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Diligent Salespeople
Many people in real estate sales think being called a salesperson is
like
being called an axe murderer. Being a salesperson is an honorable
profession. It is a highly skilled and professional avocation.
A professional salesperson is a critical cog in any company’s success.
Just ask IBM a few years ago when they were heavy on engineers and light
on sales professionals. Because of the lack of sales IBM stock went on a
free fall till they got the sales increased.
Many REALTORS® misinterpret what a salesperson’s function is for the
client. My first thought is to remember that selling or being a
salesperson is legal. As REALTORS® we are not selling crack on the
street
corner. We are helping to provide one of man’s basic needs and
desires…home ownership.
Selling is also the highest paid profession in the world. There are more
millionaires in sales than in any other profession. We should be excited
that we have selected a profession that provides an unlimited income
while
still providing a valuable service.
The art of being highly successful in sales can be summed up in 5 words:
Believing something and convincing others. That’s it! That’s what makes
a
salesperson successful. You must have unshakeable belief in what you are
selling.
Unshakeable belief in homeownership for your clients.
Unshakeable belief in your strategic partners in your mortgage
originator,
attorney, title or escrow company.
Unshakeable belief in the company you work for and your broker.
If any of these begins to waiver or if you are lacking in any of these
areas, you will find resistance from your clients and prospects. The
ultimate edge over your competition is the firm belief that you are the
best Agent they can hire to get the job done. When you possess that
belief
down to your soul…you will be unstoppable.
The first step to being a ‘top gun’ Agent is self-mastery. You have to
master yourself before your can lead others. People will be hesitant to
follow you if you are not in control. The largest part of self-mastery
is
time mastery- being able to get paid well for the time you invest in
others and yourself. Time mastery is learning to increase your hourly
wage
by narrowing your focus to only the activities that pay extremely well.
There are only about a half a dozen activities that will pay you
extremely
well in real estate. They are prospecting, lead follow up, listing
appointments, showing property and writing and negotiating contracts.
These are what we call high payoff activities.
How much time is spent daily on the above high payoff activities? After
coaching 100’s of successful Agents we have discovered generally it is
less than 2 hours a day. These are the activities that can pay you $200,
$300, $400 per hour. Why not master yourself and your time so you can do
more high pay off activities during the day. Without time mastery you
will
never earn the income you desire.
The second step is that you study and know human nature. You have to
genuinely like people and desire to serve. Understanding and studying
people is a lost art in sales. By studying their motivation and behavior
styles, you will be able to give them the guidance they need to move
forward to make the correct decision.
The Agent who doesn’t encourage the client to move forward when the
right
house comes up does his/her client a disservice. In most cases the
client
doesn’t get the house, then compares every house to the phantom house
they
didn’t get because they moved too slowly. This situation is magnified
when
we are in a competitive selling market as many markets currently are in
North America where we are seeing multiple offers on properties. In
these
types of markets Agents often have to earn their commission over and
over
again.
You won’t be able to help your clients move forward to the right
decisions
if you don’t have sales skills. Professional sales people handle the
objections that their clients raise efficiently and effectively. After
the
objections are settled, ask for the opportunity to serve the clients.
The third step is to have the mental strength to persevere. Professional
sales people need to be able to take the punch and keep coming. Too
often
we look for the easy road. The truth is the easy road never leads to
success. If that were the case, the road to success would be well
traveled
and well worn, but road to success is hardly traveled.
The true road to success is a toll road. The toll is persistence and
patience. Most are not willing to pay the toll. They would rather buy
the
‘rejection-free’, ‘prospect-free’ system from some guy who has never
been
in the trenches, but claims to have it all figured out. Success is never
easy, but it is worth the price.
Achieving success is not a 100-yard dash. It’s a marathon race. To win
the
race you need legs, but the most important thing to winning the marathon
race is not legs or lung capacity; it’s heart. You have to have heart to
be a success.
Successful people know the importance of perseverance and salesmanship.
Thomas Buxton said, “With ordinary talent and extraordinary
perseverance,
all things are attainable.” Thomas Edison said, “Genius is 1%
inspiration
and 99% perspiration.” Edison was asked what the secret of success was
and
he replied, “Don’t look at your watch.” What he was saying was keep
going.
Don’t quit and become impatient and stop moving forward…keep going.
Edison
would often get so absorbed into his experiments that he would forget to
eat or sleep. How could he not succeed with that level of commitment?
The key to greatness is believing something and convincing others. I
watched how successful these 5 words were first hand. My father was a
great salesperson in what many people believe is a non-sales profession.
He was a dentist for over 30 years. He applied the rules I shared with
you
extremely well. He believed in doing the job right the first time with
excellence. This belief often caused him to ‘sell’ people on putting
gold
crowns instead of just putting in an amalgam filling in the heavily
decayed tooth. There was a substantial cost difference, but he believed
the job should be done right, and he was the man for the job. A gold
crown
was 8 to 10 times the cost of a filling. This difference raised his
hourly
rate and provided the highest level of long term quality care for his
patient.
He believed in something and convinced others…being a salesperson is
honorable, whether you are in real estate, life insurance or even
dentistry. Earl Nightingale said, “We are all successful in life based
on
our ability to sell.” I believe and am convinced that is true.
Written By Dirk Zeller of Real Estate Champions
Click here to learn more about Dirk Zeller's Real
Estate Training
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