not that I was eavesdropping. this gentleman managed to make himself heard as he went down through his handwritten list of prospects, diligently calling as he ticked off the names.  his voice could carry the room.

let me stop there here to comment.  this guy was doing what we’re taught to do if we want to be successful. follow up on leads, hot and cold, good or bad.  what we used to call “smiling and dialing.” he worked through his list with purpose.  undoubtedly a sales pro, and likely successful at what he did, which was selling a specialized piece of restaurant equipment. i know that because I heard the pitch.  i heard it several times during the course of my philly cheese steak and beer for dinner.  like i said, his voice carried the room.  and in addition to hearing the pitch, I learned his name and the name of the company he worked for.  which is important to consider for the rest of the story.

because that’s not all i heard…

after several calls with prospects – specifically those that weren’t interested – this dialing machine of a salesman would utter something aloud that those of us within a two table radius of his could hear.  and need i say, these utterances were far from complimentary, oftentimes involving colorful phrases and words. you know, like things you’d hear on a construction site or during a hunting trip with your buddies.

when i heard the aftermath of the first rejection call, i sat dumbfounded and shocked.  after a moment i rationalized the response, thinking, “the poor guy’s on the road, away from his family, and probably having a tough day.  he’s allowed to vent every once in awhile.”

but when i heard this venting on each and every call that didn’t result in an appointment – even those where the prospect asked for more information – i realized it was a pattern of behavior.  and not a good pattern.

how do you handle rejection?

most of us in real estate sales deal with rejection repeatedly throughout the day.  follow up phone calls to web leads that don’t want our services.  sellers that rebuke our requests to re-price a property. a negotiator that shoots down our short sale offer.  it comes with the territory. constant rejection.

and while our objection handling is one of the most critical skills in our sales arsenal, i believe how we handle rejection when we can’t overcome the objections is nearly as critical. it might seem cathartic to blow off steam and utter a few choice phrases after being rejected, but imagine what creeps into your mind while you’re making these calls – “don’t turn me down, cuz if you do, you’re a jerk.”

if you’re poised to vent after every rejection you encounter, pretty soon that scenario creeps into your sales psyche and starts coloring your perception of every prospect you talk to.  you start thinking about how quickly you can flush out this ‘time-waster,’ this ‘tire-kicker’ and move on to someone else.  except that next someone else is (in your mind’s eye) another ‘time-waster’ or ‘tire-kicker.’

change your mind(set)

my advice? get rejected and move on. don’t act out or voice your frustration. get over it and move on to the next phone call or the next door.  if you’re in need of catharsis after all the rejection you’ve had in a day, go hit a tennis ball against the garage door. lock yourself in a closet and scream. or better yet, revel in the call you made that produced positive results. sure beats calling people names.

one final note: if i ever decide to get into the restaurant business and get a call from a representative of this company, i’m not buying. i already know what they think of me.

crazy.

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how about returning a phone call or email?

in the past year i’ve noticed that 20-30% of my voice mail messages requesting a return call go unanswered, and almost 40% of my emails don’t get a response until after two weeks gave passed.  and almost 20% go unanswered entirely. seriously?

seriously? in this age of connectivity?

ok, i get that we’re overwhelmed.  we’ve all got outside influences: kids to pick up from school, sellers wanting updates, homes to show, smart phones chiming with new text messages and Facebook pokes to deal with.  but email messages languishing for a response for days and weeks? ignored voice mails?  seriously?

get a grip

let’s get a grip on the requests we have for reciprocal communication and provide something. anything. respond to someone with an email that says “there’s nothing new to report”, or call someone back and say “i got your voice mail, i’m waiting for someone else to provide direction.” acknowledge the email / voice mail / web form. whatever.

just let me (i mean, “your customer”) know you’ve received the communication.

let’s get back to some common courtesy, and respond to people. otherwise, insanity prevails.

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these codes could be huge in our business, as more web content is viewed using mobile devices.  while less than 25% of cell service customers have smart phones and other mobile devices make up an even smaller percentage, the mobile web won’t stay in its nascent stage very long. in fact, current estimates place the number of web pages viewed on mobile devices higher than those viewed on desktops.

scratching my head

within days of posting that blurb i had the good fortune of meeting with the folks at toor.me, a company that generates qr codes as part of its virtual tour offering to real estate agents. their director of business development, nick smoot, shared with me a story of a presentation he had done for a mid-size brokerage.  nick had finished his presentation to the broker of the firm, showing the owner how consumers are using their smart phones to access information on listed properties.  at the end of the presentation, the broker told nick that he was impressed by the service. “but my agents don’t have smart phones” were the next words out of the owner’s mouth.

for the last time, it’s not about you

if i would’ve been there i would’ve sprayed coffee through my nose at that remark. nick was very diplomatic in his reply, but the fact that the broker even said it is evidence of how the vast majority of this industry still thinks – it’s about us.

newsflash. it’s never been about us. this provider-centric mentally has hung on far too long in our industry and needs to have a stake driven through its heart.  it’s about the consumer. the highest life form on the planet.  let’s get over ourselves and start focusing on what the consumer wants, how they buy and what they use in their decision making process.  cuz if we don’t, someone else is going to step in front of us and help the consumer.

but then, that’s my opinion. maybe i’m just nuts.

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i’ve been seeing a lot of posts lately on a phenomenon that’s building on facebook lately – the “single listing fan page.”

given the popularity of the social networking giant, facebook is starting to make headway with real estate professionals as a marketing bonanza. especially given that fan pages seem to be the ultimate tool to trumpet your business success and promote your offerings. this latest tool is no exception.

designed to promote a single property listed for sale by a broker, the single listing fan page offers the opportunity to showcase the property, giving all the salient facts, price, location and multiple photo albums. tied together with the rest of the marketing campaign, this newest form of digital promotion aims to get more eyeballs on the property. what with multiple property sites to advertise on, email marketing campaigns, virtual tours and such, this added “feature sheet” really rounds out the marketing strategy for the property. and it certainly couldn’t hurt, right?

it could if you’re not minding your p’s and q’s

and those p’s and q’s in this instance are the advertising requirements of the regulatory body overseeing real estate licensees in the particular state or province you practice in.

not that i’m well-versed in every state’s regulations, but i’ve been licensed in a few that require certain information be included with any advertisement of a property or service offered by a real estate licensee. and yes, a facebook fan page (also known as an ‘official page’) is advertising. if you don’t think so, just ask your real estate licensing body. and your attorney.

it’s already ugly

of the single listing fan pages i’ve been asked to like on facebook, 75% immediately jump out at me with potential violations. no company name. “oops.” no office phone number. “i meant to put that on there.” violation of regulation z. “they don’t really watch that, do they?” no license number (in states that require it, such as california). “my bad.” violation of an agent’s fiduciary duty to their client. “did i really say that?”

wake up and smell the coffee

social media offers many businesses a new set of tools to promote and advertise their wares. but new tools don’t equate to new rules. use some common sense and apply what you know of your state’s advertising regulations to this ‘new’ digital medium. don’t just take some ‘guru’s word that this is what you should be doing without regard of how it could impact your livelihood. ask your broker or manager before you create your property page. and if they don’t know, call me.

putting your license at risk is insane.

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there i was, enjoying myself on a working vacation in hawaii, just coming off a two day crb course on marketing management. i had designs on relaxing on the beach, soaking up some sun and blocking out the rest of the world for just another day. in a weak moment i glanced at my iphone to read an email from my friend les that contained the entire post of david kotok, chairman and chief investment officer of cumberland advisors  (http://cumber.com). entitled “the foreclosure mess,” david laid out the anonymous, mostly intact text he had received from sources in the know in the financial industry outlining the mess created by the foreclosure moratorium several lenders had implemented in recent days.

now i’m not much into dire predictions of utter financial collapse, but this post made me stop and think. no, “shudder” is the word. especially if this crisis affects an already tenuous housing recovery (did i just say recovery?) by further causing unrest and unease in the mortgage industry. i mean, when someone writes “this crisis could also spell the end of the mortgage business altogether. of banking altogether. hell, of civil society. what do you think happens in a country when the citizens realize they don’t need to pay their debts?” i’m not hoarding water and ammo just yet, but i have been surfing the web for acreage in remote wilderness areas in the mountains. just sayin.

you decide

these guys are obviously a lot more eloquent than i, as well as being more learned in the ways of high finance. they use capital letters when they write too. but i’m just offering up david’s (or rather, his anonymous contributor’s) point of view for my readers’ review and comment. after you’ve read the post (found here), please leave a comment here on my blog voicing your perspective.

whatya think? are we up a creek without a paddle, or just swimming against a strong current for several more years?

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is that a sustainable strategy?

i have to admit, when i first thought i was going to get back into sales, i had the same mindset.  i had lived that cycle in the early- to mid-90′s in northern california, and it wasn’t an area i relished getting back into.  but as luck would have it, i never even got to determine a track in residential sales again.  instead i went straight into the speaking/training/consulting arena fresh off the corporate gig.  but if i had decided to pursue sales again, it’s likely i wouldn’t have been able to avoid short sales.  at least not if i wanted to eat.

i commend those that can stay the course and avoid doing short sales at their choosing.  that demonstrates a strong referral and repeat book of business in my estimation.  and if you can make that work in this economy, then by all means keep on keepin’ on.

but i’d like to hear others’ perspectives on this “short sale avoidance.”  is this a syndrome? or a sustainable strategy?  or just crazy talk in this economic climate?

i’d appreciate your comments.

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i’m not one to be a pollyanna, nor am i mr. gloom and doom. i’m a glass half-empty, glass half-full kinda guy, depending on what day of the week you catch me. guess that makes me “fair and balanced.” well, maybe balanced. in an imbalanced sort of way.

but lately i’m driven to the point of madness with all the conflicting news reports and industry prognostications that are at odds with one another from one day to the next. purchase mortgage applications are up, pending home sales are down, showings are stagnant and closed transactions are off from a year ago. gdp estimates from earlier in the year are revised, showing economic growth much less than thought. new home sales are up.  oops, we meant down.  no wait. they’re flat.

latin anyone?

latin is a dead language. everyone knows that. but its reincarnation has come by way of statistical speak. very little of the statistics churned out make sense anymore, at least not to the average homeowner. and those statistics and revised statistics become mumbo jumbo to the real estate professional.  too much conflicting information. strike that. too much information. period. so what do we do? what can we rely on?

become a scout

native american scouts used to place an ear to the ground to feel the vibrations of riders often miles away. prior to the telegraph, railroad workers would touch the rails to see if a train was moving on the tracks.

it’s time we turned off the tv, folded up the newspaper, stopped listening to the radio and started listening to the street. placing an ear to the ground in our local markets and avoiding the macro malaise churned out by the media.   limit the input from the talking heads that are analyzing statistical reports that have very little to do with our markets.

real estate after all is local, not national. the national information helps to identify trends that affect the industry, but local conditions and events drive the local market.  how else can you explain areas of the country that defy the trends with price appreciation and single digit days-on-market statistics? guess they weren’t watching the news in that market…

put your head on the tracks

time to tune in to the local market, feel the vibrations and understand our individual market statistics intimately. and if it’s a train coming down those tracks, it might be best to step aside and let it go on through.

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so i’ve managed to recenter myself after many personal challenges and refocus my energy. channeling myself into more productive mindsets and thinking more positive thoughts.  yeah, it’s a lot like “the secret.”  heck, it is the secret. a perspective of abundance and positive thought.  it works.

call it a reboot.  i’m back. and happy to be back.

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Steve Beger Photography via Flickr, CC license

there was a recent interview i read of a social media consultant’s take on status update tools that syndicate or “autoblast” your status to numerous social networks.  you know the tools – ping, hootsuite and so on.  this individual suggested that people avoid these tools entirely.  well, as i’ve said in the past, there is no right or wrong answer when it comes to social media, and each of us has our opinions and thoughts on what works and what doesn’t.  well, here’s my opinion.

everyone’s got one

and my opinion is neither right nor wrong.  it’s simply my opinion.  just like the person cited in the interview.  his opinion.  to be fair, the individual made a point later in his comments that suggested that these tools are ok to be used to update a couple network sites, but shouldn’t be used to update every network you’re on.  i agree with that.

but i don’t agree that these services shouldn’t be used occasionally to post your status updates on more than a couple sites.  i can’t be everywhere at once, but i do want to inform my other networks about what’s happening from time to time. so i routinely post with tweetdeck, su.pr and other syndication tools.  but i do so in moderation.

one big difference

if i do post using these tools, i still visit the social networking sites i’ve posted the status update on to see if i get any response.   i know a lot of people that post from elsewhere and never visit the sites they post to.   how will they ever know anyone responded to their post?  sure, they’ve got email notifications (unless they changed their default settings), but everyone gets busy and may forget to respond to those low priority emails.  after a few instances of this, people stop responding to posts made from elsewhere.  if they know you’ll never visit and engage, what’s the point of commenting?

crazy.

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contrived?  somewhat.  only the names have been changed to protect the ignor… er, innocent.  this scenario is playing out across the country as consumers find voice in blog sites, youtube videos and rating sites.  they’re taking matters into their own hands when they can’t get resolution, becoming digital town criers – warning anyone who will listen to stay away.  this means there’s no longer any place to hide for those offering unscrupulous business practices or poor service.  they’ll be ratted out eventually.

but what of the excellent companies and agents that have bent over backwards to provide a resolution to a consumer that has unreasonable expectations or demands?  are they going to be held hostage for fear of an internet smear campaign?

or take the scenario of the consumer that doesn’t complain to the agent or management, instead deciding she’s going to tell the world of her dissatisfaction with both the agent and the company.  she secures the domain name thiscompanysux.com and proceeds to post a blistering diatribe of why anyone in their right mind should avoid doing business with this firm and the agent.

there’s a lot of talk goin’ on out there.  better listen.

as sites like yelp, digg, outrageous agents and others take off and gain visibility with consumers, rating sites will proliferate to meet the demand of consumers that want to be heard. and since consumers are more likely to tell others when their experience has been less than satisfactory, this means that dissatisfied consumers will have more places to talk. which is why we need to listen.

listening in on the conversations on the web sounds daunting and much harder than it actually is.  you can use such simple (and free) tools as google alerts (www.google.com/alerts) and addictomatic (http://addictomatic.com), set up keyword searches through tweetdeck (www.tweetdeck.com) and twendz (www.twendz.com), or extensive search tools for a fee such as trackur (www.trackur.com), radian6 (www.radian6.com) and wool.labs’ webdig (http://woollabs.com).

regardless of what you use, you need to start listening to the conversations.

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