6 Tips To Help You Retain Your Best Salespeople Paul Argueta cheapertokeepthem Motivational speaker

6 Tips on How to Retain Your Best Salespeople

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Working in the Sales Industry is one of the toughest jobs. Because of how challenging this profession is, finding and keeping talent is hard. It can feel like a vicious cycle to Human Resources or Management. Salesperson turnover is a common and expensive problem that every industry faces.

The average turnover rate of salespeople in an organization is about 16%. It definitely affects the company’s bottom line, but it also affects the morale of the salespeople on the front line.

Companies spend millions of dollars every year on strategies to attract and recruit some of the best salespeople in the world. Allocating resources to retaining these salespeople would save money and result in more sales. Here are 6 tips on how to retain your best salespeople.

1. Hire the right People

Jim Collins coined the, “Getting the right people on the bus.” phrase. Have you ever heard it? It has since morphed into other corporate catch phrases, but the axiom still holds true. You have to hire the right person for the job. I recently wrote an entry on hiring for attitude over skill and I stand behind it. Skill can be taught. Attitude cannot. If you hire a person with the right skill set, but the wrong attitude, it will wreak havoc within your organization the same way one bad apple can spoil the whole bunch.

There are professional floaters. Salespeople who float from company to company in search of their next salaried position. Some are polished and very difficult to catch. It will require calling on their references but it is worth it considering the cost of hiring, firing, and then on-boarding a new sales rep. Making a few 5 to 10 minute calls with references can save you weeks or months of headaches down the road.

2. Instill A Purpose

If you tell a brick layer to start laying down bricks with no specific purpose or vision of what is being done, the brick layer will eventually quit from fatigue or boredom. If you tell a brick layer that every brick they lay is for a wall that is going to insulate and protect their country, or to shelter their own family, the brick layer now has a sense of purpose.

Sales companies that only teach their agents to sell and churn out numbers will eventually be out of business. If your salespeople have to sell widgets then make sure they understand the significance of each sale. Getting a paycheck is great, but the paycheck wont motivate a salesperson on a bad day or worse yet bad month.

Your organization has to sell, sell, and resell your vision. Contrary to what you might think, your troops can’t hear it enough. There’s a reason you are leave a Disney theme park Disney’d out. Everything there is branded with Disney so that you are sold, sold, and re-sold. Cups. Napkins. Shopping bags. Everything. You are immersed in it. You leave whistling or humming Disney songs. Your salespeople need that type of culture.

3. Offer Career Growth

You will lose 21% of your salespeople leave because of the lack of career growth. This is not only limited to promotion opportunities. People get bored. Salespeople are no different. It can be scary to hear that your top salesperson doesn’t feel motivated anymore especially when they are hitting their numbers. This is usually a cry for help and a desire to develop new skills.

When we only emphasize hitting sales goals we forget that what really drives people. People want a sense of purpose and growth. If we don’t listen to our top performers they will find another organization that will. It pays to invest in the skill development of salespeople, as well as, promoting the opportunity to acquire additional skills by creating adequate promotion opportunities along the way.

4. People Are Starving For Recognition

Recognition is necessary in all industries, not only in sales. Every employee wants to feel like their work is appreciated and valued. It’s easy for superiors to have a “That’s what they’re getting paid to do right?” attitude, but that doesn’t foster a culture where people genuinely want to do more than they are asked for the betterment of the organization as a whole. Take care of the overachievers in your organization.

Recognition isn’t only bonuses, commissions, and salary increases. People crave things that have meaning. Monetary rewards are short lived-especially with sales professionals. Celebrating someone’s big and small victories with words and commendation is a meaningful way to make someone within the organization feel special. Do this publicly in front of others, especially their peers, and you earn brownie points. Wins should also be celebrated in the forms of company benefits and opportunities for personal growth.

5. Get Rid of the Boiler Room Mentality

Public perception of the professional salesperson is usually not good. Our profession has been referred to as sleazy, manipulative, and dishonest to name a few. Warranted or not, these stigmas exist and many start from within our own organizations.

Sales horror stories detail struggles of overworked and over pressured sales agents to achieve regular hard pressed quotas, where they breakdown and struggle with poor mental & physical health. Rumors or not, it is our duty to eliminate these perceptions if we want to retain talent. To do this, we need to be just as concerned about the well being of our sales force as we are about the sales figures.

6. Start From Within

Any organization is only as good as it’s leadership. As such, it is important that you don’t only assign or require that your salespeople attend conferences to sharpen their skills, but that we lead the charge and do the same. You may not be in sales, but there are plenty of HR conferences or management seminars that you can attend virtually or in person. Just as children do as their parents do and not as they say, your sales force will do as you do. If there is a culture of consistent improvement everyone will follow. Nobody wants to stay in a group where their leaders slack off or where the leaders do not know how to empathize with their members. In the Sales industry, effective and empathetic leadership is important because of how saturated and competitive the nature of the business is. Therefore, it is necessary to produce sales managers that are equipped with the skills and knowledge to lead. Investing in good leadership that includes self improvement is also investing in your employees’ welfare.

Another common mistake that companies make when it comes to leadership is hiring new managers instead of nurturing one from the existing team itself. Newly-hired sales managers usually end up detached from the team because they lack the sense of empathy and the experience to cope up with how the team is running. If companies develop leaders from within the team, all the skills and experiences that newly-hired sales managers lack can easily be offered by these home-grown leaders.

I know firsthand what it’s like to invest time, money, and emotional resources into someone only to see them leave. It’s a part of the cycle, but the more you can minimize defection and increase retention, the better off your organization will be. These 6 tips I shared are probably not new to you, but they bare repeating and re-implementing regularly.

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Ways to Handle Difficult Conversations with Your Salespeople

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Managing people is not that easy. Managing salespeople can be even more of a challenge. There will be times where you will face some difficult conversations with one or more of your salespeople. Each member of your sales team has their own unique personality and attitude. It can cause clashes and poor sales performance if you don’t know how to handle their personality or how to deal with a difficult conversation with them. Not dealing with these situations can cause ill feelings to fester making it harder to motivate your sales team.

Sales Manager Role

As a Sales Manager, your goal is to create and maintain a sales team with great results but it requires a lot of adjustments, understanding, and patience. It is a good quality of a leader to know how to handle tough conversations with any team member. It is imperative if you really want to have a great salesforce team. You should not only focus on the member who gives you a lot of sales and immediately kick out those who are a burden on your team.

There are sales leaders that don’t know how to handle a difficult conversation with their salespeople. They focus on the low sales result of particular salespeople without identifying what causes their poor performance. The conflict can cause more dropped in sales and possible demotivation of the employee.

There are also some who become blinded by their top sales representative even if they have a bad attitude because they are trying to keep the sales coming and avoid conflicts. They will only realize at the end that ignoring such kind of behavior has a great impact on the team and even to the whole organization in the long run.

You as a leader should treat each of your salespeople fairly, motivate them during hard times and appreciate all their effort no matter how much is their contribution to the team’s total sales.

Types of Difficult Salespeople

It is also important that you know the different types of personalities of your people. This is a great way for you to know how to manage them. If you don’t recognize and understand their personality, it will just cause serious damage to the team performance.

1.The Narcissistic

This is the type of team member that has a very high sense of self-importance and can be manipulative. They feel that they are special and superior. They are too confident with their skills and may underestimate his or her teammates. Controlling and giving them advice can be tough because they think they know everything.

This can be hard to deal with but you can manage this by creating a strong bond and team cohesion. You may use team meetings where each member provides peer feedback. This is less threatening to them compared to a manager’s criticism.

2.The Insecure

This is the type of member who feels a lack of confidence with themself. They tend to ask help from the other often. They also compare themself to others most of the time. It makes them feel so down and hopeless especially if they can’t add sales to the team.

This can annoy you and other team members especially if they keep asking for help even if it was taught to them several times already. You just need to empower them most of the time. Talking to them and praising them even with just small accomplishments can help them boost their confidence. You may also offer training that can help them improve their skills.

3.The Happy-Go-Lucky

This is the type of salesperson who is always late, who takes long lunches, loves to party and drinks so much alcohol after work. He can be a bad influence on other team members.
This can be toxic to the team and even to the organization. Talk to them and give them a constructive solution for every negative action

The Negative

This is someone who often talks bad about his or her teammates, the management, and the company. They also respond negatively to different situations that may also affect the thinking of his or her teammates.

Talk to them and encourage them to spread positivity instead and how it can greatly help her and teammates to have better relationships and sales.

The Blamer

This is the type of salesperson who always blames others with his low sales. He will reason out that his teammates took the sales away, the client takes too long to decide and management lacks support.

Divert the conversation in a positive direction. Tell her what she’s doing good. Explore by asking what makes him/ her feel that way and let her answer what she can do better.

How to Handle Difficult Conversation with Your Salespeople

If you are struggling handling difficult conversation with some of your salespeople, you have to make sure that you do the following reminders. This can help you resolve the conflict and turn tough conversations on a skyrocket sales team performance.

1.Treat them with respect

As a leader, make sure that you show respect to your subordinates so that they will also respect you. You can gain the respect of your team by treating them fairly and managing your mindset. Show them that you really care and you have good intentions. It can help you get their trust so that they can easily open up any arising problems before it gets worse.

2.Establish facts

Before you say that they’re wrong or they made a mistake, it is important that you establish the facts. Make sure you know how to control your emotions, keep your self compose and focus on resolving the conflict based on the facts you observed.

3.Active listening

This is really important in handling difficult conversations. You have to make sure that you listen actively to each word they were saying and make them feel you are interested to hear more. You get cues from what they say to better understand why they’re behaving like that or what makes them feel that way. If you missed a word, it can mean differently to you and may just lead to further misunderstanding.

4.Addressing with their names when talking to them

Using their names while you were talking to them is a way of showing respect. Never call them using inappropriate words that can trigger a sudden burst of emotion and may worsen the situation.

5.Do not interrupt

Make sure that you allow them to talk and let them say what they feel. Allow them to share their point of view and perspective. No matter if you do not agree with them and you are very eager to say your rebuttals, you have to control yourself and let him or her finish. Then, explore by asking probing questions if you need more details.

6.Avoid words that may increase conflict

Do you know that saying words such as “Never”, “No”, “Wrong” and “No way” can just increase the conflict? Try to acknowledge their point and seek further information instead of disagreeing immediately. It will help you understand why they say that. You may say “ That sounds interesting. What makes you think that way?” or “ Seems like a plan. Go on. I want to know more about your idea.”

7.Be careful with your questions

It is important that you have to be careful in choosing the right words in asking questions. Remember that your goal is to identify where their behavior is coming from and resolve the main issue. You can ask lots of probing questions until you get the core and as long as you don’t interrupt.

8.Create a plan of action together

After having a conversation and you have identified the issue and other contributing factors, it is time that you showcase your skills on how you will resolve this. Come up with a plan together then share what you can do on your behalf to support the agreed plan.

Remember that salespeople are the building blocks of your organization. Conflicts and misunderstandings may happen from time to time. It won’t be easy to handle difficult conversations once the problem arises. That is why it is important that you check them and ask how everything is going. Through this, you will know if they are struggling and if they need your support. This is also a great way to identify any arising issues to prevent difficult conversations or future conflicts affecting the whole team or organization.

They need your support as much as you need their cooperation and dedication to have a great team with great sales results.

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when risk taking becomes a way of life paul argueta motivational speaker sales coach how to get more sales kobe bryant death

Risk Taking Becomes a Way of Life for The Successful

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In light of Kobe Bryant’s death on January 25, 2020 from a helicopter tragedy, I am compelled to write about the risk profile that many of our heroes and industry titans must face and master on the path to success.

The question I’m pondering is this: Do all successful people, by nature, become numb to risk-taking? Is a risk-taking tendency almost a prerequisite of success, regardless of industry? Are all successful people inherently delusional, as a prerequisite to pushing the boundaries required to excel in their lines of work?

“There’s a certain delusional quality that all successful people have to have.”

Actor Will Smith said as much in a YouTube interview:

“There’s a certain delusional quality that all successful people have to have. You have to believe that something different than what has happened for the last 50 million years of history, you have to believe that something different can happen.”

In Bryant’s case, CNN reported minutes before the crash occurred, the pilot of the doomed helicopter had requested special permission to continue flying despite foggy weather conditions. The last thing heard from the pilot to air traffic control was that he was trying to avoid a cloud layer. It didn’t work.

Why had the pilot requested special visual flight rules clearance—which would allow a pilot to fly during poorer weather conditions than those allowed for normal visual flight rules? We don’t know what happened for sure on that flight, but it’s safe to say that risks were taken with the weather conditions—risks that may not have been taken under different circumstances, or with different passengers on board.

The truth is we will never know and the world is left mourning the loss of nine souls which left us too soon.

The Voice Inside

The journey to success is lonely. Those who have made it have learned to listen to their own inner voice rather than the voices on the sidelines telling them to quit or their goals are too lofty. This is a blessing and a curse, especially when it’s the inner voice that got you to the mountaintop.

It’s easy to think of other successful risk-takers whose stories ended prematurely. A recent example was pro racecar driver Jessi Combs, who was dubbed “the fastest woman on four wheels.” At age 39, Combs died trying to best her own record speed of 398 miles per hour, which she had recorded in 2013. She crashed in Oregon’s Alvord Desert.

Apple’s co-founder Steve Jobs was known to push the envelope. He had been pushing the envelope his whole life. He tried to do the same thing with his cancer treatment and it didn’t work out. Live Science published a piece that explored, Did Alternative Medicine Kill Steve Jobs? The article notes, Jobs delayed the recommended medical treatment for pancreatic cancer for nine months. He attempted to treat his condition through alternative medicine and eating a special diet.

It required surgically removing the tumor.

Not all risk-taking results in the uber-successful losing their life, but other things may be lost by “going all in.” Jim Carrey described “losing himself” while method acting as Andy Kaufman for the film “Man on the Moon.” An article by Josh Rottenberg for the Los Angeles Times described Carrey “plunging himself so deeply into the role that he was never the same again.”

Ripping the Envelope Open

Other successful risk-takers (who are still alive connected to their own identities, and continuing to reap big rewards from their risk-taking) are founder of Virgin Airlines Richard Branson, whose risk-taking exploits Alison Coleman writing for Forbes called “the stuff of legend.”

“…no one ever reached for the stars from the comfort of their couch!” Sir Richard Branson, Virgin Group Founder

And don’t forget:

Dropbox’s Drew Houston—who was told by Steve Jobs that Apple’s iCloud service would take over the Dropbox market—took a big risk in not selling to Apple. Now Houston’s company is worth $12 billion.
Oracle’s Larry Ellison—Oracle wasn’t always the most popular database company in the world. Ellison had to take many risks to propel the once struggling tech firm to domination, once even mortgaging his house to keep the business going via a credit line.
Uber’s Travis Kalanick—Uber’s co-founder, who also co-founded the now bankrupt file sharing company Scour Exchange, was accused of copyright infringement. Kalanick didn’t let failure stop him, and overrode funding challenges and many competitors in the ridesharing app space to ultimately become the behemoth.
Pinterest’s Ben Silbermann—Silbermann already had an enviable job at Google when he left to form Pinterest. It wasn’t an instant hit, with only 3,000 accounts. Silbermann stuck with it, running the site out of a small apartment for a while. Eventually, the app was launched on iOS and the rest is history. The company is now valued at $12.7 billion.

You don’t have to be famous to be a risk-taker to fit this profile. I know that even in my own business, I have practiced “the success delusion.” There have been many times when I have had to convince myself that things are better than they really are in an effort to keep moving forward.

One of the reasons we love our heroes is because they step into the unknown and gamble. We, as mere mortals, marvel at it. I know that it isn’t that these champions are free from fear but that they are not paralyzed by it. Every person on that helicopter on Jan. 26 was a hero and a risk taker. May we celebrate their lives and may their legacy inspire every one of us.

What do you think—are all successful people inherently a little delusional? Follow me here and subscribe here for all the latest tips on how to increase sales by up to 400%!

– Paul

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4 Misconceptions About Working as a Real Estate Agent

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Did you know that there are two million active real estate licensees in the United States? Make no mistake, real estate is a competitive industry.

In order to be one of the most successful real estate agents, you have to be driven, self-motivated, and creative. It also helps to have a competitive streak, whether you’re competing against other agents or just trying to achieve a new personal best. In short, this is not the career to choose if you are the type of person to phone it in.

Let’s take a closer look at the top seven habits to cultivate if you’re just starting out as a real estate agent.

7 Habits of the Most Successful Real Estate Agents:

Of course, there’s no surefire formula for success, in real estate or in any other field. And there will always be exceptions to the rules. However, the following traits and actions are ones that you will commonly find in real estate agents.

1. ARE ORGANIZED, TYPE A PEOPLE
Real estate agents tend to be type A people, movers, and shakers who attack each day like a wartime general. They don’t just use calendars and to-do lists, they can’t live without them. Scrupulously organized, they keep the information they need at their fingertips, or otherwise easily accessible.

These are not the kind of folks who forget their spouse’s birthday or space out on plans to meet a friend for coffee. They’re much more likely to be the sort who schedules each moment of their vacation, or pencils in quality time with their kids. If it’s not in the calendar, it doesn’t happen.

2. COMMUNICATE EFFECTIVELY
“Good communication skills” means more to a real estate agent than simply active listening or asking the right kind of questions. Instead, being a good communicator comprises several habits.

First, it means returning calls, texts, messages, and emails quickly. Secondly, it means being available through all those channels. There is no best way to contact a real estate agent; they use every way. And no matter how they get in touch, they get to the point quickly.

Of course, good communication skills also involve the ability to synthesize information, to craft effective messages to different audiences, to read between the lines, and to persuade the listener.

3. DON’T SELL
Speaking of persuasion, it might surprise you to learn that the most effective real estate agents do not sell. That their skills are interchangeable with those of salespeople is a common misconception. There are some commonalities, of course, but it’s better for an agent to think of herself as a consultant than a salesperson.

Why? Because referrals and repeat clients don’t happen as a result of closing a sale, but from pairing up real people with ideal properties. They aren’t selling to. They are working with. This may seem like a subtle difference, but it means the difference between being a top performer and being a struggling straggler.

4. ARE TECH SAVVY
They’ve mastered the tech tools of their trade. Their Google-fu is unparalleled, the know the brokerage’s CMS inside and out, and they use the latest and greatest iterations of whatever tech platform they favor.

5. ARE SOCIAL
Social media acumen goes hand-in-hand with tech-savvy. Successful real estate agents know that as useful as lawn signs might be, they’re not sufficient. Today’s market demands interactive content disseminated via as many platforms as possible.

Video walk-throughs and 360-degree interactive tours used to be ground-breaking gimmicks. Now, they’re standard practice. Successful agents understand not just what to post on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, and so on, but when to post it. They work the social landscape as effectively as they work a room — and reap plenty of rewards.

Maintaining a blog that’s regularly updated with valuable content, ensuring that listings are up-to-the-minute, and giving websites a design overhaul every few years to stay on trend — all of these are invaluable tools in a successful agent’s toolkit.

6. CONNECT AND NETWORK
Both on social media and in real life, every successful agent is an expert people person. They’re extroverted, engaging, confident and charismatic. They don’t take past clients for granted, and they regard almost everyone they meet as potential clients — or as potential conduits to a new client. After all, everyone has friends, family members, neighbors, coworkers, and acquaintances.

A successful real estate agent won’t dismiss someone they meet simply because that person isn’t currently in the market to buy or sell a house. Situations change, fortunes are reversed, happily married couples become unhappy and decide to split.

Crackerjack agents value their networks and can produce the testimonials and reviews to prove their worth.

7. KNOW THE NEIGHBORHOOD(S)
It’s no secret that most real estate agents specialize — sometimes in the type of property they broker, sometimes in a particular geographical area or neighborhood, and most often in both. If you want to be a contender, you have to know your neighborhoods like the back of your hand.

Successful agents are knowledgeable about school systems, job opportunities, retail stores, nightlife, walkability, bikeability, public transportation, crime rate, taxes, zoning, and development. Of course, this is on top of their in-depth knowledge about home prices, home sizes, and property values of “their” neighborhoods.

How Do You Measure Up?

If reading about these seven habits of the most successful real estate agents had you nodding your head and saying “That sounds like me!” you may very well have found your dream career.

Learn more about how you can kickstart that career by becoming a 100% commission real estate agent with Ashby & Graff. Give us a call today or browse the rest of our blog posts to educate yourself!
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4 Misconceptions About Working as a Real Estate Agent

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Ever notice that some folks have a skewed view of life as a real estate agent? Considering how agents are depicted on some reality TV shows, that’s understandable. Agents with big incomes and lavish lifestyles undoubtedly bring in higher television ratings than your run-of-the-mill agents.

And while those shows are entertaining and real estate agent tends to be one of the happiest industries to work in, they can create a lot of misconceptions about real estate agents. We’re ready to clear those up right now.

Misconception #1: This job is easy.

Consider a few of an agent’s daily challenges: marketing “not-so-marketable” properties, managing a huge client database and supervising heated negotiations. Add in the stress of a commission-based income and an unstable market, and you can understand why few agents say their jobs are “easy.”

“People have this image that being an agent is easy, that all you have to do is show apartments,” says New York City agent Gretchen de Chellis in a New York Times interview. “This is an undervalued job for all the work that goes into it! And real estate is a really fickle industry.”

Misconception #2: I get paid a lot.

Real estate agents drive around in flashy cars, live in mansions, and are up to their eyeballs in million-dollar deals, right?

Wealthy agents are definitely out there, but 7-figure incomes are not the norm among agents. The average gross income for members of the National Association of Realtors who worked 40-59 hours a week was $42,500 in 2016, down from $45,800 in 2014. That’s a solid income, but not enough to support a warehouse full of Ferraris or a palatial vacation home.

Most agents quickly learn that a comfortable income is certainly within reach, but that real estate isn’t the quick and easy road to riches.

Misconception #3: My schedule is super-flexible.

Most real estate agents aren’t held to the “Monday-Friday, 8-5” routine. Agents have some flexibility to work at the times and locations they see fit.

But that doesn’t mean agents can abandon the office for days on end or vacation at a moment’s notice. Clients have demands and busy lives as well, and many expect agents to cater to their schedules. Buyers may want an immediate showing of a new listing. Sellers expect listing agents to constantly monitor leads.

At the end of the day, agents can choose how flexible and responsive they want to be. But as success follows hard work, so too must agents follow their client’s needs.

Misconception #4: I don’t need any training to do this job.

We’ll counteract that myth with a simple statement: Agents are a well-educated crowd.

Every licensed agent must meet their state’s training guidelines before starting a practice. Plus, more than 30 percent of NAR members have some type of college degree, and 65 percent hold licenses as sales agents. And in 2014, a third of NAR members have at least one professional designation, such as GRI (Graduate Realtor Institute) or ABR (Accredited Buyer Representative).

It’s true that most universities don’t offer a bachelor’s degree in real estate. Don’t let that tidbit obscure the fact that agents undergo rigid licensure training and continuing education to succeed.

Agents with military clientele need additional understanding of how to service those who served. Read more here: Be the Go-To Military Friendly Agent In Your Community

The reality is…

Just like any other profession, real estate has its highs and lows. It’s not a get-rich-quick scheme, or an easy career for someone without the proper training.

But if you love personal interaction, marketing, and being self-employed, working as a real estate agent can be incredibly rewarding. Connecting buyers with their dream homes or helping sellers move on with their lives is a wonderful calling.

And you get to look at houses all day long. (Better consider a different career path if that doesn’t excite you!)

Debunk the misconceptions surrounding VA Loans: The Benefits of Being a Military Friendly Agent
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Why I Love Real Estate (And You Should Too!)

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At different stages in life, each of us is faced with a number of opportunities.

These opportunities (sometimes disguised as work!) might not always be as obvious to see!

I’m happy to be able to say that I have jumped on most of them: some turned out to be regrettable; however, none of them was as exciting as my move to become a real estate agent.

Dare I say it out loud: I love real estate!

Contrary to popular belief, becoming a real estate agent isn’t just another change of jobs or a last option job; it truly comes with a complete change in lifestyle. There’s no other job that can even come close to it.

And why? That’s the easy part.

To give you an idea, I have quickly lined up 14 reasons:

Reason #1

Have you ever thought how it would feel like to wake up unemployed every day? Well, that’s what it’s like to be an independent real estate agent!

Do you feel like sleeping in and getting started later in the day? No worries! How about taking those long vacation breaks? Not a problem at all! Just don’t be surprised that your (commission) income will be low that month as well! The upside of having this flexibility of time is that you can spend it whenever with your family, friends and loved ones!

Reason #2

I am very proud of the work that I do: whether it’s assisting buyers in finding, what’s very likely, their life’s most valuable asset, or helping home sellers with the marketing and subsequent sale of their home, as they get ready for the next chapter in their life! How exciting is that!

As a real estate agent, you have a bigger impact on people’s lives than you might think! Definitely not the easiest of responsibilities, but a very rewarding one!

Reason #3

Please don’t take me wrong here: there are many real estate agents out there whose business cards aren’t worth the paper it is written on (but that’s a discussion for another time)!

However, in the end, their (in)actions make me look great!

Reason #4

One could say that in a way, real estate agents are almost like police officers!

How many times have you driven past a particular property located around the corner from your house, and wondered how it must look like inside?

As a real estate agent, especially once you’ve been in the area for a number of years, you’ve more than likely seen the inside of all the properties nearby!

You get to find out the more personal details of the people behind those sometimes odd-looking street appeals, and let me tell you: there are quite a few things you see & hear that you wished you could un-see and un-hear! Such as having a stunning-looking streetside pavement, yet being completely shocked by the indoor decorations, or vice versa!

Up until I became a real estate agent in Northcliff, my wife didn’t really ask how my day went. Now, I think she’s looking forward to the next instalment of her husband’s version of Days Of Our Lives!

Reason #5

Being personally involved with the marketing and sale of one’s home, a real estate agent gets exposed to (not-to-be underestimated) level of emotional stress whether coming from the home seller, interested buyer or caused by the agent himself.

Intense negotiations spread over days or weeks, writing or presenting offers to purchase at the oddest times or locations or showing potential buyers properties under the most difficult of circumstances, all do contribute to sometimes stressful situations!

Reason #6

Sometimes, friends might tell me how they worry about the latest economic conditions & forecasts, and how they fear it might result in being downsized, outsourced or straight job loss.

Over the years as a real estate agent, it is quite a weight off my shoulders to know I never need to worry about that again!

Reason #7

Marketing a property involves many, many different elements, and it can get very entertaining at times!

Things might perhaps get a bit more serious if it weren’t for all the many funny real estate marketing oopsies one sees as a real estate agent!

Reason #8

Initially, the variance and frequency of commission income was definitely something one needs to get used to!

There’s no doubt about it: the number of (s)low commission income months definitely do get compensated by a few weeks worth of commission incomes, in the region of an average person’s yearly salary!

Budgeting becomes very important in order to adequately adjust one’s monthly finances throughout the year.

Reason #9

How’s the economy doing? Are we looking at a good economy? Bad economy?

As a real estate agent, I like to see it that I’m responsible for making my own economy!

I believe whether business is good or bad, it is completely my own doing (and mostly right between my ears!). Some of my best performance months were in economic down periods!

Reason #10

How about the lack of discrimination!?

In other words, it’s a level playing field, where it really doesn’t matter what educational background you have, or what your previous career experience has been, anyone interested in becoming a real estate agent can choose to do so!

Having said that, whether you will survive your first six months as a real estate agent is a completely different matter (and a topic of discussion for another time)!

Reason #11

Ever been bored at work?

Now, that’s not something I can say, as every day is different, thanks to the job diversity this real estate career brings!

If you think about the last time you dealt with a real estate agent on the purchase or sale of a property, have you ever stopped and realized that your agent actually was a mix of photographer, journalist, psychologist, attorney, housekeeper, interior designer, babysitter, personal secretary, security guard, and roof repairman etc. Just to name a few of the duties a real estate agent will perform over the course of marketing your property!

Talk about being a Jack of All Trades and yet, NOT!

Reason #12

Evolving as a real estate agent at a time when social media is becoming so important, I’m truly blessed to have met so many new real estate colleagues, quite a few who have turned into friends whom I communicate with on a daily basis, and learnt so much from through online Real Estate Communities.

Reason #13

Wasn’t it the Zig Ziglar, who said that “You can have everything in life you want, if you will just help enough other people get what they want.”

Thus, the faster you understand this simple truth, the more successful your career path as a real estate agent will be. I just love real estate for the mere fact that there really is no limit to what you can make in this job, once you’ve set your mind to it!

Reason #14

A handful of years ago, I decided to move to Northcliff, and change to a different real estate company, so I could live & work in my own Northcliff neighbourhood. Today, I’ve never been as proud to be part of a small team of real estate professionals, assisting buyers in Northcliff, as well as home sellers in Northcliff and surroundings!

Why I Love Real Estate (And You Should Too!) — via @XavierDeBuck #northcliff https://t.co/VFI2KnWBFx pic.twitter.com/b21bZQhDk7

— Xavier De Buck (@XavierDeBuck) January 11, 2016

If you think this article why I love real estate was an interesting read, please share it across your social media platforms!

About the author: The above article “Why I Love Real Estate (And You Should Too!)” was written by Xavier De Buck, your top-producing Johannesburg real estate agent. Xavier has been nationally recognized and awarded for providing service excellence, exceptional property sales, whilst exhibiting the highest level of professionalism. With over 15 years combined experience as a real estate agent and real estate investor, if you’re thinking of buying or selling a home in Johannesburg, Xavier would love to share his property knowledge and expertise.

Xavier has more than 65,000 followers on Facebook, Google Plus, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram and LinkedIn.

Make sure to connect!

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Top 10 Ways to Recruit and Retain Real Estate Agents

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How to attract and keep the best talent in today’s tight job market

What motivates today’s agent to leave or join a new real estate brokerage? If you instantly answered commission splits, you’re overlooking a new mindset that looks well beyond the paycheck. Today’s agent considers everything from cultural fit and marketing resources to productivity tools and software when selecting a new brokerage to call home.

Top 10 recruiting and retaining tips

1Don’t follow the script.
Every real estate agent has their own motivation. Many are recruited based on attractive commission splits, but others favor brokers who offer the right tech tools or educational training. Actively listen to your job candidates to find out what motivates them. Many agents today — particularly millennials — are looking for remote and mobile-first technology that enables them to complete real estate transactions faster and more efficiently wherever they may be.

2Get proactive!
All too often brokers find themselves forced to recruit when an agent leaves on short notice. In these cases, the pool of candidates is limited to whoever happens to be looking for a new brokerage at the time. Rather than compromise your standards, take the smarter approach and actively cultivate candidates before they’re even thinking of leaving their current team. Cast a wide net and look at both, up-and-coming agent as well as the seasoned agent looking to make a move.

3Host a happy hour.
On that note, consider closing your doors to clients for a night and focus on recruiting agents with a personable monthly or quarterly social event. These can take the form of happy hours or in-house speaking engagements. Such forums allow you and your staff to get to know a number of candidates in a more informal setting and build a rapport with promising agents for the future, even if they’re not actively looking to make a change now.

4Characterize your culture.
Maybe your brokerage offers great camaraderie among colleagues with helpful, supportive agent collaboration. Or perhaps you’re a large franchise that can provide awesome training courses, marketing and lead gen resources. Whatever it is, promote that one thing that sets your brokerage apart and really makes you special in the eyes of the type of agents you want to attract.

NYC-based Real Broker, one of the fastest growing virtual brokerages, appeals to the remote, mobile agent, while Parks Realty of Nashville, TN, has been honored as the No. 1 Top Workplace by local press for its family-friendly company culture.

5Market your online presence.
Customers aren’t the only prospects canvassing the Internet for brokerages with a strong marketing presence. Promising agents looking to make their next move are also focusing attention on your online profile. Make sure you’re using strong SEO keywords in your online content (read more about content strategy) so when agents and customers search for homes for sale in your community, your brokerage name will pop up on the first page.

One easy way to spread the word quickly is by using dotloop’s branded communication feature. Brokerages who use the dotloop for Teams and Business+ platforms enjoy the added benefit of branding their account page with their logo displayed front and center. The result? Effective word-of-mouth advertising that targets your local agent community.

6Think beyond LinkedIn.
According to a survey by Capterra Talent Management, 94% recruiters are active on LinkedIn, though only 36% of candidates are active. The competition is fierce on this popular social channel. So why not look at less conventional forums to recruit?

Try creating a short recruiting video featuring testimonials from some of your more loyal agents, admins and customers, and post it on Facebook or YouTube. You might also look to recruit from similar sales-based and real estate-oriented industries, including the title, mortgage, escrow, insurance and financial fields.

7Use reporting to retain talent.
Robust reporting and comprehensive dashboards on a streamlined transaction management platform like dotloop can help you get in front of your team’s productivity with highly refined sorts such as real-time views of active transactions versus closed accounts. Such data will enable you to track your strong performers as well as those who need more coaching. As you gain deeper visibility into those agents who are really driving your business, you’ll be in a better place to act proactively rather than reactively to changes.

8Integrate with CRM and back-office applications.
Tech-minded agents are attracted to brokerages that offer technology, which integrates with their favorite CRM, marketing and accounting applications. Brokerages with fewer disconnects across departments also hum with greater efficiency.

Agents are finding having a well-integrated real estate transaction management platform like dotloop, which partners with 40+ CRM, marketing and accounting applications, helps streamline their workflow and eliminate redundant data entry. Data also suggests that agents who use integrated applications are more likely to engage with the transaction management process.

9Even the playing field.
Once you’ve narrowed the candidate pool and initiated the interviewing process, make sure you track each candidate and assess them using the same, standardized criteria. Ask the same interview questions of each to ensure your polling of prospects is fair and balanced.

10Hold onto great talent.
Of course, for all the resources you invest in recruiting great talent, all those efforts will lay to waste if your agents leave prematurely. Avoid the revolving door and retain great talent by constantly nurturing their skillsets with the right mix of ongoing training, productivity tools and robust marketing programs that close the deal and keep your agents happy for the long term.

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A COLD CALL SCRIPT FOR REAL ESTATE AGENTS WHO HATE COLD CALLING

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Cold calls. Dreaded words that evoke negative connotations in just about every agent. Well, shudder no more. We’re gonna share with you a cold call script that is going to turn your cold calling into an effective lead generation strategy.

Let’s get started!

There’s no special ingredient or talent needed to get good at cold calls. Really. The key to successful cold calling isn’t what you say but HOW. And how you express yourself on a cold call is a direct reflection of your:

Confidence
Preparation
Enthusiasm

With the right preparation and a handful of qualified leads, you can actually make your cold calling a fun daily exercise.

Reach out to your prospects with enthusiasm and unwavering faith in the value of what you offer. Armed with the right attitude, you’ll have the confidence to initiate more conversations and handle objections.

5 REASONS WHY YOUR COLD CALLING ISN’T WORKING

POOR ENERGY
You sound nervous when you should be enthusiastic. Or, you overdo it on the phone and speak in an animated manner that puts prospects off. A strong, confident elevator pitch will cure that problem.

LACK OF CONSISTENCY

Practice makes perfect. Yes, your first few conversations will be awkward, but you won’t develop a rhythm without daily practice. Set a schedule for cold calling with a target for the number of daily phone calls. Aim for at least 25 – 30 calls a day when you first start. You won’t reach everyone so make every connect count!

LACK OF REHEARSAL

Fumbling on the phone with the wrong information about your prospect, mispronunciations, and awkward pauses project a lack of confidence. Would you feel confident trusting someone with a property transaction who can’t get your name right? Not a good look. That’s why you should rehearse!

NO ORIGINALITY

Reading your cold call script verbatim is a sure way to kill any interest in a conversation. Do you enjoy listening to someone read to you over the phone? Personalize your cold call script and use it as a roadmap for guiding your conversation, rather than a crutch.

YOU’RE NOT USING A COLD CALL SCRIPT

Your conversation needs to be developed in logical stages that lead the prospect to a decision. Without a script, your conversations will lack direction and focused results. You’ll also be less confident handling objections.

6 COLD CALL SCRIPT TIPS TO REMEMBER:

Define the specific outcome you would like (appointment, listing, interview)
Set a daily target that is ambitious but realistic. Establish a threshold for daily call volume as well, to ensure you connect with enough prospects each week.
Be positive and enthusiastic regardless of your prospect’s mood.
Show empathy for your prospects and their pain points.
Ask questions to understand your prospect’s objections and goals.
Provide solutions rather than solicitation.

Use these tips as a guideline to creating a cold call script that is purposeful and effective.

The following script is intended for buyer agents seeking to win listings. It can easily be personalized and tweaked for just about any agent, buyer or seller.

AN AWESOME COLD CALL SCRIPT FOR AGENTS

STEP #1) GREETING.

Hello, Good morning/afternoon, is this X? (state the prospect’s first name)

Keep your greeting short and to the point. Do not use your prospect’s full name. That’s what every other CSR and cold caller is doing. Use your prospect’s first name.

STEP #2) INTRODUCTION.

Hi! My name is X and it’s so good to finally reach you! I’m a real estate expert for X community. Is this a good time to talk?

Let the client respond. They may be driving, in the middle of a task, or managing a crisis. Showing this courtesy will set a good tone for the conversation.

At this point, your prospect will either raise an objection or give their permission. Regardless of their answer (even a rude one), your answer should always be the same.

In the case of an objection lead with EMPATHY:

“I totally get it, you’re busy and, can’t talk right now, Diane, right?”
“Sure, I can feel your frustration, and I’d feel the same, Angela!”
“Yeah, I had the same problem myself, so I can absolutely relate, John.”
“Yes, I completely understand so I’ll get to the point, Jim”

If your prospect has no objection, proceed to your elevator pitch!

STEP #3) ELEVATOR PITCH.
More than any other part of your cold call script, your elevator pitch needs to sound convincing, not rehearsed. It should reveal your motive for the call and a solution you are offering.

“I’m on a mission to help 100 people move into their dream home by x date and I’d like to help you find yours in the shortest time frame possible. Would you be open to meeting with me in person tomorrow?”
“I just sold a home in this neighborhood for considerably more than asking price. If I could show you a plan for selling your home above asking price within your deadline, would you be open to a meeting?”
“I’m a new agent with a specialization in the local market. If I could find suitable buyers for your home in the next 30 days, would you be open to meeting with me?”

If your elevator pitch doesn’t generate curiosity about what you’re offering, you should consider tweaking it until it does.

STEP #4) OBJECTIONS.

After your elevator pitch, objections are common but don’t be alarmed by this response. Someone who starts making excuses is looking for an exit because you haven’t struck a chord with their needs. A prospect who asks a lot of questions, on the other hand, is INTERESTED!

Your goal should be to win the appointment, NOT to sell your expertise. Be assumptive and your prospect will assume you are an expert.

The best way to respond to an objection is:

Demonstrate empathy
Probe for details
Provide a solution

Bryan Casella is a noted sales expert whose Youtube coaching videos have helped thousands of agents improve their cold calling. You’ll learn a lot from his cold call and objection handling, even though he’s not using a cold call script:

STEP #5) CLOSE THE CALL.

Your closing is the seal of confirmation. Provide your prospect with clear instructions and a timeline of next steps.

“Awesome, Maria! I can pencil you in at 2pm tomorrow afternoon and send you a confirmation by email in the next 30 mn. The meeting will last no more than 1hr. Does that work for you?”
“That’s great to hear, Tom! If you’re available tomorrow morning we can meet at 10am. I’ll send you an email confirmation in the next 10 mn if that works for you?”

Keep your close short and to the point. Be decisive and have an appointment date in mind BEFORE you call. Once you get the confirmation, give them your positive reaffirmation!

STEP #6) REAFFIRMATION.
REASSURING YOUR PROSPECT THAT THEY’VE MADE A GOOD DECISION IS KEY. MAKE THEM FEEL REWARDED. ENCOURAGE YOUR PROSPECT BY POINTING OUT SOMETHING POSITIVE ABOUT THEIR DECISION TO MEET WITH YOU.

“Congratulations, John, you’ve just taken your first step to finding your dream. You’ve picked the right time to sell and I can’t wait to show you my plan for success! Talk soon and look out for my email confirmation!”

CONCLUSION:

Admittedly, cold calling isn’t an ideal form of lead generation. For agents with a specialized focus or niche, however, a good cold call script can bring you appointments you would never have uncovered elsewhere.

Personalize your cold call script and use it as a roadmap to guide your conversations. Set a specific goal for your call, as well as daily targets for call volume, contacts reached, and appointments booked.

Feel free to implement the examples above in our own script and practice your elevator pitch. Aim for no more than 3 sentences in your pitch. 1 is ideal. The shorter, the better.

Over time, and with practice, your cold call script will sound more natural, more compelling, and yield better results!

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10 Real Estate Cold Calling Scripts to Increase Lead Generation

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Every day, realtors must generate new appointments from prospective clients, hearing their pain points and, hopefully, selling their homes.

There’s no easy way to fill your real estate prospecting funnel, but could cold calling be a way to get you there?

The short answer is: yes. But there are right and wrong ways to do it.

Many realtors may think cold calling is dead. But before you write them off completely, remember they do serve a purpose. Of course, much of the success behind a cold call comes from a realtor’s pitch and targeting. If you’re up for the challenge, a database of killer cold calling scripts can help you land you more real estate clients.

The good news? You don’t need special powers to make cold calls that convert. The success lies in your preparation and delivery. How you position yourself on a cold call should reflect core traits that buyers want in a realtor:

Confidence in your abilities
Preparation that shows your prospect you’re the realtor for the job
Enthusiasm to get their property sold

Let’s dive into how cold calling works, and ten scripts to help you fill your sales funnel and your CRM system with new potential sellers.

1.The out-of-the-blue cold calling script
2.The script that gauges interest
3.The script that positions you as a community champion
4.A script for leveraging a recent sale you made
5.The script for nailing your elevator pitch
6.The script for pitching someone you already know
7.The script that gets to the point
8.The script to pitch a property owner who is already selling
9.The script to follow up on a previous property appraisal
10.The script to stop a discussion about commissions

The secret sauce to perfect cold calling scripts

Each cold calling script in your sales arsenal should serve a specific purpose.

One might be to connect with a prospect who’s looking to put their property on the market. Another may just be to reach out and see if a homeowner is looking to sell in the future.

But no matter what script you use and for what scenario, they should all have a few basic ingredients:

Goal: You must define the outcome you want from the call, whether it’s to meet up with the prospect or to secure a listing
Positivity: You need to be upbeat on your call and show your prospect that you’re enthusiastic about working with them in the market
Empathy: Even on an initial cold call, you need to share your prospect’s frustrations and show them that you understand their pain points
Questions: Ask your prospect questions so you can engage in a more meaningful conversation and deepen your relationship
Value: Offer a solution to their problem instead of just selling them on your real estate agency

A good approach to real estate cold calling is to set a daily target for how many you plan on making (and make it realistic). Let’s say you average a conversion for every 20 cold calls you make. If you’re happy with bringing in two new prospects a day, then make 40 cold calls that day and no more.

You don’t want to burn out, but you need to make sure you’re getting enough prospects in your pipeline to fulfill your targets.

Practice makes perfect

According to sales training guru Mike Ferry, practicing real estate cold calling scripts is the key to making them as successful as possible.

And to do this you must practice and develop your skills so you can handle yourself in any cold call. Ferry says this means you need to practice with intensity:

“Okay, let’s role-play, “so when do you plan on moving?” Everybody likes that question. “And how long have you lived there?” No, no. It’s not how long have you lived there, it’s “how long have you lived at this address?” It’s “where did you folks move from.” See, you practice with the intensity as if you were actually working with a buyer or seller.”

Once you’ve come around to the idea of practicing your cold scripts, enlist the help of other realtors in the office to help you nail them. The great thing about real estate is that objections from sellers are easy to predict.

Think about it, you know you’re going to get asked for the following:

Your commission rate
Your experience
How many properties you’ve sold
If you’re familiar with the seller’s area/property type

If you practice handling these objections in-house, it gives you a better chance of tackling them with confidence in the real world.

For the purposes of the examples in this piece, we’re going to use the persona of John, who works for Big Wins Real Estate.

Let’s get straight into the scripts.

1. The out-of-the-blue cold calling script Let’s start with a script for when you’re making an initial cold call to someone to see if they’re interested in buying.

This script is good for: Gauging a prospect and hearing their pain points. This script is used to get your foot in the door. If they don’t write you off, arrange a time when you can call them back for a more in-depth chat about how you can help their property affairs.

“Hi! My name is John. It’s so good to finally reach you! I’m a real estate expert for the Big Wins Real Estate community. Just checking, is this a good time to talk?”

Now, let the prospect respond. For all you know, they’re driving or in the middle of something. Showing a prospect that you understand they may be busy is always a good way to build initial rapport, as it shows them that you understand that they have a life.

Be ready. At this point, your prospect will either give you an objection (“I’m not interested” etc.) or give you a couple of minutes of their time. Regardless of their answer, you need to steer the call with empathy:

“I totally get it, you’re busy and I understand you can’t talk right now. It’s (prospect’s name), right?”

“Sure, I can feel your frustration. The market certainly is difficult right now, (prospect’s name)”

“Of course, I completely understand you’re low on time, (prospect’s name), so I’ll get to the point”

This script allows you to gauge where a prospect is at, and hopefully figure out a time to make contact again for another in-depth call.

2. The script that gauges interest

This script gauge’s a prospect’s interest in the market. Let’s look at this one as dangling a carrot in front of them.

This script is good for: Getting a more in-depth look into a homeowner and if they’ve considered putting their property on the market.

“Hi, I’m John with Big Wins Real Estate. Is this the homeowner?”

Wait for their confirmation.

“Ok, great! The reason for my call is that I have some buyers that are looking for homes in your neighborhood at the moment. Would you consider selling your home if you had someone lined up to buy it?”

Then, wait and listen.

The overall goal of this script is to plant the seed of selling a property in the prospect’s mind. But planting a seed isn’t enough, which is why you need to create a sense of urgency in the call as well. If you tell the prospect you have buyers who are looking in the area, this does just that.

If your homeowner shows an interest, make an appointment when it suits them within the next week and tell them you’ll do an initial pricing assessment of their property.

Many homeowners will tell you that they aren’t interested in selling at the moment. This is ok, but you must still pass on your information and explain how they can get in touch with you. No doubt, the prospect will bring up your call in a conversation in the following weeks, and this could be what leads them to think about selling a little more seriously.

A cold lead is better than no lead, so keep them in your sales pipeline to follow up with at a later date.

3. The script that positions you as a community champion

Positioning yourself as a champion in the community can help to build trust between you and those in the neighborhood you’re pitching within.

This script is good for: Humanizing yourself as an agent and connecting with prospects through their sense of community. It’s a great way to build relationships with prospective sellers and buyers.

“Hi (prospect’s name), this is John from Big Wins Real Estate. Just reaching out as I’ve been living in the (neighborhood/area name) for over 20 years and I just love this place. As a new agent at Big Wins with a specialization in the local area, I wanted to know if I could find a suitable buyer for your property in the next 30 days. Would you be open to meeting with me to discuss?”

This script gets to the point. Your prospect is either going to say yes or no. The tactic behind this script is, even if the prospect says no, you’ll likely strike up a conversation about the local area as you mentioned earlier.

Take notes of anything you pick up in the conversation. Even if the prospect isn’t looking to sell, it’s a great way to build the foundations of a relationship, and they may refer you to friends or family members who are looking to sell.

2. The script that gauges interest
This script gauge’s a prospect’s interest in the market. Let’s look at this one as dangling a carrot in front of them.

This script is good for: Getting a more in-depth look into a homeowner and if they’ve considered putting their property on the market.

“Hi, I’m John with Big Wins Real Estate. Is this the homeowner?”

Wait for their confirmation.

Then, wait and listen.

If your homeowner shows an interest, make an appointment when it suits them within the next week and tell them you’ll do an initial pricing assessment of their property.

A cold lead is better than no lead, so keep them in your sales pipeline to follow up with at a later date.

3. The script that positions you as a community champion
Positioning yourself as a champion in the community can help to build trust between you and those in the neighborhood you’re pitching within.

This script is good for: Humanizing yourself as an agent and connecting with prospects through their sense of community. It’s a great way to build relationships with prospective sellers and buyers.

4. A script for leveraging a recent sale you made

This script positions you as an agent who has already made a sale in the neighborhood, and to show prospects that you are the person to get them results if they’re looking to sell.

This script is good for: Getting prospects to think about how much their properties are worth by highlighting a property you recently sold in their area.

“Hi, I’m John from Big Wins Real Estate. Is this the homeowner?”

Wait for their confirmation.

“Just getting in touch because I sold a property down the street from you recently at (recent sale address). It’s a great area with a lot of interest at the moment and the properties are selling for fantastic prices. Out of interest, have you thought about selling your home?”

This should kickstart their thinking process. If their neighbor’s house four doors down sold for $500,000, then they start to imagine their property could sell for that, too. Highlighting recent sales in a neighborhood is a great way to get a prospect thinking about if it’s also the right move for them.

If the prospect shows a hint of interest, you should offer up any information about the recent sale that will paint you in a good light. It could be how quickly you sold the property, or how well the property was priced. From there, you should at least be able to book an appointment with them to meet or price their property for them.

This script has two goals: to get the prospect thinking about putting their home on the market and to have you positioned as the agent to get the property sold.

5. The script for nailing your elevator pitch

Every realtor needs an elevator pitch, but the biggest mistake realtors make is coming across as robotic and rehearsed. You need to sound natural and convincing.

<>This script is good for: Getting prospects curious about your real estate agency and what you might be able to offer them and their hopes for their property sale.

Elevator pitches have one goal: to highlight why a buyer or seller should pick you as their real estate agent. Here are some examples:

“I just sold a property in this area last week for considerably more than the asking price. I know you’ve got a tight deadline for selling your property. If I could show you a plan to get your property moving on the market and above the asking price, can we set up a meeting?”

“I’m on a mission to help 50 people find their dream homes by the end of the year. I’d like you to be one of those people and I want to be the person that finds your dream home in the shortest time frame possible. Would you be open to meeting with me tomorrow?”

As with an elevator pitch in any industry, objections are common, but only if you haven’t managed to strike an interest in something you’ve said.

Your overall goal with this elevator pitch script should not be to sell yourself as the best realtor in the area, but to simply book an appointment with the prospect.

If they do object:

Show empathy towards their objection: “I understand you’re busy”
Ask for details: “Can I ask, why do you have a tight deadline for your property sale?”
Offer up a solution: “We can get your property sold within your timeframe”

Positioning the conversation around their pain points can make a difference in the success of your elevator pitch.

6. The script for pitching someone you already know

Has somebody put their property on the market that you’ve already met at an event or know through a mutual friend? If so, this is a great opportunity for you to connect with the prospect organically and build on the trust you’ve already established.

This script is good for: Getting a headstart on other realtors. In some way or another, you already know the prospect. Use that to your advantage and get your foot in the door before your competitors do.

“Hi (prospect’s name), this is John! We met at (fundraiser, mutual friend’s birthday etc.). So, how have you been?”

Don’t open with the fact that you’re a real estate agent. Try and build the conversation from your last engagement with the prospect.

“I was just calling you because, as (mutual friend’s name) might have told you, I’m a real estate agent for Big Wins Real Estate. I’m just reaching out to family and friends to see where they’re at with their properties and if they’ve thought about upgrading, downsizing, or selling their home. (Prospect’s name), have you considered a move, considering the market right now?”

Use this script to reconnect with someone you’ve already met. This way, they’re much less likely to go on the defense. As they’ve already met you, it’s likely to be more open to a discussion and keeping the conversation casual—especially as your job is something that may well have already come up in conversation.

But that doesn’t mean the conversation can’t be productive. As you’ve established a level of trust, asking to meet up on the weekend to give them a pricing estimate won’t be such a strong ask. Work with them when it comes to times and, of course, ask them if anyone they know is looking to sell.

7. The script that gets to the point

When it comes to cold calling, if you aren’t careful with your time, it can chew up your entire day. That’s why you need to get to the point without rushing your prospect.

This script is good for: Fitting the number of cold calls you require into your day without it hindering everything else on your schedule.

“Hi, this is John from Big Wins Real Estate. I’m calling as my agency has some buyers who are interested in buying a home in (prospect’s area). Can you tell me if you are looking to sell your home either now or in the near future?”

This one is short, sharp and most importantly, it’s clear.

Your prospect knows right off the bat why you are calling, and your question leaves no room for an answer other than “yes” or “no”. If they are interested, move on to your next pitching technique and, if they say “no”, add them to your CRM as a cold lead and make a note to follow up with them again in the future.

8. The script to pitch a property owner who is already selling

Sometimes, people are unsuccessful when they try to sell their homes privately to avoid commissions. Pitching these prospects when they’re struggling to sell and feeling deflated can be a great way to leverage your real estate cold calling.

This script is good for: Contacting a prospect who hasn’t had any success selling a house on their own. They are more likely to be open to hearing your pitch if they’ve tried (and failed) to sell.

“Hi, is this (prospect’s name)? My name is John and I’m calling from Big Wins Real Estate. I was surfing the web this afternoon and I noticed you’ve got your house up for a private sale. I was just wondering if you have had any success?”

Wait for their answer, which will most likely be a “no” if you’ve spotted the property on the internet.

“I’m not surprised, the market is slow at the moment. How long have you been on the market for now?”

Wait for their answer.

“Hmm. What kind of response have you got from interested buyers so far?”

Wait for their answer.

“Where are most of the interested buyers coming from? Have you had an open house or are you relying on your internet advertisement?”

Wait for their answer. By now, you’ve already got some information that can steer the pitch in your favor.

“That’s very interesting. The reason i’m calling you today is just to see where you’re at with the sale. Please let me know if there’s anything I can do to help you with the sale, and if you would like my assistance with getting some more interest in the property.”

It’s at this point you may get some objections from the prospect. For example, they might reassure you that they’ve got the sale under control. If this is the case, you can then ask whether they would change their mind if you could get them the property price they’re asking for.

Either they’ll bite at this point, or they won’t. If they don’t, make a note of it in your real estate CRM and follow up with them on a regular basis until they come on board, or they manage to sell the property themselves.

Pro-tip: Don’t use this script if the seller is already using another agent. It’s unethical and violates the Standards of Practice 16-2, 16-3. Don’t be that realtor.

9. The script to follow up on a previous property appraisal

If you’ve given a property appraisal and then hear crickets back from a prospect, it doesn’t mean you should write them off. They’ve shown initial interest in selling their property, so try following up six months after the appraisal to see where they’re at.

This script is good for: Following up with leads that have gone cold. If you’ve given a prospect an appraisal, you should be following them up with interest.

“Hi (prospect’s name). It’s John calling from Big Wins Real Estate. I just wanted to touch base with you about the appraisal I conducted on your home in (month of appraisal). I’ve been watching the market in your area closely and there’s been quite a lot happening. Has your position on selling the property changed at all?”

Wait for their answer.

“Ok no problem. Because the market in your area has been so busy, it may be worthwhile updating the initial estimate I gave you. Would this be something you would be interested in?”

Wait for their answer. If they say “no”, don’t give up.

“Okay (prospect’s name), I completely understand. I’m picking up that you aren’t planning on moving from the (neighborhood) at the moment, but I think you might be interested in how other properties in the area have sold since I spoke to you in (month you last spoke).”

Wait for their answer. If they don’t put up any immediate objections, you can talk to them about any new sales or listings in the area.

As with our point from script four, people are often interested in how much their neighbors make from selling their property, so use it to your advantage.

10. The script to stop a discussion about commissions

Although nothing is certain in real estate, it’s likely your prospect will bring up the topic of your commission rate.

This script is good for: Not getting locked into talking about your commission on a call. As we all know, it can get ugly.

The best way to handle an objection about commission is to extinguish it early.

Prospect: “John, I don’t want to pay more than 3% commission on the sale.”

John at Big Wins Real Estate: “(Prospect’s name), I’m making a note that you don’t want to pay anything more than 3% commission. How’s tomorrow or Tuesday looking to meet up to preview the property?”

Here, you’re not agreeing to their terms, but merely acknowledging it to make the prospect feel understood. If you disagree over commissions on an initial call, you may never step foot inside the prospect’s property.

Once you’ve previewed the property and let them know what you can offer them as a realtor, then you should address the commission fee again and reinforce what you can do for them and their property.

Bonus tip: Making the most of your open houses

As a realtor, you need to be looking for new prospects every chance you get. This includes any open houses you host for current clients.

Not everyone that attends open houses are there to buy. Some people are just there to have a casual look around. But be mindful that many who attend open houses are either sellers who have properties on the market, or homeowners who may be considering putting their homes on the market in the near future.

These people are gold when it comes to real estate prospects. And you should have an open house pitch ready to go to make the most of the opportunity.

Ask every single person that comes to the open house how they found out about it.

It doesn’t matter if they found out through a newspaper advertisement or they saw the “for sale” sign in the front yard, they’re all listing prospects. Once you’ve opened up the conversation with them, find out:

If they currently live locally
If they’re looking to buy or sell either now or in the near future
What their timeframe to buy or sell is
When they want to move or sell
When they would need to sell their property so they could purchase another home (timeframe)
If they’ve had an agent conduct an appraisal on their current property
If their property is already on the market

If all goes well at the open house, you’ll arrive back to your office with some interested buyers for your seller’s property, as well as some hot new leads to add to your prospecting funnel.

Keep track of all your cold calls with JustCall

To ensure that your calling strategy is as effective as it can be, you need to track and monitor all your outgoing and ingoing calls.

Calling app JustCall can help you do just that.

By integrating JustCall with your CRM, any calls are automatically logged in your sales process. Calls to existing contacts and matched and added to the contact’s page, while calls to new numbers automatically create a new deal.

Conclusion

To be successful at the cold calling game, you must be doing more than dialing numbers and telling prospects you can sell their house.

Cold calling is hated by most salespeople for a reason: because they’re not good at it.

Don’t be that realtor that hassles people through useless cold calls. Add a sense of professionalism by practicing your cold calls before you make them. Once you’ve got a prospect listening, you’ll be able to steer the conversation in your favor.

Whether you’re just touching base or looking to make ground with an old relationship, the strategy is the same: listen to their pain points, be empathetic, and let them know you’re the right realtor to make ground with their property.

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Sales Underachieving? Motivate Your Sales Teams With These Proven Methods

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Motivating a sales team can be the most challenging aspects of being a sales manager, however it is also one of the most important. Sales reps need to be extremely motivated to deal with the rejections that they come across during the job. They need to be persistent and unwavering, and this only comes from a strong motivation to close deals and to hit the number. Below are 9 proven methods that can be used to get the most out of your sales team.

Make Commission a Force

Making commission a driving force can have an immediate effect on the direction of sales reps. If you want a certain product to be pushed, make the commission possibilities larger for that product. Be cautious, however, because poor commission structures can also cause problems. Incorporating commission ceilings or receding commission structures can produce an adverse effect on motivation. If the commission gradually reduces in percentage with larger deals, sales reps will stay away from chasing large clients. If a ceiling is put into place, high earners who hit that level will stop working hard as there is no potential for increased earnings. As a sales manager, you need your best earners to continually work and close out a majority of their deals. It is important that the bigger the deal, the bigger the payout will be.

Create a Culture of Friendly Competition

It can be a great motivation method to create social pressure within a sales team. Many sales professionals are naturally competitive individuals and thrive under this structure. Incorporate strategies such as publicly posting sales numbers and conversion rates. By making these numbers known, sales reps will know where they stand in the company and if they need to improve. It creates an environment of friendly competition. Another strategy to create pressure is by having a “man on the bench.” Create a pipeline of talent that can be used to replace existing under-performers. This will put pressure on the laggards to improve.

Celebrate Wins – Big or Small

This might be obvious, but it can’t be understated how important it is for sales managers to, on a personal level, recognize the good work of their employees. Everybody appreciates hearing positive things from their boss. It shows that the manager is paying attention. Even just the two words “good job” can go a long way when it comes to the motivation of a sales team. Make sure your sales team is celebrated – this can be done by a variety of different things, such as gifts, bonuses, vacations trips or things as small as an email blast or a team dinner.

Internally Promote the Sales Team’s Success

Don’t make sales success a secret. Use public recognition to motivate the sales force. Publicly acknowledge sales success at meetings and other gatherings. It gives the reps who are doing well an incentive to keep working at a high level, as well as shows the team that the manager acknowledges success. Another way to bring recognition public is by having a successful rep train the rest of the team on the techniques that they have put into use. This will showcase top performers and give them visibility throughout a company.

Strategically Segment Your Team and Compensate Accordingly

It is sometimes best to segment motivation techniques between laggards, core performers, and stars. These different strata within an organization will act differently to programs. In the case of stars it is best to remove roadblocks to continued success, such as incentive ceilings. It is best to simply limit the possibility of de-motivation for high earners, as they already have the motivation necessary. Laggards require more nurturing to motivate them. They require the stick at times as well as the carrot. The fear of loosing the job might just be enough to force them into action. Core performers are the most difficult to incentivize. They contain a wide range of character traits and are not easily generalized, however tactics such as multi-tier targets have been shown to be successful in moving them up the ladder.

Master the Different Individual Motivational Factors

Try to understand what motivates each member of the sales team individually. A good manager knows how the members will individually respond to different tactics. Everybody responds to different stimuli and it is up to the manager to act accordingly. Ask what they want and experiment with different tactics to see which showed the best response. Some people respond best to money incentives, while others will respond better to non-financial stimuli, such as more vacation days or the ability to telecommute. People feel more motivation when they believe that they have a say in the process.

Equip Teams With the Tools They Need

A lack of the necessary tools to make sales can cause a serious loss of motivation for any sales team. This could be a lack of lead generation stemming from poor marketing, poor sales content, or a time consuming pipeline. When a sales person is unable to do their job well, they will lose any semblance of motivation and most likely leave for another company. Equip sales teams with the necessary tools that allow for a streamlined sale. Invest in the newest sales technology such as cloud based sales applications. This will allow reps to compete at a higher level against other sales reps and will allow them to be as effective as they can be.

Lead By Example

It can be a strong motivational tool for a sales manager to get into the trenches with the sales team. Sometimes what you want accomplished cannot be simply explained. Show them first hand how to handle a call, track down the decision maker in a deal or how to work with an existing client. Just showing them for 10 minutes that you are willing, and can, do the nitty-gritty of sales will have a strong impact on a team.

Repeat, Optimize, and Enhance Your Strategy

These techniques are not one and done. Once you find something that works well for your team, continue to use it. Incorporate these methods into the daily work place environment.

More Creative Motivation Techniques

Here are some more creative techniques for motivation that are a little different.

Rewarding rejections: Reward people for getting rejections (not as much as yes’s though). This will motivate people to increase their volume of calls, which will eventually lead to more yes’s.

Bring in the spouse: Create rewards that involve the spouse and family. This will create more motivation for the rep as their significant other becomes involved too and motivates them at home.

Team building happy hour: Have a happy hour (paid for by the company) for all of the sales teams that have reached their quota. Along with motivation, happy hour is good for team bonding.

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6 Tips on How to Retain Your Best Salespeople

1. Hire the right People

2. Instill A Purpose

3. Offer Career Growth

4. People Are Starving For Recognition

5. Get Rid of the Boiler Room Mentality

6. Start From Within

Ways to Handle Difficult Conversations with Your Salespeople

Sales Manager Role

Types of Difficult Salespeople

1.The Narcissistic

2.The Insecure

3.The Happy-Go-Lucky

The Negative

The Blamer

How to Handle Difficult Conversation with Your Salespeople

1.Treat them with respect

2.Establish facts

3.Active listening

4.Addressing with their names when talking to them

5.Do not interrupt

6.Avoid words that may increase conflict

7.Be careful with your questions

8.Create a plan of action together

Risk Taking Becomes a Way of Life for The Successful

The Voice Inside

Ripping the Envelope Open

4 Misconceptions About Working as a Real Estate Agent

7 Habits of the Most Successful Real Estate Agents:

How Do You Measure Up?

4 Misconceptions About Working as a Real Estate Agent

Misconception #1: This job is easy.

Misconception #2: I get paid a lot.

Misconception #3: My schedule is super-flexible.

Misconception #4: I don’t need any training to do this job.

The reality is…

Why I Love Real Estate (And You Should Too!)

Reason #1

Reason #2

Reason #3

Reason #4

Reason #5

Reason #6

Reason #7

Reason #8

Reason #9

Reason #10

Reason #11

Reason #12

Reason #13

Reason #14

Top 10 Ways to Recruit and Retain Real Estate Agents

How to attract and keep the best talent in today’s tight job market

Top 10 recruiting and retaining tips

A COLD CALL SCRIPT FOR REAL ESTATE AGENTS WHO HATE COLD CALLING

5 REASONS WHY YOUR COLD CALLING ISN’T WORKING

LACK OF CONSISTENCY

LACK OF REHEARSAL

NO ORIGINALITY

YOU’RE NOT USING A COLD CALL SCRIPT

6 COLD CALL SCRIPT TIPS TO REMEMBER:

AN AWESOME COLD CALL SCRIPT FOR AGENTS

STEP #1) GREETING.

STEP #2) INTRODUCTION.

If your prospect has no objection, proceed to your elevator pitch!

STEP #4) OBJECTIONS.

STEP #5) CLOSE THE CALL.

STEP #6) REAFFIRMATION. REASSURING YOUR PROSPECT THAT THEY’VE MADE A GOOD DECISION IS KEY. MAKE THEM FEEL REWARDED. ENCOURAGE YOUR PROSPECT BY POINTING OUT SOMETHING POSITIVE ABOUT THEIR DECISION TO MEET WITH YOU.

CONCLUSION:

10 Real Estate Cold Calling Scripts to Increase Lead Generation

The secret sauce to perfect cold calling scripts

Practice makes perfect

2. The script that gauges interest

3. The script that positions you as a community champion

4. A script for leveraging a recent sale you made

5. The script for nailing your elevator pitch

6. The script for pitching someone you already know

7. The script that gets to the point

8. The script to pitch a property owner who is already selling

9. The script to follow up on a previous property appraisal

STEP #6) REAFFIRMATION.
REASSURING YOUR PROSPECT THAT THEY’VE MADE A GOOD DECISION IS KEY. MAKE THEM FEEL REWARDED. ENCOURAGE YOUR PROSPECT BY POINTING OUT SOMETHING POSITIVE ABOUT THEIR DECISION TO MEET WITH YOU.

ARGUETA
ENTERPRISES INC.