A Leader’s ‘Non-Negotiables’

In my 25 years as a real estate agency profit consultant, I have often heard leaders complain that they can’t find good people. A second complaint is that they can’t get salespeople to do the winning actions necessary for success. Prospecting is always top of that list of actions they can’t get people to do.

When are we going to stop whinging and start acting to fix the problem?

Great leaders set standards. Great leaders have Non-Negotiables. Depart from these and you no longer work on the team.

7 Non-Negotiables

1. Speak with 40 potential seller each working day – 200 per week. Can’t get salespeople to prospect? Are you willing to fire people who won’t do this essential task and find people who will do it? If you aren’t, don’t complain that you can’t get salespeople to prospect. The wrong people will never prospect; the right people will!
2. Study for 30 minutes every day. Read a book, attend a seminar, watch a video, listen to an audio. Study, practise and develop your skill.
3. Review goals every day. Salespeople who have goals are more focused. They are also easier to lead. I say in my book, Why Winners Win, “No goals, no hope”.
4. Check progress toward targets. Instigate catch-up measures if falling behind. Why wait until the end of the month to discover that you’ve fallen behind target? Target-correction should be a daily discipline.
5. Conduct Weekly Price and Marketing Reviews. Go over the week’s marketing and discuss sellers’ current pricing. Do this with all sellers, every week.
6. Conduct 10 Buyer Property Inspections every week. Show one buyer four properties, and that’s 4 Buyer Property Inspections. Focus on the number of properties demonstrated and not the number of buyer appointments. We are not big fans of open inspections – too labour intensive.
7. Seller feedback the same day. Following every inspection of a listing, contact the sellers immediately and pass on the buyers’ feedback. This is important if you want the sellers to believe you are on their side, doing your best to represent them.

If you are willing to set standards and insist that those standards are met, you are taking firm measures to set your company culture. This can only be a good thing!

Do you have Non-Negotiables in your company? If not, what are you waiting for?