Thick Skin Strong Stomach!
“A Real Estate Agents Guide to Worry Free Selling”
Bob Percesepe
Copyright 2011
Smashwords Edition
License Notes
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
Contents
Are You Playing On The Right Fairway?
Are Ya Ridin With The Big Boys?
Preface
This book is written for salespeople.
I am a real estate sales professional, but I suppose the application of this book can be used in any sales related industry.
In a world of economic uncertainty, and in a nation that is politically and economically broken, how can a sales professional survive…let alone prosper?
The purpose of this book is to help my colleagues. It doesn’t matter if you sell real estate, cars, or widgets. My hope is to bring you to a constant awareness in your daily business that things change rapidly, and that the true professional must be prepared to adapt to change in an instant.
Stepping out a little further, adapting to change in a new business environment is not enough. Maintaining a healthy and balanced environment in your home and community is equally as important to most salespersons.
Using four simple techniques that I’ve outlined in the next few pages, you will identify with the pain and exhilaration that only a salesperson can experience.
Most importantly, however, you will find that all of us are capable of a living a harmonious, well balanced life while working within the ever advancing technologies of our trade.
“Are You Playing On The Right Fairway?”
I enjoy golfing in the same way most recreational golfers do. I try to play as much as my busy life will allow, and my game rarely gets beyond average. I do, however, get a ton of pleasure from the good natured antics of my regular Sunday group.
In one early morning round on a gentle dog-leg hole to the left, I pounded my tee shot over the beautiful apple tree lined fairway far to the left and watched my ball rocket out of sight to an unknown land. I could hear the quiet chuckles of my buddies as I drove my cart to search for the lost ball.
I live in the beautiful Hudson Valley Region of New York and have the privilege of playing golf on a course that is woven through a massive apple orchard. A crisp September morning in such a spectacular setting is something every golfer should experience. As I crested a small hill I enjoyed a nice little surprise as I found my ball sitting cleanly in the middle of the wrong fairway.
Fully expecting multiple penalty strokes and virtually no approach shots to the green, I realized that, in fact, my misdirected tee shot had actually brought me closer to the green than the traditional and boring fairway landing area. Not only was I closer to the green, but I had a wide open approach with no obstacles. I was easily able to land a soft 7 iron to the back of the green and finish with a two putt for par-thank you very much!
So what does my goofy golf story have to do with real estate sales?
Like many real estate professionals in early 2008, I was beginning to feel some anxiety as I watched my local market soften. Sure, I had a pretty good run for about 10 years and we had been expecting things to get a little weird for a year or two, but nothing prepared me for October of 2008.
I had spent many years developing a niche market book of business built of clients who were dedicated to small investment properties. Most of my sales activity came from 2-10 family homes in various stages of ownership. Some clients would purchase distressed units and flip the homes, others would retain my services to lease and manage buildings in preparation for a future sale. Still others would purchase a two family as an owner occupant and become part of an ever changing community, while living a comfortable lifestyle with supporting income from the second unit.
One of building blocks of my success in investment properties came from a very simple dynamic. No other REALTOR® was willing to handle the inner city texture of my market. I was fearless and spoke the language of the investor. My clients trusted me completely and I was recognized as the guy who could make them money and lots of it. (By the way -I’m still pretty good at this.)
In October of 2008 I watched my business disappear. And I don’t mean things got slow, I mean it was completely gone! In the second week of the month I received notice of five transaction sides collapses, all as a result of lender related issues. It was either bank’s that had closed their doors, unsatisfactory appraisals requiring buyers to bring heavy injection into deals that they were not expecting, or tightening lending guidelines that would not support the property purchase. It really didn’t matter, the deals were dead.
It’s the curse of real estate sales, I realize, but five deals in one week? In my business model these 5 sides translated into over 50,000 commission dollars. Not great news as I was approaching the end of year. Most sales professionals always want to finish their year strong, and this problem was definitely going to keep me from walking down the red carpet for my customary sales award.
Like any seasoned veteran of my industry, I looked in every direction to try to salvage any of the deals, but as days turned into weeks I discovered that I was wasting my energies. Banks were simply not lending the money I needed to keep the deals together, and my clients were slowly walking away from their deals, looking for safer investments.
For the first time in my career I made startling discovery.
“I had no approach shot!”
After this blast of bad news I was jolted into a world I had never experienced before. I began to question my desire to stay in the business.
Let’s face it. All sales professionals have experienced that moment of rejection or pain that brings you to a point of despair. If you are compensated as a commissioned agent and have no other source of income you begin to be paralyzed about your ability to turn things around.
As the nations recent economy shriveled I had been watching many close friends and colleagues that had previously been heavy hitters in the industry shrink to a shell of their former production. Many had left the business well before the softening market had begun and I just chalked up their disappearance as un-preparedness and a need for an uninterrupted weekly paycheck.
The question I have for all of us that are faced with, (or will soon be facing) in an economic downturn of such cataclysmic proportions is:
“Is leaving the business an option?”
If you hesitated for a moment as you asked yourself this question, please don’t be discouraged. You are not alone. There are thousands of real estate professionals across the country that have been faced with this question and have made a clear decision to get out while the getting is good.
Many practitioners jumped into the industry as the wave crested and were able to surf along for a few years and enjoy a pleasant, yet short-lived flurry of activity. I am not speaking to this group.
I am directing this question to those of us who simply have no options. This is our life. The concept of failure and seeking a livelihood outside of sales is so foreign to us that we refuse to discuss it. It’s not just our passion to be successful - it’s a complete and stubborn un-willingness to be defeated.
There may be a few readers who take offense to this statement, but here it goes.
“Sales may not be the career for you!”
If you have an idea to put your business on a shelf until the market recovers and resume when the safety net is in place, please do yourself a favor and give this book to a colleague who might be able to take away some useful information from its content. (I’m not refunding your money for the book. You knew the title before you started reading!)
If, however, you simply do not have a “Plan B”, please keep reading. Our first step to survival is an absolute and unconditional commitment to the future of your business. Later in this book we will discuss the definition of success and how it is measured.
Once we remove the option of failure from our future, we’ll be in a place where we will constantly looking for a good “approach shot”. The true purpose of this reading is intended to create awareness that there are many different ways to approach the green. Some of these approaches may be non-traditional, and some may be viewed as unrealistic, but let me share a thought with you.
When I was at the low point of my sales career, and had my head in my hands searching for ideas that would drag me out of my funk, I simply created my own silly mantra.
“Doing something is always better than doing nothing.”
I had an office branch manager many years ago who constantly, (and with no sympathy) made the statement: “There are only two ways to make money in sales:
“You can sit by the phone and wait for it to ring-or you can do things to make it ring!”
I’m quite certain that she picked that statement from some sales trainer or coach, and that person is unknown to me, but it creates an environment of necessity. It is an action statement and pretty unscientific, but it does capture the essence of what we do.
“Doing something is better than doing nothing.” The next step is to create the “something.” “Something” may be so simple, so uncomplicated, that we can’t quite see it.
Several years ago, my Broker came up with idea during the height of the market that, (I suspect), may have worked successfully in other markets. It was a “Guaranteed Sales Program”. The basic concept was that I would guarantee the sale of their home in 87 days or less. If I can’t sell their home during this period, I would agree to work for free! Initially the program did not get off the ground because it simply was not received well. Most sellers were well positioned in an era of inflated home values and demanding buyers with cheap money in their hands. Their homes stood a fair chance of selling regardless if the sale was warranted or not!
I, however, made a decision to re-introduce the program early in 2009, thinking that “Doing something is better than doing nothing.” I later came to believe that I was offering this program to myself as a sink or swim incentive.
I found that once my neck was on the line to perform without a net I was invigorated and had a feeling that I was emerging as a risk-taker. It inspired me to do something! Now I can’t determine whether the program is actually successful quite yet. It’s too early. The effect it had on my confidence, however, was amazing. I actually had a great feeling that I had done “something”!
Are you committed to doing “something”? Are you prepared to look for opportunities that create good “approach shots”?
Read on!
“What is your Raison D’etre?”
The French have a phrase that I love.
In Junior High School I recall an expression from a vocabulary class that has much meaning to me.
I ask you the question, “What is your raison d’etre?”
Or, “What is your reason for being?”
One could dig very deep and pose the age-old question, “What is the purpose of your life?” This is a question far too heavy for a simple salesman such as me, and I really wouldn’t suggest a self analysis of your psyche at this level. It’s way too complex!
Allow me to explain. I am suggesting that everyone has a true purpose in their lives. For most of us, our purpose is uncomplicated and requires little examination. I firmly believe that by exposing your life purpose you will be brought to a place that calms your nerves, settles your stomach and ultimately leads to an extraordinarily peaceful and balanced life.
In 2004 I married an extraordinary woman. Prior to meeting my wife Debbi, I was not a very happy man. I was silently searching for a better chapter in my life. I really wasn’t certain what it was that I needed to bring me to a placid place in my personal life, but there was a burning in the deep places of my being that I craved. I am not a particularly religious person, but I have become deeply spiritual. (There is a difference.)
After spending several years with Deb, I have experienced unique blessing of living my life with a partner who makes me laugh and shares my pain, but most importantly, allows me to dream!
My wife is a born comic. Her personality is infectious and I have yet to meet anyone who is not drawn to her. Born into a family of business people, and the daughter of an entrepreneur, Debbi “gets it”. She understands the roller-coaster of emotion that salespeople are challenged with, and always supports and encourages my successes and quickly pushes me past my failures. Being married to Debbi, as I often joke, is like being married to Lucy Ricardo… on steroids.
Clearly, my wife’s raison d’etre is making everyone around her feel like they are special. Our children, friends, family members, co-workers, and everyone who has ever met Debbi would all unanimously agree that her sole purpose in life is making them feel like they are the subject of her immediate affection and deserve her instant and unconditional attention. She is truly a unique woman of character.
Likewise, I have a very simple raison d’etre. It is my role in life to make her happy! That’s it!
You see, I have come to an understanding in my life that if I can make Debbi happy, everything that follows is really quite easy. Decisions come easier, going to the office every morning is a pleasure, and long hours of work are fun. Frustration and annoying everyday hassles of my day are trivialized. All of the events of my being fall into a second position of concern for me simply because I have already achieved my raison d’être.
Try to translate this into your life. Examine for a moment the one thing in your life that truly exposes your purpose. It may be your “Debbi”, but perhaps it may be more intrinsic or personal. It is possible that your raison d’être or purpose comes through charitable works, volunteering for those who have special needs, caring for the elderly, serving your community as a firefighter, EMT, or raising political awareness in your community.
Maybe you have been placed in a position where you have an opportunity to change a person’s life. A child, the homeless, a parent or relative, or perhaps it’s an elderly shut-in who craves your kindness.
For many it is much deeper in the spiritual sense. Getting into a close walk with your God is very often the true purpose many of us would see as the beginning and end of our existence.
I’m not sure what your true raison d’être is, but I would offer you this. Once you have identified the one simple thing that brings purpose into your being, you will automatically be in a quieter place of peace. Everything that leads or follows your purpose is considerably more achievable. Your daily prospecting will not be a chore or a “job”. It will become a small step in your day, simply because you have already recognized your purpose.
Your networking ability will be refined, because you’re not just searching out leads anymore. Prospects and potential clients will be drawn to your peaceful spirit as a result of one thing. You have already realized your purpose!
Financially speaking I have found that my concern for economic gain, although never neglected, comes in as second place. My desire to constantly chug out deals might be a habitual part of my life, but I am much less concerned about the end results of my successes because I have already been rewarded through my raison d’être.
Test my opinion on this topic. Take a look at some of the top producing agents in your market. The type of salesperson I’d like you to identify is the one who consistently produces at the same pace, month after month and year after year. They seem to be resilient to market swings and are rarely affected by economic changes in the market. This agent converts the same number of transactions on a consistent level every year. Their Broker does not hold their hands constantly or “baby-sit” them and they rarely need pep talks. You will often see these agents at social functions and they actually enjoy being there! They are almost always accompanied by their spouse and seem at ease in every situation.
This is the same agent that you will see at the grocery store in sneakers and jeans, attends their kids soccer games and piano recitals, and at church on Sunday morning.
You watch these folks on the outside and wonder how they get the time and energy to produce deals in their real estate business, yet at the same time they are deeply involved in their community. We all know how hard you have to work in this business to make a living, and the idea of having a balanced life at the same time is like standing on your back patio and trying to throw rocks at the space shuttle!
I would challenge you that these agents have found, at some level, their true raison d’être. There is undoubtedly something in their being that gives them purpose, something that they have found that has unlocked the balance in their personal and professional lives.
Now take a look at a different type of top-producer. This type of agent is equally productive in their business. They also are pretty consistent in their volume of production but there is a difference in the way they work.
This agent is a super high maintenance salesperson, the type that exhausts their broker or office manager. They are usually too pooped to have a life outside of their business. They are recognized as good agents, but it’s tough to do business with them because they are inattentive to the administrative end of the business. They burn up assistants, and are fearful of passing files off to support staff.
You rarely see this type of salesperson in any type of social environment. They just don’t have the time! Or even worse, they are afraid of losing business while they’re taking a few hours off!
I’m not sure how this type of personality can survive successfully in a home environment, but I can guess that they burn up relationships in the same fashion they burn up assistants. I’d offer the idea that this salesperson would likely find a much more balanced life once they’ve identified a purpose… a passion other than sales.
If you have to take a bit of time to seek out your raison d’être, don’t’ panic. It may not be on the immediate horizon, but I guarantee that everyone has a purpose! If it’s necessary to put this book down for a while and examine you, please don’t worry. We’ll still be friends!
“Are Ya Ridin With The Big Boys?”
My 24 year old son and I share a unique passion. We are both motorcycle enthusiasts. There is something about the rush of freedom that both of us enjoy when riding through the rolling New York countryside. But it was not always the case.
When Dan was in his late teens he was drawn, like many young men, to the high speed and power of sport bikes. These machines are built of pure unadulterated technology and are designed to do one thing. Go fast!
I worried about him constantly. Ever fearful that he would tap into the extreme throttle of his bike and wind up.. well… you know. I will give him credit in many respects. When giving him a lesson about handling his machine, and safety related concerns he was the picture of attention. He never blew me off or ignored my concerns. He kept his bike in peak condition and I always felt, (and still do), confident about his riding skills and his ability to build good riding habits.
My overwhelming fear, of course, was always the same. What does he do when he is riding alone, or even worse, when he riding with his young inexperienced and untrained friends? Would he abandon his training and still hear my voice of caution in his helmet. Hell- is he wearing a helmet!? After all, I am a father first. I am still a parent. In my eyes I can see Dan with his impish grin racing down a small hill near the home we lived in many years ago. His little bicycle in complete control with the safety training wheels firmly bolted into place. He was barely 4 years old when he begged me repeatedly to remove the little wheels. After much pleading I did remove them while on a summer vacation in the Adirondacks. Almost immediately he mounted his ride and rode down the narrow path along the shore of Lake Pleasant in Speculator, NY. I was convinced at that moment that he would grow into a wild and reckless young man. But I was dead wrong. He and his brothers are growing into outstanding young men of character and I have much pride in all of them.
Dan has traded the sport bike for a much safer and traditional Harley Low Rider. It is an impressive ride with bold paint, gleaming chrome and a ferocious growl of twin cylinder power.
Now the average reader may say, yeah Bob, but he’s still riding a motorcycle… I don’t get it! You see, he may be riding a bike, but he is riding a bike that is much, much, slower. This translates into a rider that is much safer, and one that will not be drawn to ride with a younger crowd of like minded dare-devils. Dan has graduated to a new group of people he is now riding with.
My young son is riding now with the “Big Boys, “a group of my buddies, the youngest of whom is twice his age. He genuinely enjoys the camaraderie of the older blend of his dad’s misfit friends. When he’s not able to make it to a ride or poker run, my friends are all disappointed that the “kid” won’t be joining us. The best part is that he now associates with a group of friends that are all about safety and are concerned about their fellow riders. There is safety in numbers.
My concerns are selfish. If Dan rides with a group of safety nuts-he will become a safety nut. If he watches men who practice good habits-he will develop good habits.
Why do I ramble on so with this long winded commentary about my son and I?
The same is true for salespeople. If you are in the company of those that practice good habits - you will develop good habits!
My Broker and very close friend, Matt Williams, has an extraordinary ability to identify, recruit and retain the highest caliper of salespeople. In many instances some of the agents he has brought into our organization were not yet at the peak of their game. Their craft had not yet been honed to a fine skill. Matt, as a result of intense training has an overwhelming passion to help his people to grow professionally and personally to a level of production beyond belief! His leadership ability is unparalleled, and I am privileged to sit in his company.
Our family of agents has consistently out produced our competitors on a transaction per agent scale. This compounds itself into a production machine of a relatively small roster of agents and a massive volume of sales. Even in a sagging market and what will go down in history as “The Great Recession”, our small office continues to chug away and remains profitable.
This phenomenon does not come from good luck. To be sure, it comes from good business practices and skilled training, but the absolute success of Matt’s office comes from something much more finite. My broker and friend has built a company of professionals who think in the same way, speak in the same tongue, and act in the same fashion. Each salesperson candidate must measure up to the very high standards that have quietly and efficiently been built into the core values of the company. It is an attitude of gentle spirited and focused professionals that meld together into powerhouse of productivity.
There are no banners flying in our office windows, no vanity marketing of any kind, and no boasting of successes outside of the company. Oh, we celebrate the achievements of our associates, and encourage all to participate, but the aura of professionalism goes deep into the soul of the team. By the way, this sense of professionalism goes well beyond the salespeople. Our administrative staff is absolutely at the peak of performance at all times. Guests are greeted with a warm smile and welcomed by a “Director of First Impressions”. Office meetings are not social events, but are a carefully crafted mechanism of purpose and content filled ideas and new techniques. Meetings begin at 9:59 AM and are never too long. Executives in the company quickly and deftly move from meeting to productive activities in an eye-blink.
Matt carefully schedules one-on-one monthly coaching sessions with all salespeople on a voluntary basis. Few pass up on this opportunity. Salespeople are encouraged to build and create new ideas free from challenge. If you think that an idea or technology is worthy of pursuit, you are free to follow its success. Free thinking and innovating is encouraged and respected.
Prospecting is the culture. Salespeople do not need to be prompted, poked, persuaded, or embarrassed into lead generation. The standards are high. Many agents in our market are hesitant to request interviews with Matt because of their fear of measuring up, or even worse, failing.
It’s pretty easy to see where I am going with this. We’ve all heard it a million times. If you want to sing well, you sing with a good choir. If you want to play better golf, you play with good golfers. (Remember chapter 1?) As a top-notch salesperson, why wouldn’t you want to associate with agents who perform at the top of their game? If office standards are set low or are non-existent, what direction will your performance and productivity go?
I have absolutely no doubt that if, while in the bleak period of my own business, that if I was not working in a superb environment of the industry’s best performers, then I too would have been a statistic of lost hope. My desire to reach to a higher level of performance was a goal that was much easier to reach when I was surrounded by like minded associates. These are people that genuinely care about me! And I care about them.
Now please don’t pack up your belongings and move to New York. (Unless you call me first). The best suggestion that I could make would to be very, very selective about the organization you are associated with. There are many fine companies that have outstanding training programs, good support, technologies, and management.
Take a close look at the associates in the company. Talk to them. Ask questions. Don’t be satisfied with responses like “my manager is wonderful”, or “I’m happy here”. This not enough to bring you to a higher level of productivity. The culture of the work environment must be determined by a very high set of standards.
I will never win Father of the Year Award, but my boys have heard me sternly tell them on countless occasions, (and in my best Dad voice), the old fashioned advice that will never lose its message.
“Choose your friends - don’t let your friends choose you.”
The same advice applies to those that we associate with professionally and in our work environment. Have you ever been in the office setting consisting of agents that ooze the pus of negativity? You know who I’m talking about! These are the energy sappers who have nothing good to say about anything or anyone. They complain about unhappy buyers, unsatisfied sellers, agents that are too young, too old, too lazy, too controlling, difficult to talk to, talk too much, are flashy, are over dressed, are poorly dressed, work too hard, barely work at all, and blah, blah, blah….
This work culture is poisonous, and without a leader who controls the festering source of the negativity, it will go uncontrolled and spread like cancer. Eventually the toxic environment is so out of control that the workplace becomes oppressive. Agent productivity stagnates, staff becomes bitter, and management becomes paralyzed.
It gets worse! You will get sucked into the crap stew! Your attitude is unprotected, you’ll avoid showing your face at the office, meetings become perfunctory, and soon the same agents will start wandering to the office down the block looking to suck the life out of a new crop of fresh recruits!
I’d allow that virtually every market has the company that is head and shoulders above the competition in every way. These are the organizations that have no agent migration, have a higher per agent transaction ratio, and almost always a limited roster of peak performers!
Follow the winners!
“Own Yourself”
I could never be a lawyer.
Although I have many attorney friends and colleagues that I admire and respect, many are placed in a position where they have to defend the actions of others.
I am of the opinion that successfully defending the actions of someone other than you is a mathematical improbability.
In my experience, I have had little reward in defending the actions and responsibility of someone other than myself. I cannot effectively control any ones actions other than my own. Nor can I take the responsibility of the quality or condition of the product I am selling. This burden falls on someone other than the salesperson.
Regardless of how hard you try, the end result is the same.
The same concept applies to the salesperson. How can an articulate, well prepared salesperson make a legitimate pitch for a service or product that they don’t believe in?
Many times during my career, I have been challenged with the sale of a less than perfect product. As a matter of fact, I have experienced this problem more times than I care to admit. As a salesman that aggressively represented buyers and sellers of rental properties in an inner city market in Upstate New York, I’ve seen my share of dilapidated homes and interesting occupants.
Placing yourself in a position where you are forced to accentuate the highlights of a non-perfect product requires extraordinary skill and thick skin.
It took me many years to realize a very basic fundamental sales concept.
“The salesperson does not create the product-they simply market it!”
Take it a step further. As I mentioned earlier, we are living in a world that historians will likely label “The Great Recession.’ Home prices have never been more volatile, dropping 50-100% in many markets throughout the country, and lenders view the most pristine buyers with skepticism.
Government is unreliable and incapable of repairing the financial woes of the nation, politicians are not financially astute, and the value of the U.S dollar is shrinking while the National debt is soaring ever higher.
Yet despite the all of this economic gloom I have great news for the average, educated salesperson!
“You cannot control the market conditions that you work in… you can only react to them”
This is not a new concept. Market conditions have ebbed and flowed in hundreds of cultures and for thousands of years! I personally heard this sentiment shared by a very dear and well respected REALTOR® friend in New York nearly 20 years ago!
The average salesperson suffers much angst over the product that they sell, and the market conditions that they sell them in. The question is… How will you let market conditions control you?
Most of us will agonize over things in which we have no control over. How many of us wake up in the middle of the night fretting over listing activity, low offers, short-sale negotiations, and countless blockades that prevent us from a successful sale?
Please don’t misinterpret my opinion with the duties that real estate professionals engage in. There is no excuse for the neglect of our client responsibilities.
I’m more concerned over the reaction of agents over situations that they have no control over. The worse of these reactions comes into play, of course, when dealing with unhappy sellers. I seriously doubt if any seasoned professional of the real estate industry has not been challenged with this dilemma in recent years. I have never encountered a seller that exclaimed:
“Gee Bob; I had no idea my home was worth that much! I thought it would be worth much less!”
When faced with the objections of most consumers over obvious news that they simply don’t want to hear, the salesperson has two options.
1)Level with them and be honest in your opinions and counsel.
2)Lie to them.
My purpose in detailing the specific habits of most consumers is to help you accept the objection and deal with it immediately and head on. Option 2 should never be even remotely considered!
Delaying the announcement of bad news can affect the salesperson at many levels. Sadly, most of us will wrestle with the necessary communication that conveys bad news. During the wrestling process we’ll eat poorly, be easily distracted, and be openly hostile with spouses and our children. Office environments become oppressive, friends will remain distant from you, and a paralysis overtakes us. This is an ugly place that removes us from the harmony and balance that we so badly crave.
Our lives become quickly chaotic as we search for new excuses and look for someone to point the finger of blame to. The worse result of this hostility is that the salesperson quickly loses the ability to prospect for new business! A horrible and deadly end comes quite quickly once we have crossed this threshold. Recovery becomes difficult.
By putting the responsibility of issues that we can’t control quickly and squarely in the lap of where it belongs, most of us will become remarkably calm and settled. You will find that business goes smoother, deals close easier, and communication is purposeful.
Prospecting becomes positive and you’ll win a small reward with each new uncovered lead. A peaceful balance will overtake your inner spirit and will be easily recognized by your family, friends, and co-workers.
This book is not intended to prepare you for dialogues of objection handling techniques. That is best left to trainers and coaches that are better equipped with such tools.
My goal is to get the average salesperson into a place where they ‘own themselves’ and do not take responsibility for actions that they do not control. (This does not prevent the salesperson from fixing someone else’s mistakes; it simply places the burden where it belongs.)
If you do make a commitment to being a bit more ‘Thick-Skinned’ in your communication with prospects and clients, there are a few key ingredients that you’ll need.
The first ingredient is preparation. Arming yourself for meetings with prospects and future clients is a must. A well prepared and factual CMA will go a long way in winning a long-term relationship if you are looking to win a listing or a price reduction.
Be assured, most consumers are far more knowledgeable than you might think when evaluating properties and determining value. The advancements of technologies with sites such as Zillow and Trulia have given the average homeowner tremendous resources for home data.
Poor preparation is a deal killer when trying to sway the prospect to buying into your opinions. A well rehearsed presentation is worth its weight in gold!
The second key ingredient is the easiest one to learn, but usually overlooked. Although there are occasional salespersons that are uniquely gifted, most require a high level of training in order to be effective.
I am often amazed by agents that are unwilling or not interested in participating in sales training. I can assure you that business rarely walks through the door looking to engage your services.
I am equally interested in the salesperson that is perfectly comfortable putting their platinum credit card on a cocktail bar at a social function, but will not invest a nickel in their personal and human development! This phenomenon eludes me, but it is a very common practice.
Highly skilled training of sales dialogues, objection handling techniques, and well rehearsed role playing are more critical in the competitive world of real estate sales than they have been in the history of the industry.
It’s tough out there! Preparation and training will always separate the casual producer from the “super producer”. Even if you have no desire to be a top performing salesperson, just think of how much energy can be saved by effectively conveying messages through well rehearsed dialogues and skillful preparation. In the end, the highly trained agent will be rewarded with less angst and find a great balance in their personal and professional lives!
I am a huge believer in personal training specific to the real estate industry. There are many trainers, personal coaches, and training programs that are tailored to real estate professionals. In the environment we live in today, a support mechanism by a professional trainer is an absolute necessity.
My suggestion would be sales training from an organization such as the Floyd Wickman Team. Floyd Wickman and his team of trainers and coaches have been teaching sales techniques and dialogues to real estate professionals for decades. Their systems are unparalleled and I have been involved in Floyd's training system for many years.
Owning your actions, preparation, and training. What a beautiful combination!
Prologue
In a quick summation let’s look at the four simple steps that complete the salespersons unbroken characteristics. The characteristics that lead to a purposeful and successful career.
First, let’s determine if we’re playing in the right fairway. Remembering that there are many ways to reach a goal, and sometimes it’s necessary to re-structure plans, systems and processes. Life is loaded with change and so is business!
Find your purpose. Be open to opportunities that may have a hidden direction and find the passion that you long for. It may be right in front of you!
Ride with the big boys and protect your attitude. Be selective in your associates, your team mates and your organization. Much time and energy can be wasted in trying to adapt to a culture of non-productivity, toxic work environments, and sloppy business models.
Arm yourself with dignity and set the standard high for yourself. Learn how to say no, stay grounded on the fundamental principles that make sales professionals excel. Know your product thoroughly and guard yourself from procrastination.
“Don’t apologize for problems you did not create, and find ways to fix problems that others have created!”
And lastly, brace yourself for an exciting journey!
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About The Author
Bob Percesepe is an Associate Broker at Realty Executives Williams Sykes Realty in Poughkeepsie, New York and the former Director Of Franchise Sales For Realty Executives of New York, with over 20 years of real estate experience.
Bob is a graduate of The Floyd Wickman Masters Sale Academy, has a National Association of REALTORS designation as a Senior Real Estate Specialist, is a Certified New York State Real Estate Instructor and is a Graduate of New York State Association Of REALTORS Leadership Academy.
A self confessing Real Estate “junkie”, it’s rare to begin or end a conversation without a deep statistical dialogue with Bob. Always open to new technologies, sales skills techniques, and innovative ideas, his zeal for the industry is always intense. The peak of his enjoyment comes from his strong belief in the “Get By Giving” philosophy while serving his clients and colleagues.
Recently relocated, Bob and his wife Debbi currently reside in Southport, North Carolina.
Bob is also the author of the soon to be published video training series, “87 Day Guaranteed Sale Program”.