Jeff Rivers

Its been sometime since I have blogged, but found some of my old coaching materials and thought this could be for some interesting discussion. In my past sales management life (medical sales), I had a list of 10 rules that I thought were critical to ones success in our industry (it had lead me to be a top producer in our industry.) I feel that most of them hold true in the Real Estate Sales World as well. I have taken 8 of the 10 and attached them below. Also, as I am talking about a "call" below, this can be any interaction whether it be face to face or on the phone with your clients.

1. Be in front of your customer/prospects

• Make sure you are seeing the regularly
• Be in front of your key targets often. If your not seeing them often enough, you can bet your competition is.

2. Have a plan for each and every call you make.

• Frame the call-Make sure you tell your customer/prospect what you are there to cover and what you expect the outcome to be.
• Know what you need to accomplish and write it down before the call. 5 minutes of planning can mean the difference between a good call and a GREAT call

3. Ask the right questions.

• These can always depend on the situation, and what you are needing to accomplish. In the past these were situation questions so I could get as much needed info as possible.

4. Set expectations of yourself AND of your client.

• Let the customer know what they can expect from you, as well as what your expectations are of the client.
• If the customer says they will provide you information, you should EXPECT IT! If they don't have it, it is your job to ask "why not?".

5. Build a Value Proposition

• Understand the needs of the customer.
• Show how you can address their needs with our services.
• Remember, WE ARE SELLING A PARTNERSHIP, this is where we show it.

6. Make sure the details are are managed throughout the process.

• Are all the documents signed? Are all internal parties onboard and understand timelines and expectations?

As I spent the day with clients, several things hit me that were interesting. I began relying on my past experience as a sales professional in the healthcare arena and how selling, no matter what your product is, has some core principles that hold true.

1. Know your product(s) and your competition's - how can you show the true value of your product if you have no idea what/who your selling against. There is more to say here that I will save for a later blog. However, i do have an interesting question, as Real Estate Sales Professionals, what is our product? Do you ever give it much thought? I would love to hear how others response.

2. Be professional - Professionalism is a lost art. And a pet peeve of mine. This to me is all about presentation. Know your business, know yourself. It's OK to get to know your client and look for common ground. But leave the details of the party where you were standing on the table with the lamp shade on your head out! Be realistic, don't set an expectation for your client that you know is unattainable. Be honest, if it can't be done, then it can't be done. But if there is a possibility, make sure you exhaust every avenue before you say NO WAY! Sounds like a fiduciary discussion, but you know what, it is!

3. Be accountable - What a word! I have been places where the following phrase was used a lot "We are holding our people to a new level of accountability", yet the person saying it was always late to meetings, slow to respond to messages, never on time with projects, which always caused my patience level to disappear!!! If you set expectations for others that you are unwilling to follow, what's the point? Do you have a set amount of time to return calls or respond to email. Do you follow the rule "if your 10 minutes early, your 5 minutes too late", or some form of that? If you set a time, is being 5 minutes late acceptable, then say to your clients that you were stuck in traffic, when in reality, you were..... just late!

Here's the flip side to this coin, are you willing to hold your clients accountable to what they say they are going to do? How do you respond if they don't? As Real Estate Sales Professionals, we have a job to do, and if a client is slow to respond or just refuses then what? Do you sign a contract and let sign sit in the yard for 6 months while you "stew" over their lack commitment? or do you act and take a consultative role and dig to the root of their concern, and try to fix it? WE have to set expectations of our clients so they can have the best experience possible. So there is some truth the the Jerry Maguire line "help me, help you".

Accountability is a 2 way street, always remember that.

4. Have fun -When I left the Rat Race, I was NOT having fun anymore. We spend so much time at our "job", with the people we work with, whats the point in not enjoying what you do? And the response is, yeah, but I have bills to pay and mouths to feed? What it really means is I have a lifestyle that I have grown accustom to living..... and that is worth the misery? Easier said than done to leave, I know, trust me. You know what i decided, my happiness and that of my family is more important than our "lifestyle". But in thinking about it, if successful is what you aspire to be, and that means a unique lifestyle, then what's the worry? I've done it once,and I will definitely do it again.