Quite often, we are better at solving other people’s problems than we are our own. Caught up as we are in the day-to-day business of being us, our own problems . . . more →
I’ve been reading Stanley: Africa’s Greatest Explorer by Tim Jeal. It’s the biography of Henry Stanley of “Dr Livingstone I presume” fame. Actually, he never said that. Evidence points to Stanley inventing that line, a bad move since it made him the subject of ridicule in many circles.
Stanley accomplished so much. African travel in the . . . more →
What is a result? In real estate only three things count:
An exclusive listing obtained;
A sale started;
One of your listings reduced in price to a point where it is saleable.
The best advice ever given to me as a fledgling salesperson was to strive for one result each working day. “Learn to start working on this result . . . more →
My daughter and son-in-law were recently involved in putting out a small brush fire, started by a wayward sky rocket. I won’t say who set it off, but for the record it wasn’t me. I would have used real rockets, just for starters.
The fire was extinguished in less than five minutes, but in that . . . more →
If you have received even a modicum of real estate training, you know about SMART Goals. In case you’re a bit rusty, let’s do a bit of revision.
It is said about goals that they should be SMART. This is what I said about SMART Goals in an earlier blog post:
Specific: the goal must be . . . more →
If you are like many agency leaders, you probably began your career in Sales. And the fact that you now own your own agency means that more likely you were pretty good at it.
This ability is actually a two-edged sword. On one hand you have the ability to train your salespeople and, if you . . . more →
“One of the most important lessons of my life forced itself on me at about the time I was graduating from grammar school. It was a lesson that turned into a major principle: You are subject to your environment. Therefore, select the environment that will best develop you toward your desired objective.”
The Success System . . . more →
No matter whether your team is large or small, your leadership is constantly being tested. Those little chats behind your back in the team room, team members whining about you not giving them enough support, salespeople giving you lip during sales meetings – they are all tests. There are various ways to deal with . . . more →
I think this complaint misses the point. The problem is never getting the right people to do the . . . more →
” Passion for your work, a pervasive commitment to quality, and relentless attention to details are essential markers of excellence. Quality work and an appreciation for the importance of details benefit not just the clients a business serves; these attitudes and habits also bring joy and peace of mind to the person who . . . more →
The most effective tool leaders have at their disposal is also the most ignored.
What happened to talking with our team members, one-on-one, over coffee? I think we’ve become so busy that we no longer allow time to do this most important leadership function, but do we really save time by neglecting our one-on-ones?
There is . . . more →
You may have heard of The Mirror Principle, which contends that the quality and performance of the team is a direct reflection of the leader. Lazy leader = lazy team. Focused leader: focused team.
Your team is less inclined to listen to what you say. The team is more inclined to do what you do. . . . more →
I’ll try better tomorrow” or “I’m tired – result or not, I’m going home!” Most people need to be tougher on themselves, to expect more from themselves. Most people need to give themselves regular, and tough, self-talk.
Have a tough talk with yourself. Refuse to accept excuses from yourself, or to allow yourself to be . . . more →
In his book, The Accidental Salesperson: How to Take Control of Your Sales Career and Earn the Respect and Income You Deserve, Chris Lytle discusses the concept of No Bad Days.
Fire fighters have a saying, “If we have a bad day, somebody dies“. Lytle expands on this by suggesting that we can make a . . . more →
Everybody loves a shortcut. I know I do. But some shortcuts turn out to be not so short – client contact, for example.
During the boom, I saw a lot of salespeople taking shortcuts with seller communication. The argument was that they were so busy with buyers, and with finding listings to replace the properties they . . . more →
Some agents never learn. Erratic actions, erratic marketing, and then they whine about how tough the market is. It doesn’t matter whether you are an individual working in an office (Salesperson or Property Manager), or whether you own the business, if you want consistent incoming enquiry you must keep marketing.
By marketing I mean making . . . more →
Typical real estate agents blame the market for poor sales. And they resort to all sorts of expensive, and quite useless, tools to make sales.
In early November I saw a news item on Channel 10 about an American real estate agent who hired actors to be in attendance during inspections of one of his/her . . . more →
Salespeople who treat buyers with disdain would do well to remember that those buyers will become sellers one day. And they will remember those agents who treated them well when they were purchasers.
No salesperson will admit to treating people badly, but you do see it all the time.
A classic example can be seen around . . . more →
Part One of this feature covered the importance of conducting a Time Log, as recommended by Alec McKenzie in his book The Time Trap. Many salespeople waste so much time thinking about what they need to do next. In Part Two we look at the rewards in focusing on the right activities.
What are the . . . more →
If you own a real estate business, you are the leader. You are leading your company somewhere, but the question is where? Where are you taking your company? Do you know?
Business consultants, and I’m one of them, talk about the importance of a Vision. Over the years I’ve seen people come up with Mission Statements, I’ve seen them . . . more →
You often hear industry pundits talking about how much money is lost to industry through such problems as alcoholism or stress. I have no doubt that this is true, but a far more common reason for loss, to real estate agencies at least, is through salespeople not knowing what to do next.
Many salespeople believe . . . more →
