Tuesday, September 29, 2009

On Being On Time


Being On Time
Article By: Jim “Gymbeaux” Brown, June 2, 2005 updated September 2009

It is 9:00 AM in Baltimore, 8 AM in New Orleans, 6 AM in San Francisco and it is 5:25 at the Board of Realtors. Real estate agents are notorious for being late. It’s as if it is a fashion statement, a statement of independence or of power by being late for meetings.

The problem with writing Nuggets such as this one is that people tend to take it personally and feel a need to justify their actions or defend their position. No explanation, apology or justification is needed, expected or desired. The purpose of this Nugget For The Noggin is to simply point out the ramifications of being late for meetings, seminars/classes or appointments.

Let’s examine appointments first. There have been numerous studies regarding the Left Brain and the Right Brain. For the purpose of this Nugget, suffice it to say that a Left Brain person is literally a slave to the clock. There is a time and place for everything and they are never late! But to a Right Brain Person a specific time, such as 7:15 AM, may be 7:00 or it may be 7:45, time is not important. It may not be important to them but how do you think the Left Brain person who they are to meet with feels? If this is a sales call, you start out with one strike against you before you meet. In fact, you may have already been called out on strikes before you show up. Being on time is a two way street. Just as YOU expect people to meet YOU on time, most people expect YOU to meet THEM on time.

Meetings. The occasion of a meeting or class is what prompted me to write this Nugget. Hopefully everyone will simply take it and apply it to their lives as being important and not personal. What has past is past and forgotten. But, at a recent meeting/class, 11 of 33 attendees showed up late for the class. I am sure everyone had a reason or justification but that is not the point. There was an instructor from the government who had to stop and start every time a late attendee entered the room. It was extremely distracting not only for the presenter but also for everyone in the room. The repeated interruptions actually extended the time for her to make the presentation. More importantly, as it almost always occurs, someone who shows up late will almost assuredly ask a question that had already been covered or asked prior to their arrival.

In some instances, a quorum is needed before a meeting becomes official. In any case, if a quorum is required, no action can be taken if the required quorum is not present. Let’s say there are 12 members that are scheduled to meet and 7 members in attendance represents a quorum. Let’s also say that the meeting is to begin at 10:00 AM. At 10:30 there are only 6 voting members present. Clearly 30 minutes have been wasted while waiting for the 7th member to show up. If you are one of the 6, how does that make you feel? Unimportant? Disrespected? Angry? All three? If you are one of the 5, what are you thinking? “I’ll just be a few minutes late. After all, I have a real excuse for not being there on time. There will be enough people present to conduct the meeting.”

Everyone can verbalize a legitimate excuse for not attending or being late, or do they? If someone said they were going to give you $10,000 if you show up no later than 10:00 AM, would you be on time? Most events are scheduled well in advance so does it not make sense to enter the event on your day timer and then not schedule other activities that would clearly interfere with your commitment to participate? It also makes little to no sense to leave at the very last minute and allow no time for traffic or anything else that could deter you and make you late.

Education is the key to increased productivity. The more you learn the more productive you become. Educational classes are scheduled weeks and months out from the actual event. Therefore, if education is critical, and it should be, commit to attend and when someone wants to take you away from that commitment, learn to adjust and say, “As much as I would like to meet your schedule, I cannot because I am committed to attending a class.” Most people can accept that. If not, then you have to choose what is more important to you. If you choose NOT to attend the class, inform the party hosting the event that you will be unable to attend.

I recently attended an event where 45 people had signed up to attend; only 21 did. The hosting company had not only brought breakfast for 45, they also brought lunch for 45 and now had to throw away the excess food in addition to paying for it. When we commit to attend an event, it is very easy to justify not attending because after all, “it is only one person.” But as you can see by this example, it was NOT just one person; it was 24 one-persons!

I would like to think that no one is late on purpose. I would like to think that most people simply do not put a personal value on their being on time when so many others always seem to be late. They tend to justify being late by convincing themselves “it is only this one time.” Being late is being late. Being late is also being disrespectful to someone; either the presenter, the host, those in attendance or all of these people. But just as important, the part of the meeting/class/seminar that you missed might have triggered a question or input from you that could have changed the content of the program.


There is one simple rule to follow:

BE ON TIME!
SOMEONE IS DEPENDING UPON YOU TO DO SO!


Oh, by the way,
when you attend;
TURN OFF YOUR CELL PHONE!

That is a Nugget for another Day!

CHECK OUT THE WEEKLY NEWSLETTER AT

WWW.READFORACHANGE.COM

USUALLY POSTED ON TUESDAYS OF EACH WEEK



Monday, September 28, 2009

Online Newsletter for the Week of October 2nd

If you like the following, you can access it every week by going to:
www.ReadForAChange.com. They are typically posted every Tuesday.


QUOTE: “Nothing tastes a good as slim feels!” Dr. Louis P. Bauer. If this does not say it all in regards to maintaining a proper weight, nothing ever will. If you want to lose weight remember Joe Tye’s Direction Deflection Question (DDQ): “Is what I am about to eat or drink consistent with my desire to weight (insert your desired weight)?” It works! I am a living testament to this action. Gymbeaux

29 WAYS TO COLLECT EMAIL ADDRESSES FOR YOUR BUSINESS. We have been told repeatedly to collect as many email addresses as we can in order to use them for prospecting and marketing (1) because they work and (2) because they are FREE and whenever you can use FREE, that is a good thing in case you-know-who is reading this. Here is the link to a great article on the subject: http://blog.verticalresponse.com/verticalresponse_blog/2009/09/change-up-your-newsletter-get-more-clicks.html?utm_campaign=29%20Ways%20to%20Collect%20Email%20Addresses%20for%20Your%20Business&utm_medium=Email&utm_source=VerticalResponse&utm_term=Click%20here%20to%20read%20ideas%202-29

BOOK RECOMMENDATION: A JOURNEY TO INNER HEALING. By Dr. Louis P. Bauer, a resident of Pearl River, MS. I read this book quite a while ago and while I thought it was outstanding, my second reading of it this week meant more to me than I could ever describe. I highly recommend this book if you want to work on a positive attitude, if you want to achieve your dreams, if you want to learn to forgive, if you just want a better life. If interested, buy it from Dr. Bauer’s web site, the difference in price between it and Amazon.com is unbelievable. http://www.goodtapes.com/

THE HYBRID REAL ESTATE AGENT: This is just too good! Love the way Kris Berg writes. This is a must read article: http://www.inman.com/buyers-sellers/columnists/krisberg/the-hybrid-real-estate-agent?page=0%2C0

OUTSIDE THE BOX BUT FUNNY MARKETING TIP COURTSEY OF JEFFREY GITOMER. One of the most valuable tips I have ever received was from Mike Scrutchfield a RE/MAX agent when he said, “You want the customer to remember you from the mailbox to the trash can.” When working For Sale By Owners, the hardest part of the presentation is the opening, how do you get their attention. You have a better chance of closing the sale or at least moving the process forward any time you can get a probable buyer or seller to laugh with you. So here you go: either write a letter of introduction, use your personal brochure if you have one or bring something like a booklet on selling their own home (both of which we have on www.slidellcalendar.com) or something as simple as a Seller’s Disclosure Sheet with you TO THE FRONT DOOR. (IMPORTANT POINT: Do really think that someone who as yet does not know you is really going to keep what you give them? Really?) Ring the door bell, take two to three steps back, turn to a 45 degree angle (this was taught by an FBI agent and he went on to say you are then not blocking the door or interfering with the owners personal area). In one hand you have whatever it is you are going to eventually give them, in the other hand a personalized trash can. That is what I said, a personalized trash can. Then after you do your introduction and any other conversation that might ensue, or whenever the opportunity strikes, you give the owner your gift and then give them the trash can. “Mr. or Mrs. Homeowner, I would like for you to have ________ and here is a trash can for you to put it in when you are finished with it; just in case you don’t have one. I would appreciate it if you would also put whatever my competitors give to you in the same can if you would please?” This has to be a guaranteed ice breaker! You have to admit, you probably laughed as you read it; so will the homeowner. When was the last time YOU received a trash can as a promotional item? Want a very inexpensive can with your name and logo on it? Go to: http://www.wadayaneed.com/smalldesksidewastebasketscustommadepromotionallogo.htm You can get these 60 for $6.35 each; the cost of a good ad.

JEFFREY GITOMER SEMINAR. It is no secret that I think Jeffrey Gitomer is a genius as evidenced by his books, CDs and DVDs. I attended a live seminar this week and have to tell you that it was the most interesting and educational seminar that I have attended in 30 years in the business. He kept everyone laughing while at the same time giving them raw meat sales tips and suggestions. He definitely thinks outside the box and he teaches like he talks (as he says upfront). As a result, the seminar could have been label PG-14 or even R but I can assure you that few if any attendees were offended except for maybe the bald guys. The three hour seminar whizzed by and it was over way too soon. If you ever get the chance to catch him live, do it! Follow him on www.JeffreyGitomer.com and sign up for his free ezine newsletter.

CONVERTING SOCIAL MEDIA FRIENDS AND FOLLOWERS INTO DOLLARS. A Jeffrey Gitomer sponsored seminar in Atlanta, January 29, 2010. Cost is $297 ($397 for the VIP Ticket). Check out the web site for the list of presenters: http://www.gitomer.com/seminars/SocialMedia.html I was surprised at the recent Gitomer seminar in Jackson how much emphasis he put on becoming proficient in using the Social Media (Facebook, Twitter, Plaxo, etc) to enhance your business. Good idea: For anyone who is interested, start a sign up page to send someone from the Market Center and share the cost. That person would become the Market Center “go to person” and “trainer” for the Market Center.

RESIDENTIAL REAL ESTATE REVIAL. Another Jeffrey Gitomer sponsored seminar to be held in Atlanta on February 10, 2010. Cost: Early Bird Special $147 (VIP $247). Information at: http://www.gitomer.com/seminars/RealEstateRevival.html

DOMAIN NAME TAKEN? Mine is. Had to be early to get Jim Brown; that is one of the reasons I went with http://www.gymbeaux.com/. Here is a solution: http://www.thegreatjimbrown.com/. or; http://www.theoneandonlyjimbrown.com/. What can you use to include your name and you not only want YOUR name, you ought to consider reserving your children’s and grandchildren’s names as domain names, the cost is so inexpensive and you can reserve them while they are still available. There are many sites to reserve Domain Names such as www.Domaindad.com. www.GoDaddy.com.

DON’T HAVE A WORKING COPY OF MICROSOFT OFFICE? The JAVA folks have unveiled a free download that seems to have all the bells and whistles of Office. I downloaded it to check it out and was able to call up the files created in Office so it seems to work plus there are additional programs included that I have not as yet tried. If you do not have Office on your computer and want something similar at no cost, check out: http://download.openoffice.org/

FOOD FOR THOUGHT


  • Make a sale, make a commission. Make a friend, make a fortune! It is all about building life-long relationships.
  • Your job as seen by the customer: “Mr. or Ms. Real Estate Agent, your job is to engage ME about ME. I could care less about you until you can demonstrate what’s in it for me.”
  • What are you known for? Ask the people in your database: “When I say (insert your name), what ONE word comes to mind?” You can’t give a better answer than your customers can.
  • When it comes to Real Estate, there is no such thing as a “global market”, real estate is local. Therefore, THINK LOCALLY; ACT PERSONALLY! It doesn’t matter what the real estate market is like in California, Florida or where ever. What is the market like on your street?

BUILD YOUR OWN YOUTUBE CHANNEL! Personally haven’t done it, don’t know much about it. Here is the link to the YouTube Handbook. http://www.youtube.com/t/yt_handbook_produce Video yourself presenting valuable real estate tips, home maintenance tips, fixing up your home tips, etc. Link your YouTube videos on your web site. Send the link to your email database. Ask your customers for video testimonials that you put on CDs and with their permission post on YouTube. You can do most if not all of this FREE and FREE is good especially when you will be a market leader instead of doing like everyone else.

BEFORE YOU HAVE LASIK EYE SURGERY. Joe Tye had Lasik Eye Surgery and it did not go as well as he would have hoped. As he said in this report, he wishes he had taken the advice he is providing in this report. The report is not to deter you from having the surgery but rather it gives you info to consider before you do, as compared to after you have had it done. Thank you Joe for what you do. The report has been uploaded to www.SlidellCalendar.com for future reference and has been attached to the email that notified you that this online newsletter has been posted to the Internet.

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

SALES; ACCORDING TO GITOMER AND OTHERS


Sales; According to Gitomer (and others)!


By Jim “Gymbeaux” Brown, September 11, 2009

“Do not trust all men, but trust men of worth;
the former course is silly, the latter a mark of prudence.”
Democritus (460 BC-370 BC)
Having been in sales for 30 years, I am often asked by people new to the business “What should I be doing right now to become successful?” It would take months and even years to attend all the classes you should be attending so the path to your immediate success as compared to your long-term success, will be self-taught through reading. You could do as I have done and read a great deal, picking and choosing what you believe to be correct or you can follow the advice from Wallace D. Wattles, written in 1910:

“You must lay aside all other concepts of the universe, (that would be competing books on sales) and you must dwell (become totally focused) upon this until it is fixed in your mind (become routine and a habit) and has become your habitual thought (your belief). Read these statements over and over again. Fix every word upon your memory and meditate upon them until you firmly believe what they say. If a doubt comes to you, cast it aside. Do not listen to arguments against this idea. Do not go to churches or lectures where a contrary concept of things is taught or preached. Do not read magazines or books which teach a different idea. If you get mixed up in your understanding, belief, and faith, all your efforts will be in vain.” Wallace D. Wattles, The Science of Getting Rich (1910 AD)

If reading has taught me one thing it is that all books, no matter how great or how poorly they are written and no matter how much you may agree or disagree with their contents, they make you think and thinking is good. Wallace D. Wattles (1910 BG – Before Gitomer, you’ll understand later) repeatedly said in all of his writings, to achieve whatever it is you have set as your goal, YOU MUST THINK IN A CERTAIN WAY! Over 50 years later Earl Nightingale said it differently but with the same meaning in The Strangest Secret, “To change your life, change the way you think!”

“Many great ideas go unexecuted, and many great executioners are without ideas. One without the other is worthless.” Tim Blixseth

"While wishing and hoping makes you a dreamer, acting and doing makes you someone who can turn dreams into reality." Nan S. Russell

If I had to do it over again (sales) and if I knew what I now know and if I had available what is now available and if someone were to ask, “Gymbeaux, what would you recommend for me to do to become successful in sales in general, real estate sales specifically (or for that matter life in general)?” I would say:




  • READ


  • ATTEND SEMINAIRS, PAY ATTENTION, AND TAKE GREAT NOTES


  • WRITE – DOESN’T MATTER WHAT YOU WRITE THERE IS SOMETHING SPECIAL SEEING YOUR THOUGHTS IN PRINT AND/OR ON THE COMPUTER SCREEN


  • FIND TEACHERS (WRITERS/SPEAKERS) WHO KNOW WHAT THEY ARE DOING AND STICK WITH THEM


  • TAKE ACTION ON WHAT YOU HAVE LEARNED


“But Gymbeaux”, you say, “there is so much to read, If I want to be successful in sales, where do I begin?”

As I write this, I can see my collection of books, CDs, Cassette Tapes, DVDs and yes even 8-Tracks in my library of collected works over the past 30 years. They are all good otherwise I would not have purchased them. But what books would sit upon the pedestal that should and could help someone to be more successful than most who try? Remember, we are talking about sales in general and real estate sales specifically. The following in either in book, CD or DVD format and in the order given would be my recommendation; so here goes:

1. “The Little Gold Book of YES!Attitude” by Jeffrey Gitomer. “When the student is ready the teacher will appear.” An old Chinese Proverb. It is true. No training will provide the results you desire until your attitude is such that you are ready to learn what is being taught. This wonderful book by Gitomer may be his best and is worth reading many times over. Like Henry Ford said, “If you think you can or if you think you can’t; either way you’re right!” If Wallace D. Wattles is correct and I know he is, then thinking you can is the beginning of a wonderful new career but you still have to have the right attitude and this book will provide you with good thoughts to hopefully help you be aware of how you think each and every minute. READ IT BEFORE ALL OTHERS! This is one of the few books where I have also purchased the book on CDs because it was that valuable.

2. “The Science of Getting Rich” by Wallace D. Wattles. This is one of the books that the movie success “The Secret” was based upon. It is all about THINKING IN A CERTAIN WAY, and that way will lead you to wealth, not only in terms of money but in terms of quality of life. If you would like a free Ebook copy, go to www.ScienceOfGettingRich.com.



3. “The Millionaire Real Estate Agent (MREA)” by Gary Keller, Dave Jenks and Jay Papasan. There is no better book on building a business than the MREA; NONE! Yes it says “real estate agent” but it is not about being a successful real estate agent as much as it is building a successful business. The problem is that most people in real estate sales do not think of their business as a business. Successful real estate sales people do and therein lies the difference between being successful (the 20%) and the unsuccessful (the 80%). The MREA is written like a cookbook. Follow the lead of what other successful people in sales have already done and then do what they did (plus a little bit more). The MREA is the “nuts & bolts” of business building. Without the proper attitude towards your business and life, this book will not help you. Read Gitomer’s YES!Attitude first.

4. “The Little Black Book of Connections” by Jeffrey Gitomer and “Endless Referrals” by Bob Burg. You do not have a business until you have customers. You do not have customers until you know how to find them, build relationships and then nurture those relationships into successful sales contacts. When a doctor retires and sells his medical practice (business) what is he or she selling? It is not his office, equipment, etc. The doctor is selling the patience database; that is where the wealth is. Sales of any kind are no different – the wealth is in the database. To build a fruitful database you must know people. These two books will help you create the personal skills necessary to grow your database. Without it you are destined to be part of the 80% who go through the motions of sales. When the market is good they will enjoy sales but when the market is bad the 80% starve; the 20% are still successful. The choice is yours. Build a large database of probable buyers, or not.

5. “The Little Teal Book of Trust” by Jeffrey Gitomer. Having a database of people, no matter how many, is worthless if those people do not trust you. As Gitomer says, “All things being equal, people want to do business with (and refer business to) their friends. All things being not so equal, people still want to do business with their friends.” Therefore, and this is not rocket science, MAKE MORE FRIENDS WHO TRUST YOU! You make more friends by building trust. Pages 154 to 193 should be required reading for everyone, start with your family.

6. “The Little Platinum Book of Cha-Ching!” by Jeffrey Gitomer. I had an uncle who would always ask me in my early years, “Jim, did you ring the cash register today?” Gitomer’s Platinum book explains what that means. In the early days of National Cash Register, the founder John Patterson understood that he was not selling a cash register. He first created a need in the customer’s mind that they needed a receipt for what they purchased. He then sold this desire the customer had to business owners. It also provided the business owner with a record of sales but it was establishing the need for a customer’s receipt that caused the company to flourish and succeed. Do you sell a twidget or do sell what a twidget will do for the customer? This is all about identifying customer’s needs and then satisfying those specific needs.

7. “Customer Satisfaction is Worthless; Customer Loyalty is Priceless” again by Jeffrey Gitomer. Let’s review, you have the proper attitude (book #1); the importance of having a proper attitude was reinforced by Wattles (book #2); you know how to build your business (book #3); you know how to build your database with people (books #4); you develop your database by building trust with the people in your database (book 5); and then you become aware of what you are selling and why (book 6). This book teaches you how to build customer loyalty as compared to simply creating customer satisfaction; there is a difference. Being satisfied and being thrilled are obviously two different things. We far too often expect only satisfaction in a sales transaction rather then expecting an outstanding experience. You build loyalty by going beyond what is expected by providing what is not expected – something outstanding and out of the ordinary in a good way.

8. “The Sales Bible” by Jeffrey Gitomer. You can see where this is going. Of all the authors of all the books I have read, one author/speaker has stood out as having it all together. And as Wallace Wattles said in the quote at the beginning of this Nugget, don’t become confused by all that is available; instead find someone that has it together and learn from them and do not give up but rather focus on the goal. Jeffrey Gitomer, at least to me, is that one person that I feel you can learn from for a lot of reasons but simply put, he knows what he is writing and talking about. When you read his works it just makes sense. His writing style is as if you and he are sharing a cup of coffee across the table from each other. In a lot of cases it is not something new. But how many times have we read and forgot what was important only to be reminded of it in a later reading or teaching. Gitomer puts all these forgotten moments and a lot of new ideas into his books so you have them conveniently at hand to provide a constant reminder of what you should be doing.

Gitomer has written other books worthy of reading as well but I would concentrate on the above books FIRST. I have personally read them all at least twice and most three or four times. His other writings include, “The Little Red Book of Selling”; “The Little Red Book of Sales Answers, “The Patterson Principles of Selling”, and “The Customer Loyalty Concepts.”

Jeffrey Gitomer’s books concentrate on the process of selling. Gary Keller’s book “The Millionaire Real Estate Agent” shows you step-by-step how to build a sales business. As Keller has said, if you are serious about building your business you should read this book once a month for twelve months. Read it with a high-liter, mark it up, follow the path to success because the path outlined is a compilation of many successful sales careers put into one outstanding book. I took my copy to Office Depot and had it spiral bound making it much easier to use to study from as it would lie flat on my desk without the pages flipping. Obviously I took reading this book seriously so much so I purchased the book on CDs and listened to it in my car.

IF, and as you can see, this is a huge IF, IF you train yourself to watch less television and spend the same amount of time becoming better at what you do, in little to no time at all you will be exposed to the traits, habits, scripts, dialogues, procedures, organization and both the follow-up and follow-through daily practices needed to be a success in sales and ultimately in life. As Wattles says in his book “The Science of Getting Rich”, (I also have this one on CDs) "if you want to help the poor, become rich. No one has ever helped the poor by being poor."




Love what you do, do what you love!




ACTION STEP

There is only one step, after marking up your day timer for the year with the vacations and family time, set aside one hour a day to spend reading something that will make you better at what you do; help make you a better person; and, help make you a more successful person. When YOU become successful, everyone wins as long as your success was built on high ethical standards.

BONUS RECOMMENDATIONS.

I have just finished reading three of Jon Gordon’s book, Training Camp, The No Complaining Rule and The Energy Bus. I rarely read books in one sitting but these are short and extremely compelling. All three are written in inspirational novel format and hold your attention. The books discussed above and these three books would be a great beginning to your personal self-improvement library if you do not already have one.