Are You Really Getting More Done?
By · CommentsAre you realy getting more done today by multi-tasking? You’ve heard the old saying, ‘Work smarter, not harder.” Everyone today is trying to get an edge-do more in less time. Unfortunately, some of the advice we’re getting from the ’seminar gurus’ just isn’t proven in reality. Latest statistics and studies show exactly what we’re doing that’s hindering our productivity. In my next three blogs, I’ll give you three surprising areas to look at in your own life that will get you better results–and a better life.
1. Quit Trying to Multi-Task Because You’re Taxing that Brain
I know. I know. We are compulsively ‘multi-tasking’ our hearts out-trying to get more done in less time. We exercise and listen to our iPod while we’re watching a video! We’re proud of being able to do 2-3 things at once. We just don’t know how that’s hurting us from actually achieving our goals. Here’s the problem. When our brains are busy, we don’t retain information. The brain needs ‘down time’ to translate a pattern of new activity into a persistent memory, according to University of California scientists. And, being able to remember big concepts and tackle big problems is critical for managers today.
Take a Walk in the Woods
University of Michigan scientists showed that people learned significantly better after a walk in nature than after a walk in a dense urban environment. So, exercise, but do it without the media stimulation-and exercise outside, if you can.
Observation: Have you noticed how some people are ‘gadget junkies’? They spend all their time gathering the newest gadgets, learning them, and using them. The end game: Gadgets rule their lives, not their goals and achievements.
Put Down the Gadgets and Think
One danger I see today is people’s inability to think in a linear fashion. Oh, I know-it’s great to be creative and ‘fire’ on all brain cylinders. But, what about those times when you want to think through a problem? When you want to create a plan? The ability to focus and think through complex issues is really important to real estate success today. So, before you multi-task and gadget yourself to death, stop, look, and listen. You’ll get further faster-ultimately.
Myths and Truisms about Team Leadership
By · CommentsLeadership is one of the most needed—and most elusive of management skills. In fact, studies show that most managers aren’t leaders. Yet, in this challenging time, we must go way past management to leadership. Why? Because we have to inspire extra effort. We have to motivate to assure tenacity. This is true of those of us who manage real estate offices, and those agents who have teams.
Four Truisms–Exploding the Myths
Here are the truisms to developing leadership with the people who work with you—and the myths that mislead us as we attempt to lead:
Truism #1: People don’t know what’s expected of them. Just because people accept a position doesn’t mean they know how to proceed with the job. They need to have clear direction, a job description and a firm understanding of the responsibilities. Do you have a job description for each of your team positions?
Truism #2: People don’t know HOW to get the job done. Even when people know what to do, they don’t usually have checklists, systems, deadlines, and assignments to get it done. Even if you hire someone who has real estate experience, it doesn’t work to leave it to them to figure it out. (95 percent of the time, the other 5 percent will figure it out on their own) That just confuses the issue. Don’t leave them alone to decide how to get the job done. Do you have processes and systems in place to teach them?
Truism #3: It’s your job to teach them HOW. Some people think “leaders” are the “idea people” and aren’t supposed to get into implementation. But if you want your team to excel, you must show them how. Having worked with assistants for over 15 years, I have found that assistants and team members need help in systematizing any process that you want done. They are good at systematizing their own processes–but not good at all at systematizing ours! Help them. Do you have foundational systems in place from which to improvise?
Truism #4: When accountability factors aren’t built in, things don’t get done. There’s a great difference between “do it the way you want” and expecting results and “do it the way you want” and let’s check how it’s going regularly. Hold your team members accountable for each step along the way to completion of a task as well as the end result.
Your Pay-Off
The pay-off for developing competency and leadership skills in all of your team members is a business that is ‘owned’ by all those involved, with empowerment assured. Dispel the myths and lead with the truisms.
Are your Agents’ Offices ‘Clutter Coves’?
By · CommentsIs your office–or the offices of your agents ‘clutter coves’? Envision your real estate office. If I walked into your agent area, could I see processes and systems they use in providing top quality customer service? Could I see your checklists, posted, so that I knew you followed a regular, proven procedure for each group of activities? Could I see pre-made, ready to use, presentations for buyers and sellers? Could I see binders labeled with each subject (like ‘listing process’), and filled with ‘how-tos’ for assistants (or you) inside? Or, would I see stacks of disorganized papers?
There are two reasons to organize.
1. Better client service. If I’m the consumer today, I want to know that my agent is trustworthy—that you’re good for your word. If I can see that you have systems, I know that you will have a much better chance of keeping your word to me. I’m using the word “see”, because we believe what we see, not what we hear.
2. Time Management. The agent’s biggest challenge is to find a way to make the same amount of money and quit working 24/7. Creating systems will take a long way toward that goal.
Creating Systems is Key to Effective Client and Time Management
Take system inventory now. Here are the minimum systems your agents need:
For sellers:
Prospecting system
Visual marketing presentation
Pre-first visit presentation
Checklists: Process at listing/marketing process
After close/client retention
Your personal marketing system
For buyers:
Prospecting system
Visual buyer presentation
Pre-first visit presentation
Checklists: process during buying/before closing/after closing—client retention
Your personal marketing system
How to begin. Real estate professionals are doers. We talk our way through processes. We dread organizing things, and frankly, we’re not good at it. So, how do we begin? First, find your organizational resources. Here are four:
- Other agents who already have systems and who are willing to share
- Great assistants who are good at organizing
- Professionals who sell these packages
- Your company or franchise systems
You’ll probably want a combination of all four. I know agents think they can hire an assistant and expect that assistant to organize from the ground up. But, my experience is that you will have to be involved in the process, and you will have to buy ready-made systems to help that assistant get a clue about what you want.
Start with one at a time. Help your agents systematize. Make a list and prioritize it for the systems you need first. Put a date to start, and a date for completion (I know, there’s that organization again!). You’ll find that the first is the hardest, and then, it starts to actually get easy! It’s a skill like anything else. Bottom line: Systematization allows you to actually run a business, not just run after buyers and sellers. No more ‘clutter coves’!
Need a checklist for systemization? The Business Planning System for the Real Estate Professional will help you schedule your systems–including your technology systems.
Your Sales Meetings: Knocking Their Socks Off?
By · CommentsManagers: Are your sales meetings knocking their socks off? If not, help is here! Organize your presentation with the three steps here, and watch your agent count go way up for your sales meetings and training presentations.
Who Is a Presenter?
We’re all presenters: Any time we’re in front of two or two thousand, our goal is to persuade the audience to our point of view. However, most of the time, we just get in front of people and say whatever we think of first. That lack of attention to presentation organization leads to some big presentation mistakes, and costs us ‘sales’. Instead of stumbling through a presentation, why not organize it to grab their attention, persuade them to your way of thinking, and motivate them to action?
Grab Their Attention in the Opening
Have you thought about your opening? Are you hiding in your office because you dread doing that sales meeting? When we haven’t organized our presentation, we come up with some really boring, off-putting openings, like:
I won’t take much of your time, but
We have a lot to cover today
We won’t get through the outline
I know you don’t want to listen, but
I’m not really prepared
You just open your presentation book, point to the pretty pages, and say, “here’s a keybox” (I’m not kidding. I’ve seen it….)
Great openings, yes? Yet, we’ve heard them dozens of times. You don’t have to settle for whatever comes ‘naturally’. Instead, make your openings
Provocative
Interesting
Different
Engaging
A Middle that Educates your ‘Audience’ to your Point of View
In the middle of your presentation, add those stories, statistics, and visuals that support your point of view. By the way, as you create that presentation, jot down your point of view. What do you want to persuade your agents to do?
Why use Visuals?
There are two reasons to use visuals in your presentation:
We believe what we see
We retain the information much longer
As you organize your presentation, ask yourself:
What are the main, and frequently, unspoken objections my ‘audience’ will have? How do I educate them to show them the reasoning behind my point of view?
The Ending: Back to the Beginning
Have you thought about your wrap-up? Or, like many presenters, does your ending sound like this?
Well, that’s all. What do you think?
We’re out of time. Thank you. I hope you’ll list with me
I don’t have time to close.
I couldn’t get to much of the material, but you can read it
In fact, even the most professional presenters frequently have trouble with their endings. One of the main reasons is that they run out of time. Another is that they haven’t thought the ending through.
How to Do a Stunning Ending
Crafting an effecting ending is the second most important part of your presentation. (The first is the opening). To craft a great ending,
Go back to your beginning opening theme
Summarize the benefits of going ahead with you/take action
Motivate your ‘audience’ to take action
A Great Presentation is Crafted like a Pop Song
As a musician, I know that all pop tunes are constructed with this format:
theme—variation—theme
This is known in the music business as the ABA format. Think of your favorite pop tune: Hum the beginning. Think of the end. They’re alike, right? It’s the middle—known as the ‘bridge’—that is the humdinger. It wanders all around. Your persuasive presentation should be crafted like that pop tune:
A A compelling start (think Billy Joel, Neil Diamond, etc.)
B An interesting, developed middle, with stories, statistics
A Back to that theme, with a motivating ending
Now, you’re all set to craft a great listing or buyer presentation, great recruiting meeting or sales meeting, or awesome product/service presentation to any audience.
P. S. Practice!
Many more tips on presentations and presentation skills are in my new resource, Knock Their Socks Off: Tips to Make your Best Presentation Ever.
Is Your Management Style a Prius or a Pontiac?
By · CommentsWe all know that many automobiles that were popular in the past are being phased out now. So much has changed–our culture, our communication, our values. Yet, many managers are still using old management styles–even the world has changed dramatically.
Father Knows Best
In the fifties, ‘father knows best’ was the preferred management style. The CEO made the decisions. The agents, the workers, sold real estate. Unfortunately, too, many managers took that top-down management style clear to the doting parent extreme. When you act like the parent, guess what the agents are supposed to act like? The kids. That management style caused a rebellion from agents in the seventies, when they decided they ‘didn’t need a manager’ (a parent) and left the traditional ‘parental style’ management real estate offices for offices promising more independence.
The Dangers of the ‘Loving’ Parent Style
Many managers have taken that parental management style to the extreme in a challenging market. I call this the ‘loving parent’ manager. The ‘loving manager’ dialogue sounds like this: “If I just love them enough they will come back and go to work. I feel sorry for them. I just need to be there for them because times are so tough.”
Unexpected results. There are, unfortunately, negative outcomes from this management style:
1. This style appeals to the non-producer. Loving your agents bleeds clear into sympathy, and sympathy encourages victimization. And victimization encourages non-action.
2. This style treats adults like little kids. When a three year old skins her knee, we kiss the knee to make it better, and put a cute little band-aid on it to comfort that three-year old. Why are we treating our agents like three-year olds?
3. This style drives producers crazy, lowers their production, and they ultimately leave. A recent study from The Ripple Effect, a Washington , D. C. management training and research firm, asked over 70,000 executives, managers and employees in 116 organizations what kind of impact underperformers were having on their workplaces? Eighty-seven percent said working with a slacker actually made them want to change jobs (retention issues, anyone?). Ninety-three percent said it had hampered their development or decreased their productivity.
Poor producers cause producers to produce less.
Poor producers cause good producers to leave.
Recommendations:
- Respect each agent as a responsible adult. Have an adult conversation with each agent. Ask that agent if he/she intends to work in real estate? Ask for a commitment to a work plan. After all, this is a business, not a love-fest!
- Move your ‘love them into business’ actions toward ‘business love’. Ask yourself: Is it fair that they work in the business to enjoy those commissions they want to earn? Is it fair to expect that they work even half as had as you work? Is it fair to expect that they keep honing their skills, keep getting better? Is it fair for you to expect them to invest in their businesses?
Is Loving Kinder?
The irony of the ‘adult-style’ manager, foundationed in standards, is that it actually is the kinder of the management styles—by far. Why would we want to keep agents in careers where they were failing? Why would we want to provide sympathy instead of helping them create and implement a plan of action?
Why Do managers ‘Love’ Them to Failure?
What’s your take on it? Do you believe managers are ‘loving them into failure’? Do you believe too many managers are managing like Pontiacs, not Priuses?
Another Whack Up the Side of the Head: Selection Habits
By · CommentsSelection. I think it’s a big problem today in the real estate industry. Do you? Let me know your feedback about the comments below.
I’ve already provided you one ‘whack up the side of the head’. That ‘whack’ was about recruiting. Here’s another ‘whack’ for managers. This ‘whack’ is about selection–or the lack thereof by the real estate industry today.
Before I start: Where does the ‘whack’ come from? My dad used to say when my sister and I were behaving badly he thought we needed a ‘whack up the side of the head’. Don’t worry. He didn’t actually do it, but we did pay attention when he said it, because we knew it was time to stop, look, and listen—and change our behavior! It’s time, I think, for brokers to get that ‘whack up the side of the head’, too.
Selection ‘Whack’: That ‘Give Everyone a Chance’ song is so played out.
It’s time for us brokers to get serious and re-vamp our selection process. Start thinking of your potential recruits as ‘candidates’. It helps us use a selection process to actually screen candidates, not just sell them on us. Other businesses have used stringent candidate screening processes for years. We are about the only industry left that doesn’t use a planned interview process. The ‘on fire’ market covered a multitude of sins. However, our less than skilled business practices don’t work for us when we need real workers and when our clients expect a high level of service.
Recommendations:
Get and use a planned interview process.
Spend at least ½ of the time you have with a candidate asking questions and listening.
Ask the right questions (questions about their pasts). Practice those questions and keep a list of them in front of you.
Use the hiring ratios great companies use: Hire only one out of five candidates at minimum and one out of ten to create a quality company. Do these ratios this frighten brokers? Sure. It means we must become skilled recruiters. Businesses hiring service people use hiring ratios of one to twenty.
Ask yourself: Would you hire a secretary with the interview-to-hire ratios you hire agents? Do your agents have as great an impact on the perception of your company from the public as do your staff?
Create a ‘mutual expectations’ dialogue to assure that agent sees the value in your training, coaching, and start-up plan. “You never have another chance to make a first impression” is the truism here.
Bottom line question: Are the agents you’re hiring tough and good enough to deal with the discriminating client of today?
Tell me: If you believe real estate managers aren’t being as selective as they need to be, why?
For an 8-step ’sure-selection’ process, see Your Blueprint for Selecting Winners, at www.carlacross.com.
Recruiting today depends on a new mindset. Here are four areas to ‘right turn’ your mindset:
- Hire to the ever more discriminating customer
According to the latest surveys, the client is not happy! We all know the client is more educated, more informed, and more demanding. We also know the client takes much longer to make a buying decision (from first Internet looks to decision take 9-28 months, according to industry leaders).
Your hires: Must be more dedicated and more tenacious to succeed.
2. Hire to a new business structure
The hire of today and tomorrow doesn’t want that old ‘exclusive’ structure we all built. It won’t work to say “You must be with us to succeed.” The desired structure is inclusive: Open, not hierarchical, and participative. So, drop the VP and the playing favorites to the old guard. They may be feeding you today, but they’re dying tomorrow……
Your hires: Want an inclusive atmosphere. That means more openness, independence, and diversity.
3. Hire to an interview process focused on the candidate.
The old ‘hard sell’ isn’t attractive to the hire of today and tomorrow. So, drop the 2-hour sales job and, instead, focus on getting to know the candidate.
Your hires: Get to really know each one in a well-crafted, question-focused interview process.
4. Hire as though you were actually excited to develop that individual.
The consumer is not impressed with the ‘fog the mirror’ hiring method. The right turn is to be ‘sold’ enough on each new hire to help her create the skills and the career she wants. That means to focus on coaching and small group accountability training.
Your hires: Must want to, and be capable of, developing a career with your coaching and facilitation. Your clients expect that much.
Excerpted from Carla Cross’s newest recruiting presentation and webinar, ‘Right Turns’: New Mindset and Strategies to Recruit to your Future.
Six Proven Strategies to Supercharge your Recruiting
By · CommentsWho Adds Value to Your Environment?
By · CommentsWho adds value to your environment? Hiring and firing is not a ‘black or white’ issue. There are many shades of gray. I know. I managed almost two decades. We become friends with our agents. They rely on us. We rely on them. In some cases, we become almost moms and dads to them. It becomes a very dependent environment. No one wants to disrupt it. However, you are running a business–not a social welfare state.
Use This Analytical Tool to Evaluate Your Agents
Let’s recognize that not all the value, or, to some of us, even half the value of our agents is in their ability to close sales. In other words, your top producer may not be your most desired agent. There are other valued assets they bring to the table, like:
Uphold the culture
Provide mentoring
Create stability in the office
Team player
Longevity and consistency
What are yours? Write them down. (Use 4-6 values).
Assign a Relative Weight
Now, give each one of these values a possible rating of 0 to 4 (4 being highest). Finally, evaluate each of your agents with each of your important values. For example, let’s say you are evaluating your top producer. In the production value, that producer would get a “4″. But, let’s say that top producer isn’t much of a team player, and you’ve evaluated her as a “1″. When you’re through evaluating that agent, add all the numbers to get a cumulative number.
Click here to see an example of an evaluative table.
What’s Your Agent’s Real Value to Your Office?
Now, you have evaluated each agent on all the values you feel are important to the success of your company. To see how they stack up, make a list of them, starting with the agent who scored the highest cumulative number. This evaluation process will give you a very different picture of who your best producers are-and who your worst office associates are.
Bottom-Line Questions to Ask Yourself
I know it’s very difficult to terminate people. In fact, one manager asked me to advise him on how to do a ‘graceful termination.’ Really, behind termination anxiety lurks these questions. They need to be answered for you, as leader, to take the actions that your good agents are expecting from you:
Can an agent be a noteworthy negative to your reaching your goals?
Can an agent actually provide substantial energy against your culture?
What’s Joe’s value to you?
Can this value be quantified in a business sense?
What are you getting personally out of keeping Joe?
What are your next actions?
Why are you avoiding what you need to do?
Don’t you deserve more than Joe is giving you?
How does Joe feel now? Does Joe deserve an environment where he can win?
Make a Plan of Action
It could be to get Joe into production within a certain time period, or help him find a better career fit for himself. It could be to help Joe into that new career right now. I’ll bet Joe is just waiting to see what you will do. After all, you’re the leader….
Everyone has a Joe (or Josephine) in their offices. Joe has been an agent for six years. He’s the guy who makes coffee every morning. He’s the guy who takes people’s open houses (although he never picks up a customer). He’s even the guy who steps in when someone in the office can’t make their floor time (but he has never converted an inquiry to a client…). He’s also the guy who doesn’t sell a stick of real estate. Woops. I misspoke. He did sell one home once. It was during the ‘on fire’ market. Joe was on floor time. He got a walk in: A buyer who found the home himself, had cash, and was willing to write it up at Joe’s convenience. (After closing, Joe didn’t follow up with the client again. After all, the sale is over, isn’t it?)
What’s the matter with just keeping Joe?
Nothing, if you don’t care about your bottom line. Brokers tell me that a poor hire or a non-productive agent costs them nothing. Unfortunately, that’s far from the case. In this article, we’ll just beat up poor Joe. In the next article, we’ll address the new agent – poor hire.
Here’s How Joe Costs You $$$$$–Lots of $$$$$$
If you read nothing else in this article, please read this line:
Joe is a walking billboard for failure-an effective marketing strategy that communicates your office’s failure to make him successful, and your failure to making him successful.
Joe’s “billboard” publicizes the outcomes from your recruiting, training, and coaching. Here they are.
Recruiting. You find it hard to recruit. See, likes attract. People see that Joe (or lots of Joes) are in your office. Agents do search the MLS to find out what the sales statistics are in offices. (Why would they go to an office that has low production?) Maybe you’re like me, taking over a real estate office where it was known in the area, literally, as “the place you went if you didn’t want to work.” Boy, what a great recruiting endorsement! If so, you know that it’s a terrific uphill battle to recruit good people into a bad office. (Hint: You must get rid of the bad people first, then build on a new foundation. You can’t fool those agents!).
Training. You’re finding it hard to get agents to attend your training classes. Why? Because Joe attends every one of them-and then doesn’t take any action. So, your class endorsement is actually “those classes don’t do any good.”
Coaching. People say they want help, but they won’t go into a coaching relationship with you. Why? Because Joe tells them it won’t do any good. After all, he’s been in your office for five years, and being with you certainly hasn’t done him any good. (Joe also rains on the newer agents’ parades, by convincing them that no lead generating method you endorse is worth their time. After all, the one home Joe sold was a walk-in.)
Joe’s Making Your Success an Uphill Battle
You’ve tried to help Joe. You’ve decided you can’t help him. You’re working harder and longer. Yet, your office culture and productivity just don’t seem to improve. Ask yourself:
What percent of “Joe’s” do you have in your office right now?
Carla’s rule: If you have over 10% seasoned non-producers, you aren’t leading. They are.
In my next blog, I’ll show you a different way of evaluating your agents. It will give you a method you can trust to figure out who to keep and who to terminate.