Dave Skow

Coaching a Winning Real Estate Team

by Dave Skow, on 22nd March, 2010 • No Comments

In order to have a sales or property management team that achieves great results, a great coach and effective coaching methods is an absolute necessity.

Think of a sales or rental department as an elite sporting team. Each member has their specialty position and skills, and as such, the coaching methods used to ensure their success should be tailored to their individual functions.

Too many principals implement training based on general sales or property management needs, where they should be focusing on individuals’ strengths and weaknesses, and the skills that these people require to excel in their specialty area.Real-Estate-Training-2

For example, would it be beneficial for Jarryd Hayne to spend all his time training to make the big tackles and hard hit ups? Of course not, because he doesn’t play in the forward line. It would, however, be ideal to use those training methods for a front rower such as Petero Civoniceva.

Is it really a good idea to implement a standard training regime across the whole sales team? Or would it pay to take the time to identify each member’s role, and their strengths and weaknesses, and then tailor training to suit their individual needs.

The reason that players in a sporting team are chosen to represent their country is because they are the best player for that position. The winger is quick, the forwards are tough and the fullback is agile.

In a sales team, the best lister is confident and empathetic, the best seller is great at negotiating and the support staff have an eye for detail. Therefore, tailor training to enhance these skills. Make them market leaders in your area.

Consider joining strong members of your team with other strong members. Cameron Smith & Cooper Cronk are good players in their own right, but as a duo they form a force to be reckoned with. Likewise, band together a star performer with a weaker player in your team. Just as Darren Lockyer can make anyone look fantastic and inspire his team mates to perform, the weaker player will be driven to lift his game.

Another mistake some principals make is not ensuring the sales team sticks to their core market area. In a slow market, it is easy for sales staff to take on listings as business outside of their local or specialty area.

Roger Federer is the greatest tennis player of the 21st century, but he would probably get slaughtered if he ‘laced up the boots’ and ran onto the rugby field. As the old adage says ‘Stick with what you know and what you do best’.

But how do you put this training into practice? By conducting a simple training needs analysis. Sit down with each member of the team and discuss with them what they think their strengths and weaknesses are and what they can do to improve. Then implement training to suit their needs.

It can be something low scale like role playing scenarios they have trouble dealing with, or specific skills based training to broaden their knowledge of their core area. With the introduction of compulsory CPD, the popularity of skills based training has decreased dramatically. But as any proactive coach will tell you, training is the key to producing great staff that get results and remain a cut above the competition.

Just as all elite athletes aspire to be the best and represent their country, does your sales staff aspire to be the best and represent you?

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Dave Skow

Agents Succeed Through Relationship Banking

by Dave Skow, on 14th December, 2009 • 2 Comments

In a market such as the one in which we find ourselves today, agents need to have a rapport with their current clients to be able to work with them in achieving the highest possible sale or rental price for their property. They also need to look to past clients for future business.

Real estate is possibly the industry which most relies on referral and repeat business to ensure continued success.

How do we make sure that the clients and customers we deal with today will come back to us in the years ahead? The answer is relationship banking.

Real-Estate-SuccessThink of the relationship that you have with a client as a bank account. To keep that client happy you need to ensure that there are always funds available in that account.

To do this, deposits must be made. Things like returning phone calls promptly, providing detailed feedback and going that extra mile for your client are all forms of deposits.

Once the account is in credit, you have built a rapport with the client and they should now trust you with the sale or management of their property. If necessary, you can now look to make withdrawals from the account. If you need to adjust the price, arrange an inspection after hours or if we make a mistake and leave the living room light on after an open house inspection, we possibly have enough credit to cover this.

While dealing with their vendor, an agent provided a comprehensive weekly report outlining how many inspections had taken place, what prospects there had been for the property so far, and what kind of prices these people were gravitating towards.

The agent also made regular contact with the vendors to make sure they were satisfied with the job he was doing. After their property had been on the market for six weeks without having any offers that met the vendors’ desired target, the agent met with them and discussed reducing the price in accordance with what the public thought the property was worth.

The vendors agreed immediately, not only because of the evidence that was presented to them, but because the relationship bank account was in credit due to the deposits the agent had made throughout the marketing program.

The relationship account can never go into overdraft! To guarantee a strong affiliation with the client, the account must always remain in credit. It is easy enough to ensure this by making positive deposits and limiting the need to make withdrawals.

Should an account go into debit, the agent runs the risk of performing to a lesser standard than expected of them, or losing the business all together. Not only does this mean a loss of income, but it also leaves the agent vulnerable to criticism and bad references to the clients’ friends and family and therefore no referrals.

A past client of mine was relocating to Queensland from Wagga. Being an elderly lady with no family in town, she found it hard to obtain boxes to use for the move.

I had a relative in town who managed a retail store, so I arranged for a short period of time for the boxes to be kept. At the end of the week, I collected them and took them to the client who was absolutely astounded at the gesture.

Such a small thing which took me one phone call and half an hour of my time meant so much to her and added a huge deposit to the relationship bank account.

In return, a subsequent three listings were referred to our agency by her. It is that easy to be a master of relationship banking!

As with bank accounts, over time you will receive interest so long as you keep boosting the account with deposits. This interest is seen by way of repeat and referred business.

Relationship Banking Via Your Database

It is imperative to maintain an up-to-date database of all past clients and keep in regular contact with them.

There are a variety of ways to do this. Some agents will give clients and customers a bottle of wine or some other gift once a property sale has settled, but there are far too many that don’t follow up after this.

All agents should make contact with past clients at least every 12 months. And it should be something a little more personal than a mass mail-out announcing that you have ‘Just Sold 1 Smith Street – Looking for Similar Properties’.

It could be something simple like a Christmas card or a lotto ticket or gift voucher on the anniversary of their purchase. By doing this, not only are you keeping the account in credit, but when it comes time for them to sell or buy, your name will be the first they think of.

The worst feeling as a real estate agent is to open up the real estate section of the local paper only to find that a property you sold 12 months ago is back on the market but with a different agent.

Why didn’t the vendors come to you? Was the service you provided them less than satisfactory?

The truth is that you probably did a great job as their agent at the time, but have lacked the follow up needed to get the repeat business. The competitor agent probably got lucky and just happened to cold call the vendor while they were contemplating selling.

You cannot rest on your laurels and wait for business to walk through your door just because you think you did a good job last time.

Every highly successful agent is also a great communicator and relationship banker. They understand the importance of maintaining a positive balance in the relationship bank account and that to be proactive is the key to repeat business and maintaining the relationship bank balance.

Not only will maintaining the accounts go some way towards getting repeat business, but it will also lead to referrals from these past clients.

Almost everybody has a friend or relative who currently have, or are considering putting, their house on the market. So if you have sold 30 properties in the last year, you have 30 past clients who know at least one other person each considering selling.

Real Estate ReferralsIf you have maintained the relationship bank accounts with these past clients, they are going to tell their friends and relatives what a great agent you are and you will most probably get a call from them and the chance to list 30 properties without knocking on a single door!

On the flip side, if you have not maintained the account, your balance will be whittled away with bank fees and charges, and your past clients will not even think to tell their friends and relatives about you because you have simply done the job you were paid for and nothing more. They see you as an ordinary agent, not an extraordinary agent.

Your past clients and customers aren’t the only source of referrals. Everyone you have regular contact with is a potential client, as well as a potential referrer.

Therefore, we also need to make sure we are maintaining a positive relationship banking account with these people. They could be your hairdresser, community leaders, your children’s school teachers or restaurant owners. The possibilities are endless, but only if you keep the account balances in credit by making regular deposits.

Any referrals that you receive should be appreciated, and as such you should demonstrate your appreciation. There are strict penalties under the Property, Stock & Business Agents Act (2002) for inducing clients and customers through a third party, however a bunch of flowers or a nice bottle of wine to someone who refers you business is not classed as a commercial inducement arrangement.

By rewarding the referrer, you are making yet another deposit into that relationship account!

Relationships really are the new currency of the real estate industry. Relationship banking is creating growth and profit through caring and connection and is long lasting with endless possibilities to produce results. It is a skill that the majority of agents do not fully use to their advantage, but for those who do, it creates real wealth through long lasting associations.

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Dave Skow

If only I’d done that right from the start….

by Dave Skow, on 28th October, 2009 • 5 Comments

Setting the right habits from the beginning of your career can make a world of difference for a sales agent.

Those who have been in the industry a long time know just how all-consuming and exhausting real estate can be. There’s always a danger of burning out.

So rather than have you say, “If only I’d done that right from the start”…., I thought I’d share 6 Success Tips to help you move forward faster.

1. Switch On & Switch Off

The most important habit for sales agents to adopt is time-management. At the beginning of their career, sales agents are generally very ambitious and enthusiastic, so much so that some don’t take the time to relax at all. Working 14 hour days, six and a half days a week isn’t a healthy way to make it big. There needs to be a balance between striving to be successful and having time out.

Most agents conduct open house inspections on Saturdays, meaning that Sunday really is the day of rest. However is this enough? Why not set aside a few hours on a Wednesday afternoon to swing the nine iron around the golf course? Or unwind on the couch with a good book? It is hard to do, but this balance is essential to assuring longevity in the sales field.

Time Management

2. Set daily and weekly work plans – and stick to them!
Sit down and work out your most dollar productive activities. Then set aside time per day and per week for that task.

We all know that the key to success in a new sales person’s career is prospecting, however, it’s also perhaps the most loathed activity they undertake. Having time set aside every day to complete prospecting is vital. Similarly, maintaining contact with current clients and customers, as well as all those who grace our database will ensure happy vendors and purchasers and referrals falling over themselves to get to you.

Or how about trying this: turn off the ‘new message’ indicator on your email program and limit yourself to checking your inbox twice a day (unless of course you know something important is there waiting your perusal).

3. Keep your own personality
Most established agencies have set strategies, often in the form of scripts and dialogues, which ensure agents’ compliance in anything they say to the public and are aimed at giving them the confidence to converse with consumers.

The danger, though, is for new sales agents to stick so closely to the script that they sound fake.

People can spot a fake a mile away. One of the most persistent comments I hear from friends and family after dealing with agents, particularly those new to the profession, is how robotic they can tend to come across.

While I am a big advocate for the use of these scripts, far too many new agents lack the personality behind the message they put across. Instead of harnessing a positive approach to begin building rapport, they shoot off these lines as though it’s the thousandth time the phrases have come out of their mouths that day.

The relationship between client and agent is as important as the actual products and services on offer. It is imperative that, from the first meeting, trust and confidence is attained. By simply finding a common ground with the client, agents can go a long way to achieving this.

Real Estate Clients

4. Build your database and nurture your contacts
One of the biggest regrets many sales agents have is not getting to work on building a database from the very start of their career.

Whether it is on flashy computer programs or by using a card filing system, everyone with whom you do business or meet during prospecting needs to be recorded for appropriate follow up and action.

Even before commencing a career, agents should sit down and really think about all the people they have any relationship with. From friends and family right through to the dentist you have been visiting every 12 months since you were five, everyone with whom you deal is a potential client or customer.

Once this list is created, an introductory letter announcing the big career change should be mailed to this list. You have now planted the seed. But in order for the seed to grow and for the plant to bear fruit, it needs feeding by way of regular contact. This could be through monthly newsletters, regular phone contact or occasionally calling on your contacts face-to-face.

Follow up is also vital. As a benchmark, agents should aim to make at least 75% of their turnover as a result of referrals and repeat business within the first three years in the industry. To achieve this, it is imperative to remain the only name that comes into your past clients’ minds when they think of real estate agents. This is easily achievable, not only by maintaining contact, but also through simple gestures like settlement gifts, tokens on the anniversary of their sale or purchase, and by offering them advice about the state of the local market before they even think of asking.

New agents also need to create a network of ‘people of influence’. These can be anyone from bankers, financiers, builders, tradespeople and solicitors. Meeting on a scheduled basis, say once a month, can go a long way to building relationships within the group. Together, you form a super-power of providers of property services and can assist each other not only through referrals, but also through the wealth of knowledge that the network possesses.

5. Develop your image
Traditional newspaper advertisements and brochures are still extremely useful in profile building, but the innovative agents know the importance of doing more than just this.

Your name needs to be everywhere, on your signboards, billboards, local television and radio.  And even more than this, in this day in age, social networking has a huge role to play in your image (but I’ll leave the finer points of this technology to other experts like  Greg Vincent).

However, agents need to be mindful of how they may be perceived. If you think you are God’s gift to real estate and you like to flaunt it, you probably come across as arrogant and people will avoid contact with you.

On the flip side, if you are too lax in your attitude towards your abilities as a sales agent, people will probably see you as not interested and lacking enthusiasm and drive. It is a fine line to tread, but one that is essential in order to build a flourishing client base.

6. Increase your knowledge
It’s also important to keep improving your skills and knowledge through training.

With access to information so freely available to consumers, agents have never had to be more on the ball than they do now. Statistics show that purchasers spend 34 days researching on the internet before making any kind of initial contact with an agent. Some look for a particular type of property in a particular area for months before purchasing.

Make sure you know what’s happening within your area. Keep an eye on new listings coming onto the market & research sales happening in your area. It’s extremely important that you are able to share up-to-date, relevant information with your clients so you can become seen as the expert in your area.

Agents should also be allocating approx. 10% of their income to professional development – whether that be through conferences and seminars, subscribing to organisations who offer continuous learning material or through the local business networks. As the old saying goes, ‘Knowledge is power’ and agents need to possess all they can to keep at the top of their profession and remain a step ahead of the competition.

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