Honesty is often interesting.  One of my coaching clients, an agent, Herb (name changed to protect the guilty) is having a mediocre year.  I thought I knew the problem so I asked him this, “Herb, what percentage of your leads do you simply not follow up on, or call once and not follow through on?”

He was honest, he said, “Sixty.”

“Sixty percent that you do follow through on or sixty percent that you don’t?” I asked.

“Sixty percent that I don’t,” he said.

Herb would double his production simply by following through on the leads that are already coming to him.  Honesty is interesting.

Another client, agent, Laurie (name changed), who hit a very slow period in the middle of the year answered the question this way.  “Well, I started out strong and then I got pretty sloppy, but now I am following up on nearly everything again.”

Considering that the period in which she “got pretty sloppy” following through on her leads was the spring and summer, she would have doubled her production as well, simply by following through on the leads already coming to her.

There are a many agents like Herb and Laurie, who have the skills and the knowledge, but they lack the motivation, focus, and commitment to follow up and follow through.

To what extent does this describe you?  What percentage of the leads that came to you this year didn’t get followed up on or followed through?

It is the perfect time of year to recognize this, and correct it with a four step process that I call “Breakdown Leads to Breakthrough.”

Breakdown Leads to Breakthrough
Step One: Acknowledge the error.  Simply admit it honestly to yourself.
Step Two: Forgive yourself.  This can be quite easy, just say to yourself, “I forgive myself.”  Can it be that easy?  Absolutely, as long as you do Step One honestly.
Step Three: Recommit.  Decide if you want to recommit to follow through on your leads more conscientiously for the rest of the year and through next year.
Step Four: Get into action immediately on your renewed commitment.  This is the critical step.

Honesty is interesting.  Self-honesty is even more interesting, because  it is the key to your personal and professional breakthrough.

Do you feel like you’re suffering from “communicationitis” (which is caused when you get 467 too-many emails, 97 extraneous pieces of mail, and 47 solicitation calls – from charities, of course)?

You’re not the only one. Consumers are feeling really, really over-communicated with. Have you noticed that those emails and cards that you’ve been sending seem not to be opened or read? Maybe it’s because we all have been communicating the same old messages, in the same old way (just listed and just sold cards, anyone?)

It’s Time to Put on Some New Shoes

In his terrific book, A Whole New Mind, Daniel Pink builds a strong case for why right-brainers will rule the future. He says, that technology is easily copied, and I agree. But, creativity is not, because it uses a human brain – just one human brain at a time. In fact, as the old song says, “There will never be another you.”

Pink notes that technology jobs have moved overseas. But, those jobs where creativity counts big are the “next big thing” for Americans. It makes sense, then, that we must develop our  “right brains” to communicate more effectively – and create better value for our clients (how would you like to see your commission rates go up for a change?).

Creativity and the Real Estate Professional

In his book, Pink gives an example of a card he received welcoming the new buyers into the area. But, the agents didn’t include the selling price. They didn’t brag about themselves. They didn’t say they were “number one in service”. Instead, they told the story about how they had helped an elderly seller get her home ready to be sold. They told how much the new buyers treasured the history of the home. It was creative; it was personal; it was relational.

Building the Relationship with Creativity

Technology doesn’t build relationships, you do. In my new presentation, YOU–the Brand, I help real estate professionals see how to go from “cold communication” (Internet inquiries and emails) to warm relationships. We explore how to take your natural talents and skills and turn them creatively into real estate success. Until we can create high trust, we can’t form a relationship. The relationship blossoms into long-term business, referrals, and a solid career.

Suggestions: Read Pink’s book, study creativity, try new ways to communicate (compose new messages and explore different goals), and recognize that keyboards don’t form relationships, people do.

What Tickling the Ivories has Taught Me About Creativity

If you’ve heard me speak, you know I make many references to music – and even tickle the ivories, many times with someone from the audience. As a pianist since age four, I recognize the power of music, coupled with the performer’s creativity, to “speak” to audiences, to touch their hearts. Our jobs, as real estate professionals, is to crash through the barriers of the hardware and software, to reach past the barriers of cold communication, and have the goal of creating a long-term, trusting business relationship.

Here’s to your creativity explorations!

My best,

Carla Cross

It was session three of seven of our S.P.A.R.K. Course, and one agent after another approached me at each break. Each comment or question had the same theme. It was weird.

Each agent said something along the lines of, “I can see how this is really going to work for me, but here is the problem.” Or, “This is great stuff and it would really work for me, except, here is what I face.”

There are over a hundred people in the class and over a dozen of them expressed this type of sentiment. The problems included other jobs that took their time, taking care of children, not enough experience, and more. It was clear that the problem had nothing to do with the issues that they were bringing up. Something else was going on.

While driving away from the conference center, I realized what it was. As these agents began seeing and feeling that they were capable of achieving and exceeding their business goals, when they were sincerely confronted by the prospect of their own success, then the psychological barriers that have prevented their success began to come to their consciousness. Their mind perceived their most desired future for their business and their psyche was finding the reasons that it was not likely or possible to achieve it.

This is the definition of a limiting belief: a thought that is perceived as the absolute truth by the person having it, when in reality it is a false barrier. So, at the next session I led them through an exercise to identify and eliminate limiting beliefs. The response was overwhelming. One person after another was experiencing a breakthrough they knew was possible, but couldn’t previously quite reach. Now it was happening. The skills were there and the barriers were not.

Even Oprah is doing it.

The discussion, the conversation.

That is my answer when people ask me why they should participate in social networking.

I was home one day a few weeks ago after a minor procedure on my eye, which required an eye patch. So, the only thing I could do was watch TV. I tried reading, working on the computer, it was a NO GO.

After catching up on all of the recorded TV shows that I had missed for the last month, I ended up watching Oprah. It seems that on Fridays, instead of one guest, she hosts an entire panel and they discuss all sorts of topics. They have a real conversation, everyone stating their opinion in a lively discussion.

Kind of like Twitter on TV.

The conversation is important. Since the creation of  the digital divide (using the computer to communicate more and more, instead of face-to-face conversation), the fast pace of our busy lives prevents us from seeing as many people in person as we used to, and part of our relationships are taking place online. I recently read that Generation Y (18-32) will never lose touch with anyone in their lives. Think about it baby boomers, haven’t you secretly Googled an old flame to see where they are today? Not a problem with Gen Y, they grew with the conversation online.

When I meet someone in person, first of all they say that I look like my picture, and secondly that they know my voice, because they follow my posts on Facebook, Twitter, or they read my blog. They feel like they know me even though it is our first face-to-face meeting.

So, I encourage you to enter into the conversation. Choose one network, and be consistent. Just remember not to sell while you’re there.

Oprah does it … and, yes, I am recording her show now as well.

One of the things about being with the BASB is that the Bureau has carefully screened all of their speakers. The quality is definitely there, but what about the bloggers, the panel members who sound great, or the IT folks who have in-depth knowledge? Having mastery in a content area is great – it has no relationship, however, to how well the person can convey that knowledge in front of a group.

Today, anyone can proclaim that they are an expert. This seems to be particularly true in the areas of social media and distressed properties. Just because someone has a certification or is blogging or writing about a topic, doesn’t mean that they can deliver that material in front of the room. The question is how to distinguish those who have both the content AND the platform skills that will provide the best value to your audience.

With money being tight right now, it’s tempting to go for the low cost alternatives. The question is, what is the value to your audience? If you cut corners and go for a second tier speaker who has the knowledge but can’t hold the room, everyone loses. The audience is deprived of the skills that could have helped to build their businesses. REALTORS® vote with their feet and when they don’t like something, they leave (and often don’t come back next year!). Furthermore, with the advent of social media, feedback about the quality of the session is instantaneous. There’s nothing that can kill your future attendance more quickly than having negative posts all over the social media about how lousy a session was.

To keep this from happening to you, ask for references. If the speaker or trainer doesn’t have a video tape, request that they make one. Search the speaker’s name on Google as well as on the major social networking sites such as Twitter. See what the speaker’s reputation is online.

Even more importantly, ask their references about how easy the speaker was to work with – the big ego off stage translates into big ego onstage. The bottom line is that if someone doesn’t express gratitude for the opportunity to speak before your audience, then they’re missing the most important point of all – speakers and trainers are there to be of service, not the other way around.

Do you lead meetings? Do you want to do buyer or seller seminars? Do you present to two or two hundred? Managers, trainers, and even agents sometimes have to present in front of three, to hundreds, of people. Unfortunately, many who have to get in front of others lack training and dread the thought of it! It doesn’t have to be frightening, though. Take a look at the three ‘pro’ speaker tips below to make your next time in front of a few, or many, enjoyable, memorable, and equally enjoyable for your audience.

Grasping Skills Makes us Competent—and Confident

The very best part about performance is that anyone can get better at anything through learning skills and practicing them. I learned that as a pianist/flutist, and I’ve seen it over and over again, no matter what adults think! (I taught adults piano lessons, so I know all the barriers that get in our way!) Just keep in mind the quote I read from the great UCLA basketball coach, John Wooden:

It’s what we learn after we know it all that counts.

Three Powerful Speaker’s Tips

1. Vary your delivery. Don’t lecture for more than 10 minutes. Adults just don’t have that long an attention span (too much on our minds!). Change it up. Use various “alternative delivery methods”–methods to teach rather than lecture. In my Instructor Development course, I help students learn these teaching methods by modeling them so they can observe me teaching. Then, we de-brief on what we did. Finally, each student teaches a short module using creative methods, and the rest of the students provide feedback. (We really only learn when we do something.) Doing greatly increases confidence–and competence.
2. Anticipate adults’ fear barriers to change. When you want to change adults’ perceptions, beliefs, or knowledge, don’t just start talking to them. You may just cause them to shrink more into their beliefs, and to defend it (have you observed students who live to argue with the instructor?)

How to tackle the ‘old belief’ challenge:

Prepare students to learn something new. For example: Use a ‘true-false’ or ‘multiple choice’ to start the presentation, or to check learning. I do this in my IDW course in the middle, and ask students how they would have answered at the beginning of the course–and then contrast that with their new perceptions and learning. It creates lots of ‘ah as’ with them, and further cements their learning experience.

3. YOU are the medium, not the visuals. Don’t just read from the PowerPoint on the screen (and, just as onerous, provide the student with the PowerPoint as the “outline”.) If an instructor does that, I feel I want to just take that outline and leave. I can read, thank you! Too many real estate instructors rely on PowerPoint to do the teaching.

Your Right Brain Can Save the Day

Effective teaching is much more than just talking. It should be creative. Use all the “attention strategies” at your disposal (that means to get them into your repertoire).

Suggestions:

Use props, stories, various audio-visual aids, handouts to control the audience “contour”. I learned this as a musician playing for dancing. You direct how you want the audience to dance, and you ‘contour’ the whole experience (slower to faster, then back to slow). As a great instructor/ facilitator, you can direct your audience in an awesome learning experience. It just depends on the skills you bring to the table.

Check Out These Resources To Help You Gain Skill and Confidence

Very few people seem to be born with innate talent for getting front of people. However, for most of us, it’s a matter of gaining and practicing the necessary skills. Here are some methods to get skilled, and raise your confidence level dramatically:

Join Toastmasters. It’s inexpensive, and will provide you skills and practice.

If you get serious about speaking, look into joining your local chapter and national organization for speaking professionals, National Speakers’ Association. As a long-time member of both my chapter and the national organization, I highly recommend it for both skill and marketing development.

It’s Worth the Effort

Most presenters/trainers aren’t in it for the big bucks (where are those big bucks, again?). They’re in it to assist others. Gaining and practicing presentation skills helps us give back better. The bonus: deep appreciation from our audience. We’ve even been known to change lives for the better! No amount of money can provide that sense of accomplishment.

This article focuses on risk management for real estate agents. We are continuously encouraging agents to be more aware of risk management and techniques individual licensees can use to reduce risk.  Before I get into the article’s topic there are two areas I want to briefly cover.

First, what is risk management?  In its basic form, it is the processes, structures, etc put in place to monitor, reduce and/or get rid of risk.  You practice risk management every day, but probably do not realize it.  The simple acts of buckling your seat belt or brushing your teeth are ways of reducing risk.  The same applies to your daily activities as a real estate agent.  You need to get in a routine of reducing your risk.

Second, you must know that you are ultimately responsible for your actions.  Your firm may have risk management guidelines, procedures, etc. for you to follow.  They may even have training classes and audit files.  The bottom line, however, is that you are responsible for your actions and your reputation.

The following are ten work habits you can use on a daily basis to help reduce your risk of a claim.  While some of the habits may seem obvious, I can give claim examples for each item where agents have fallen short.  Sometimes it is the obvious items that we take for granted that gets us into trouble.  Also, this list is not all encompassing, but designed to get you started thinking about your daily work habits.

1. DOCUMENTATION: I cannot emphasize this enough.  Proper and consistent documentation can save you an enormous amount of grief.  Do it in real time as much as you practically can.  The longer you wait the more likely you are not to do it or leave out important information.  Documentation not only includes the notes in your file, but consistent confirmation and verification of information, phone calls, etc. with clients, title agents, banks, etc.  A little extra work here will save you time in the long run. Also, be sure to commit all oral agreements to writing.  If it is not written, it usually does not count.
2. DISCLOSURE: This is the corollary to the documentation.  There are two main points about disclosure that I want to make.  The first is that there is no such thing as too much disclosure.  When in doubt, disclose.  If you know about it or the seller knows about a problem, regardless of when it occurred, disclose it.  Never tell someone not to disclose something.  As sure as death and taxes, that is the item that will come back to bite you.   Second, never fill out a disclosure form for a client nor make any changes to it in your handwriting.  If anything is missed all the client has to say is that I told you to include it or that is not what I said.  If the client for some reason cannot complete the form, have them get a friend or family member to complete it.  You may think you are providing that extra level of service by filling it out, but all you are doing is potentially creating a headache for yourself.
3. KNOW WHAT YOU KNOW AND WHAT YOU DON’T KNOW: There is no possible way to know everything there is to know about a property.  Sooner or later you will be asked a question that you do not have an answer to.  It is alright to not know the answer.  Do not, under any circumstances, make up an answer or pretend to know the answer. This is actually an opportunity to provide good service.  Tell the clients that you do not know the answer and then get back to them quickly with the correct information.  Most clients will appreciate the fact that you were honest with them about what you know and do not know and the fact that you got back to them quickly.  Do not let your ego or fears of looking bad in front of a client get in the way of doing your job properly.
4. AVOID CONFLICTS OF INTEREST: Try to avoid such conflicts if at all possible. Even an appearance of a conflict of interest can lead to problems.  The client may no longer believe that you are working in their best interest.  Should there be a conflict of any type, please refer back to items 1 and 2.   The disclosure must contain what the relationship is and what, if any, remuneration you may be receiving.  Let the client make the decision as to what is in their best interest at this point.
5. AVOID OVER COMMITMENT OF SERVICES, WARRANTIES, ETC.: This is a trap that is easy to fall into because you want your client to remember you as the agent who went above and beyond the call of duty for them.  Providing great service is a wonderful thing, but make sure the service you are providing is within the scope of services to which you have agreed.  Do not assume any liabilities.
6. ALWAYS ACT ETHICALLY: This may seem like the most obvious one of all, but we still get claims and the commission still gets complaints.  The usual cause is that the agent becomes more concerned with the sale than making sure things are done the right way.  It is usually more about cutting some corners than dishonesty.  The bottom line is that your client has to come first.  It goes back to the Golden Rule.  Treat them as you would want to be treated.
7. DO NOT RECOMMEND SPECIFIC CONTRACTORS: Recommending a specific contractor is a sure way to find yourself with some problems.  It does not matter if it is your best friend, a family member, etc.  As soon as something is not done right, your client will be looking to you to fix the problem.  All the client knows, particularly if they are new to the area, is that the contractor you recommended messed up and they want the problem taken care of now.  At most, you should give the client a list of contractors.  The list should contain some type of wording indicating that previous clients have used these contractors and it is up to the client to contact the contractors to get pricing and references. You should also advise your clients to verify that the contractor has insurance, by getting certificates of insurance. (Your attorney can come up with wording that best meets your needs.)  Let the client decide which contractor to use.  Also, please keep in mind item number 4 if there is any potential conflict.
8. CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION STAYS CONFIDENTIAL: It must be clearly explained and documented to the buyer/seller what information will be kept confidential (typically Motivation and Personal Secrets).  It also must be made clear as to what types of information will be disclosed (Primarily Property Conditions).
9. COMMUNICATION: As in disclosure, there is no such thing as too much communication.  Keeping all parties informed makes life easier for everyone.  Letting people know what is going on helps them feel comfortable and it also lets them adjust plans if given advance notice of changes.  The lack of communication is one of the leading causes of claims.
10. 10. DO NOT ACCOMPANY INSPECTORS: Under no circumstances should you or your client accompany inspectors.  You do not want to give any impression that you are supervising or influencing the inspections.  It is the kiss of death in a claim to be in that position.  If your client is uncomfortable with an inspector being in the house alone, see if a friend or family member can be there.  Just be sure they know not to answer any questions.  You should wait for the written report to start dealing with any issues brought up.

All of us at Williams Underwriting are committed to educating you in risk management.  Should you have any questions about this article or about risk management in general, please feel free to call us at 800-222-4035 or at wug@wugieo.com.  We will be glad to assist you in any way we can.

This article is not intended as legal advice.  All legal advice needs to be tailored to your specific circumstances.  The general information provided in this article is not a substitute for the advice of professional counsel.

Dated September 18, 2010

Are ‘dual career’ agents hurting you and your business? In Stefan Swanepoel’s publication, Trends Report 2010, he calls the real estate licensee with another job the ‘dual career’ agent. That’s what we used to call the ‘part-timer’. Although ‘dual career’ sounds much more important than ‘part-time’, the result is the same:

Less time to devote to the consumer. The conflict that an agent feels when he has another job is causing the consumer to rate our service lower than ever before.

Dual Careerists Are a Growing Trend

More and more real estate agents are getting second jobs to make ends meet. In fact, the 2009 National Association of REALTORS® Member Profile says that 26% of REALTORS® stated that real estate was not their only occupation. (I’m sure that many more licensees that aren’t REALTORS® have other major sources of income). In addition, less than half of all REALTORS® surveyed reported that real estate was their primary source of household income.

Is the Dual Careerist Doing the Industry More Harm than Good?

Having been an agent, manager, and owner a long time, I know how difficult it is at times for an agent to ‘hang in there,’ put their heads down, and keep working through tough times. It’s a great temptation, and a relief for many to take that other job just to ‘tide them over.’ From the broker’s perspective, too, keeping the agent at least licensed with the brokerage to get that one transaction seems to be better than losing that one transaction. Several problems accrue, when the agent gets another job:

• The agent’s mind, energy, and dollars drift away from the needs of the consumer because the agent must focus on another job
• The agent can’t keep up on the technical, legal, and business developments
• The consumer demands just can’t be met when the agent is unavailable for large blocks of time
• The broker must carry a much bigger responsibility for the agent’s transactions

What We Need to Do About This Trend?

Managers: Set standards so you are living out that vision you took all that time to write in that business planning course! Do you have agents with you who are not dedicated? Do you have agents who don’t practice in the way your company wants? If so, you are ‘shattering your image’ and greatly hurting your chances to recruit. Fix it while you can.

Agents: Go to your manager and ask why the ‘dead wood’ (a horrible term, but, the consumers have told us to get rid of them, and we’re not listening.) is still there. What benefit do they provide you? What benefit do they provide the company?

Short-Sided: It May Destroy

Our Industry Unfortunately, our industry has spent too much time on the immediate, and not enough time on the long-term. One of the easiest ways to see this is to look at the low producers and part-timers we’ve kept as licensees. Why? Because we think they may sell a home or two before they get discouraged.

There is Leadership Showing the Way

There is a growing trend to upgrade the industry. Take a look at what industry leaders are doing right now. They are putting standards in place, training and coaching to get people to their standards, and are counseling out those who just aren’t meant—or committed—to a career in real estate.

Support on Putting Standards in Place

For the last year, I’ve done lots of work in helping companies put standards in place. Although it’s challenging, it’s absolutely critical if we are to protect our business models as we like them!

Note: See Four Steps to a Stunning Standards-Based Organization, a webinar I did for the National Association of REALTORS® Learning Library.

What Do You Think? Do you believe managers should keep anyone who wants to be kept? Let me hear your opinion–and, if you have a solution, let’s share it with our industry!