In This Issue...

• Standards of a Champion
• Steps to Positioning Yourself Against Other Agents
• Determining When Prospects Become Clients
• Check Under the Hood Before You Hire

Standards of a Champion

For most of us we have many hands in our business daily.  We have the Broker/Manager, title and escrow companies, or even attorneys and other agents.  Many of us have staff that performs certain functions in our business. 

I recently was reading about Nordstrom’s approach to staff and employees.  They have not created a monstrous employee handbook with all the rules and regulations.  Their handbook is a 5x8 inch gray card that reads, “We’re glad to have you with our company.  Our number one goal is to provide outstanding customer service.  Set both your personal and professional goals high.  We have confidence in your ability to achieve them.”

Are we setting a high standard for our affiliates, our staff and all others in a business transaction?  Are we encouraging them to succeed?

Nordstrom’s, the multi-million dollar company, has made standard of excellence simple.  They have set the bar high, but are very supportive in their approach.

Nordstrom’s also only has one rule for all their people to follow.  The one rule is, use your good judgment in all situations.  There are no additional rules.  When we coach and train our staff and affiliates to use their good judgment they will become very effective in producing the results you desire.

Keep your people focused on the specific results you desire.  Put the clients and prospects first and more business will follow you.

Dirk Zeller
CEO
Real Estate Champions, Inc

P.S. If you haven't yet taken a look at the Perfect Storm for Lead Generation, you should do so now... click here

Steps to Positioning Yourself Against Other Agents

Knowing how your competition is performing and how you rank in the field is paramount to your success.  Follow these steps:

• Learn the Big Three stats ­­– average list price to sales price, average days on the market, and average listings sold versus listings taken – for other companies and agents. These numbers will provide you with a basis for comparison and will help you begin the process of positioning yourself and your company to the consumer.

• Define your competitive advantage. Keep in mind that how you state your advantage is often as important as what you have to say. How you present your argument and the level of confidence and conviction you have in your beliefs can make the difference between a listing and a futile effort. Remember, the common belief for the masses until the 1500s was that the world was flat. Facts aside, those who believed in the flat-world theory were more effective in presenting their argument than Galileo was in his day.

• Convince your prospect of your advantage.

  When I was new real estate agent, the reasons that I could present for why sellers should list with me certainly numbered fewer than later in my career, but that didn’t stop me from securing listings ­ – largely because my conviction about the advantage I offered sellers was so strong.

  I would tell prospects that selling their home required a partnership with a focused, passionate, successful, sales-oriented agent. I would explain that personal service, attention to detail, and creation and conversion of leads would sell their home, and that I was the agent for the job. I contrasted myself positively with other, more-established agents by explaining that sellers hardly benefit from working with an agent who passes them off to interact with a series of assistants who handle the paper work, marketing strategy, and ad calls, sign calls, and open houses.

  “Do you see the benefit of working with a person rather than this laundry list of underlings,” I would ask, before adding, “Isn’t this type of intimate relationship what you are looking for?”

  My conviction regarding the advantage I offered sellers changed dramatically after a few years in the business. By then I had assembled a service team and developed an excellent system for serving the client through others. My argument changed as well. I explained to clients that one person couldn’t possibly do with skill and precision all the activities that a seller needs and should demand from an agent. With so many hats to wear, a lone ranger agent can’t possibly provide level of exposure, communication, customer service, and expertise that the team of experts I represented could deliver.

  Both positions were truthful. Both had merit. The difference stemmed from my position at the time and the way I felt and articulated how that position benefited my prospect.

• Use numbers to demonstrate the clear advantage you present to clients. Realize that if prospects can’t see a clear difference between you and other agents, they will gravitate to the easy choice, which is to select the agent offering the lowest commission rate or highest initial list price.

If you'd like a complete step-by-step system on how to position yourself see my program "Creating Market Dominance" go here.

Determining When Prospects Become Clients

How do you determine whether a prospect should become a client?  What are the criteria of becoming a client?  Have you created a series of questions to help you minimize the time invested, to determine if a prospect will meet your standard?

You need to create a systemized approach to determine if a prospect measures up to your specific criteria.  This approach needs to be applied each and every time you come in contact with a prospect.  I believe it doesn’t matter where the prospect comes from; he needs to be evaluated based on a standard.  Even if the prospect is a referral from a “Raving Fan”, he still needs to meet the standard.  If the prospect does not meet the standard, I would encourage you to gracefully decline the potential business.

There are eight questions that I used during my career in real estate to determine if a client would meet my standards.  I will go through each question and explain why this question was important in making the decision of who to have as a client and who to pass on.

1. When is this prospect going to buy or sell?  When is the prospect ready to move?  The further out the move date, the lower the motivation of the prospect.  You will have to follow-up more with the prospect, and you will have to invest more time to achieve a sale, if the moving date is far in the future.  It is difficult to make a decent income chasing prospects that may buy or sell in the distant future.

2. Does the prospect have the ability to buy?  Does the prospect have the cash down payment and is he able to be approved for financing?  There are many Agents who show property to prospects for a week or two, only to find out they cannot buy.  My suggestion is to find out if they are able to buy a home, before you even put them in your car.  Require them to meet with your lender, or provide proof of being pre-approved from another lender, before you invest your time, effort, and energy in the prospects.

3. Does the client have reasonable expectations?  This question is two-fold.  Is the “wish list” of what the client thinks he can afford, and what he can actually afford, the same?  Often buyers are not in the real world in regards to what they can afford to purchase.  If you are chasing a prospect that is not in reality, you are truly wasting your time.  In this situation you are going to either be the bad guy by telling him what he can really afford, or the client dumps you because you do not believe in his crusade.  Either way, it is a difficult road to success and eventually leads to no commission.

   The second part of this question is directed to the clients who try to beat the market.  I always tried to avoid the seller who wanted more than fair market value for his property, and the buyer who wanted to steal the property.  They both can be wastes of time for Agents.  The odds are heavily weighted against this buyer and seller. You often will invest a tremendous amount of additional time to earn the same income.  Not to mention, that often these people have the desire for an “I win - you lose” type of transaction.  In my experience, those are the least enjoyable transactions to enter into, when one of the parties is only concerned about himself winning.

4. Does this prospect respect my time and me?  Our time is our most precious commodity.  Once it is gone we do not get it back.  A prospect that does not value your time, by not keeping appointments and by showing up late, is clearly telling you that he does not value your service, or your time.

   Often buyers and sellers will try to tell Agents what to do and how to do their jobs.  They need to understand they are paying for your knowledge, advice, and professionalism.  When they do not take your guidance, you need to decide if you want to continue to work with them.  In my career, I chose not to do business with people who disregarded my guidance.  If you acquiesce during the listing agreement period, once the listing expires you will still wear the black hat.  The seller will still talk disparagingly about you and your service.  How many times has this happened to all of us?  I truly believe, if you are a professional REALTOR®, your clients should regard your guidance, as they do that of their doctor, attorney, or accountant.  I would not question my attorney or accountant’s guidance.  It is rather presumptuous for me to think I know more than they do in their area of expertise.  My best advice to Agents is to run away from this type of prospect quickly!

5. Am I being asked to compromise morally, or ethically, from my beliefs to make a sale?  If we have to deviate from our business philosophy, we need to reevaluate this business relationship.  Being able to stand tall and live with your decisions is better than any sale you might make.  If a prospect requests you do something that would fall into a gray area, you should carefully evaluate it.  What if the deal blows up, or the gray turns pitch black?  Remember most buyers and sellers will immediately point the finger towards the Agents involved.

6. Can I create a satisfied client?  Is this prospect the type of person who will never be satisfied?  Do you want to be the next Agent he is complaining about?  These are people who will never be satisfied, no matter what you do, or what level of service you provide.  Remember people tend to know, enjoy, and develop friendships with people who are similar to themselves.  Do you want more referrals like the current prospect?  I urge you to carefully evaluate this question when you are determining who you want your current clients and future prospects to be.

7. Is the client willing to tell me the truth so I can help him?  Sometimes people view us as the enemy, or as a necessary evil.  Prospects can sometimes play “hide the ball” with an Agent.  I think that open and truthful communication between the Agent and the client leads to a successful relationship and transaction.  In the end it will lead to successful referrals.  If a prospect can’t be honest with you, you should probably pass on him.

8. Is the commission that you will earn worth the trouble?  Some Agents may be offended by this question.  But the truth is, we are in this business to provide a service and to turn a profit.  This is a question that must be asked every time.  Are the dollars earned adequate for the time and effort you will be expending to put this transaction together and close?  Maybe you would be better to invest the time to find a higher quality prospect or client.  It is your time, so you are entitled to select in whom you invest your time.

It is all right to decide to go ahead and work with someone, even though you know the amount that you will earn may not be as high as compared to other transactions.  In my career I entered into a handful of deals annually to help people.  The key was, I accepted the fact that I would not be compensated for my time at my usual hourly rate, before I entered into the client relationship.  I think that it is easier to accept when you understand it going into the relationship, rather than invest all your time, and then find out.  It is easier when the choice is yours.

If you'd like a complete step-by-step system on how to turn Expired Listing Prospects into clients, check out my brand new program "Instant Listings™ From Expireds" go here.

Check Under the Hood Before You Hire

Once you decide on the basic structure for your team, you will need to establish a few rules for the hiring process.  I believe it’s best to create some ground rules before you start interviewing and deciding whom to hire.  You can get so excited about the prospect of a new person or a specific person you want to hire that all logic goes out the window.

Establish to what extent you will work to verify information:

1. Do you want to talk with all previous employers?
2. How many references do you want to talk with?
3. What type of gaps of time will be acceptable in their employment history?
4. Will a few mistakes on the resume immediately knock them out of the running?
5. What if they don’t write a cover letter, which is standard professional practice?
6. Is there some test or assessment instrument you want each serious candidate to take?
7. How many interviews will you use before the hiring decision is made?
8. Will you be the only one interviewing them?
9. Will you require a criminal background check?
10. Will you require a drug test?

All of these are things you can legally do with any candidate for employment.  However, with the criminal background check and drug test, you must get permission from the applicant before either of these are conducted.  I would encourage you to consider doing most of these, if not all of them, to ensure a good hire.

I believe that establishing a probationary period or dating period is prudent.  Telling the new hire right up front that you have a standard 90 day probationary period during which you will be evaluating them for permanent placement sets a strong standard.  If you include some type of benefits package, you don’t extend it until that probationary period is over.  In some states, doing this will help with legal liability and unemployment liability if you end up terminating the employee within the probationary period.

Another dating technique is to have them come in for a week to work with you in a contract labor situation.  Call it a test drive for them and for you.  It will allow them and you to date each other for a week.  At the end of the week, or any time during that week, you can make the decision to hire permanently or send them home.  It helps you feel confident that you are making the right decision.  You are also minimizing the risk in dealing with raising your unemployment insurance costs.

When the honeymoon is over, and it’s not working out, it’s time for the quick, no-fault divorce.  The old adage of hire slow and fire fast is true.  When you know it’s not going to work out, move on.  It’s not fair to the employee because they could be in a position where they fit better and advancement is an opportunity.  For you, prolonging the agony causes the situation to gnaw at you and affect your attitude and activities.  I guarantee you will see a reduction in the DIPA time you invest.  You will spend more time in PSA:  checking, re-checking, and monitoring a poorly performing staff member.  You could be investing all of that extra PSA time in training the right person, rather than trying to hold onto the wrong one.

After the honeymoon, the divorce proceedings need to begin quickly when there is an attitude issue.  You can train almost any skill to anyone, but attitude is another story.  Check to see if the home life or other area of life is causing the problem.  Bring the attitude problem and set corrective action goals for improvement.  Coach and encourage positive progress.  If the changes aren’t happening quickly or if the change is not sustained, you only have one choice left . . . do it now!  Eventually, they will start to influence and infect your attitude.  When that happens, they have been there too long.  The evaluation, coaching, and corrective action time has come and gone.  You have now entered the damage containment and termination zone.

I have had personal experience in this area a few times when my attitude was influenced by an employee.  When they start having too much influence on your attitude, your activities won’t be too far behind.  That’s when you have to act now and not delay . . . before the environment or your attitude turns south.  Real estate is too tough of a business to have people on your team dragging down your attitude.  That will happen enough in just the normal course of business in an agent’s practice.

If you'd like more information on how you can build your own real estate team, get your free copy of "The Champion Real Estate Team™ Guide"... here.

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