Tuesday, November 27, 2007

From the Lips of a Top Producer

I just had this section of an article forwarded to me by a rep (thanks TT) and think it's incredibly apt. It's by Walter Sanford and here's a link to the full article.

"Your only question remains 'How do I affect the top real estate agent in my town?' My answer is, 'Learn the real estate business!' Any top salesperson knows that the fastest way to provide a market for a product is to make sure that the product provides solutions for their day-to-day business. This means understanding their business. If you were selling copiers to a pharmaceutical company, you would pore over the company's financial statements and annual reports to determine the potential need for your product. The same goes for your potential real estate agents. After identifying them as a potential or realistic top 'elephant agent,' ask the appropriate questions to find out what the greatest needs are that can be supplied by you..."

Monday, November 12, 2007

Need a 90 Day Plan?

Need a 90 Day Plan?

Keeping sales teams focused on a quarterly plan, (inclusive of both results goals and activity goals), will keep the odds stacked in your favor to reach your company's goals. For a complimentary copy of the "RightNow 90 Day Plan" template, please visit our eStore for a free download. http://www.rightnowconsulting.com/store/index.php?p=catalog&parent=4&pg=1 The download is provided as an Excel file, with permission to modify and use.

Sharing a template such as this will help keep everyone focused on achieving their goals, and at a minimum, help track the right activities every step of the way. Tracking over time provides you, in retrospect, the perfect documentation to evaluate not only what works best in your marketplace, but also what activity works best for each representative.

So, Now What?

Creating plans, setting goals and communicating expectations is a waste of time UNLESS you have a plan for following up, measuring and holding yourself or your team accountable for their progress.

As you create your expectations, think about (a) how you are going to measure your or each team member's activity and/or (b) know how/if they are accomplishing their goals. Using a standard rule of thumb as a sales manager, you should be asking yourself or connecting with each member on your team individually no less than once a month (ideally weekly) on a few key questions:
  • What is your revenue goal for this month? Are you on track? If not, what is your plan to get on track? How can I help?
  • What is your “new client” goal this month? Are you on track? If not, what is your plan to get on track? How can I help?
  • Who are your difficult prospects? Is there anyone in the company who can help you move this prospect along the sales process? (Dual meeting with management or escrow?) Can I help by assisting you on a visit?
  • Which clients are you targeting for growth? What is your progress? How can I help?

Consistency is The Key
Checking in consistently with your team members realigns their focus on the right activities, which in turn achieve the right results. Consistent communication will help you, and your team, focus on the necessary activities which will help you achieve your first quarter goals and ensure a good start to a successful New Year!

Let us know how the sales and escrow planning tool works for you in your organization. Have you found it to be a useful tool for open discussion with your team members? How can we help drive your success in 2008?

Goal Setting for a Successful 2008

Do you have clearly defined sales and revenue goals for first quarter of 2008? Does each of your sales and marketing representatives know how many orders and new clients they need to bring in on a monthly basis? What about the escrow side? Establishing sales (and escrow) goals is one of the most important things for you to do in order to start the year off right.

By now, you have the 2008 budgets for your operation. Surely this will include the amount of business, broken down into exact open and closed orders, you need to be profitable.
Next step is communication. COMMUNICATING your expectations NOW will substantially increase your chances of hitting budget during the crucial first quarter. Communicate this often. We can't emphasize this enough. By helping each team member establish goals that are in direct alignment with your organizational goals, you will also help increase feelings of belonging and importance of each team player.

Why do client demands and expectations eclipse sales activity?

Most employees will tell you that they perform better when they know exactly what is expected of them. Although this may be the case, it is so easy in our industry to approach each day reactively, regardless of known expectations. Some may even feel they might not be able to meet a client's 'always untimely' demands if our days were in fact planned, right? Wrong. Planning sales activity ahead of time, instead of “fitting it in” when they can, is one of the highest predictors for success a salesperson can have.

In fact, you CAN help employees plan for, and execute on, specific sales activities on a daily basis. By creating and setting minimum daily expectations, you give the sales team a tangible goal that can help them determine if they “won or not" that day.

Set expectations for:

  • a number of prospect contacts
  • a number of interviews with prospects
  • a number of referrals obtained
  • a number of contacts who were asked for orders, etc.

If you don’t already have minimum activity expectations, use the New Year as motivation to do things differently. Many folks resist anything that can be interpreted as micro-managing. But do keep this in mind - the person who doesn’t want you to know about his/her daily sales activity, may just have the most to hide.

Friday, November 2, 2007

Interviewing: The Art of Asking Questions

To be effective in interviewing clients or prospects, you should:
  • Learn, not teach or preach
  • Hold off on presenting products or solutions
  • Get the prospect to like you
  • Uncover history, goals, and needs
  • Identify one need and qualify that need
  • End by obtaining a commitment to a tangible next step

Here are several categories of questions you can explore when interviewing your prospects and Client...

Kickoff Questions (Questions that get the agent focused on themselves and their own glory.)

  • Tell me about your past career success. What 3 things did you do as a new agent that you would credit for your current success?
  • I know you haven’t always been a Realtor. what 3 skills did bring with you from your previous career that were essential in getting off on the right foot in real estate?

Goal Oriented Questions (Questions about goals the agent wants to achieve or has achieved in the past.)

  • How many transactions would you like to close in the next 90 days?
  • What do you want to learn more about this year?
  • How many correctly priced listings would you ideally like to carry?

Needs-Gap Questions (Questions that restate needs in relation to a future goal to help the agent prioritize.)

  • Would you consider efficiency issues or income growth as the primary focus of your business efforts over the next 90 days?
  • Are you on track to achieve your transactional goal?
  • How would you like your assistant to more effectively serve your needs?
  • What types of things would you like to see your computer achieve for you?

System Oriented Questions (These detail how a current system works and may start to point out deficiencies or flaws in the current system. Think “how.”)

  • How do you keep in touch with past clients?
  • How do you manage your database?
  • How do your vendors help you to close more transactions?

Solution Oriented Questions (Help the agent to determine what type of specific system would lessen the needs gap. Think “would.”)

  • Would an outsourced flier delivery system help you to save employee costs?
  • Would an off-site database management company help you to save money and ensure consistent contact with your past customers?
  • Would a list of asset managers help you to penetrate the REO marketplace?
  • Would a system that performed your cold-call prospecting help you to maxi­mize your prospecting time?

Relationship Definition Questions (Help determine how the agent is willing to compensate you for your time, energy and involvement in his or her business.)

  • What percentage of your directable transactions would you feel comfortable sending me over the next 90 days?
  • If I get involved in your business and contribute in a positive way. is there any reason you could not start directing transactions to my office?

Start to master different types of questions so that you can add the most value to the appointment AND walk away with a commitment to a tangible next step.

Happy Selling.