Are you prepared and ready to market to your customers and clients via mobile phones?

Have you registered a .tv domain?

Are you streaming your own television show on the Web?

These are just a few of the web 3.0 areas to consider. This next weeks meeting will show you and your team how to be ready for Web 3.0 with many other new cool ways to reach your marketplace.

If you’re not a member of GoToSalesMeeting, we would love to have you join.

In part two of my sales meeting “The New Gold Standard,” based on the book by Joseph A Michelle, I discuss the importance of “Creating a Wow” effect for your clients and customers. Many of us believe knowledge is power, but actually according to Michelle’s podcast on this same subject, knowledge is only powerful if you apply it! In this meeting we discuss the importance of taking your knowledge and making it powerful. How can your team members do this? It’s actually quite easy and effective “if” you follow the right principles. Do you know your clients birthdates, anniversaries, children’s names and birthdates, e-mail address, social media affiliations, etc? If not, you’re missing out on a wealth of data that can help you stay in touch and definitely create a “wow” effect, if you properly apply it.

Remember:

1. Get the information you need about your clients – the more the better
2. Take this information and put it to good use in communicating with your center of influence

Keep in mind, information is only powerful if you use It correctly.

If you need help energizing your team with new ways to maximize time management, get more customers, develop new presentation ideas, or simply to take information about existing clients and customers to make it powerful, we can help! Sign up for our sales meeting subscription today.

I think it’s a “GREAT” meeting that your team will appreciate and hopefully have an “AH HA” moment like me, and realize that sometimes it’s all in the bait we’re using. If you’re not a member of EasySalesMeetings you can join today. We would love to have you as a member, and we know you will save time, look professional in front of your team as well as adding value to each and every meeting you deliver. More about EasySalesMeetings

As I ponder this person’s attitude for how they handled this situation, I was reminded of how many businesses “lose” business because of an employee’s dumb attitude and poor customer service. Because of this, I developed this week’s sales meeting on “Customer Service.” My questions and goals for the meeting are to help managers work with their team members on how they can provide excellent customer service. The meeting is based from the book, “The New Gold Standard – 5 Leadership Principles for Creating a Legendary Customer Experience Courtesy of The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company,” by Joseph A. Michelli, McGraw Hill Publisher.

As our economy continues to go through slow and challenging times, it’s important for all employees to remember that “Customer Service” is critical, and the life-blood for many organizations. Why argue over a $6.00 burrito and someone’s Birthday coupon, even though they didn’t print it out? Here’s an idea, (and GREAT customer service) have me forward the e-mail from my iPhone to the manager’s company e-mail account so she could print it out in the back? Oh well, I’ll drive another 10 minutes to the South County or Fenton locations and enjoy my Qdoba burrito in the future. J

Life is good, the people are friendly and things seem okay until about two weeks ago when I run into my friend at Wal-Mart from the church we attended several months back. Yes, you guessed it, my friend snubbed me! I couldn’t believe it, he was downright rude to me and would hardly speak. I knew immediately it was over our decision not to attend his church, (as he had called and visited me while we were attending) and now he simply chose to ignore me while we stood in the checkout lane side by side. Sure, I got over it, but two days ago I was snubbed again! This time by my (I won’t mention if it was the husband or wife) former staff person. I had to go out of my way to speak to this person and say hello, with only a brief hi and they quickly walked on by not even bothering to stop and visit. I had not seen this person for well over a year, and that was all I got was a quick and soft spoken “hi.” I was so discouraged by both of my friend’s actions that it began to bother me, and it dawned on me for the idea for this blog, “be a good sport.” It’s terrible to use a church illustration for showing how two people from two different bodies of worship treated me with little or no love at all. Jesus was all about love, and it’s one of the greatest commandments He gave us.

Here’s the bottom line and what you can stress in your sales meeting: whether it’s attending church, playing a sports game or losing a real estate transaction to another competitor, be a good sport! I’ve lost many of real estate transactions in my life to other agencies and still smiled and treated my former customers with dignity and graciousness. And yes, those people probably felt and knew in their hearts they hurt me, but when they saw my good sportsman like conduct, they always came back to do business with me in the future. And if not, hey, it’s part of doing business and you can’t let it bother you. We’re not going to sell everything to everybody we meet. We can learn from our mistakes and correct problems or issues that might cause people to go elsewhere, but don’t be a bad sport just because you lose out on a business deal, or a friend decides to attend church somewhere else. Learning to be a good sport will pay big dividends for you in everything you do!

1. Planning and attending your meeting without a map! Think about it, you wouldn’t head out on vacation without a road map, nor would you begin a long hike through the woods on an unknown trail unless you could visually see where you would end up at the conclusion of your walk, so why should your sales meetings be any different? Each sales meeting should be carefully thought out and planned with an outline (map) and your goals and objectives for the team gathering. Your map will help provide you direction for your meeting and allow you too quickly and easily make changes during the meeting if you should get off track. For example, if I wanted to talk about “Top Sales Blunders” with my team, I need to know how and where to begin the meeting, and where I wanted to end the meeting. By knowing these two principals (beginning and ending destinations) I can begin to formulate my meeting content and where and how we can get there.
   
2. Predictability! Probably the most often overlooked blunder that sales managers make regularly is that their meetings are so predictable. It’s almost like a church service where you can go down the order of events and everything must fall into its proper place to be considered perfect. Don’t get me wrong, structure and organization are needed in any program, church service and sales meeting, but doing things exactly the same way each and every time you meet can get old after awhile. Have fun with your meetings and strive to keep things different and fresh. Change the order in which you cover key points and allow others to participate or help. Don’t become predictable to your team, and always inject a new flavor or twist to keep your group wondering what’s new this week.
   
3. You’re a Hog! Well, not figuratively speaking, but when it comes to running the meeting you don’t let anyone else participate. I realize this is a double-edge sword, as there are those who if allowed to participate would ruin your meeting or take over the conversation, yet there are many good team players who have great ideas that need to participate and help with the meeting content. Believe it or not, I hear a lot of complaints from sales associates who want to participate but never allowed an opportunity from the manager or team leader. One key point to remember about adults and how they like to learn is that assisting in the problem solving process is critical. Adults love to participate and be a part of the learning process, and not allowing group participation can hinder the sales meeting and teaching environment. Encourage group participation and learn to deal with the “Chatty Cathy’s” so everyone has an opportunity to contribute.
   

Subscribe to my feed to receive Part II of my “7 Biggest Sales Meeting Blunders to Avoid.” If you need sales meeting help, visit www.GoToSalesMeeting.com for more information. Watch for our new sales meeting site to launch soon!

Accountability is defined as “A is accountable to B when A is obliged to inform B about A’s (past or future) actions and decisions, to justify them, and to suffer punishment in the case of eventual misconduct”.^[1]

^[1] Schedler, Andreas (1999). “Conceptualizing Accountability”. in Andreas Schedler, Larry Diamond, Marc F. Plattner. The Self-Restraining State: Power and Accountability in New Democracies. London: Lynne Rienner Publishers. pp. 13–28. ISBN 1-55587-773-7. 

The funny (or sad) thing is, in a business where we should strive for accountability on a daily, weekly and quarterly basis, very few if any of us do incorporate accountability into our workplace. Why? Why do we make accountability so difficult or “dreaded” as I referred to in the first paragraph? I believe the main reason we don’t institute good accountability programs in the workplace is that most people hate failure, and when we fail to meet up to our goals and expectations we feel a sense of a letdown to ourselves, our family and the organization. If we could somehow shift the failure aspect into a positive, it would work! How can we do this? Easy, instead of asking “why” ask “what.”

Don’t say – “Why didn’t you prospect this week? You said you we’re going to call on [x] number of new prospects, why?

Try – “What could you do differently this week to help you meet your goal of [x] new prospects?

I believe as managers and brokers we have to shift from the failure aspect to more of a coaching method. Use the defeats as ways to learn and grow. Make it clear from the outset that all of us will fall short or our goals and desires, but that doesn’t mean we can get back up and keep going. I love the old saying, “it’s not how many times you get knocked down, but how long you stay on the floor.”

Finally, for brokers and managers, accountability to your team is required and essential for your team to grow and prosper. Make accountability a coaching session and make sure you set time aside on a regular basis to help your team with accountability. For larger organizations (and even smaller groups) allow individuals to partner up with the accountability process. Make sure that these small groups meet regularly and encourage helping them and meeting on occasion to facilitate and assist with the accountability process.

There are some excellent books on accountability if you need to research more, and if you would like a copy of my accountability scorecard I’ve created to help with implementing this at your office please send me an e-mail and I’ll be glad to forward it to you at no cost. John@RealEstateTechGuy.com.

For more help with accountability visit www.RealEstateSalesMeetings.com.

Did You Know?

•Over 1 Million Americans have heart attacks each year

•Some 13 billion dozes of tranquilizers, barbiturates, and amphetamines are prescribed yearly

•8 Million Americans have stomach ulcers

•There are estimates of 50,000 attempted suicides each year.  Only one in eight are successful

•There are over 12 Million alcoholics in the United States

Finally, 80% of all people treated for some type of sickness is caused by Emotionally Induced Illnesses,”  (EII).  Learning to deal with stress is important for everyone, especially real estate professionals.  If you’re a broker and need help with your weekly sales meetings, check out www.RealEstateSalesMeetings.com.  I’d love to have you as a member.  You’ll receive this meeting and nearly 100 more in our database of meetings to choose from. 

Remember what Leo Buscaglia said:  “When you get to the end of your rope, tie a know, hang on, and swing.”   

This was my fourth time to teach this course for the CRB and I must admit the material and content finally clicked for me. I think the knowledge and needed action has always been there, but the need to organize, document and put your plans in writing finally made sense. Most importantly, stick to it! All of us have good intentions to follow a plan, but unless you take the time to formulate it and put it in writing, you’ll always fall short of the mark.

My biggest revelation from teaching the class is the “amount” of stuff we must teach and train new agents who join our firm. Policy and procedures, ethics, anti-trust, fair housing, do not call, customer relations, technology, and the list goes on and on. Sure, most of the “stuff” they’re supposed to learn in pre-license school, but everyone needs reminded and educated on a regular basis to learn and succeed. If you’re a large broker where you can delegate this out to a training manager or staff person you’re one step ahead of most brokers, but for people like me and other small to medium size broker/managers, our job description continues to get bigger and bigger. Unfortunately, the pay doesn’t seem to stay up with the increased liability and responsibilities of being a real estate broker.

So what’s the moral of this story/blog? First of all, if you have never taken the Performance Leadership class from the CRB, do so today! Call the council to find out when the next course might be offered, and or encourage your local REALTOR® board or association to offer the class to your membership. There are several excellent instructors for this course, and the brokers/managers in your area will benefit greatly from this offering. Second, begin to put your responsibilities for new and experienced agents in writing and think about ways you can fulfill and implement those plans. Think about the type of agent you want on your team and what characteristics and qualities they should meet to join your team. Ask yourself what your company’s culture and core values are, and put those thoughts and answers in writing. Remember, it’s your business, and without a proper plan (written plan) you may not always hit the mark.

A number of years ago a popular restaurant in my area was sold, and the first thing the new owner did was completely change the way the smorgasbord was set-up. When my dad and I ate there, he commented to me that the new owner would not last a year under his new concept. I can still remember my father (who was in retail business all his life) say to me that you don’t change something that is working right. If it’s not broken son, just leave it alone! Guess what? My dad was right, unfortunately the new owner didn’t last long, and the business was taken back over by the family, who by the way put the smorgasbord back to their father’s original (successful) concept.

This same principal holds true to our businesses today. If it’s not broken, leave it alone! Unfortunately many companies are changing things and cutting back in areas that really don’t cost a lot, but for the sake of slashing expenses, like, breadsticks will no longer be given to the guests unless they ask. If your team members like something you offer them and it doesn’t cost you an arm and a leg, but it offers a value added service back to them, then continue to provide it. Don’t cut something out just for the sake of removing it. Remember, if it’s not broken, leave it alone!