Coffee's Brewing - And It's Strong!

Brokers, owners and managers - it's time to wake up and smell the coffee. The coffee of social media.

While many in our industry were early risers and grabbed their cups first, much of the industry chose to sleep in, not awakening to the power of blogging, podcasts, social networking, micro-blogging – just some of the tools of Web 2.0 that make up the genre of social media – until the aroma became nearly overpowering. Now it seems, those of us that hit the snooze button are getting to the pot after the coffee has lingered on the burner a while. And that overpowering smell has awakened a large number of real estate professionals.

Thousands of agents are currently blogging, but tens of thousands more will be participating in coming months, posting their blogs on hundreds of sites. Even more will be creating profiles on social networking sites like Facebook, MySpace, Plaxo and LinkedIn. Legions of real estate professionals will be posting on Twitter, placing photos on sites like Flickr, or offering their audio commentary on anything and everything on Utterz. Our associates seem to be grasping the new Web 2.0 order of business and hoisting their coffee mugs. Are we in the brokerage ownership and management arenas going to be the last ones to the coffee pot?

It’s time we understand these new tools and what they can do for our business. How, if used effectively, they can expand our marketing reach, increase our speed of communication and further our brand. We need to understand how they can reduce expenses and attract new customers. And we certainly need to become a resource for our associates to turn to for advice on using these tools.

But we also have to understand what these tools can do to our business if not monitored or managed. Left unchecked, unmanaged, or unmonitored, these tools can offer certain elements of risk – read liability – that could hold disastrous results for our business. We need to develop policies and procedures (with the involvement of our associates, legal counsel and management team) to address and manage these tools proactively. Without a proactive strategy on managing these tools, we’re likely to become another industry headline.

And that headline won’t have anything to do with coffee.


Future posts planned: effective social media strategies in real estate; developing policies and procedures to address social media use in your office; applying consistent branding practices in social networking.

For further information, please visit www.TheRealEstateNetwork.ning.com, a free social networking site for those in the real estate industry.

Managers: What do Agents Owe You?

We read article after article about how to attract and keep agents. We learn how to do recruiting presentations that we hope are mesmerizing to our candidates—so mesmerizing that they’ll say yes when we offer them a position in our company. We hone our skills so we’re better managers, trainers, and coaches. We worry about retention, and spend thousands of dollars a year just to attend workshops on retention techniques. We spend thousands of dollars on retention! So, I’m going to turn the tables, and ask, what do those agents owe to you?

You work hard. If you’re an owner, you’ve also put thousands and thousands of your dollars at risk to start and run your real estate company. It’s my opinion that agents owe you in certain ways. I’m not talking about commissions. I’m talking about actions.

Mutual Expectations Exchanged in the Interview

The real estate industry is the only industry I know that hires with a “trust me” from both the manager and the agent. No mutual expectations here, just promises! It may have worked in the past, but it won’t work in the future. A challenging market means we’ll have to do things differently. Right now, make a list of what you expect—and have a right to expect—from an agent. Draw up a Mutual Expectations agreement. Go over that agreement in the interview. Get it signed. Doing it after you’ve hired the agent is way too late!

Consequences of the Mutual Expectations Agreement

Worried about retention? This is one of the best retention tools in the world—hiring agents who promise to go to work! Your experienced agents will love the fact that you’re not hiring dead-wood to just get in their way and pull down the reputation of the company. Your new agents will get right to work, because they understand that is the expectation. Will you miss hiring a few people? Sure--the ones that didn’t intend to go to work.

Doing My Best to Help you Out

Last year, Dearborn Publishing Company published my third edition of Up and Running in 30 Days, the business start-up plan for the new agent. I’ve added as much management support in it as I possibly can, including a Mutual Expectations agreement that is tied to the Up and Running 4-week business start-up plan. This plan expects a lot from the new agent, but I know, from my surveys, that the new agent expects a lot—fast—from the business! (That’s why it’s such an aggressive ‘get out there and run’ program—perfect for a challenging market, too). I thought you’d enjoy reading my take on what new agents should contribute to their manager (and their office):

Ten Commandments to Get the Best from your Manager

1. Do the work.
   
2. Don’t argue.
3. Don’t make excuses.
   
4. Don’t tell the manager you’ve been in the business two weeks and you have a better way.
5. Do thank your manager.
   
6. Do tell other agents that you appreciate your manager’s efforts.
   
7. Do tell other new agents you meet in other companies that you have a great manager.
   
8. Don’t bug other people in the office to find another answer because you didn’t like your manager’s answer.
   
9. Don’t change the program because you don’t like it.
   
10. Don’t miss a coaching appointment!

I’d love to hear what you think of my ‘ten commandments.’ Are there others you think are important? Why not make your own ten commandments and discuss them in your interview process. Then, turn the tables and ask the agent about his expectations of you and the office. Getting agreement on what we both expect before we decide to work together is key to a happy partnership. The only surprises I want you and your agent to have after you start working together are good ones!

Carla Cross, CRB, MA, is president of Carla Cross Seminars, Inc. and Carla Cross Coaching, specializing in real estate sales and management. Cross, an international speaker and coach, is the author of 6 internationally published books, 20 productivity programs, and is a winner of the National Association of Realtors’ National Educator of the Year award. Contact her at www.carlacross.com or 425-392-6914.

Agents: What Do You Owe the Company?

I’m not talking about the commission splits. I’m talking about a much more significant contribution. You’re a new member of your organization. Has the organization asked anything of you? It should, if there is pride in belonging to the organization. Surprisingly, though, today many companies either have no standards or don’t communicate to their associates that there is a fairness issue—an exchange of responsibilities and accountability so the company and all its associates are better from the affiliation of the newest associate.

Mutual Expectations Exchanged in the Interview

The real estate industry is the only industry I know that hires with a “trust me” from both the manager and the agent. No mutual expectations here, just promises! It may have worked in the past, but it won’t work in the future. A challenging market means we’ll have to do things differently.

My Take on What Agents Should Contribute to the ‘Team’ and to the Manager

Last year, Dearborn Publishing Company published my third edition of Up and Running in 30 Days, the business start-up plan for the new agent. I’ve added as much management support in it as I possibly can, including a Mutual Expectations agreement that is tied to the Up and Running 4-week business start-up plan. This plan expects a lot from the new agent, but I know, from my surveys, that the new agent expects a lot—fast—from the business! (That’s why it’s such an aggressive ‘get out there and run’ program—perfect for a challenging market, too). I thought you’d enjoy reading my take on what new agents should contribute to their manager (and their office):

Ten Commandments to Get the Best from your Manager

1. Do the work.

2. Don’t argue.

3. Don’t make excuses.

4. Don’t tell the manager you’ve been in the business two weeks and you have a better way.

5. Do thank your manager.

6. Do tell other agents that you appreciate your manager’s efforts.

7. Do tell other new agents you meet in other companies that you have a great manager.

8. Don’t bug other people in the office to find another answer because you didn’t like your manager’s answer.

9. Don’t change the program because you don’t like it.

10. Don’t miss a coaching appointment!

I’d love to hear what you think of my ‘ten commandments.’ Are there others you think are important? Agents: What do you think the company should expect as your contribution to the betterment of everyone? What should the manager expect from you?

Let me know! I’m working with companies internationally now to help them create pride in association, standards of practice, and the kind of performance expectations and measurements that have clients jostling to be served from ‘one of the best’.

Carla Cross, CRB, MA, is president of Carla Cross Seminars, Inc. and Carla Cross Coaching, specializing in real estate sales and management. Cross, an international speaker and coach, is the author of 6 internationally published books, 20 productivity programs, and is a winner of the National Association of Realtors’ National Educator of the Year award. Contact her at www.carlacross.com or 425-392-6914.

Successful Companies Do It, So Why Don’t Managers Lead with Standards?

In these challenging markets, much of my work has been with management teams, designing actins that move their offices into profitability. I’ve identified three strategies that managers are failing to implement that cause them to go into the red. The most glaring mistake I see managers making is that they don’t have performance standards in place for their offices. What are performance standards?

Minimum production standards

How well (competency) one performs certain tasks

Do You Know Any Great Companies—of Any Type--Without Standards?

It constantly amazes me that real estate companies don’t have production standards. Would you buy a car from a car maker that didn’t have pretty high production standards for how they constructed that car—and how they service it? Of course not. Would you buy a home from a builder who had just thrown the home together with little regard to production standards (that would be very low standards)? Of course not. Would you buy a home from an agent who was a lousy agent? Of course not.

Three Reasons Companies Need Production Standards

1. It’s a recruiting magnet (who doesn’t want to be with the best?)
2. It’s a production incentive (who doesn’t want to stay with the best?)
3. It’s a performance enhancer (we all do better when we’re around better performers)

Would You Join a Real Estate Company that had Lousy Agents?

Only if you were a poor agent! Likes attract, and good agents know they will do better with other good agents. Good agents are attracted to a company that’s ‘picky’—that doesn’t just take or keep just anybody. Think of the recruiting opportunities companies miss because they don’t have production standards in place……

Pride of Belonging to Something Exceptional

Think of an association, family, business, club—that you were proud to belong to? Did that entity have low or high standards? High standards, of course. Not only do you have pride of belonging, you know that you must maintain those standards to maintain membership!

Question of the day: If Production Standards Have all These Benefits, Why Don’t Companies Embrace Them?

What do you think? Email me and let me know. From my coaching leadership, I’ve found that leaders

1. Don’t understand the power of standards
2. Think they actually have standards (when they don’t)
3. Are afraid of setting standards

From taking over 2 failing real estate offices and one floundering region for one of the world’s biggest real estate franchises (and turning all of them around), I know the steps it takes to turn a red bottom line into a very healthy black one. Let me know your feedback about standards, so we can help the industry put pride of ownership and pride of performance back into our industry.

Carla Cross, CRB, MA, is president of Carla Cross Seminars, Inc. and Carla Cross Coaching, specializing in real estate sales and management. Cross, an international speaker and coach, is the author of 6 internationally published books, 20 productivity programs, and is a winner of the National Association of Realtors’ National Educator of the Year award. Contact her at www.carlacross.com or 425-392-6914.

The Secret Component of Highest Productivity

A few months ago, I was a speaker again at the NAR 2007 convention. (I think that was my 16th year!) I talked about the four components of ‘new’ leadership. Why is switching leadership style so important? The world has changed, and, if you’re an agent or a manager, you need to lead effectively in all situations (lead your clients, lead your fellow agents, lead your team). And, there’s one style component that has a huge impact on both culture and productivity, yet few of us realize it:

1. Standards-driven organization: In almost every presentation I do for leadership, I ask attendees if they have productivity standards (minimum expectations) in their companies. Out of 200 attendees, about three will raise their hands. No wonder agents don’t believe they must be ‘on the team’, pulling their own weight in production. No wonder managers are wondering how to get their agents to go to work. No wonder there are challenges recruiting and retaining! No wonder agents are having great challenges attempting to get their buyers’ agents to pull their load. And, no wonder agents are wasting time with buyers who won’t buy and sellers who overprice!

How to Assure no One will Work very Hard

Having no standards de-motivates. In a recent study by The Ripple Effective of Negativity Leadership IQ, 87% of the 70,305 executives, managers, and employees interviewed said working with a slacker actually made them want to change jobs; 93% said it hampered their development or decreased their productivity. So, without standards, real estate leaders are de-motivating their good performers!

Here’s what Roy Disney says about effective leadership, from the New Leadership Paradigm:

Leadership is the ability to establish standards and manage a creative climate where people are self-motivated toward the mastery of long-term constructive goals in a participatory environment of mutual respect compatible with personal values.

There are many theme parks, but they aren’t Disney. What is the difference? One huge difference, and you know this if you’ve visited various theme parks, is that Disney has high standards.

Agents: What would it mean to your time management and bottom line if you had high standards for your clients? (Studies show that top producers qualify carefully and ‘tell the truth attractively’ to both buyers and sellers, so they don’t waste anyone’s time).

Agents: See my new for 2008 program, On Track to Success in 30 Days System for Experienced Agents. It has a 30 day program with standards that assure your success.

Managers: See the coaching system for On Track to Success, Managers' On Track to Success Coaching for Experienced Agents. I’ve given you dozens of tips on how to create standards and hold agents accountable to standards and goals.

Real Life has Standards

A few months ago, I hired a personal fitness trainer. Do you think she has standards? You betcha. Are they higher than I would like to exert myself? You betcha. Is this making me more fit? Right again. It’s true any time we get coached. Our coach always urges us to do more than we would be willing to do on our own. So, we get better faster.

High Standards has a Positive Message

Working with people with high standards sends a message to each one of us:

You’re worth it. You can do it. I believe in you.

Obviously, you would not be working with that leader if that leader didn’t think you ‘had it’, would you? That belief drives us to do much better than we thought we could do. It’s inspiring. And, in this challenging real estate market, we need all the inspiration we can get! So, we’re all in leadership, whether it’s with our clients, with other agents on our team, as a manager, or as a parent. Setting standards and encouraging meeting them is the greatest gift you can give to someone—or can give yourself.

Carla Cross, CRB, MA, is president of Carla Cross Seminars, Inc. and Carla Cross Coaching, specializing in real estate sales and management. Cross, an international speaker and coach, is the author of 6 internationally published books, 20 productivity programs, and is a winner of the National Association of Realtors’ National Educator of the Year award. Contact her at www.carlacross.com or 425-392-6914.

Experienced Agents: From ‘On Accident’ to Successfully ‘On Purpose’ in Challenging Markets

If you’re an experienced agent, you may have gotten the shock of your life this year: Instead of selling homes like hotcakes, you’re slumping like watery syrup drifting off pancakes! I know why: The hot market brought you sales ‘accidents’, and you capably help those people buy and sell. But, in a challenging market, people don’t just ‘turn themselves in’. It’s time for you to get ‘on purpose’.

Do you have the ammunition to change from ‘on accident’ to ‘on purpose? Here are 10 questions that will reveal whether you have the plan and the support to pull yourself out of that slump and provide yourself the insurance plan that allows you to thrive—no matter the market:

1. Do I have a ‘start-up’ plan—a plan that tells me what to do, when to do it, how to do it, and why to do it? (Or, do I just come to the office and ‘go with the flow’)

2. Am I waiting for someone to tell me what to do each day, or do I have focus and purpose with my plan? (it doesn’t work to ask your manager what to do each day, and, as a newer agent just told me, your manager answers, “Mail some postcards.” You wouldn’t expect a Starbucks franchise to ‘guide’ the new franchisee that way, and you’re not going to get a business start with that kind of piecemeal ‘advice’!)

3. Do I have a daily schedule that is prioritized with the business actions most important to me to assure I make money? (If you’re just relying on your office for its floor time and meeting schedule, you aren’t in the business!)

4. Do I know the best methods of lead generation—and how to implement them? (You can’t wait for ‘training’ that starts in 3 months to start your business!)

5. Do I know the numbers? (how many contacts does it take to get a lead, how many leads to get an appointment, how many appointments to get a listing, showing, how many showings to get a sale, how many marketable listings will sell) (If you don’t, you are destined to be an ‘on accident’ agent—only selling someone something when the stars are aligned).

6. Do I know how long it will take to get a sale? To get a listing? To get a listing sold? (so you can project your income) (New agents tend to wait, and wait, and wait, to get into the business ‘stream’, thinking that there is no time frame to buyers’ decisions—wrong!)

7. Do I have a method of setting goals and tracking accomplishments in the areas above—so I can analyze my specific strengths and challenges in this business? (Most agents never track what they do, so they don’t know what worked—or why what they’re doing isn’t working).

8. Do I have a budget so I know how much money I should be spending in marketing myself/marketing my listings?

9. Do I have someone to talk to regularly, to coach me, to keep me on track, and to help me if I fall off my start-up plan (to keep me from failing)?

10. Do I have a method to keep myself motivated and inspired to keep on keeping on (like a coach or your manager)?

If you can’t answer the questions above with authority and confidence, you need much more business direction than you’re getting now. It’s time for you to get serious about real estate as a business, and grasp a start-up plan and the support you need to assure your success.

Resource: See Up and Running in 30 Days, www.carlacross.com. It’s a comprehensive new agent start-up plan with enough training to get you into the field, and focused, starting with your first week in the business. It answers all the questions above. Most people would call it a ‘business plan’, but it’s not. It’s specially created as the appropriate ‘start-up plan’ for the new agent, just as all successful franchises provide their start-up plans for their new franchisees.

Managers: My survey of hundreds of agents under 3 months in the business showed that the majority expected a sale their first month in the business. Guess in what month they are mentally and emotionally out of the business? Month two.

Especially in a challenging market, it’s your job to provide them a comprehensive start-up plan and coach them to it, to assure your investment in them pays off—and their investments in themselves pay off, too.

Seasoned but Stuck: How to Get your ‘Mature’ Business Back to ‘Monster’ Status

Excerpted from the new On Track to Success in 30 Days System for Experienced Agents, Carla Cross Seminars, Inc.

If you have been in the business for over five or eight years, chances are you are acting like a 'mature' agent. You are getting most of your business from repeat and referrals. You have built up a strong enough business that you do most of your business based on pre-built trust and confidence. You are admired in your office (and perhaps your whole company) for your leadership and mentorship.

The challenges of the ‘mature’ agent. Because the mature agent gets most of her business from referrals, she may not be prepared to compete against more aggressive agents—or agents trained with the latest presentation methods. This happened with one of my mature agents, Martha. She was referred to George and Betty Smith, who wanted to sell their home. But, George and Betty also were referred to John Schlock, of ABC Realty.

Martha knows John Schlock, and she thinks his last name is appropriate…... Of course, though, she can not say this to George and Betty. Martha's in kind of a bind here. She relies on word-of-mouth for her business, and she relies on this word-of-mouth building her credibility to the point where she has no need to build it herself. This works fine when she is not competing with another agent, and the sellers already think she is the best thing since sliced bread. It does not work so well when she is competing with another agent—especially one who will tell the client whatever they want to hear!

Martha relies solely on her ‘known’ reputation. Martha has no testimonials in writing, no Professional Portfolio, no visual marketing presentation, and no statistics systematized to teach George and Betty the principles of how real estate works. Why not? Because, Martha does not need these credibility-builders very often, like those newer agents need. And, when she does, it is too late to create them.

This ‘mature business’ attitude results in lost listings or over-priced listings. This makes Martha mad, but, to do anything about it, Martha would have to admit she needs to quit acting like a 'mature' agent and push herself back into the growth phase. Just like Taurus, she needs to 're-tool' herself. You, dear reader, may be like Martha. Congratulations on taking the risk to even look at your business today. Many ‘Marthas’ in real estate are just waiting out the inevitable--their descent into decline.

What to be aware of if you are in the 'mature' career phase. With real estate practice changing so dramatically--so fast--I think, for companies, offices, managers, and agents, this 'mature' phase is the most dangerous. The danger of lulling ourselves into complacency in our 'mature phase' is that, without our knowing it, we have slipped into decline. So, to find out if you are in the mature phase, ask yourself:

• Am I relying almost solely on old customers and clients to send me referrals? (and am I waiting for them?)
• Am I relying almost solely on my reputation to list properties at the right price?
• Am I losing listings, or pricing them too high, when I do not have strong enough credibility with sellers?
• Am I resisting putting my credibility statements in writing (and/or my marketing program) because I rarely need to establish my credibility?
• Have I introduced a new business practice into my business in the last two years?
• Have I looked at my business as though I was a new agent--in the last two years?
• What is my attitude about technology? Am I waiting for it to 'go away'?
• If I had to sell my business tomorrow, could I? (Do I have the systems in place that someone could take over? Do I have my database in top condition? Do I have all my marketing programs running at full speed?)

The Mature Agent’s Need? Re-generation and Motivation*

How does someone re-generate oneself and motivate oneself again? For the mature agent, it is putting those talents and skills to work for others. You need appreciation and compliments. You need to know you are needed. You need to know you are making a difference. Consider teaching and coaching others, taking part in Realtor® events, gaining a leadership role in your company. It is time for you to flex those dormant leadership skills, which will re-energize you and your career.

*For more tips on re-energizing your career, see the new On Track to Success in 30 Days System for Experienced Agents, which includes a 4-week re-generation plan for dramatically increasing your business.

Carla Cross, CRB, MA, is president of Carla Cross Seminars, Inc. and Carla Cross Coaching, specializing in real estate sales and management. Cross, an international speaker and coach, is the author of 6 internationally published books, 20 productivity programs, and is a winner of the National Association of Realtors’ National Educator of the Year award. Contact her at www.carlacross.com or 425-392-6914.

The Ten Dumbest Things New Agents Do

We all want success easily. We all want to ‘do it our way’. And, if we’re honest, in our quest for easy success, we’ll all done dumb things. That is, we realized they were dumb—after the fact. So, just because I’m picking on new agents here doesn’t mean I haven’t done many more than just ten dumb things! I’m listing these here, though, to help you avoid the mistakes I made as a new agent, and the mistakes I’ve observed thousands of new agents make over the years I’ve managed, trained and coached.

Some dumb actions don’t cost us much, but, when an agent fails, it costs money to everyone—agents, offices, and consumers. It’s estimated that it costs a manager $15,000-30,000 for every agent hired who fails! So, that agent isn’t a profit-center, she’s a cost center! In addition, an agent who fails spends at least $5000-15,000 just in ‘subsidized living’ and real estate expenses the first three months in the business. Finally, the consumer loses, because the agent is out of the business before serving the consumer.

Heads Up

New agents don’t come into the business to fail. But, they don’t realize the effort and skill it takes to succeed. In addition, there are increasingly difficult challenges for new agents:

1. The gap between consumer expectations and agent performance is widening quickly and dramatically. New agents must have better training, coaching, and commitment from their brokers.
2. The market in most areas has become more challenging, so new agents can’t get those ‘easy sales’.
3. The committed, career-oriented agent is taking much more of the market share.

It’s estimated that 50% of new agents fail and get out of the business in their first year, and 75% are out in two years. That seems to me a huge waste of resources—and a huge contributor to that expectations gap I listed above. We need to stop that attrition now. So, new agents, here are the ten dumb things I’ve seen thousands do to fail themselves right out of the business:

1. Thinking that there are lots of ways to start the business. There aren’t. Real estate sales is sales, and sales is a numbers game.
2. Thinking they don’t have to lead generate, because they’ll “do it differently.” Don’t talk to people consistently and in great numbers and you’ll be flipping burgers before you know it! (Not that there is anything wrong in flipping burgers, but you won’t be “selling real estate”.
3. Thinking that their manager or office or the Internet will supply them leads. If that were the case, your commissions would be much smaller.
4. Thinking that this business is about tasks and technology. It’s not. It’s about people relationships.
5. Treating the business like a ‘next’ business. It’s not about finding and selling a customer. It’s about finding and keeping the customer for long-term referral business.
6. Starting the business part-time, with no ‘drop dead’ exit plan from your other work. I know. I started part-time, but, within three months, I realized that I could not serve my consumer honestly when I had to run to another job. The truth is that you just don’t care much about the consumer if you’re not committed and working a real estate at least 50 hours a week. If you have to start part-time, give yourself a deadline to become full-time. Managers, don’t hire without that dead-line in writing. You’ll be wasting your time training and coaching.
7. Not getting a commitment from your manager that he/she will consistently and frequently coach you to a game plan. If your manager can’t rise to that level of commitment, how successful to you think your manager intends you to be? (Side note to managers: I believe you need to be 100% committed to your agents, or else the likelihood they will fail is 100%. Use a precise, consistent, proven game plan like the 3^rd edition of Up and Running in 30 Days to put your agent to work, and coach your agent with Managers: Putting Up and Running to Work, now in its 3^rd edition to match the new, expanded agent’s start-up plan.)
8. Thinking that the best commission plan is the best place to work. As the old song says, “Nothin’ from nothin’ is nothin’.” You need to sell lots of real estate—lots and lots of real estate. Choose the place where you think that will happen. New agents who figure out they only have to sell three homes a year to pay those fees are thinking like losers.
9. Not investing in the business until they ‘get successful’. When would that be? Why do you get to be successful without an investment? With that attitude, how are you going to compete with those great agents—and how are you going to meet those amazingly high consumer expectations?
10. Going into the business to see if they like it. I’ll bet 50% of new agents don’t really go into the business to make it a career. They go into the business to ‘try it out’. If that’s your attitude, how do you expect your manager and your company to be 100% committed to you, when you’re 25% committed?

A Great Manager Plus a Great Plan Plus Accountability = Success

Harsh words above, but true. If you want to succeed, find a great manager who will coach you and hold you to a start-up plan. Find a manager who will tell you the truth—even when you don’t want to hear it! Find a manager who is 100% committed to you, and you will be one of those 50% who survive their first years, and go on to great careers.

Carla Cross, CRB, MA, is president of Carla Cross Seminars, Inc. and Carla Cross Coaching, specializing in real estate sales and management. Cross, an international speaker and coach, is the author of 6 internationally published books, 10 productivity programs, and is a winner of the National Association of Realtors’ National Educator of the Year award. Contact her at www.carlacross.com or 425-392-6914.

Musings on Talent: Why We Lose it and How to Find it to Prosper

As a lifelong musician, I’ve noticed that few adults realize the talents they have. So, I’d like to talk to you about your talents—and what you’re planning to do with them this year. No, it doesn’t matter if you’re an agent, a manager, or staff. We all have talents, those unique sets of gifts that somehow came together in one personality with your name on it. Now, don’t tell me you don’t have talents. Everyone does. Sometimes, they just don’t know it! Or, more often, they discount their gifts, not realizing how valuable and powerful they are.

Everyone teaches us something.

Once when lots of bad things had happened in my life, I read several books about why we were on earth, and what was the point to all this. One of the authors said we were here to teach others something. Having been the daughter of a teacher, and doing some teaching myself, that seemed a good way to look at it. As I decided to write this to you, I started thinking about what various people in my life had taught me. As you’re reading this, you’re thinking, probably, of those stand-out mentors you had in your life. It’s easy to see what they taught us. But, let’s think of some unlikely candidates.

My uncle Bud, for one.

Bud worked for my dad, never married, was an alcoholic—and a nice guy. He died when he was 45. So, what gifts did he have? What did he teach us? When Bud was a little boy, his teachers said he was dumb. Later on, it was discovered he wasn’t dumb. He just couldn’t see. So, Bud didn’t go to school much, and besides, his parents wanted him home to work on the farm. Bud drifted through life, working and drinking, and ended up in little Lebanon, Oregon, working for my dad.

Similar Physical Limitations, Different Outcome

My mother, who also had eye problems her whole life, started out much like Bud, unable to see well. But, her parents got her the best medical care available so she could do the best with the sight she had. Her parents encouraged her scholastics, so she was able to skip a whole school year that she’d missed because of her eye operations and go into second grade, barely skipping a beat.

Bud and my Mom—Great Teachers

Some people weren’t very nice to Bud. But, my mother felt great compassion and empathy because of their similar eye conditions. Every day Bud would have lunch with us, and I watched my mother interact with Bud, showing him respect, while others didn’t. That made me curious. I started to learn other things about Bud. Even though he had been teased and berated as a kid, (and later, too), I observed that he was kind and thoughtful to others. I also found out he was very musically talented. My mother’s interest and compassion in Bud showed me that everyone has unique, sometimes undiscovered talents. Sometimes their situations teach us what we need to learn, even in an oblique way. Watching Bud and my mother interact taught me to appreciate others’ struggles and find compassion for them, no matter their situations.

By our actions, we are teaching every day. Make it the best lessons.

I hope, by this time of year, you have written business plans, set your goals, and are prepared for an exceptional 2008. But, there’s much more to achievement that the ‘hard’ information. I wanted to have a different way of helping you create the best YOU there is! All you need to do is to develop those gifts, those talents--and have the confidence that you can do it. So, expand your scope a bit, and decide on the gifts and talents you are going to use next year to help others. That will provide the fire and enthusiasm you need to push yourself to that next step, to be the best, excellent you that you were really meant to be. Here’s to that YOU!

Carla Cross, CRB, MA, is president of Carla Cross Seminars, Inc. and Carla Cross Coaching, specializing in real estate sales and management—the people issues. Cross, an international speaker and coach, is the author of 6 internationally published books, 20 productivity programs, and is a winner of the National Association of Realtors’ National Educator of the Year award. Contact her at www.carlacross.com or 425-392-6914.

Investing in Yourself: What’s your Best Investment and What Should You Expect from It?

Real estate agents are really in business for themselves. That means, as any business owner, they must invest in themselves. But what and how much? I’ve been pondering the relative investments companies and agents are willing to make in their successes. Unfortunately, many of the moneys and effort expended don’t seem to show any pay-off in sales or retention (more than 50% of new agents fail in their first year in the business, and I estimate that less than 10% of new agents make a sale in their first three months in the business). I’ve been asking myself:

What investment, if any, should the new agent make in himself? (Managers must be asking themselves, “If these failure rates are so high, does any investment make a difference?”)

What investment, if any, should a manager/company make in the new agent?

What investment is most important?

How would the new agent know that it’s worth the money?

I know that new agents and managers are given sales ‘spiels’ every day about how some technology or method is critical for the new agent. I want to ‘arm’ the new agent and the manager with some really tough questions to ask, and to answer honestly, before spending money on any method, technology, or service.

Tough Investment Questions

So, if you’re a new (under 1 year) agent, or a manager who hires new agents, I have some tough questions for you:

1. Why do you think most new agents fail?
2. What one thing would prevent this failure?
3. How much would you be willing to invest to avoid this failure?
4. Right now, which investment the company is making in new agents has a measurable pay-off in fast sales per agent? For retention of successful first year agents?
5. For any investment the company or manager makes: Can you measure the results? (If not, don’t invest in it)
6. Managers: How much is it worth to you to invest in a new agent to assure the agent makes a sale within three months? Within one month?
7. Managers: For agents who fail, how much money, effort, motivation, and team spirit did you lose? How much did it cost you in recruiting?

After you answer these questions, ask yourself: “If I were a McDonald’s franchise, what would be the one most important thing I would get from the franchise?” Answer: A start-up business plan with a systematic approach to building the business, coupled with strong, committed leadership to hold the franchisee accountable to the plan.

Bottom line: Investing in a start-up plan with high accountability (you can bet the McDonald’s consultants hold the new franchisee to a very high performance standard!) assures a much higher rate of success—and it’s measurable. Is it worth $100, $1000, or $3000 for you to avoid failure? It’s up to you to decide, and invest your dollars in the best method possible for you to assure business start-up success—fast enough that you stay motivated and inspired to handle the huge rejection and challenges new agents face.

Carla Cross, CRB, MA, is president of Carla Cross Seminars, Inc., and Carla Cross Coaching. Her 3^rd edition of Up and Running in 30 Days, the new agent’s start-up plan, is the only internationally published plan available to give new agents specific prioritized action plans to lead to a sale in 30 days. It’s coupled with the manager’s coaching companion, with dozens of tips on how to coach new agents to a fast sale. See them at www.carlacross.com, or contact her at 425-392-5914. Also, Carla speaks to real estate associations and companies internationally on increasing productivity.

Are you ‘Wringing your Clients Dry’ for Leads?

We all love it when some seminar guru tells us we just have to take care of our present and past clients and we’ll get rich. The first part of that statement is true. We DO have to take care of our present and past clients, and that’s an important part of re-creating our business. And, the sad truth is, many real estate agents do a very poor job of that. So, we do start there.

Real Estate Agents May not have enough Clients to Get the Leads they Need

Here’s where the difficulty comes in. In many instances today, a real estate agent, even a seasoned one, does not have enough past clients to provide the necessary leads to grow his business in a challenging market. My experience, having been a top salesperson, and directly managing hundreds of salespeople, has taught me that the truth is in the numbers. You must have at least 100 active, identifiable past clients, in your up-to-date database, to drive your business upward. And, in some markets, that may not be enough.

Other Exceptional Sources of Leads for the Experienced Agent

In my new resource for the experienced agent, On Track to Success in 30 Days System for Experienced Agents, I’ve worked really hard to help experienced agents see where they’re ‘missing the boat’. Too many get stuck in a career rut. Or, they may put barriers in front of themselves that keep them from reaching that next career level. Besides helping them put their careers under a microscope to find solutions, I’ve also provided solutions that work in this challenging market.

In the new On Track, I have identified 5 sources of leads for you that most agents never think of. They are especially good for experienced agents, because you have been in the business and you have a wealth of knowledge and experience. Putting these sources of leads into your lead generation and marketing plans will dramatically increase your business. In this article, let’s talk about the first source, the ‘client orphans’.

In this article, we’ll explore how to contact the first course, the client ‘orphans’.

The Good and Bad News about those Orphans

What are client ‘orphans’? These are buyers and sellers who closed transactions with an agent in your office. The agent has left the business. Now, the client has no one to turn to. You can step into this breach. If you need business, and are willing to create and implement a marketing plan to reach out and communicate or time with these ignored people, you can ‘adopt’ them. Who is keeping in touch with those ‘orphaned’ buyers and sellers? No one.

Orphans May be Unhappy with the Company

Be aware, though, they may not be too accommodating when you first talk with them. They are disappointed that someone has not cared enough about their interests to keep in touch. (This is a great lesson to all of us. Never, ever, love ‘em and leave ‘em!).

Note: A recent survey showed that less than 1/3 of agents who closed transactions went back to the buyers and sellers they worked with AFTER the transaction closed. No wonder clients think we love them and leave them. We do!

How to ‘Adopt’ Those Orphans

When someone leaves your office, go to your manager and get a list of their 'orphaned' buyers and sellers. Call those people, and explain that the manager has asked you to keep in touch. They will be thankful and appreciative. You will gain another source of business, and the industry's image (and the company’s image) will be maintained--or raised.

Manager’s tip: Create a system to re-assign those orphaned buyers and sellers to an agent willing to form a relationship with them. If you do this regularly, you will save lots of marketing dollars (remember, it costs 6-9 times more to get a new customer), and you will increase your company’s reputation as a company who cares. Also, you will provide lead sources regularly for your agents.

Building your Business AND the Reputation of the Company and Industry

You and I both hate it when a client says the agent didn’t get back to them or keep in touch. Many times, that’s because the agent was either an uncommitted part-timer or out of the business. By adopting client orphans, you can prove that real estate agents care more than just a commission. This not only raises your image, but the image of your company and of the industry. Plus, it provides you another source of ‘leads’ who learn to love you.

Carla Cross, CRB, MA, is president of Carla Cross Seminars, Inc. and Carla Cross Coaching, specializing in real estate sales and management. Cross, an international speaker and coach, is the author of 6 internationally published books, 20 productivity programs, and is a winner of the National Association of Realtors’ National Educator of the Year award. Contact her at www.carlacross.com or 425-392-6914.

What Mode are Your Agents In?

Noted author and speaker Seth Godin posted the following on his blog today:

“You can have grand visions for remodeling your house or getting in shape, but if there's a fire in the kitchen, you drop everything and put it out. What choice do you have? The problem, of course, is that most organizations are on fire, most of the time.”

An interesting point that Godin brings up, and for many real estate professionals and agencies the statement is true. Yet, most agents tend to spend the bulk of their time thinking about what they’re going to do, and telling their selves the market is going to turn around soon, then I’ll get busy with my real estate plans. The reality is, there’s a fire in your kitchen, and you need to put the fire out now! Case in point, my own business www.RealEstateSalesMeetings.com is a new venture I started where I provide weekly sales meetings, audio interviews and more to brokers around the country. One way I thought to help build my business was through blogging, podcasting, and other free promotional ventures on the World Wide Web. I started out in full speed, posting, recording, adding new twists and turns everyday through these “free” electronic mediums. The results were amazing, but like most normal business professionals I began to pile more “to do’s” on my plate, allowed myself to be pulled into other directions, and the fire which was once under control and remodeling that was off to a “great” start quickly died. I lost my focus and my sense of urgency to continue with my task at hand.

So I have two options with my new business venture:

1. Tell myself that the plans and drawings for my newly remodeled kitchen will be awesome, “someday.”
2. Fix it!

As real estate professionals if you want to succeed, you must always be in mode #2, (fix it). Telling yourself what the outcome will be like is okay, if you’re busy and hard at work fixing it, however if you’re just sitting there dreaming and thinking about it, the project will never get finished. Listen to how Seth Godin finishes his blog on this subject of “Managing Urgencies,” and follow his advice:

“Add up enough urgencies and you don't get a fire, you get a career. A career putting out fires never leads to the goal you had in mind all along.
I guess the trick is to make the long term items even more urgent than today's emergencies. Break them into steps and give them deadlines. Measure your people on what they did today in support of where you need to be next month.
If you work in an urgent-only culture, the only solution is to make the right things urgent.”

To read Godin’s entire blog, click here!

How to Demolish your De-motivators—and Achieve your Goals

Excerpted from On Track to Success in 30 Days System for Experienced Agents,

Carla Cross Seminars, Inc.

Carla Cross, CRB, MA

It’s a tougher market out there. It can get you down. We all need tools right now to demolish those de-motivators. In other words, we must not only manage our business, we must manage our attitudes.

Why is managing attitude important? Because it determines how well you do.

Ability is what you’re capable of doing.

Motivation determines what you do.

Attitude determines how well you do it.

-Lou Holtz, famed former Notre Dame football coach

In this article, I am going to give you methods of organizing your thoughts so that they support your roadmap for success. You will be able to recognize when your thoughts sometimes order you around. You will get strategies to get control of your attitude--and order it around--to create greater success.

Much of my insight did not come from the experience of being a real estate agent, manager, and trainer. It came to me from all those years I spent as a musician, honing my performance skills so I could obtain a bachelor’s degree in piano performance. From the time I was four, I was in front of people playing the piano. I had to learn to manage my attitude to conquer the performance anxieties and uncertainness that accrue from tackling very difficult piano pieces in front of demanding audiences. So, much of what I will share with you here is a result of mastering musical performance. I know how to get better, and I will show you how to manage your attitude so you can get better, too.

I have identified eight challenges that sabotage us from reaching our desired results:

1. Not being mentally tough

2. Thinking it’s someone else’s job to manage our attitude

3. Blaming someone else for our failures, which leads to loss of power

4. Underestimating what it takes to do the job

5. Mastering negative ‘self-talk’ until it determines our attitude, beliefs, and outcomes

6. Believing that the first time we do something is as good as it will ever get.

7. Thinking that our ‘inner manager’ is always working in our best interests.

8. Always ready with a reason why we don’t have to get into action.

Are you tough enough?

Let’s tackle the first component here: mental toughness.

You and I both know keeping a positive outlook is a very important component for real estate success. Yet, I have found that very few of the agents who go into real estate have the ready-made mental toughness to withstand the disappointments and rejections of the business. Sometimes they fail simply because they let their attitude manage them! It seems to me that most agents (and managers) could benefit from some additional skills in learning to manage attitude. I think these skills can be learned. Just listen to great athletes talk about their failures, injuries, and disappointments. They simply never give up!

Managing your attitude is part of your job. In interviewing hundreds of agents after they have been in real estate several months, most of them tell me that they did not know real estate would be so personally challenging. They did not know how easy it was to 'get down'--or how quickly they could lose that excitement, that enthusiasm they felt as a new agent.

Think back to when you were a new agent. How long did that initial excitement, enthusiasm, and hope last? According to my survey of agents new to real estate, they expected to make a sale their first thirty days in the business. Most of them do not accomplish that. So, if their expectations are not met, they lose that enthusiasm.

Most agents tell me it only took them about a month to start questioning themselves about whether they should be in this business. Since they did not realize they would have so many ups and downs, they were not prepared to deal with the 'downs'. Unfortunately, then, they talk themselves out of the business--and do not even know they're doing it! Knowing and applying what is in this section, then, can make the difference between success and failure in your career.

Manager’s tip: The best way for you to help your agents stay ‘up’ is to start them in an aggressive start-up plan so they get a sale fast. That is motivating!

Put a Plug in that Negative Self-Talk!

Remember when you were a kid. Did you ever want to take part in a sport, or learn a musical instrument? Or, did you want to start a venture or an adventure? Why did you want to do it? What did your parents say when you told them what you wanted to do? How strong was your motivation to do it? Did you convince your parents? Did you actually start? Did you keep going? What happened when, to get better, you had to devote more energy, time, and interest to it?

Looking back at your life in this area will tell you a lot about your intuitive sense about yourself. It will tell you how much belief you have in yourself, how much tenacity, how much ability to take direction from someone else to get better. It will tell you how willing you are to take risk and to change.

Now, fast forward to real estate. Have you taken your intuition, body, and soul into the business like you did in this youthful venture? If not, you need to have a serious talk with your inner manager. He may be stopping you from 'acting naturally'. That talk might sound like this:

"Now, Joan, I know we've been together a long time. You've done a good job overall giving me advice. However, you're kind of in the dark ages about me now. I want to be successful in this new adventure, real estate. Remember when you supported me as a kid as I (fill in your adventure). Well, I need your support now. Quit that negative talk about failing, risk, and change. I'm not as scared as you think I am. Give me some pep talks and some laughs and some real positive strokes, like you did before. I need your positive support, Joan."

Exercise: The next time you catch your self talking negative self-talk, counter it with 20 repetitions of positive self-talk. Do this exercise at least 5 times a day for 1 week. You are retraining your mind to respond in a way that supports your goals.

When we go into real estate, we think that learning the inventory, grasping the technology, and attending risk management courses will assure our success. But, as we progress, we find out there’s a whole aspect of real estate that entails our managing more than just the technical parts of the business. You’re on your way, now, to that mental toughness you need to success at a higher level each year.

For more strategies on demolishing your de-motivators and get the emotional support you need to tackle these market challenges, see On Track to Success in 30 Days System for Experienced Agents, Carla Cross Seminars, Inc., www.carlacross.com.

Carla Cross, CRB, MA, is president of Carla Cross Seminars, Inc. and Carla Cross Coaching, specializing in real estate sales and management. Cross, an international speaker and coach, is the author of 6 internationally published books, 10 productivity programs, and is a winner of the National Association of Realtors’ National Educator of the Year award. Contact her at www.carlacross.com or 425-392-6914.

Avoiding Hiring to a Match NOT Made in Heaven

Have you ever hired someone you thought would be a great staff person? And, then, when the person had been in the job anywhere from a few days to a few weeks, you discovered that person wasn’t doing the job you wanted him to do?

This happened to one of my coaching clients. I’ll bet variations of this story have happened to every reader—and, they’ve happened to me. Here are my client’s five major mistakes, and how to avoid them. It’s so important, because a bad hire costs you not hundreds, but many thousands of dollars!

My client runs a mid-sized real estate company, and, right before starting to coach with me, had decided it was time to hire an office manager/administrator. As we started working together, she revealed she was having trouble with the office administrator she had hired a few months ago. Here are the five mistakes she made in that hiring process, which assured a wrong hire:

1. Not finding out what that person did—exactly—in his last job

Never assume that your new staff person knows the job you are asking him to do.

2. Not hiring to a detailed job description

Both parties, the new office manager—and the owner—assumed they knew the job description. But, unfortunately, the owner found out that the new hire obviously didn’t know the right job description—because he was doing only a part of the job—the part he had done in his prior employment.

Caveat: Create that detailed job description before you start interviewing. DO NOT ask the new hire to create the job description! If you do, you will be stuck in an adversarial position fighting about the job to be done. It’s your job to hire. You create that job description! (See The Complete Recruiter and Blueprint for Selecting Winners for detailed interviewing processes).

3. Not getting mutual expectations in writing before hiring

The new hire in this ‘case study’ went blithely about doing what he liked—when he liked it. The time to get mutual expectations agreed upon is prior to hiring—and get them in writing. It’s funny how people forget what the boss expects!

4. Not explaining standards vs. goals

Employees will tell you they have goals—what they want to accomplish. You are impressed! After all, you want someone who has goals to accomplish. You are so impressed, you forget to draw that line in the sand (well, it’s not really a line in the sand—it’s a line in concrete). That line in the concrete represents your standards—what you will and won’t put up with. Those are your minimum expectations. This is the Fear Factor.

The principle: We all work past minimum expectations. In the absence of your stating any, you’re letting your employee name his own—which are probably lower than yours—unless you’ve hired a very exceptional worker!

5. No schedule for daily accountability for the first two weeks

“I don’t want to be ‘micro-managed’.” Having someone accuse us of “micro-managing gets us in the heart. And, that is exactly what the low-achieving staff person will say. You are paying too much attention to the detail. Well, guess what? If you don’t pay attention to the details in the first two weeks, that staff person is going to do the job any darn way he pleases! And you won’t like it. So, don’t think of it as “micro-managing.”* You are training that staff person to do the job the way you want it done. Your goal is to see enough training progress that you can stop the daily reports and go to weekly reports.

Armed with these 5 principles, you can make much better hiring decisions and grow your company with confidence. Remember, as Jim Collins in Good to Great says, ‘getting the right people on the bus’ is the most important decision you’ll make to be more productive and profitable.

Carla Cross, CRB, MA, is president of Carla Cross Seminars, Inc. and Carla Cross Coaching, specializing in real estate sales and management—the people issues. Cross, an international speaker and coach, is the author of 6 internationally published books, 20 productivity programs, and is a winner of the National Association of Realtors’ National Educator of the Year award. Contact her at www.carlacross.com or 425-392-6914.