Are You a Salesperson or Are You a Service Person?

Provided By Realty Times


Are you a salesperson or a service person? Have you ever considered this question? When you are doing your real estate business, do you feel more like a "salesperson" or more like a service person”?

What do you think the difference is for your business? Do you think it makes any difference at all? What I've discovered in my 14+ years of coaching Real estate agents to achieve multiple six figure incomes, is that it makes a lot of difference.

And here's why: Here's the problem with thinking of yourself as a "salesperson".

If you were raised in America, then you undoubtedly had a childhood in which you experienced salespeople coming to the door. How did your parents react to that? What kind of comments that they make about salespeople? Did you get the feeling that sales was a respectable profession?

Or did you get the message that salespeople were a bother and to be avoided? If we are honest with ourselves, most of us will remember that salespeople were looked down upon, and we subconsciously told ourselves they are not good people, and "I never want to be one.” The next thing you know you're in a career called real estate and selling is part of your job.

Or is it?

Did you know that people like to buy but they don't want to be "sold”? If they think they are being "sold" it makes them suspicious and they have trouble believing that you have their best interests at heart. They even feel manipulated.

Rather than welcome you, they will try to avoid you.

When we feel as if we are selling, it destroys our confidence. Clients can feel it and we can feel it and it lowers our self-esteem. No one wants to think of themselves as a sales man. On the other hand, if your focus is on being of service, there are distinct advantages:

1.We will feel like the "giver" and picking up the phone becomes easy and effortless. If we are clear that our job is to be of service, and that takes us out of the role of the "Taker" and into the role of the "Giver."

2.When we realize that we want to help people with their real estate needs then we do not have to experience rejection. In fact rejection does not exist. It's either a match or it's not a match. If the real estate service that you offer matches what your prospective client needs then you have created a transaction. If it doesn't match, you are not being rejected; you don't have to take it personally.
I often tell my clients to say this to themselves before they get on the phone: "I have a valuable service to offer and people are lucky to hear from me."

3.The other advantage of focusing on service and not sales, is that you are more in alignment with yourself. You probably got into the real estate business because you like help people and it's distasteful to you when you turn people into dollar signs.
When you focus on service you will feel good about yourself. This good feeling will be felt by your clients. They will be automatically attracted to want to work with you because they know you have their best interests at heart.

The Bottom line is this: remember not to focus on sales; but on service. You will have all the sales that you need and feel good about yourself in the process.

Exciting News for KW in 2009!

We were first introduced to this video at our Annual Convention at KW, Family Reunion. You have to see it. The video says it all....



If you are interested in finding out more about Careers Worth having, call me today at 972-772-7055 or email me at amberboyd@kw.com.

The New Real Estate Professional

By Saul Klein

The New Real Estate Professional
Salespeople and brokers appear overwhelmed by all the choices computers and technology offer. Emerging from the stress and confusion generated by countless choices is a new breed of real estate professional. What does this new real estate professional look like and how does he or she differentiate themselves from their competition?

An Information Specialist
As the new real estate professional, you recognize that the hottest commodity in the real estate business is information. Consumers can become overwhelmed and confused by the “information overload” generated by the Internet. You are adept at extracting information from the Internet and the local and/or regional MLS, and then re-assembling the information into knowledge, thus creating value for the consumer.

You will add value to the transaction in the ways you handle information for the property buyer and seller. What are the things you can do with information?

• filter
• sort
• customize
• manage
• analyze
• process
• display

For example, you can email a Comparative Market Analysis along with digital photos and key public record information, such as taxes and building permits. As the new real estate professional, you are in the information business!

A Web Surfer
Armed with a computer and Internet access, you are now an integral part of the new world of doing business within the online community. With the real estate industry in the early phases of doing business online, you are leading the charge. Although no one has all the answers on how to best use the Internet as a tool to market products and generate revenue, you continue to experiment with new approaches every day - and you are steadily finding success with consumers online.

An Email User
You are an email powerhouse. No more telephone tag, time zone concerns, long distance charges, interrupted conversations, or piles of unanswered correspondence.

Email is one of the most effective marketing, advertising, risk reduction, and communication tools available in business. With a click of the mouse, and then a copy and paste of some hot news reports, you easily create a personal electronic newsletter filled with solid content. Another click brings up a distribution list of hundreds of clients/prospects with email addresses around the globe; another click and the e-newsletter is sent instantly to the computers of everyone on your list. No stamps to lick, no envelopes to stuff. All at the push of a button, at the speed of light.
You are sure to display your permanent email address on business cards, letterhead, vehicle plates, car magnets, billboards, sign riders, property ads, and even mention it on your voice mail message. You actively solicit the email address of every potential client and prospect - capturing email addresses with permission becomes an important daily task. You check for email messages as frequently as checking for voice mail (if not more often) and then make sure to respond promptly, recognizing that consumers are not going to wait before contacting another real estate licensee.

A Web Site to Brag About
Recognizing that “content is king,” you develop a web site employing useful hypertext links (an electronic cross-reference) to other web sites - the idea being to showcase your professionalism and expertise. You endeavor to keep the material fresh and updated, perhaps sending email alerts when updates are made so consumers are encouraged to “bookmark” and revisit your site regularly. Listing information is the key to a “stickier” web site, so make sure you are familiar with your local MLS rules pertaining to “Internet Data Exchange” and “Virtual Office Web Sites” (IDX and VOW).

You view your web site as a publishing vehicle, though never more important than word of mouth and good service. Consumers locate the web site by using any one of the several branded domain names you've registered which all point to your main site.

Work From a Mobile Office
As the new real estate professional, your office is comprised of all the devices you carry with you. There is the smart phone, the laptop with a wireless modem, the PDA (personal digital assistant) handheld device (containing the complete MLS inventory and access to the electronic Lock Box), the programmable financial calculator, the scanner, and the portable printer.
Your computer can link into the company computer and receive messages, fax MLS listings, and access other helpful data. Meetings and conferences are conducted more efficiently online through email and password protected company Intranet. There are fewer and shorter live meetings to attend because most of the background information, agenda, confirmations, updates, and follow-up are handled online.

Focus on Growth, Self-Development and New Skills
You remain aware of the major cultural changes occurring in the information age. You work to develop clients and prospects who are comfortable maintaining an “electronic rapport” with a competent real estate professional - one who can keep the client up to date with email, newsletters, property photos, and transaction documents transmitted electronically. You use traditional as well as electronic techniques to provide clients and prospects with local community information and resources.

Get involved with Social Networking sites such as RealTown.com, Facebook, and others. Connect through sites such as Twitter and LinkedIn.
You are able to complete the mandatory state-approved continuing education requirements through computer-based education courses when offered online in various states. You tune into private networks for online interviews and seminars by panels of national experts. As an Association member, you now have a way to make leadership accountable online for some of their decisions - talk about grass-roots participation. Each member has a clear voice in the process.

Use a Technical Real Estate Assistant
You might consider hiring a virtual assistant, an individual who is highly skilled in all phases of real estate technology and the Internet. Some offices will have a professional assistant assigned to several licensees. Likely, these assistants will be former real estate associates who have focused their energies on understanding and applying the new technology to enhance their employer's business practice. The assistant will also be responsible for performing back-ups to protect valuable information and files stored in the computer. In some cases, the ‘virtual assistant’ may operate from another part of the country.

Engage the Consumer
For better or worse, the days of the “real estate mortician” are gone forever. You know the real estate morticians - they are the real estate licensees who throw buyers into the back seat of the car and drive them around until they are dead. No more! Today's connected consumers want to be actively engaged in the process.

Moreover, they demand that the real estate salespeople working on their behalf add real value to the transaction. For the selling consumer, that means interpreting and applying the wealth of information in their best interests. For the buying consumer, that means finding and sharing property information quickly and efficiently to prevent loss of opportunity.

Join Online Communities
Welcome to the community of the world, a world where the new real estate professional can choose to associate and communicate with different groups of people at the push of a button, at the speed of light, on a local connection. The Internet connects people with people. It is the network of networks.

A result of connecting people is the creation of “community”. Online communities are re-inventing the way we communicate, learn, and share information. Individuals, associations and businesses are discovering the power, versatility and affordability of Internet communities as a reliable resource for information on just about any topic you can imagine.

You are a Master Networker
You will participate online with several discussion groups networking with professionals and consumers sharing common interests - perhaps a group of commercial brokers, buyer brokers, real estate attorneys, or educators. It is like being at a national convention 365 days out of the year. It pays to network. Online networking is just another way of expanding key contacts.

Participate in an Online Business Network
As your business moves from paper-based commerce to electronic commerce, the players in the typical real estate transaction become linked electronically. Available transaction management systems will streamline the processing and closing of the transaction. You become an expert transaction manager. On command, you can alert the appraiser, surveyor, attorney, home inspector, title company, and lender via email to start work and to submit reports and documents electronically. Those players who are not up to date with the new technology will not be part of the closing process - and may be looking for a different line of work.

Technology as a Tool of the Trade
Even though you are the new real estate professional, you still keep technology in perspective - some days you find yourself using a #2 lead pencil more than your laptop. You use the computer to become more efficient in business - for example, to create standard presentations and computerized checklists and action plans to keep track of deadlines, creating a “paperless trail” for each transaction.

The tools enable you to gather much of the needed transaction information - less time tracking down information translates into more face-to-face quality time with qualified clients. With new mapping software, much of the statistical information about a property (surrounding schools, comparable sales, taxes, census, and environment) can be quickly assembled into an attractive graphical presentation piece.

Winning with technology...
...is more than the technology...it is a state of mind. Will you ever learn it all? It doesn't matter. The technology will continue to change faster than your capability to keep up with it... but you can always stay one step ahead of the competition, and that's the whole idea.

As Dr. Denis Waitley says: “Beginning is half done!”

Keller Williams Realty Bucks National Business Trends During the Toughest Real Estate Market on Record

RISMEDIA, January 29, 2009-Bailout. Credit crunch. Foreclosure. Despite these words permeating the headlines and airwaves, there are companies out there moving forward - even in real estate. Keller Williams® Realty Inc., the fourth largest real estate company in North America, announced that it outpaced the market in 2008, while remaining free of debt, and gave back more than $30 million in profits to its agents.

“Our strategy is no secret. We faithfully follow the sound financial model of leading with revenue - the same model our market centers follow,” said Mark Willis, CEO of Keller Williams Realty Inc. “As we watch companies throughout the country take on billions of dollars of debt, we are proud to say that our company has not one dollar of financing debt and we remain strong and financially sound. It is our joy to be able to give back to our agents during these times.”

Despite pervasive downward trends in the real estate industry, Keller Williams Realty continues to outperform the industry. For the first 11 months of 2008, existing home sales for the United States fell 17% when compared to the same period the year before. By comparison, Keller Williams Realty is poised to outdo those numbers by 10 percentage points, and in addition, the company experienced a much smaller contraction in its agent base compared to the National Association of REALTORS®, who saw a 10% decline in membership.

“Keller Williams was founded 25 years ago during one of the toughest markets on record - when interest rates were higher than 18 percent. We continue to urge our agents to zero in on lead generation and reducing expenses so they can thrive during this market,” said Mary Tennant, president and COO of Keller Williams Realty Inc. “We admire our agents’ spirit, tenacity, and dedication to their businesses. They just keep powering forward.”

Throughout 2008 Keller Williams Realty launched new products and services specifically to boost its agents’ businesses, including two new books: Your First Home: The Proven Path to Home Ownership for first-time home buyers, and SHIFT: How Top Real Estate Agents Tackle Tough Times. Both books are written by Gary Keller, co-founder and chairman of the board of Keller Williams Realty, who also authored national best sellers The Millionaire Real Estate Agent and The Millionaire Real Estate Investor.

For more information, visit www.kw.com.