Reporting to Whom?

As we get ready for football season—even though temperatures have only now hit the 90’s—most of us remember our high school and college days with some fondness and nostalgia.  Of course, in our nostalgia, we often forget the main reason for attending those beloved institutions:  to learn and grow.  On campus, the focal point for most of us, at least some of the time, was all those classes we took and hopefully enjoyed, even when we had tons of homework.  And yet, somehow we managed to do it and it paid off.  Now we’re striving to maintain and increase our success in our own real estate businesses in a competitive market.  Of course, one of our benefits, as independent agents, is that we report to no one but ourselves, so we enjoy great freedom and flexibility.  But that coin has another side—a potential lack of accountability. 

And now back to the campus.  Can you imagine how much we would have learned if the profs had assigned all that homework but said that turning it in was optional?  Would we have made all the prospecting calls we needed?  Would we have updated our Exact Target list regularly?  Would we have sent out all those closing anniversary cards and added new entries on our blogs?  Maybe.  However, studies show that we are generally more successful in completing tasks when we have to report the results, but as independent agents we have no such requirement, other than to ourselves.  So how do we report to ourselves? 

Do you have a solid system in place for holding yourself accountable, not only for meeting an annual volume goal, but for handling all those monthly, weekly, daily, and hourly tasks needed, step by step, to meet that volume goal in your annual business plan?  If not, chances are you have the potential to improve your business results considerably--and probably to also reduce your stress level.  Your management team and your coach can help you develop your own unique ways to make sure you’re doing all the little things you want and need to do to meet your goals and insure that ongoing success.  Now back to the game!

David M. Hassler

Director of Coaching

Catapult!

No, not the kind where they hurl rocks against castle walls in Game of Thrones, but the catapult on an aircraft carrier that propels a jet plane from zero to a few hundred miles an hour in a second or two! Now that’s a catapult!

And from what we’ve seen in the last two weeks as the Leadership Team has toured our offices around the state, the energy and enthusiasm for our October 7 transition to BHHS Indiana Realty looks to be building for an exciting launch that can catapult our agents to greater success.

In September, Craig West and I will be visiting each office and sharing an overview of the new BHHS systems and our own new BHHS Indiana Realty website. Then, during launch week, trainers from the BHHS HQ will be in town for detailed, hands on systems training. For now, though, we’ll give you a few glimpses of what’s coming:

The national BHHS consumer facing website is fabulous and if you haven’t yet checked it out, you can find it at:

www.BerkshireHathawayHS.com

That website will provide your clients and prospects with some leading edge features they won’t find other places! First, consumers can search nationwide, so when your local client decides to buy a condo in Bonita Springs or a cabin in the Rockies, they don’t have to leave our company’s website and potentially forget about us!

Also, the national website will have a feature called “Inside Access,” where the consumer can register and view new information including “Off Market” data! Yes, they’ll be able to view Pending and Sold homes (provided the local Board allows it) so they no longer will need to rely on some other site’s guestimidiocy!

Also, the Inside Access participant will be able to search and view homes’ INRIX Drive Times and even Walk Scores, two of the latest, high tech sophisticated tools our clients will find extremely helpful in seeking that perfect home. And think about how these elements can improve our effectiveness in working with buyers by helping them eliminate areas that are too far from work or other desired commuting destinations, as well as helping them focus on areas with high Walk Scores showing proximity to parks and coffee shops and other desired community features, if that’s an important consideration! Using these two features, we should be able to reduce the number of homes we’ll need to actually show most buyers—while providing them better service by being more focused on their desires! Sounds like a win/win to me.

Next time, we’ll share some previews of the new BHHS Resource Center that replaces and enhances the tools of the PREA Center.

So, strap in and get ready for an exciting and profitable ride!

David M. Hassler

Director of Coaching

That Nasty Eleven Letter Word!

Most of the time, we hate to say it aloud, especially in mixed company.  A word that can strike fear into the heart of agents with huge SoI’s, or weaken the knees of agents with years of repeat clients and consistent referrals.  Shhhhhh!

But as we watch the buyers’ pent up demand so far this year, and as the number of good listings on the market can’t keep pace with that demand, maybe it’s time we spoke the profane aloud:

PROSPECTING

There, I said it.  Hopefully, the kids aren’t reading this!

Yes, prospecting, that element of Real Estate 101 we tend to put on the back burner—or totally forget—when the market is strong and things are going well.  But we all know that generating leads is what makes our business grow, and our marketing program is only part of the formula.  While most of us now have our own websites and hopefully a program of advertising and direct mail and maybe even farming, those marketing tools can’t take the place of an active prospecting plan.

The best prospecting system lets us put into play the most effective levels of communication: telephone calls and face to fact meetings, either in groups or, ideally, one on one.  Remember, a major goal of our prospecting plan is to contact those targeted folks we don’t know yet, and to convert them to members of our sphere so they can help us generate more leads.  Of course, we’re prospecting when we hold an open house or contact those FSBO’s and Expireds, but it’s also important to target groups or areas for prospecting that will have the greatest potential for bringing in new referrals.  And, as we said in an earlier Playbook, one of the best prospecting targets is our own sphere of influence, as long as we’re prepared to be proactive in asking those friends for their help in expanding our business.  Don’t forget that “What can I do to help you?” approach!

So, let’s get ourselves organized and do some profitable Quadrant II work (remember Stephen Covey and his “Important, but not yet urgent” quadrant) as the fall weather approaches and the market begins to slow a tiny bit.

Spoiler alert: the new BHHS Resource Center will provide us with a number of “Action Packs” consisting of series of emails geared toward cultivating seller prospects, buyer prospect, expired listings, and more, and all can be done automatically once you set it up!

David M. Hassler

Director of Coaching

Understanding Your Client's Personality Type Redux

One of the great things about our real estate business is that so many different kinds of people can be successful using their own unique personality and approach. Of course our clients have their own personalities, too, and we can be most successful if we understand those personality types, whether we’re competing for a new listing or guiding our clients through finding the right home, negotiating the purchase agreement, counters, and the inspection response process.

Most folks recognize four broad personality types, and two of the most obvious ones are the Directorial/Competitive type and the Analytical/Methodical type. The Directorial type is used to taking the lead and being in charge, and they typically see the big picture and the bottom line. If we approach this person by working through all the details, we risk losing their attention, and possibly their respect.  This type may also need to feel they’ve come up with ideas on their own, so we need to gently guide them toward the position we recommend!

Conversely, with the Methodical type, if we start with the big picture and our bottom line recommendation, they may tune out and lose confidence since they need to have all the details first, so they can reach their own conclusions.

Of course there’s a lot more to it, but it can help if you make sure you know and understand each of your clients’ personality types, so you can better guide your clients through the process. 

So remember, it’s your job to herd those cats, especially those buyers who can’t seem to make up their minds. In a recent coaching session, an agent told me about a couple who hadn’t found a new house that suited them yet, even after their own house sold and they had to move an hour away to stay with family while they kept looking! It turned out one of the buyers was an engineer of some sort and insisted on finding the absolutely perfect home, and who said they were in no hurry! (I wonder what the in-laws thought!) It also turned out that they were looking at homes priced at about 60% of what they were qualified for (not an unwise financial decision) yet of course they were disappointed since they actually wanted a home with features and finishes that would cost just a bit more. Talk about a potential for showing a hundred homes and never writing an offer!

So, how deal with that personality type and those expectations? Well, let’s remember our basic training and go back to square one: grab that list of topics and questions for an initial consultation with a new buyer client. Step one, set a timing goal and remind these particular buyers that as we head toward cooler weather there will be fewer and fewer new listings becoming available. Are they eager to drive that extra hour in a foot of snow? Okay, let’s set a target date for them to move into their new home!

Next, what are their objectives? We’ve all given the speech about how no buyer, at any price, no matter how high, ever really finds the perfect home, so it’s time to refresh their memory and to insist they make the tough decisions on what they could compromise on or do without. Or raise their pricing range a tiny bit, at a cost of $30 to $40 a month, of course. And then those engineering types will likely be making any offer far too low, calculating triple the cost of replacing the blind in the powder room, so remember to give them tons of data so they can analyze and find that correct price—and if they don’t, you can treat it as a pure math problem with the market price as the answer! Engineers LOVE math problems and hate to be wrong! Do the math!

Anyway, it’s of course not that easy, but if you can stop, step back, and understand the way your client is thinking, hopefully you can use their own approach to open the door to decision making. That way, you’ll find greater success and enjoyment in your real estate career!

David M. Hassler

Director of Coaching

Making Connection

We’ve written in past Playbooks about the importance of “Understanding Your Client’s Personality Type” and how that knowledge can help us tailor our approach to clients on an individual basis that best suits their manner of processing information and making decisions. In other words, that understanding will help us make a better connection with our clients—and potential clients—and that will help us build our business, as probably the vast majority of folks choose and continue to work with a broker based on how well they connect with that agent as a person.

Of course, that assumes the broker has a platform of experience, expertise, and market knowledge that’s a “given” in terms of the potential client’s assessment of them. In other words, remember that when competing against equally qualified agents, it may boil down to that personal connection rather than who has the shiniest presentation.

Along the lines of making connection, a recent article on Inman News struck me as having some great ideas to fine tune our approach to making that personal/professional connection. “Nonverbal Communications Is How Agents Really Win Listing Presentations” stresses that fact that, while we often focus on memorizing scripts to showcase that new presentation or sweat over the exact price to show on the CMA, it’s often the personal connection—based on noverbal communication—that can separate us from the pack.

The article quotes a successful agent, Cindy Stockhaus, and her suggestions for the art of creating a personal connection:

1.     Mirror and Match: Match your voice, your cadence of speech, and your body language to your client.  This will put them at ease and make them feel more connected to you.

2.     Listen: Hear what your client is truly saying and respond accordingly, rather than thinking about what you’re going to say next.

3.     Build Commonality: As you have them give you a tour of their home, try to create a common bond by finding shared interests based on decorating style, pictures, and passions. (Think sports, travel, kids, fashion, etc.)

4.     Be genuine: Bring yourself to the table.  People can tell if you’re faking it . . . and they want to do business with YOU, not who you think they want to do business with.

So, as you think about interacting with your clients and potential clients—whether for listings or as buyers—keep in mind some of these noverbal keys and make sure your connection with people as individuals is genuine. And guess what? When you’re genuine, you’ll enjoy your business even more!

David M. Hassler

Director of Coaching