‘normal.’

As Title Sales Professionals, what can we really do as real estate ‘Business Consultants’? Do Realtors actually expect us to pull buyers out of our pockets and hand them over? The answer is undoubtedly, ‘no’.

Remember, in the last 60 days, Average Joe Real Estate Agent has communicated more than ever with his/her clients (on the listing side) explaining why their house hasn’t yet sold.
This is commonly due to two things:

A shift in market inventory, creating more cost pressure - a.k.a. "Improperly Priced Home,"

High Expectations set by their clients from past market performance, combined with lack of evidence - a.k.a. "Comps are Reinforcing High Prices."

Feels like all buyers have fallen off the face of the earth. In ANY given market, there are plenty of buyers for properly priced homes.

We are most likely using the same marketing techniques that have worked for the last 5 years. And so are our Realtor clients. Today is a different market, and sometimes a different market requires us to change some of the ways we look at our business and how we do things. (Please note: I said, some, not all).

SO, Where ARE the Buyers? As a valued business partner in your client’s success, here are a few key topics of discussion with around finding more buyers…How are you….

How are you...Communicating with Your Clients?

Pricing in general - methods thereof
Communication around current listings and price adjustments, if needed
Expectation setting with future listing clients

How are you . . .Marketing the Property to Buyers?

Increasing the sales price of a home – lot’s of articles attached
What is the profile of the buyer?
Where are you looking for buyers (Is it strategic? Is there a plan?)
Positioning the property in the market to be more appealing to buyers

How are you . . .Pricing a Listing?

Methods of pricing (comps, other agents, brokers, etc..)
Research (Are there other homes out there that fit the profile in the same neighborhood?)

Where can you . . .Find more Buyers? Ask yourself “Who needs to buy Right Now?”

People that are relocating. Get a contact list of all HR departments of large companies in your territory.
People with kids entering high school - school district lock down.
People with kids entering college - downsizing.
People with 3/5/7/10 year ARMs
Investors with 4+ properties - not the onsie/twosie-types

I hate to say this one, but here it goes…..

People that are dividing assets through a divorce or estate. Marketing to divorce attorneys for referrals.

Five articles I found in 5 minutes researching “How to increase the sales price of a home”, and “Why not to lower it (if it’s a fair price)?”, and “What the percentage return you can get if you decide to spend the money to make improvements.”

http://www.bankrate.com/brm/news/real-estate/BuyerGuide2004/increase-resale1.asp

http://www.servicemagic.com/article.show.Checklist-Increase-the-Potential-Sale-Price-of-Your-Home.10494.html

http://www.reiclub.com/articles/never-reduce-sales-price

http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?t=fa9mpwbab.0.0.7qs4zobab.0&p=http%3A%2F%2Fmoneycentral.msn.com%2Fcontent%2FBanking%2FHomebuyingguide%2FP84657.asp http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?t=fa9mpwbab.0.0.7qs4zobab.0&p=http%3A%2F%2Flala.essortment.com%2Fincreasehome_rwli.htm

We are not expected to have all the answers – the key herein lies in asking your clients the right questions. All of the possible, unique, individual, customized solutions to this ‘Problem of Buyers’ are already in your clients’ heads. YOU just have to pick their brain to help them get it. Asking the right questions, armed with the right information from the articles above will help you do just that.

Remember, your overarching goal is to help your clients build their business in a way they see as meaningful. In this next 60 days, try focusing on what they are telling YOU. It is NOT ‘not enough buyers’, it is in empowering your clients and prospects knowing where to find them.

Try this out to get some appointments:

"My goal for all my clients this quarter is to help them position themselves in this market to capture a greater share of the buyers that are out there. Is that worth sitting down for 30 mintues to talk about and see if there is some way I can add value to your business?"

Good luck out there, I know it's tough...

Top 10 Golden Rules to Selling to Realtors - or just about anybody

2008-01-28T08:23:00.000-08:00

Top 10 Golden Rules to Selling to Realtors - or just about anybody...

So how can you differentiate yourself from your competition? Stop being a salesperson! Instead, become a valued business partner or consultant to your clients. It all starts with making YOUR top priority knowing what THEIR top priority is ~ to increase their business, or a way to improve their business by working less. You are bringing VALUE to them. A consultant advises after listening and obtaining facts. A consultant is knowledgeable and worthy of respect. A consultant’s customer doesn’t want what they have - s/he wants what they know. This is what today’s salesperson must become.

Below are a few of the top Golden Rules of Selling to Realtors which may put you in the correct mindset moving forward:

Know who you are, and how YOU want to be perceived.

Limit your target list to no more than 40 contacts and update every 30 days.

Focus, focus, focus.

Set up formal appointments. Don't perform drive-by sellings.

Never make a call without a purpose. Provide value.

Interview prospects to educate yourself, not to close the sale. Since you don’t know if you can help..get more info and be a consultant to set up the next appointment.

Intend to understand what it is the customer wants, rather than “sell” your services and products.

Never tell a customer what to do, or what they want.

Focus on after-sale fulfillment, communication, and service issues to build customers-for-life.

Look for opportunities to evolve or expand with your customer. The second you take your customer for granted, they become vulnerable. Meet with them once per month in a business setting to re-evaluate your service levels.

Sales is about perseverance. Typically, the most fear-inspiring realtor, lender or attorney in the office is the one you should be talking to. It will take creativity and tenacity to get time in front of them and likely he/she thinks you are just like every other title rep or lender. As General Patton said- "Courage is fear holding on a minute longer."

So persevere, and be courageous. Apply what you’ve learned and blow away your competition by setting a higher industry standard.

Happy Selling!

Working By Interview

2008-01-21T14:02:00.000-08:00

Working By Interview

As you think about the clients you interact with, especially top producers, notice that those that are extremely busy and value their time, tend to be driven by scheduling. When we work by appointment / interview ONLY, we communicate to those we are working with that our time is as valuable as theirs. (look at other professionals that work by appointment, Doctors, Lawyers, Accountants, etc…)

I understand that there are times when we absolutely have to do things for our customers RIGHT NOW! I’m not suggesting that you put off an important client with an immediate need. What I am suggesting is that when working with a new Prospect, use scheduling to create perceived value. By showing our Prospects that we can and will be available at their beck and call, we set an unproductive precedence which will permeate the relationship going forward.
By now, you’re probably getting pretty good at getting interviews with your Top Prospects – if you want to know how to get these appointments, email us at info@rightnowconsulting.com .

Once you’re on these interviews, it is important to remember that you are using a new method of uncovering needs and determining if there is a possibility of a mutually beneficial relationship. Resist the urge to present a solution during the first meeting. Remember, your prospects are more interested in how well you understand their needs BEFORE they are concerned with how well you know your products.

Beginning and Ending Interviews and Conversational Questioning.

Beginning the interview

Build rapport
Restate your Value Statement
Establish joing confidentiality
State your goal for the interview
Ask if the agent has a goal for the interview. Or, perhaps a qualifying question such as,
"How will you know if this was a successful interview?"

Start with a kick-off question (unique to the customer and/or focused on past successes) – see my other post on asking great questions

Conversational Questioning Steps

Ask a baseline question to introduce a topic
Continue with at least two follow-up questions to explore key points raised by the customer
Summarize what you heard regarding that topic
Check for the customer's agreement

Ending the Interview

Summarize the interview
Re-establish your desire for a business relationship
Confirm the need and specify next steps
Ask a Relationship Definition Question
Arrange for the next appointment

Put some structure to the way you interact in your face to face appointments with both your prospects and clients - you'll be surprised at the reaction you get.

I'll elaborate further on each as I get comments from you.

Happy selling!

Ride-Time for Sales Managers

2008-01-10T15:21:00.000-08:00

It's Time to Be Seen
It is 2008. Where has the time gone? With a New Year already upon us, it is time to venture out from behind our desks and be seen. Not only should you be seen by those beyond the security of your own office, more importantly, it is time to get out there and visit your customers.

Caught Between a Rock and a Hard Place
It's funny when you overhear discussions about sales management. Most of the time, these discussions are centered around a few key things. There is the tendency for upper level management to want more accountability and measurable results from the sales effort. The sales manager is caught between their boss, who wants to quantify sales results, and their salespeople, who sometimes struggle (as we all often do) to turn in an expense report on time. Frustrated, sales managers exhaustively find themselves caught between a rock and a hard place. The goal is hardly worth the punishment

The One Single Thing
OK, so what’s the point? The point is, the most important subject gets lost in the shuffle. I know it’s hard to imagine there is anything more critical to sales management than accountability or keeping up with the competition. Even though sales reports seem like the Holy Grail of sales management, there is something more important to the process. There is a secret, a hidden treasure of the successful sales managers of the world. The bizarre thing is that the secret is what made you successful when you were a top-notch salesperson in the first place. The secret is simply this: Spending more time in the field talking to customers is more important than any other single thing you do. Period.

You’re probably scratching your head. You might be thinking, "isn’t that what I have salespeople for?" Well, yes, and no. Yes, your salespeople do a good job at developing and maintaining relationships on a daily basis. But, you don’t have to be everywhere and do everything for everyone, as much as it often feels that way. When you are in the field with customers, a lot of really important things happen. Let’s look at some of them in a little more detail.

Benefits of Field Time
As sales management, when you call on customers, you get a different level of interest. It’s amazing what a little 'perceived' power will do for your sales process. The title on your business card will give your access to people, places, and issues others will never be a part of. It’s not until you’ve been invited inside do you realize the opportunity had been there all along.
You should be going out in the field with your salespeople a minimum of once per quarter, using a call route you design. Here’s why. Seeing your rep in action gives you a chance to experience their strengths (and weaknesses?) first hand. It gives you the ability to make recommendations, offer encouragement and give compliments when you catch them doing something right.
Your field call schedule should include the big offices or top producers you want to your reps to be targeting. Offer pointers and help support the interaction; either way, you’ll both learn something.

This also allows you get a great sense of the salespersons’ work habits, how well-known they are, and how dominant your company is in the territory. In general, your rep’s value to the customer will become very apparent. Do the receptionists seem to know the rep? What about the top producers? Do they acknowledge the salesperson? Does the rep introduce you warmly to people they clearly have already met? Has the rep figured out how to get behind the iron curtain in closed offices? Answers to these questions will truly help you to gauge their effectiveness, something that can only be expressed first hand.

Staying In Touch
Being in the field allows you to stay in constant touch with customer opportunities and needs. When you are busy running sales meetings, having endless internal conversations, handling customer calls, and attending meetings, it’s easy to make the mistake of relying on salespeople to supply you with information about competitors, customers, and the market in general. It isn’t that the information they provide you isn't important, it’s just that outside observations will be from their frame of reference. It won’t (in most cases) be “global” enough. The goals of outside conversations for a sales manager might not be the same as the salesperson. Asking existing and prospective customers about their views of the market place, about your competition, about their business challenges, and their views of opportunity will help you get connected to things that are about to happen outside the office, rather than history of a particular escrow file. This inevitably helps you guide your strategic efforts while you’re building relationships with high-end prospects and customers. A “no-lose” scenario.

Sales managers who are in the field regularly have direct control over their results. Though it probably goes without saying, the most powerful benefit of getting out in the field with salespeople and customers might be the timing of the market knowledge you gain. For example, if you are discovering a market opportunity before your competition, you’ll have the chance to get there first. You’ll hear about customers who want to enter into joint ventures, competitors you should be recruiting, and overall market conditions. The information you gather will be high quality and will answer the global questions you struggle with when making strategic decisions. You’re able to test ideas that you’ve been considering before wasting a ton of time and energy on their implementation. You’ll be able to put your resources and people in motion going towards tangible customer opportunities, rather than making healthy guesses and getting lucky.
Sales managers have so many conflicting priorities, it can be difficult to make this one of them. Unfortunately, we find that more than 68% of the sales managers we consult don’t spend one full day in the field with each of their salespeople in a year, much less a quarter. The good news is, if you are one of the few, the elite managers who make a serious commitment to the “once per quarter” field effort, you’ll likely be the only sales manager in your area who does this and have a serious competitive advantage.

But, But... Ten Easy Reasons
If you struggle with finding the time to do it, let me leave you with a list of ideas that will put you in front of customer situations that take less than an hour to conduct.

Call your company’s top existing customer and take her (or him) to coffee. Bring the appropriate rep.
Call your Company’s top prospective customer and interview him/her in their office. Bring your rep.
Set up an office presentation in one of your high priority existing customer’s office operations and bring your salesperson.
On a weekend, go with a salesperson to visit three prospective customer’s open houses.
Create a list of your top 10 target customers and interview them in the course of 90-day period. Bring the appropriate rep.
Take the top competitor’s best salesperson out to lunch. Don’t bring a rep.
Create an event that your company conducts entirely on its own. This could be a Mastermind group, a highly pertinent educational event, whatever. So long as it’s yours and you call to invite your top 10 customers personally. Get all of your reps involved
Arrange to meet one of your highest opportunity office managers at an office where your company has little to no market share for lunch. Don’t bring the rep.
Arrange to meet a customer who you are aware had a pretty ugly problem in their office and let them rant their frustration. Bring the appropriate rep.
Stop by one real estate office every day and meet its top producer.

No Excuses
OK. There you have ten easy reasons to spend time out talking to customers, each in less than an hour. It is a New Year and time to renew your commitment to finding out what is important to your customer. Time to be seen, ask questions, and find out for yourself what makes your customers (and future clients) tick.On your way home, take this as an opportunity to pick one of the ideas and act immediately, (but don’t hurt yourself.) If you’re working at home, or working out, do one of these things immediately after you’re done. You’ll be on the road to being more informed, more in control, and even more successful. And by the way, the next time you hear someone talking about the three over analyzed issues in sales management, tell them the best kept secret. Go out and talk to customers and everything else will follow.
So why are you still reading this? Now get out there.

Coaching the Enthusiasm for Results

2008-01-03T12:45:00.000-08:00

Bold Enthusiasm

I keep hearing people say that we are in a “down market.” I keep hearing that “times are tough.” I keep hearing that “the golden days are over.” This reminds me of a marriage or relationship that has hit a rough spot, and I am certain everyone can sympathize ~ be it lack of time, kids, financial stress, careers or communication breakdowns. Just because the honeymoon is over doesn’t mean that the marriage is. The passion that brought it all together is still there, but sometimes it just needs to be re-examined and re-ignited. Passion. Bold Enthusiasm.

Now More Than Ever
Now more than ever, we as an industry need to have Bold Enthusiasm in how we approach our business, our co-workers, and of course, our clients. No one wakes up and says ‘Oh, I want to be in title when I grow up.’ So, it begs the question, what has kept you here through tough times in years past? I would venture to say that it is a passion for what you do. It is a passion for serving your clients needs. I know because that is why I am here, too. I know that is also why I left my former profession. The passion was gone. I needed to re-ignite the passion ~ to try to find it again. And I did. And here I am in the title industry.

When a marriage is in a rough spot, it is the best time to rekindle the passion. It is the time when we can rediscover what it is that we love about our career and why we come to work every morning. If you are passionate about your business, so will be the people around you. The most successful people and companies in this world are fueled by a contagious passion within their employees that generates positive results, and by the way, profits, regardless of external circumstances.

So how do you turn Passion into Profits? Here are a few tools for ensuring success in good and bad times.

IGNITE THE PASSION

Be a Leader

Be honest with yourself. Understand where you are in your life, what you already have, what you want and what you are willing to do to get there. Leadership is an internal approach that is seen externally. Being a leader means being the one who creates the vision and encourages others to see it! Stop Coasting & start Contending.

Live with Purpose

What kind of legacy do you want to leave behind? What are you committed to on both a personal and professional level? What is your cause? What do you mean to your clients, your co-workers?
On your epitaph, will it read “Went to work each day and came home.” Or, will it read “Was purposeful, passionate about life, and the people that she touched.”

Reconnect with your vision, goals & people

Project yourself and your company into the future and what do you see? What does it look like? Be specific and describe it in detail. Create a vision of success for yourself and those around you. Goals are attainable dreams that make you reach and develop. Review and revise your goals, consistently tracking your progress.
Share your vision and goals with your team. Let them know where they a going and how they are going to get there. Give them a sense of purpose and show them how their efforts contribute to the company as a whole.

PLAY WITH FIRE

Create a Play Space

Do you remember recess? That wasn’t just the school’s way to make sure that children tired themselves out so they wouldn’t drive teachers crazy. Playing is a great way to get the blood flowing and allowing people to blow off steam. They are more refreshed, focused and more productive. I am not suggesting you build a playground in your parking lot, but do create an atmosphere that fosters fun! Keep a few toys on hand, Koosh balls, ping pong table, foosball.

Encourage Creativity

Remember when you were learning to draw? You created pictures that looked more like lines on a page than the animal that you claimed it was? Well, you were being creative. You could see a pattern where others saw chaos. Look for the patterns and encourage out–of-the-box thinking. Be You.

Applaud Positivism.

Start small. The only way to reinforce new behavior is to make sure that you allow yourself to achieve and celebrate smaller goals before you move onto bigger ones. Acknowledge proactive attitudes.

PASS THE TORCH

Attitude: How do you arrive at work each day? Believe in yourself it will show on the outside and it will make people want to be around you. Focus on the things you can control and build on the positive.
Energy: Persistence is key in this time of change. You won’t see results overnight, but you will see small changes right away. Keeping that energy steady is important to lasting success. Almost like playing catch, pass the energy along to those who need it most. Keep the energy high.
Integrity: Be truthful in all that you do. Be true to yourself, and to others. The Golden Rule is never out of style.

In Summary
In the end, our clients want to do business with people they like, who exude unbridled BOLD enthusiasm and are passionate about what they do.

By Dr. Cynthia McGovern and Anthony George
Senior Consultants, RightNow

The Sales Process: In Sales, You Get What You Measure

2007-12-18T08:49:00.000-08:00

By Laura Compton
Business Support Manager, RightNow

Ask 10 salespeople in our industry what their commission goal is this year, and only 1 or 2 will be able to answer with a solid number. Most will say something like, “Well, I don’t know where the industry is headed, so I hope to earn at least what I did last year.” We also commonly hear “I work as hard as I can every month, bringing in as many orders as I can, and that’s the commission that I will make.” The reality is that only 1-2% of all title industry sales and marketing representatives will tell you exactly how much they want to make, and exactly how they are going to do it. With great precision, they will also tell you the number of “no’s” they need to hear every day in order to achieve their goal.

There is no doubt about it. Many salespeople in our industry have done very well for themselves “working hard.” Just take one look at your parking lot on the day of your staff meeting and you’ll see. But as Bob Dylan said a long time ago, “The times, they are a changin’.” In this case, if you keep doing what you’ve always done, you won’t necessarily get the same result you’ve always achieved in the past.

So let’s play the numbers game.

We suggest that you work these numbers with each person on your team individually, since they won’t be the same for everyone. One performer may be better at converting cold calls to appointment than another. Start with the commission they want to earn in any given “commission period,” usually one month’s time.

Commission Goal for Bob = $5,000 per month (This allows Bob to make his annual goal of $100,000 total gross income, because Bob’s base + car allowance is $40K.)

Bob’s commission breakdown is the following:
3% of the premium dollars that he brings in, and
0.5% of the "house" or branch revenue (Accounts Bob did not bring in , but helps maintain)

On average, the monthly amount Bob earns from the ‘house account’ at 0.5% is $1,000. Therefore, he needs to earn $4,000 on his own. In order to earn $4,000 with a 3.0% commission rate, Bob needs to generate $134,000 in revenue. Are you with me so far? ($134,000 x 3% = $4,000). The average fee per file (FPF) in Bob’s office is $1,950. Therefore, $134,000 divided by $1,950 would be equal to 69 closed orders. (We could get really complicated here and separate resale and refi and any other streams of business Bob can generate, but we’ll just use an average FPF to simplify things.)

So, Bob needs to bring in 69 closed orders on his own, given his commission structure, in order to meet his financial goals. But wait, we’re not done yet. We need to make sure that Bob’s goal of 69 closed orders, combined with the revenue from house accounts is (a) enough to make the branch profitable, and (b) enough to also meet the branch goals. (For simplicity, let’s assume that if Bob brings in 69 closed orders, the branch achieves its goal of 21% profit retention.)

Now we get down to the fun stuff
Quite simply, we all know that sales is about activity. But in concert with the activity, it is also about time. It takes a certain number of calls over a certain amount of time to get an appointment. It takes a certain amount of appointments to get a commitment for an order. It then takes a certain number of “commitments” to actually convert to an order. Know on average the numbers associated with each of these activities for each of your team members, as it may vary, and select a span of time in which to conduct the activity. Bob may need to ratchet up activity in order to get the results he needs and wants. If 10 office visits a day “talking to as many people as he can” doesn’t get him there, help him to set specific goals around calls, contacts and interviews.

As you meet with your team members regularly, help them to set goals and track their progress on an ongoing basis. You will start to identify best practices that help elevate everyone on the team. You win, and so do they!

RightNow suggests, at a minimum, that salespeople should have monthly results goals for the following categories: revenue, new clients and orders. They should also have monthly activity goals for both (a) outbound contacts made and (b) interviews with prospects and clients.

So, if you don’t set goals with your sales team now, make it YOUR goal to do so by the end of the month for the final quarter of the year. Then, do the same for the entire year of 2008. Our research consistently shows that the mere act of setting goals, and writing them down, helps individuals and operations attain greater numbers for financial success. 2008 will be upon us soon, and we want you to be prepared to take your team to the next level of success.

Owning a Niche

2007-12-04T13:58:00.000-08:00

I keep running into this subject. Niche Marketing.

In a changing real estate market with insane stories coming out everyday predicting the downfall of society as we know it (OK I'm embellishing a little bit here) it's more important than ever to create and/or identify, and own and niche. Think about it. Look around and find real estate agents and loan officers that have grown in 2007 over 2006 and will continue to do so in 2008 and you'll find one commonality. They own a niche.

Here are 4 sectors in the real estate space that we've noticed are growing today:

Reverse Mortgage
Private Banking
Real Estate Owned (REO)
Preforeclosure Sales (commonly known as "short sales")

Spend some time over the holiday and figure out what niche you're going to own in 2008, create a strategy for how you're going to research it, target the right people, communicate your value to that niche, then work like mad to interview those prospects so you can provide the value based solution that allows you to negotiate a percentage of their business in 2008, not just their next deal.

Happy hunting...

From the Lips of a Top Producer

2007-11-27T10:43:00.000-08:00

I just had this section of an article forwarded to me by a rep (thanks TT) and think it's incredibly apt. It's by Walter Sanford and here's a link to the full article.

"Your only question remains 'How do I affect the top real estate agent in my town?' My answer is, 'Learn the real estate business!' Any top salesperson knows that the fastest way to provide a market for a product is to make sure that the product provides solutions for their day-to-day business. This means understanding their business. If you were selling copiers to a pharmaceutical company, you would pore over the company's financial statements and annual reports to determine the potential need for your product. The same goes for your potential real estate agents. After identifying them as a potential or realistic top 'elephant agent,' ask the appropriate questions to find out what the greatest needs are that can be supplied by you..."

Need a 90 Day Plan?

2007-11-12T20:14:00.000-08:00

Need a 90 Day Plan?

Keeping sales teams focused on a quarterly plan, (inclusive of both results goals and activity goals), will keep the odds stacked in your favor to reach your company's goals. For a complimentary copy of the "RightNow 90 Day Plan" template, please visit our eStore for a free download. http://www.rightnowconsulting.com/store/index.php?p=catalog&parent=4&pg=1 The download is provided as an Excel file, with permission to modify and use.

Sharing a template such as this will help keep everyone focused on achieving their goals, and at a minimum, help track the right activities every step of the way. Tracking over time provides you, in retrospect, the perfect documentation to evaluate not only what works best in your marketplace, but also what activity works best for each representative.

So, Now What?

Creating plans, setting goals and communicating expectations is a waste of time UNLESS you have a plan for following up, measuring and holding yourself or your team accountable for their progress.

As you create your expectations, think about (a) how you are going to measure your or each team member's activity and/or (b) know how/if they are accomplishing their goals. Using a standard rule of thumb as a sales manager, you should be asking yourself or connecting with each member on your team individually no less than once a month (ideally weekly) on a few key questions:

What is your revenue goal for this month? Are you on track? If not, what is your plan to get on track? How can I help?
What is your “new client” goal this month? Are you on track? If not, what is your plan to get on track? How can I help?
Who are your difficult prospects? Is there anyone in the company who can help you move this prospect along the sales process? (Dual meeting with management or escrow?) Can I help by assisting you on a visit?
Which clients are you targeting for growth? What is your progress? How can I help?

Consistency is The Key
Checking in consistently with your team members realigns their focus on the right activities, which in turn achieve the right results. Consistent communication will help you, and your team, focus on the necessary activities which will help you achieve your first quarter goals and ensure a good start to a successful New Year!

Let us know how the sales and escrow planning tool works for you in your organization. Have you found it to be a useful tool for open discussion with your team members? How can we help drive your success in 2008?

Goal Setting for a Successful 2008

2007-11-12T20:13:00.000-08:00

Do you have clearly defined sales and revenue goals for first quarter of 2008? Does each of your sales and marketing representatives know how many orders and new clients they need to bring in on a monthly basis? What about the escrow side? Establishing sales (and escrow) goals is one of the most important things for you to do in order to start the year off right.

By now, you have the 2008 budgets for your operation. Surely this will include the amount of business, broken down into exact open and closed orders, you need to be profitable.
Next step is communication. COMMUNICATING your expectations NOW will substantially increase your chances of hitting budget during the crucial first quarter. Communicate this often. We can't emphasize this enough. By helping each team member establish goals that are in direct alignment with your organizational goals, you will also help increase feelings of belonging and importance of each team player.

Why do client demands and expectations eclipse sales activity?

Most employees will tell you that they perform better when they know exactly what is expected of them. Although this may be the case, it is so easy in our industry to approach each day reactively, regardless of known expectations. Some may even feel they might not be able to meet a client's 'always untimely' demands if our days were in fact planned, right? Wrong. Planning sales activity ahead of time, instead of “fitting it in” when they can, is one of the highest predictors for success a salesperson can have.

In fact, you CAN help employees plan for, and execute on, specific sales activities on a daily basis. By creating and setting minimum daily expectations, you give the sales team a tangible goal that can help them determine if they “won or not" that day.

Set expectations for:

a number of prospect contacts
a number of interviews with prospects
a number of referrals obtained
a number of contacts who were asked for orders, etc.

If you don’t already have minimum activity expectations, use the New Year as motivation to do things differently. Many folks resist anything that can be interpreted as micro-managing. But do keep this in mind - the person who doesn’t want you to know about his/her daily sales activity, may just have the most to hide.

Interviewing: The Art of Asking Questions

2007-11-02T12:18:00.000-07:00

To be effective in interviewing clients or prospects, you should:

Learn, not teach or preach
Hold off on presenting products or solutions
Get the prospect to like you
Uncover history, goals, and needs
Identify one need and qualify that need
End by obtaining a commitment to a tangible next step

Here are several categories of questions you can explore when interviewing your prospects and Client...

Kickoff Questions (Questions that get the agent focused on themselves and their own glory.)

Tell me about your past career success. What 3 things did you do as a new agent that you would credit for your current success?
I know you haven’t always been a Realtor. what 3 skills did bring with you from your previous career that were essential in getting off on the right foot in real estate?

Goal Oriented Questions (Questions about goals the agent wants to achieve or has achieved in the past.)

How many transactions would you like to close in the next 90 days?
What do you want to learn more about this year?
How many correctly priced listings would you ideally like to carry?

Needs-Gap Questions (Questions that restate needs in relation to a future goal to help the agent prioritize.)

Would you consider efficiency issues or income growth as the primary focus of your business efforts over the next 90 days?
Are you on track to achieve your transactional goal?
How would you like your assistant to more effectively serve your needs?
What types of things would you like to see your computer achieve for you?

System Oriented Questions (These detail how a current system works and may start to point out deficiencies or flaws in the current system. Think “how.”)

How do you keep in touch with past clients?
How do you manage your database?
How do your vendors help you to close more transactions?

Solution Oriented Questions (Help the agent to determine what type of specific system would lessen the needs gap. Think “would.”)

Would an outsourced flier delivery system help you to save employee costs?
Would an off-site database management company help you to save money and ensure consistent contact with your past customers?
Would a list of asset managers help you to penetrate the REO marketplace?
Would a system that performed your cold-call prospecting help you to maximize your prospecting time?

Relationship Definition Questions (Help determine how the agent is willing to compensate you for your time, energy and involvement in his or her business.)

What percentage of your directable transactions would you feel comfortable sending me over the next 90 days?
If I get involved in your business and contribute in a positive way. is there any reason you could not start directing transactions to my office?

Start to master different types of questions so that you can add the most value to the appointment AND walk away with a commitment to a tangible next step.

Happy Selling.

Trends in Top Producers - part 2

2007-10-31T19:55:00.001-07:00

TRENDS IN TOP PRODUCING REAL ESTATE AGENTS
Part 2 of 2

So, what will drive Top Producers to select your company over the competition? The key herein lies in developing a business partnership that will help them to amplify their success. Remember, it is all about them. Based on our countless interviews, I recommend implementing the following sales approach when working with any prospect, but most importantly with Top Producing Agents:

Target – Build and evolve your detailed target list of prospective top producing clients, including extensive business-related information. This allows us to be more prepared for each call.
Conduct a Sales Interview – Be prepared to answer the following question “What’s in it for me?” spoken from the target’s perspective. The salesperson will then conduct a sales interview aimed at uncovering specific needs and opportunities.
Provide Solutions – The salesperson should create tailored solutions based upon expressed clients needs and wants. Review this with the prospect.
Obtain a Business Commitment – The salesperson obtains a specific business commitment from the client.
Follow Up for Orders – The salesperson should create meaningful, consistent contact with the prospect, by solving transactional challenges, further building the business relationship and to insure receipt of multiple orders
Ask for Referrals – The salesperson continuously adds to their target list by soliciting referrals from their new client.

The effective execution of this sales approach is far more important than any programmatic tools, resources or services we can provide. Top Producers want to feel like we are providing customized solutions. Recalling from our last discussion, since top agents have stated in their interviews they clearly aren’t interested in ‘stock’ solutions or services, I’d like to share a few specific ideas you can implement, or might already be implementing, on their behalf. Most agents and lenders have also said that the following issues are very important to them:

We should truly function as their partner. They want their clients to feel as if we are a part of their team, including the way we speak as well as the way we operate. How often do we hear folks say “My attorney says…” or “My doctor says….” “My CPA says…” This should be the same for you. “My business partner says…..” It is all about owning half of a business partnership.

We should be an extension of their sales machine. They want us to actively see ourselves as an extension of their business, asking for referrals and reminding their clients of the great services they received as a result of choosing their agent.

They want a high level, action-driven problem solver. The agents don’t want to have to “do our job for us,” meaning they expect us to help uncover, resolve, and communicate challenges in a way that keeps the transaction running smoothly.

Conclusions:

The most successful agents view their vendor partners as an extension of their team, not as a separate entity. As a business consultant, look for ways to make a direct impact with the very information we know they want to learn. This information will challenge them, and will offer solutions to their priorities for the next 12 months. This can only happen by asking them individually what their wants and needs are for their own unique business. The Bottom Line: Ask More Questions, and don’t provide “stock” solutions.

Trends in Top Producers

2007-10-26T08:13:00.000-07:00

This is part of my Top Producer series that I'll be posting in the next couple of weeks. Due to market conditions in the Real Estate industry it's more critical now than ever to focus your efforts on people that do the business. The age old adage of the 80/20 rule applies. Focus on the top 20 percent and you'll see results.

Trends in Top Producers
By Joe Curtis
Senior Sales Management Consultant

Part 1 of 2
Everyone tells me Top Producers are a different beast. They are unique. And, they require more. After hearing this from our clients time and time again, I thought I’d pick up the phone and call a few, find out for myself. What does make a Top Producer tick? What is their approach to their business? What challenges do they face, and what do they want to learn?
Armed with these very questions, RightNow has interviewed over 100 top producing real estate agents, lenders, attorneys throughout the nation, including, but not limited to, the following major metropolitan markets: Las Vegas, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Denver, Boise, Portland, Tampa and San Antonio, Texas.

The answers may or may not surprise you. But perhaps most importantly, we learned that regardless of the geographic market, there are consistent trends for these successful professionals. Below are just a few insights straight from the individuals themselves.

Top Producers Approach to Their Business:

They have a business-minded philosophy, meaning they treat their real estate or title practice like a true business, complete with well developed marketing and sales plans.
They are constantly educating themselves about their business, their market and the future direction of both.
They are extremely customer-centric, staying completely focused on what their clients’ want and need.
They have a systematic process for follow up with their current clients and future prospects.
They have a well established marketing and advertising plan, systematically tracking and repeating what works well.
They completely prepare themselves for sales calls (80% preparation, 20% execution). Many use a personal, business or lifestyle coach for their own development.

Consistently, RightNow hears comments like:

“I don’t sell houses. I educate people on how to buy them.”
“The most common good and bad business decisions are hiring decisions"

What They Want to Learn:

Legal Trends: DRE rules and regulations.
Technology Trends: What will help take their business to the next level?
Marketing Trends: The latest and most effective means of, more targeted,
marketing to different groups, how to measure if it’s working
Streamlining Work-Flow: Using technology OR staff
Time Management Skills
How to Build Their Business: Providing support for their growth

Top 5 Business Challenges Facing Top Producers

Competition: Many competitors are willing to cut commissions, squeezing margins
Changing Laws and Regulatory Issues: Trying to keep abreast
and ahead of them
Time Management: Both for themselves and their teams
Finding and Hiring Good People: Buyers agents, assistants
Greedy Sellers: Setting client expectations around properly pricing a home

With annual planning for 2008 just around the corner, what are the top priorities over the next 12 months and how can you offer your assistance? Below are a few suggested websites that
will help arm you with solutions to THEIR needs:

THEIR PRIORITY:(For Brokers) Growing Their Agent’s Business
HOW CAN YOU HELP?

http://www.topproducer.com/ – Top Producer is the industry standard in full
featured real estate agent software. This company also offers other software
modules including Hot Marketer, Top Presenter 2 and Top Connector.

http://www.topproducersales.com/ reduced rates on the software packages.–

http://www.myonlineneighborhood.com/ very similar to the above site, however, it is focused much more on the real estate professional.

THEIR PRIORITY: (For Brokers) Hiring Agents, Increasing Staff to Accommodate Growth
HOW CAN YOU HELP?

http://www.salary.com/ – Look up what people make in your specific geographic region; Help an agent
figure out what they should pay to attract talent.

“Multiply Your Success with Real Estate Assistant” a book by Monica Reynolds

THEIR PRIORITY:Increasing Effectiveness of Marketing

HOW CAN YOU HELP?

http://www.colorforrealestate.com/ – outstanding and inexpensive color real estate marketing/follow up tools

“Power Real Estate Letters: A Professional's Resource for Success”, a book by William H. Pivar, Corinne E. Pivar

http://www.hobbsherder.com/ – a high-end real estate marketing company

http://www.idemandresults.com/ – excellent site for internet real estate marketing needs

http://www.serviceforlife.com/ – Real estate newsletters and email drip campaigns

THEIR PRIORITY:Having More Personal Time

HOW YOU CAN HELP?
http://www.createaplan.com/ – a comprehensive, easy to use web-based strategic & business planning software tool designed specifically for the real estate professional. This simple point and click software application program is designed to make business planning, budgeting, and tracking quick and easy.

http://www.isucceed.com/ – top producing real estate agents offer mentorship for pennies on the dollar. Why reinvent the wheel?

In Conclusion
I hope this provides you a little glance inside the mind and priorities of the Top Producer. In Part 2 of this series, I’ll focus on what we can do as Title Professionals to tailor our sales approach to selectively target and cater to these Top Producers. After all, in a downturned market (or a ‘corrected’ market, as some may say) who will be the agents that remain in business? Isn’t it time you focus on Top Producers?

TOP PRODUCERS: Get the Appointment

2007-10-19T15:03:00.000-07:00

Knowing Your Customer: Who IS the Top Producer?

The average top producing realtor has been in the business for 13 years, the highest recorded number to date. What does this mean? Answer: More experience than ever. And most important, they have high expectations of their title company.

For those of you who have been in the business a while, you have probably noticed how the average real estate professional changed over the past 10 years. Not only do they now require a higher degree of professionalism, but with the progression of the computers, they are much more technologically saavy ~ websites, online selling, etc. You have probably already noticed a shift from print to online media as a huge trend for the real estate industry. What does this all mean to you? As the needs of a top producer change, so will your ability to address the needs of this future business partner. The first step to becoming a true business partner to this individual is knowing who your client is.

What Do Top Producers Want?
RightNow routinely interviews top producers nationwide asking this exact same question. Over 300 interviews later, and over the course of the last six months, we have found their top tiered WANTS quite interesting:

Their Check – First and foremost, top producers want to be paid in a timely and efficient manner. This is clearly the one thing that matters to them most.
Referral Business – More often than not, the closing process is the final step for the buyers/sellers, and makes the most lasting impression. If the closing is bungled, it reflects badly on the agent. Top producers require a smooth closing process in order to ensure future business from these buyers/sellers. Not only that, but their desire is to gain referral business as a result of their efforts. When was the last time your escrow officers or sales representatives asked (on behalf of the realtor) for referrals upon close of a file?
To Be Perceived as an Informed Expert – Their choice of vendor support reflects directly on how they are perceived by their clients. If the closing process is smooth, they will perceive that the realtor knows their business, and knows the professionals to trust with their transaction.
To Look Good – Because closing is the final step in what could be the most significant purchase a client has made, the final impression will be the most lasting. They want the agent on the other end of the transaction to think highly of them; they need their client to think highly of them, and they want you to think highly of them, too. We need to feed this notion at every opportunity.

It all starts with making your top priority knowing what their top priority is ~ to increase their business, or a way to improve their business by working less. You are bringing VALUE to them.

Getting the Appointment
Let’s examine some examples of a hierarchical relationship, where one party contributes more value than the other. A parent/child, a teacher/student, a doctor/patient. Now let’s examine some examples of an inter-dependent relationship, where both parties are on equal footing: A sibling/sibling, a husband/wife, a good friendship.

The key lies herein on your ability to have the relationship be perceived as valuable ~ the early stages of the interdependent relationship. You need to position yourself as a professional and be able to communicate the potential impact of YOUR involvement in their business. Top producers will not meet with you unless you can convey a compelling reason to do so. But, if you feel you have nothing to offer a top producer, then you better develop a skill that would support them, to create their efficiencies.

We know that the two core needs of most top producers are to grow their business or improve efficiencies with in their business (so that they have more free time). Do your homework. Research your targets by their use of internet, MLS, newspaper and real estate magazines. Find out how they market themselves and what they’re saying in their advertisements. Often times your targets will give you all the information you need in order to approach them.

Communicating Your Value
In person, it is a concise declaration of the value you could potentially bring to an agent’s business, following with a request for an appointment.

My goal is ~
A percent or number ~
Define with a timeframe ~
End with a request for an appointment

As an example, if I were calling the top agent of ABC Realty, I might use the following:

“Mr. Top Producer, when I work for an agent, one of my goals is to bring them 4 additional transactions to their business a year, as a direct result of my efforts. Do you have some time Monday to meet with me and allow me to tell you how I would do this?”

This statement has to be sincere. You must mean what you say. Remember although this is a goal, it not a promise, and you will do your very best to achieve it.

Do NOT interview on the phone. Every time you receive a ‘no’ to an appointment, set a specific time and day for follow up. Your follow through in calling will demonstrate your attention to detail and the fact that you have systems in place. Your prospects will notice this. They don’t really think you’ll call, but when you do, it’s impressive. Sales is about perseverance.
Not every top producer will meet with you. But, RightNow has measured time and time again the impact of using this approach, and, we continue to find that our clients have doubled their ability to get in front of top producers.

Asking for an appointment is a BIG first step. Start there and work up to the interview. Most success in sales is gained simply asking in the first place. Remember the answer is “No” unless you ask. If 80% of the business is handled by 20% of the agents, aren’t top producers worth the investment of your time?

11 Basic Categories of Need

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We have identified eleven basic Categories of Need that you can and should research to be a valuable resource for your clients:

1. Consistency in business flow: Marketing plans that provide consistent leads, avoiding peaks and valleys, analyze competitors in their market area, help to develop speaking opportunities for lead generation.

2. Hiring, managing, training assistants: Training, vendor relationships, job descriptions, identifying qualified candidates, transaction management.

3. Understanding business planning and forecasting: Goal setting, creating quarterly business plans, planning transactional volume and calculating buyer/seller split, turn time analysis (avg. length of home ownership in their area).

4. Utilizing technology to increase efficiency: Keeping in touch with past and current clients, using PDA’s, Blackberry’s and other technological tools, products a title company may offer to help them access information remotely and 24/7 for current orders and ordering customer service products.

5. Using technology to increase sales: Increasing value of websites, database management and Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems.

6. Improving the response of marketing and advertising efforts: Working with professionals to increase return on marketing investment (logos, tagline, etc), marketing pieces have a “call to action” and focus less on them and more on what benefits they can provide to their client.

7. Cultivating referrals from past clients/sphere of influence: Creating strategy and follow up plans, CRM systems to support goals, client apprecia¬tion parties.

8. Tax and financial planning issues: Tracking expenditures, calculating real profit, find a good CPA who specializes in real estate professionals and small business owners.

9. Increasing average transactional value: Strategy to “move up” in home values.

10. Increasing sales volume: Goal setting, marketing efforts, farming, prospec-t¬ing, sphere of influence.

11. Increasing personal time: Delegating, hiring an assistant, specializing in something rather than trying to be all things to all people, goal setting.

By understanding these categories, you are better prepared to identify one need on which to base your solution and put yourself in a position to truly negotiate a percentage of business from your clients or prospects.

Happy Selling!

Top Producers: Opening the Door to 'Closed' Offices

2007-10-12T13:23:00.000-07:00

Ten years ago, if a salesperson told their manager that an office was “closed” it would have meant that there was no one answering phones, no cars in the parking lot and the door was locked. Today, over half of all real estate offices are “closed,” meaning that they do not allow title representatives, lenders, and the like to stroll thorough the office aimlessly without an appointment. Believe it or not, closed offices represent the best opportunity to develop new customers and virtually eliminate the competition.

Let’s examine some reasons why closed offices present such an opportunity for our industry.
In a more discriminating market as we have seen in recent months, it has become more apparent than ever that the top-tiered real estate and mortgage professionals will be those that remain in a down-turned, unpredictable market. You must turn this corrective market into a clearly defined opportunity for success. The highest level producers work in closed offices because they get more work done. They have earned the right to be left alone, without constant interruption of someone bringing a “new pad of paper and a title company pen.”

According to consistent polling of top producers nationwide, RightNow has found that realtors who earn more than $200k per year believe that title company representatives provide “little to no value to their business.” The reasons they cite are many, but include such remarks as “I can buy my own bagels”, and “I hate when people ask me if there is anything they can get me today.” To top producers, title representatives have earned a reputation, deserved or not, comparable to used car sales.

Since many of your competitors sell in this manner, this is an opportunity for you to clearly differentiate yourself in order to reach this seemingly unattainable market. When we provide a higher level of professional service, we are seen as time savers rather than time wasters. The key is in the value you provide to increasing THEIR business.

Working by appointment is more efficient.

Doctors, lawyers, CPAs all work by appointment. In other non-retail industries, such as real estate sales, salespeople go out with a distinct purpose for every sales call. Even a real estate agent, for example, goes on a listing presentation appointment. Can you imagine a real estate agent knocking on your door one Saturday, and asking if there is anything they could ‘get you’ today? Let's agree not to do this.

Why not create an opportunity for us to ask direct questions that relate to the development of agent’s business, such as “What portion of your business do you want to focus your energy on in the next 90 days, therefore producing more sales?” When our salespeople ask intelligent questions, they become more professional and dramatically increase their effectiveness and results. You are creating an opportunity to provide Value to the top producer, giving them exactly what they want.

Just ask

Asking for the appointment is never easy. In truth, closed real estate offices require us to be more creative in our sales approach. They are the gate keepers to top producing agents. Not only do the top producers congregate there, but your competitors are scared and they go largely unsolicited. The most efficient sales approach in any office is appointment based. In closed offices it is the key to your success. Focus your attention on creating appointment-based sales opportunities within closed offices and you will leave competitors in your dust. Where would you rather be ~ in an office that has already seen seven of your competitors this morning? Or, in an office that hasn’t seen any of your competitors this year?

Secrets of the Great Rainmakers

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by Jeffrey J. Fox

In companies that use salespeople to sell directly to customers, rainmakers are the people who bring in the business. Rainmakers bring in big revenues, big money. Rainmakers bring in new revenues, new customers. Rainmakers sell new applications, new products, and price increases. Rainmakers make the cash register ring. Ka-ching! Ka-ching!

And, rainmakers make big money for themselves. Rainmakers are always the highest paid sellers, and it is not uncommon for rainmakers to be among the highest paid employees in the organization. Rainmakers are rare, but they are everywhere. They are in corporations as super sellers. They are commission only salespeople, entrepreneurs, small business owners, solo practitioners, agents, brokers, and partners in professional firms.

Here is what rainmakers always do that other salespeople don’t: First, they sell more! Rainmakers generate more sales revenues than the other people. They sell more through thick and thin. They sell more in good economies and bad. They sell more regardless of the competition. Rainmakers sell more by relentlessly doing things that other salespeople sometimes do or never do.

Here are some “secrets” of the great rainmakers:

Secret One: They carefully and thoroughly do pre-call homework and pre-call planning for every sales call on a decision maker. They spend at least three hours planning a 15-minute sales call. They might spend three weeks pre-call planning a five-minute sales call.

Secret Two: They dollarize. Rainmakers don’t sell products or services. They don’t sell features or benefits. They don’t sell technology. Rainmakers sell the dollarized value that their customers get from the product benefits, or get from the technology. Rainmakers don’t sell MRI machines; they sell hospitals 10 MRI exams per day at $2,000 per exam.

Secret Three: Rainmakers always know the answer to one question: “If I (the rainmaker) were
the customer, and knowing what I know about my company, about my product, about the competition, about the customer, why would I do business with my company?” The rainmaker becomes the customer and honestly answers “why the customer should do business with me.” Knowing “why the customer should do business with me,” in dollars and cents, gives the rainmaker a rock solid foundation for confidently pursuing the sale. Learning the answer to this question must be part of your pre-call planning.

Secret Four: On every sales call with a decision maker or influencer, rainmakers always ask for the order, or for a customer commitment to a customer action that will lead to an order. The rainmaker does what 90% of all salespeople never do: The rainmaker asks for the business.
Secret Five: In a baseball game, a hitter or batter gets to the plate about four times a game. This means that the batter, barring a strikeout, and regardless of whether he gets a hit or not, has to run to first base three or four or five times a game. Even though running to first base three or four times a game is nothing, a small effort in the totality of the game, some players give up on their hit, assume they will make an out, and dog it to first. The rainmaker never dogs it to first base!

The rainmaker never assumes he or she will be thrown out. The rainmaker runs out every hit, and runs full tilt, because the few times the opposition fumbles the ball, or the ball drops in, the rainmaker ends up safely on base. The rainmaker never quits in the sales cycle. The rainmaker always sprints, always goes for the sale. That’s why rainmakers are known as “big hitters.” One motto and deep belief of the rainmaker is the “if you, the customer, don’t do business with me, then we both lose.” So the rainmaker works every second to make sure the customer wins so the rainmaker wins.

And these are some secrets as to why rainmakers sell more and make more money than the rest of the selling crowd. Now go make it rain!