Four Ways to Become a Better Competitor

Provided by Realty Times

Tough Strategies for Today's Market

The end of the year is in sight and so are the opportunities to get as much business in before the 'closing bell' on 2012 and set yourself up for success in the new year. That takes a willingness to COMPETE on a HIGHER level than ever before.

That's why I wanted to re-visit four fail-safe strategies for competing stronger this year - and every year:

1. Know what you're up against. If you think about the major sports leagues; baseball, football, hockey, and then think about the most successful teams, you'll find that they have one thing in common. In order to be successful they view and review videos of their games and those of their competitors. They look for strengths and weaknesses so they'll know how to defend and compete effectively. It's the same in the real estate business. You have to know what you're up against in order to outpace the competition. There are a few questions that agents will have to answer in order for them to achieve market-share dominance. For example:

• Who are your top-ten competitors?
• If you lose a listing, to whom do you lose it in most instances?
• How many agents do each of your primary competitors have?
• What is their average experience level?
• What is their annual per person production?
• What is the average number of listings in each office?
• What is their list-to-sell ratio and list-to-sale time-frame?

There are other questions that agents could ask, and it may be a great exercise for you to take some time and write out all the questions that would help you to know precisely what qualities buyers and sellers are looking for and to understand how you stack up against your competition.

2. Have the Weaponry: To "out-gun" your competition, you'll need the tools to do the job. From iPhone to tablet, to contact-management systems and marketing tools you need the essentials, and a few extras to meet the needs of today's informed consumer. Throughout history all of the great armies of the world got to be the best because they had the right weapons needed to do the job better than their opponents. Real estate agents today must have the right tools to battle the highly-skilled competitors they meet much in the same way. These days, those tools also include social media and technology tools such as websites, blogs, social networks and more in an ever-changing world. Be sure you're staying online and up to date so that you always appear top-of-mind when area buyers and sellers are searching for their next agent.

3. Skill: In the more than forty years I've been in this business as an agent, manager and trainer, I've never seen an era where the necessity for high-sales skills was greater. With the accessibility to communication and information as strong as it is, sellers and buyers are savvier than ever before and have more questions and concerns than ever before. We have to overcome more commission objections, "We want to shop around" objections, pricing, length of the listing, etc. The art of persuasion is in demand and critical in the field if you want to compete successfully. The real proof of this is seen in our training classes. We find that the average experience level of the students is almost four years, whereas, not so long ago, it was two years. It seems clear to me that being able to close the transaction is the difference between thriving and merely surviving in the business.

4. Develop a Competitive Attitude: Attitude is everything. It takes a certain mental toughness to be willing to convey to a prospect that you are the best person/company for the job. This mental toughness, added to the facts, tools and skills discussed above, add up to an enthusiastic response to the question, "Why are you the best?" It's like you are saying, "You know Mr. and Mrs. Seller, there are 1,000 agents in our area. However, for what you want, need and are trying to accomplish, you really only have a choice of three: good, better and best. You see, we are all good. After all, you have to at least be licensed. Some are better than others. But for what you're trying to accomplish - that is to get the most amount of money for your home, in the shortest amount of time, with the least amount of inconvenience, it seems to me that there is only one best agent, and what a coincidence that we should be together at this moment."
There are many ways to answer the question, "Why are you the best?" Here are just a few:

• "I'm the best because I am new in real estate and I'm not bogged down like those top producers."
• "I'm the best because my office is right on the corner. Where do you think the buyers are coming TO?"
• "I'm the best because my office is clear over on the other side of town. Where do you think the buyers are coming FROM?

You need the mental toughness to be able to enthusiastically convey to the seller this message.

"Mr. and Mrs. Seller, if you were going to fly coast-to-coast and you had the choice of flying first class or coach, both at the same price, which would you choose?" Seller: "First class, of course." Agent: "I expected as much. May I ask why?" Seller: "Because I get more for my money and a more comfortable journey." Agent: "If you knew you could get more for your money and a more comfortable journey by choosing me over someone who might be considered coach, I'd be the obvious choice, wouldn't you agree?"

My advice to you is to become a competitor. Stay nice-but be a competitor. Put people first - but be a competitor. Care about what they care about - but be a competitor. Never verbally knock the competition-but be a competitor.

Know The Purpose Of Your Presentation

Provided by Realtytimes.com

A quality listing presentation involves considerable advance planning, careful research and analysis, and highly developed presentation and sales skills. This allows you to derive maximum impact from the minimal time you have to present yourself and your recommendations, close the deal, and obtain signatures on a listing agreement.

Your advance planning takes two forms. First you need to qualify your prospects - determining not only their desires and expectations but also their ability to make the buying or selling decision and complete the purchase transaction. The other essential ingredient in a listing presentation is a competitive market analysis (CMA) along with a presentation that displays the full complement of your sales skills and abilities and helps you win your prospect’s confidence and secure their listing.Knowing the purpose of your presentationBe crystal-clear on this point. The objective of a listing presentation is to secure a signed listing agreement before the meeting ends. It’s not to pave the way for a "be-back" listing, where you plan to return at a later date to handle paperwork and secure final prospect approval. Your purpose is to make your case, close the deal, and get ink on the paper right then and there while you’re face-to-face with your prospects. If you don’t, I guarantee the odds of securing the listing start to swing away from you.If you let even a few days or a week slip by, your prospects will have a hard time separating your presentation from other agents who they met in the meantime. And the moment they lose sight of your distinguishing attributes, they’ll revert to a commodity mindset by focusing on price and selecting an agent based on who offered the lowest commission or the highest list price. I’ve personally made over a thousand listing presentations, and I’ve coached and listened to the presentations of hundreds of other agents. I am totally convinced that a quality listing presentation can and must result in a signed contract at the presentation. These are two reasons you need to get the listing signed during the presentation:

1. The moment you leave the appointment, anything can happen. A buyer could appear out of nowhere, knocking on your prospect’s door with a direct offer. An agent who interviewed your prospect a few days ago could be desperate enough to call with an offer to cut their fee by another percent. At Rotary or church or a chamber of commerce meeting, your prospect could meet another agent. Or, after-the-fact, they could begin to confuse you for a different agent whose presentation they didn’t like at all. The list of "coulds" goes on and on. The only thing you know for sure is that if you don’t get the signed listing at the appointment, you leave it up for grabs and vulnerable.
   
2. You need to feel the win. The win in the listing game is when the contract is signed. Don’t underestimate the power of that personal victory. Selling involves the risk of rejection. If it didn’t, it would be called order taking, and you wouldn’t be paid so well because it would be so easy. A listing presentation gives you the chance to go for the win, perfect your close, and attain the victory. Give yourself the satisfaction and adrenaline rush of walking out of the home with a signed contract. Your drive home will be the shortest ever known. If you don’t get it signed, it will be the longest few minutes you’ve ever known.

I have an incredible coaching client who sells homes on Long Island. She is a listing machine in her market area. She takes over 125 listings a year. Yet a while back, when we tracked the numbers she was closing on the night of the appointment, we found her close rate was less than 40%.This finding got her focused on the uncompensated time she was spending on second meetings with listing prospects. It also made her think about how many listings were lost following the first meeting. A month later, her closing figures had changed dramatically. With a new resolve to get the contract closed on the night of the appointment, she skyrocketed her closing rate to over 70%. Again, be crystal-clear. Know your objective of your listing presentation. It is to secure a signed listing agreement before you walk out that door. Don’t leave your business to chance - take control and watch your closing rate skyrocket!

Keller Williams’ Top Five AHAs from Inman News’ Agent Reboot in Austin, Texas

Provided By Blog.KW.com

Last week, the KW Blog Editorial Team attended the very last stop on Inman News’ Agent Reboot tour. With heavy industry hitters such as Chris Smith, chief evangelist of Inman News, Katie Lance, chief strategist of Inman News and Jim Marks, president and Internet anthropologist of Virtual Results, speaking, it was a jam-packed day of back-to-back, socially charged sessions, focused on hitting the high points on how social media, technology and video have changed the way agents interact with their clients and businesses. Here the KW Blog Team shares our top five aha’s from the event:

1: There’s not one person in your database who doesn’t know another real estate agent. So the question is: What are you doing each day to ensure that your sphere stays loyal to you? During his “What Is the True Value of Social Media?” session, Marks  elaborated on the point when he added: “Your sphere didn’t just appear out of thin air! You had to work for it,” he said. “It’s the activities that you do consistently over time that determine the size and strength of a real estate agent’s sphere of influence. And social media is an excellent sphere retention tool – use it!”

2: More information = more business for real estate agents. There’s a rumor still running around that says the more information a consumer has on the buying and selling process, the more likely they will NOT use an agent. But it’s just not true. According to the National Association of REALTORS Buyer and Seller Study, in 2001, 69% of consumers purchased a home through a real estate professional. Fast forward to 2012. Today there’s more information than ever available to consumers, yet 89% of consumers bought a home through a real estate professional. That’s a 20% increase! So what is the strategy for you? Be the trusted expert who is able to answer questions online.

3: Video is here to stay and will be demanded by consumers. “I predict that in the next five years every single listing will have a video,” said Smith. In response to this demand, the number of iPhone and Android apps that allow real estate agents to quickly shoot, edit and post video will rise. One such application that’s hoping to break into the market: Videolicious. Matt Singer, the company’s founder and CEO, took to the stage to walk agents through some very important tips on crafting video that will get more views. Which leads us to our next “aha.”

4: Video etiquette is crucial. We’re sure you’ve heard the stat that every second, one hour of video is uploaded to YouTube. That’s 24 hours every 24 seconds, or a decade every single day! Now, before we throw our hands up and walk away, we have to remember that the real estate industry only makes up a small portion of YouTube, and there’s still room to compete … for now. So what do those numbers have to do with etiquette? With all that video to watch, you have to make sure your video meets the audience’s expectations of a “professional” video. When shooting a listing for instance, Singer suggests taking 10-to -15 second clips of the home’s most admirable features using one complementing these characteristics. He also reminded the audience to be sure and smile before the camera turns on and to remain smiling until the camera stops recording.

5: There’s no app to instant, online success. We particularly liked this one. In real estate, a Website is an important card in your business deck. Yet, so many real estate agents miss its potential power in generating more business. “And even if it isn’t in your business plan to capture leads online, it’s still important to have a presence online to showcase your brand,” said Scott Price of Placester during his session titled “Main Street Has Moved: Invest in Digital.” Price believes that taking the time to think about what a consumer wants to see online, testing a Website’s UI (or user interface) and following key Website analytics to determine how to improve online conversion rates are strategies that real estate agents need to take seriously – or at least invest in someone to do it for them.

Did you attend an Agent Reboot this year? What were your big ahas from the event?