This Weeks Free Call is a Live Streamining Webinar with One of the Top Experts in the Real Estate Technology field Brad Carroll of Dakno Marketing
In order to increase awareness of the new program, we have decided for the next 2 weeks to open up the CKGTV Coaching Club calls for FREE.
ckgtvcoachingclub.com was created for the REALTORS that are out there looking to receive tons of great information from some of the top Agents, Brokers and industry experts in the field.
Friday, March 6, 2009 11:00am EST
If you are interested in getting on this call, simply email calls@ckgtv.com and we will send you all the login information.
To Help Spread the word of this new one of a kind program, we are giving the first call away for Free.No-Obligation what so ever!
Friday February 20, 2009 @ 2:30pm EST
Coach Ken Goodfellow “The Millionaire Maker” and the coach to Real Estates most elite agents.Ken will talk candidly about what the top producers have done to bridge the gap from being a good producer to a “Mega Agent”
If you are interested in getting on this call, simply email us at calls@ckgtv.com and we will send you all the login information.
You won’t want to miss out on this one time offer! Only 25 Spots Left
Most realtors don't understand the importance of business planning. "Coach" Ken Goodfellow of CKG International has become one of the top business planning coach's in North America teaching top realtors and brokers how to help grow their business as a business so they can make more money and work less hours.
Watch this video on Business planning for 2009 you can also download all the questions that Coach Ken asks on CKGTV.com under the free tools section I hope you enjoy
Sure. We’ve all studied some NLP and its precursor “body language” but the truth is that we get busy. We don’t apply what we know and we miss opportunities to be better communicators.
This is a good time to review some of these skills. Body language never lies. It can tell you a lot if you know what to look for. Just be careful not to use this information to fuel your assumptions. So the first tip is - always test your observations of body language to confirm that what you think is really what is going on. If people appear bored, angry, or frustrated, then they probably are! But always check this out with them first just to be sure. You might say, "It looks like you are slouching or fidgeting. Would you mind sharing what you're experiencing right now?" If you sense that a body is telling you something, check in with the person to find out what it is.
Examine the congruence between body language and verbal language. For example, laughing while describing a very painful experience is incongruent behavior and should be checked out. This incongruence indicates that something is amiss.
The "movements" of Body Language can provide clues about how people conduct other aspects of their lives. These are patterns of behavior that they might not even be consciously aware of.
Be attuned to cultural differences in body language. These could also affect your observations. So as always, check out your perceptions. Finally, - be conscious of the power of your own body language to affect others. For instance, use open friendly posture. When you move, move deliberately and for a purpose. Use gestures to strengthen or enhance your communication. Make regular eye contact with everyone. Be expressive, amplifying what you are feeling and saying with your facial expressions and your body gestures.
Look for these cues and check them out. Practice observing body language. Use them to improve your daily interactions.
1. Positive Body Language / Negative Body Language
Active listening is a behavior. Poor listening creates tension, while active listening builds rapport and trust with a customer. There are three skills to remember in active listening:
1. Feeling: This is the ability to recognize silent messages that the customer is sending through vocal intonation, body language and facial expressions.
2. Acknowledging: This is the act of receiving and acknowledging the customer’s message and feelings. Accepting that message as true and valid, without judgment of content.
3. Responding: This is the process of giving and inviting feedback to determine the accuracy of the customer’s message and feelings. The active listener tries to understand the customer’s problem or concern.
Now that you know the skills involved with active listening, there are six rules to incorporate into your active listening skill set:
1. Limit Your Own Talking: Listening is just that: being quiet and allowing someone else to talk. In active listening, you will be limiting how much you say while letting the client have the floor to communicate his needs, issues, ideas, or concerns. By staying focused on what they are saying, you will have a better comprehension of what your customer needs or wants.
2. Don’t interrupt: It’s hard not to step in and interrupt, because a lot of the time we have something to say that will help make our point, but by doing so, we show a lack of courtesy and respect to the speaker. Customer’s who are interrupted don’t feel heard, which will only create greater challenges in your business relationship. Sometimes we think we know exactly what the customer is trying to convey so we interrupt by finishing their sentence or answering a question that hasn’t even been asked. (See point number 3.)
3. Watch for Non-verbal Communication: 7% of what the client is speaking is verbal, 38% can be heard through their tone, while 55% will be seen in their body language. Add that all up and you have 93% of a message that is conveyed entirely by body language and tone – not what they are actually saying. Look for body languages that indicate boredom (yawning, avoiding eye contact, etc.). Body language may also indicate that they don’t agree with you or they are getting upset (crossed arms, squinted eyes, etc.) Be very aware of what your customer is non-verbally saying to you.
4. Don’t Formulate a Response: As anyone talks to us, our mind is always ticking away with an automatic response. Almost anything someone says, we are formulating a plan on how to respond. When we do this, we aren’t actually paying attention to everything that is being said. Instead, listen carefully; you just may discover that your initial response wasn’t appropriate, because you didn’t hear the full details.
5. Talk in a Conducive Setting: It’s hard to communicate with anyone when there multiple distractions around you: phones ringing, people walking by or coming into your office, the office is cold or too hot, or you have distracting habits like clicking a pen, or jingling change in your pocket. These types of distractions makes anyone feel unheard.
6. Paraphrase: No, it’s not rude to rephrase what’s just been said to you, because this shows the client that you not only listened to what he had to say, but you also heard and understood what was said. Too many problems are unresolved, or too many mistakes are made because we didn’t understand what someone was telling us. By rephrasing what was said, the customer will either agree, or correct your interpretation. When someone asks, “Do you understand?” or “Does that make sense?”, rather than saying yes, a good way to respond is to say, “I want to make sure I understand you fully…” or “I think I understand, but let me just make sure…” and then paraphrase what the client communicated.
A good sales person knows exactly the right things to say to sell a product or service. But a successful sales person will gain valuable insight of what the customer wants by actively listening and then sells the customer-appropriate product or service.
We are half way through 2008 and soon we'll be concentrating on next year’s plan. Perhaps this is a good time for a memory jog!
Statistics show only 3% of us operate with a written business plan. If you are part of that elite group, you are probably reaping the rewards that come from knowing what you want, where you want to go and how you are going to get there. Van Gogh remarked, "Great things are not done by impulse, but by a series of small things brought together."
If you've been part of the 97%, but are ready to face the new year with a resolve to raise your standard of greatness, spending time creating the plan for next year will be the best time you spend all month. I am not, however, talking about a perfunctory plan that you quickly create by just looking at your numbers. You are more than your numbers. Author David Kekich says, "An hour of effective, precise, hard, disciplined - and integrated thinking can be worth a month of hard work. Thinking is the very essence of, and the most difficult thing to do in business and in life. Empire builders spend hour-after-hour on mental work... while others party. If you're not consciously aware of putting forth the effort to exert self-guided integrated thinking... if you don't act beyond your feelings and you take the path of least resistance, then you're giving in to laziness and no longer control your life."
So let's take a look at some of the pitfalls that could trip you up on the way. Here are the biggest mistakes that I see in my coaching practice.
1. Not planning time to think and create a plan.
To fully design and create your plan for 2009, I recommend at least a full day. Many agents will plan a retreat with their team, or just go away for a weekend without distractions to focus. Working on it piecemeal when the time shows up is a sure way to fail. Time-block NOW an appointment with yourself to work on this. The time you need will not show up -- you must carve it out.
2. Failing to gather ALL the data from this year.
The numbers from this year must include more than just the total production and number of units. What was the SOURCE of each transaction? What was the cost of each listing? What was your NET profit? What was your close ratio on listing appointments? Each piece of information will inform you about where your strengths are and what untapped business is waiting for you.
3. Incrementally increasing your goal based on last year's results.
The normal method employed by agents to set next year's goals involves choosing a number that is somewhat above last year and then using some formula to tell them what their monthly and weekly actions should be. This is rarely exciting and energizing and usually results in having to work more, work harder or work faster.
4. Not factoring in reserve.
Most agents do not take into consideration that crisis will occur and stuff will happen. By figuring what needs to be produced to hit the goal and not allowing for reserve, they are always falling short and feeling that it is not going to work, or frantically running on adrenaline at the last possible moment to pull it off. Always assume you need 20%-30% more.
5. Not knowing the why.
This should really be #1. What is the reason you want to produce what you want to produce next year? If you attained your financial goal, or the number of units you want to close, what would that give you? If you attained that financial goal, why would that be important? Are you working to accumulate more stuff or to have a certain quality to your life that is joyful? The why is the key to your motivation and your willingness to be in action. Keep asking yourself, "Why do I want this?" or "what will getting this give me?" until you get to the bottom of what is REALLY important to you. These reasons are your values. Miracles happen when we know our values and our work reflects them.
6. Not planning in the personal first.
Speaking of the why-.there is also the "who." Your personal foundation must be deep and strong to build mighty structures above the ground. Does your plan for the year include time for yourself, your growth, your family and your interests. One of the first pieces of your planning should involve how much time off you will take next year and how your perfect work week looks. If you did nothing else this year but worked on your own personal development, I know you would probably have the best year ever.
7. Not looking for the new opportunities.
What gave you success last year or this year is not the key to your future success. In fact, if you aren't radically shifting the way you deliver your services and reach people, you may not be in business much longer. What new ways of marketing do you need to employ? How can you partner with others who may be interested in the same target markets and may help create a win/win? What new market segments or niches are, as yet, unserved? Who do you have an affinity with that is a perfect new niche?
8. Not designing strategies to leverage what you already have.
Are you leveraging your best clients and customers into your referral engine? Have you thought about how you can increase their loyalty and increase the value you provide them? The cost of finding new prospects is much higher than creating more business from folks who already know and love you. Get creative here!
9. Not making it a big enough stretch to get the creative juices flowing.
Thinking small rarely inspires. It's those impossible dreams, realized, that are able to stimulate our thinking and actions. When our goals become a game to play, rather than a measure of whether we are good or bad, we can let go of the attachment to a result and just find some innovative and fun ways of expressing our commitment to excellently serving our clients. The money flows when we love what we do and we have a big enough game to play. Boredom results in playing too small a game.
10. Not creating a structure for fulfillment.
Even with a good plan, not having a way to stay focused will trip you up. Do you have a partner to keep you on track? A coach who can see the big picture? If left to our own accountability systems, we are prone to sell out on ourselves. A coach actually knows you can do more than you think and reminds you of who you really are, instead of buying into the excuses that seem reasonable. Accountability and focus are both critical for the implementation of your plan.
We are among the most elite real estate professionals in the world, yet at times it seems as if we are more like glorified babysitters for our staff. I have to tell you, this is one of the biggest problems I see with the top producers I work with. You think to yourself, “If only my staff would show half the level of commitment and passion that I do…” I would like to say that I sympathize with your situation, but I don’t. The fact is - it’s your fault! You are the boss and you are letting it happen. Over my many years of coaching the best agents in the world, I have yet to see another cause. There are many reasons why and how this happens, but there are 3 major issues that arise every time I begin coaching someone who is having problems with their team.
1.Hiring
What is your system for hiring? Let me guess, your team consists of at least one family member, a friend you brought into the business, and a group of characters that were underachieving agents in your office that you thought could work if you took them under your wing and showed them the “ropes”. That may be fine, but don’t you wish you had some way of knowing how their personality types will interact with each other and how they will influence the work environment, and more importantly will they prosper with your management style … before you hire them? Believe it or not, there is such a thing. The DiSC profile is world renowned for it’s accuracy in hiring decisions and to help weed out problems in your existing team. I believe so strongly in this method that I employ a full time DiSC specialist, exclusive for our clients in the Coach Ken Mastery Program. The test can be sent to your entire team in seconds via email. Then in a matter of a few days after receiving the completed tests, we will give you and your team a printed report on every member and debrief your team on where the problems are and what the best possible solutions may be for your team to begin running more efficiently. It works the same way for hiring. You can simply ask them to complete the DiSC profile as part of the hiring process and in no time you will know if that person will fit in with the other team members and the best way to handle them in future events.
2.Management
Think back for a moment to when you first got into the real estate business. It was just you against the world, knocking on doors, making cold calls, asking your family and friends for referrals… working 24/7. You worked like a dog! But in some ways, wasn’t it so much easier? At some point, you suffered what Michael Gerber (author of The E-Myth Revisited) refers to as an “Entrepreneurial Seizure.” This means you hit the point when you needed to hire staff to do more business, and you thought that you could just hire more people and just go on and do the same things you were doing before you started your “team.” Management is the most overlooked skill among top producing agents. The way that I look at it, as soon as you add your first team member, you go from salesperson to CEO. As CEO, your job is to train, motivate, and provide direction and vision for your “company” on a daily basis. If your staff is properly managed, not only will your business have exponential growth far beyond what you thought possible, but you will be amazed at how independent your team will become. Management is usually the last thing that salespeople want to become, but over the years, I have seen so many successful teams explode their business with a little more direction and attention. I know what all the top real estate teams are doing and would love to share every one of their secrets with you, so you don’t have to try to figure it out yourself.
3. Shuck the losers!
This may seem harsh, but it is holding back so many successful teams. There is nothing worse for team moral and productivity than having one or two team members that just are not pulling their weight. It becomes like a cancer within your organization that just grows with time. “Shuck the losers” is a term that Lee Iacocca came up with when he was saving GM. His philosophy was to always replace the bottom 10% of your staff. Jack Welsh (CEO of GE) had a similar 20-70-10 principle, which means 20% of your staff are all stars, 70% of your staff are good and the bottom 10% are replaceable. That is exactly what he did. Can you imagine how focused that would keep your staff? I don’t believe you can use these methods in small business but the principle is right. One of the things that I tell my coaching clients is to hire slow and fire fast. Once you realize that someone is not a fit for your team, get rid of them. This may seem obvious, but how many people on your team are underachieving but you don’t want to fire them because they’re well liked or they are a personal friend of yours? Remember, it not show friends…its show business! You may already know about these three points, but it always comes down to: are you actually doing the things you know you should be doing. Think about it… You may think you are doing a lot of business … but you could be doing so much more.
There are hundreds of ways to generate leads: advertising, referrals, cold calls, for sale by owners, expired listings, direct mail, 800 number inquiries and the internet, just to name a few. Agents become bogged down with leads from these effective outlets and resources, but end up missing a tremendous amount of revenue from them. How is that even possible when all that effort and money is put into developing new leads? Although you may be great at establishing leads, you may not be so great in managing them. Without proper management of your leads, you could be losing thousands of potential clients, not to mention, the thousands of dollars you’ve wasted.
Instant Gratification
When speaking to colleagues who were asked what a lead meant to them, many were quick to confess that a good lead was a client who was willing to “do something immediately”. These agents were looking for a quick-acting client who was willing to sell their home or commercial property PRONTO. And yet they were in a hurry to dismiss clients who were considering selling in the near to distant future. One agent said, “A lead is when a client has a definite plan and a goal within a certain time frame.” Another agent claimed that his best leads were the clients who were “thinking” of selling within six months to a year. Generating prospective clients is only half the battle; making sure they work with you in the long run is your ultimate goal. Unfortunately, agents are neglecting their future clients and focusing only on the “here and now” clients. Making the sale is important, but developing a professional relationship with a potential client is just as important. Long term leads may take a little more time and management, but keeping these potential clients in the forefront of your mind will save you against competition when that client is finally ready to sell. When you’re returning a call from an inquiry, that client may not need your services for six months, but by following up with them frequently, instead of disregarding them because they are not ready to sell at that precise moment, will help you establish trust with a client that will keep you in the potential client’s mind. You will have already built a professional relationship with them, and that’s what they will remember when they are ready to make the move. Most people who are merely considering selling usually end up doing something about it down the road. You are literally defeating the purpose of your program when you ignore these types of leads. Long term leads that aren’t being tracked properly aren’t given enough value or attention. With this mindset, you are literally throwing away money. Someone wise once said, “You don’t step on a dollar to pick up a dime.”
Follow Up, Follow Through
It’s easy to get caught up in generating leads, so much so that one agent insisted that because he was so busy getting leads he didn’t have time to follow up with a phone call. It’s important to pay attention to converting leads into sales — this is why you spend all that money in advertisement! Once you get your leads, you have to have an effective and efficient tracking system in place. What works for you may not work for someone else, but you should have a system that tracks your leads in a manner that can’t be overlooked, lost or forgotten. Some agents swear by pads of paper, a database, or even a numbered accordion file folder with leads to follow up with for each day of the month. Once you have your tracking system in place, time is of the essence in terms of following up and following through. Phoning prospective clients is a good way to stay fresh in their minds, but it’s always a good idea to try to talk to them face to face. In a professional manner, explain what it is what you can do for them that your competitors cannot, but don’t make promises you know you won’t be able to keep (that could cost you future clients). Generating leads may not be the easiest thing to do in this business, but it appears to be easier than converting those leads into actual revenue. When you compare your cost of lead development vs. leads converted, you may sadly discover that you are literally losing money. Lead management is the key to being successful in this industry. Keep in mind the long term leads that could eventually be your saving grace.
1.Be Clear On Your Message.With lead generation it’s better to whet a prospect’s appetite than to try to feed the whole meal at once.If you get one or two main messages about your service across clearly, and at a glance, in a marketing piece (ad, flyer, brochure, sign etc.) you’re doing well.
2.Don’t Overwhelm Your Prospects. Too much information is as bad as not enough.Send information to let them know whom you are, what you can do for them, and why you are different from your competitors.Prospects are inundated with marketing materials.They do not have time to read and respond to everything that comes to them.Do you? (Sometimes timing dictates how much information goes out. If more is needed divide it into bite sized chunks.)
3.Timing Is Everything.Be careful when you send out your communication. Make sure you reach the target while there is a need for your service.Don’t market to customers when they’ve finished their buying. Unless you know when they will buy again.
4.Follow Through. Be prepared to follow through on the program.Don’t lose the momentum of your supplier, your staff or yourself.If you go to the expense of marketing (actual dollars as well as your time), don’t quit half way.Many good marketing programs have ended up on the back room floor because the Agent forgot about his commitment to marketing."I don’t have time to send it out" is a popular reason for marketing not working.
5.Make Staff Aware. Educate your staff about the marketing program. Make sure they know who is getting the information, what the key message is and how to answer questions. The “staff/sales force wasn’t properly trained” to understand the program, use the material, or just follow through is another great excuse for a program not working.
6.Follow-up.If you are running a direct marketing program don’t sit back and wait for the calls to come infollow-up by telephone immediately.. Pro-activity is key.
7.Go Out And Get Feedback. Talk to your customers, prospects, suppliers and competitors. Find out what worked and more importantly what did not work.
8. Test Your Marketing. Test your marketing materials in small numbers. Adjust, massage, refine, and improve them as you learn.See what works and repeat it, see what doesn’t work and delete it. Modern technology has made it affordable for small business marketers to produce short runs economically.This means you have the opportunity to put out a marketing piece, monitor it, and refine it to increase results and then send out the new version.
9.Plan Ahead. Know what your next marketing program is before you finish the first one. There are efficiencies in producing materials all at one time.
10.Have Buyers. Make sure you have sufficient buyers in your database. There is nothing worse than making a sale (getting the listing) and not being able to deliver. Not only do you risk losing this sale but likely, future sales will be more difficult.
11.Above All, Have Fun.Prospects and customers want to do business with Agents that are successful, happy, productive and positive.Find your own marketing suppliers who meet these criteria.
Disclaimer: ActiveRain Corp. does not necessarily endorse the real estate agents, loan officers and brokers listed on this site. These real estate profiles, blogs and blog entries are provided here as a courtesy to our visitors to help them make an informed decision when buying or selling a house. ActiveRain Corp. takes no responsibility for the content in these profiles, that are written by the members of this community.
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