Remonstrations of the press and “silver bullet” vendors to the contrary, building a successful business is very much like building a matchstick cathedral. It always starts with a plan, a vision of the end result (otherwise you end up with a pile of gluey matchsticks :0). Then it takes patience, perseverance and determined commitment to build it piece by piece, day by day.

We live in a society where instant success is glorified and held on a pedestal. The reality is that’s not reality. Oh sure, there will always be outliers to whom it happens, just as there will always be someone who wins the lottery. The real winners however are the ones who built their success one stick at a time…

The person determined to achieve maximum success learns the principle that progress is made one step at a time. A house is built one brick at a time. Football games are won a play at a time. A department store grows bigger one customer at a time. Every big accomplishment is a series of little accomplishments.

David Joseph Schwartz

Everyone looks for shortcuts to success, it’s just human to do so. The difference between consistently successful top producers and everyone else however is they don’t wait for them to appear. They keep plugging one step at a time. This is the essential difference I see between those that have a 10 year “over night” success and those that just wish for it.

Let’s face it, all human beings (not just hungry real estate sales people) are vulnerable to looking for that magic pill or silver bullet that will solve all their problems.  Yet I’m pretty sure no one has found such a thing.  In fact, during a recent conference I asked the audience “Who here has found or purchased a “silver bullet” that actually worked?”  And to my total surprise, not a single hand was raised(!)  Despite the overwhelming evidence to the contrary, it hasn’t stopped the majority of folks in this business from looking for (and buying) the “next great thing”.

Now here’s a thought: instead of looking for your real estate sales El Dorado, you simply worked with what you already have…

Most successful men have not achieved their distinction by having some new talent or opportunity presented to them. They have developed the opportunity that was at hand.

       Bruce Barton

The mere fact that there is so much turmoil in the industry means that there are tremendous opportunities to solve peoples problems and get paid well for it.  You can spend all your energies (and money) looking for the “one thing” that will solve all your problems, or you can consistently work to improve what you already know how to do and yes, learn new things as you go a long. 

Don’t expect to win the equivalent of the real estate lottery however (people do, but you have a much better chance of being struck by lightning).  If you asked around, you will find the vast majority of highly successful people will tell you that the “magic formula” is hard work, dedication and an unwavering commitment to always improve.  And when you think about it, that should be no surprise at all…

Giving a Ritalin deficient sales force yet one more thing to distract them from the disciplines of doing real business, is like giving a crack addict a brand new pipe.  Social media is not some kind of silver bullet that will solve all their problems.  In fact, for most of them it will substantially add to their frustration and probably hasten their exit from the business. “RDR” (Realtors Don’t Read) is common refrain.  And if you believe that is true, consider the natural sequitur “RDW” (Realtors Don’t Write).  Social media certainly can complement one’s marketing efforts, if (and this is a big IF), one is a very good writer with some semblance of a unique and engaging “voice”.  Out of the million or so Realtors still in business I wonder how many fit that profile.

This is just one more example of how typical real estate management responds to desperate times with desperate Hail Mary, spaghetti-on-the-wall measures, rather than with something so few seem to exhibit —leadership.

The Real Crisis in Real Estate

Imploding housing values, constricted credit markets, skittish consumers and an overall deep recessionary economy are simply part of a cycle.  A nasty one for sure, but just a cycle.  Barring an extinction level event, people will always buy and sell real estate.  Currently, sale volumes may be lower and the methods of how we help them with the process certainly change, but business will continue.

There is indeed a crisis in the residential real estate industry, but this current cycle does not define it —it instead has revealed it.  Boom times tend to mask flaws.  And as Warren Buffet so aptly put it, “It’s only when the tide goes out that you learn who’s been swimming naked.”  This market has made it very clear that skinny dipping has been a favorite pastime for the management of most residential sales companies.

Getting caught with your pants down during a market down turn is due to one primary factor —lack of strategic leadership.  Having been intimately involved with residential real estate for over 33 years, it has always been clear to me that this is one of the most reactionary industries there is.  Strategic thinking and execution are so rare that it almost takes my breath away when I am fortunate enough to witness it.

The very foundation of successful strategic thinking and its execution in this industry is sales force accountability.  It doesn’t matter how brilliant your ideas or how shiny the new objects you provide your people.  If you don’t hold them strictly accountable to implementing your strategic vision you will fail, every time.  Yet accountability is the anathema to the body-shop model of hiring and managing sales associates found in the vast majority of companies.  And it is precisely these companies that find themselves in dire straits and most likely to name the economy as the source of their woes.

It was interesting that one of the brokerages I spoke to actually bragged about how they hold their salespeople accountable and explicitly denied providing “bright shiny objects”.  Yet when I asked them how they expected social media training would convert to new business for their people, or how they would even measure it, they responded with “We don’t know.”  Hey, if it glitters…

The current market cycle is an incredible once-in-a-generation opportunity to take significant market share if only because so many are frantically reacting.  To do that requires strategic thinking, superb execution and holding your salespeople accountable.  They need to understand that this is a serious business, not a pastime.  You can give them that perspective and the means to thrive even in the worst of today’s market.  However, if you fall into the trap of providing solace through the glitter of bright shiny objects, you are merely forestalling the inevitable.

And we often will pay good money to have it, as long as we don’t have to do the work, or more significantly, change ourselves. Why exercise when we can take a pill?

Okay, so we all know that there is no such thing as “instant” anything, right? Well… not so fast. There is one thing we have right now, this very moment that if we become fully aware of it, changes everything immediately…

“In an instant, you can go from discouraged to joyful. In an instant, you can change from lazy to ambitious. In the blink of an eye, your whole outlook on life can profoundly improve. In one small moment, disappointment can be transformed into positive resolve and commitment.”

Ralph Marston

We lord over all other life forms because we have something they don’t – the power of choice. Every moment we choose our thoughts, attitudes and actions. Choice isn’t a continuum from “I’m almost choosing” to “I’ve chosen”. It’s happening with full power every moment we are awake. Where we get stuck is forgetting we have this extraordinary power.

Don’t wait for the “feeling” before you change your actions. Choose to change your actions this instant and the right feelings will follow )

The Amazon River of New Business

Even in today’s toughest markets, the Internet is still the “Amazon River” of new business that most sales people either ignore, or haven’t a clue on how to fish.  In fact, most business is lost with the very first email a sales associate sends as a response to an online inquiry.  How you reply to an initial online inquiry will ultimately determine whether or not you are going to do business with them.

Remember, the online consumer is someone you can’t see, shake their hand, check out their body language or even hear the sound of their voice.  They prefer shopping for properties and services under the veil of anonymity provided by the Internet.  Any attempt to impose traditional (i.e. face-to-face or on the phone) sales techniques with this consumer will only serve to drive them away from you.

Crafting an appropriate response to an initial online inquiry requires understanding what is important to the online consumer:

• Privacy – everybody who does anything online is concerned about privacy;
• Staying In Control – this means they want to be in control as to when and how much they reveal about their needs and wants;
• Unrestricted Access to Information – consumers use the Internet because it gives them instant access to tremendous amounts of information while remaining anonymous. Being required to reveal who they are to receive information will only frustrate them.

Critical First Response Email Script

Let’s apply what we know about the online consumer and create an email first response “script” that will attract the consumer rather than repel them.

Now assume for the moment that you just received an inquiry that looks something like this: 

Most sales associates (if they bother to respond at all) typically start probing for more information and/or attempt to qualify “Jane” -which is exactly the wrong approach.  The following is a script that is specifically designed to “speak the language” of the online consumer and is the closest thing to a “silver bullet” you can find online:

Put yourself in the position of being “Jane”, who just sent the inquiry to a REALTOR.  When you get this kind of response back, how are you feeling?  What does this response say about the sales professional who sent it?

You will note there are two versions of the Critical First Response script above depending upon whether or not the consumer provided their phone number.  Many sales people think that if the online consumer provides their phone number in their initial inquiry, then that is an open invitation to call them.  Ironically, that is typically not the case.  The second version of this script shown above helps you address this situation.  Just send the response, wait 24 hours and then give them a call (assuming of course they did not explicitly ask you to not call them).  You will find that by doing this the reception you will receive at the other end of the phone line will be considerably warmer.

By using this script you will immediately change the relationship you have (or could have) with the online consumer.  And, your ability to convert them into new business goes up tremendously.  In case you have any doubts about the efficacy of these scripts, I receive emails from sales associates all the time who tell me how well it works.  Here’s just a couple I’ve received recently extolling the power of this approach:

I thought Charles’ offer to take me deep sea fishing was quite generous until he said that as a direct result of using these scripts he earned an extra $100,000 in commission in just 3 months.  Oh yeah, almost forgot to mention that about 70% of the closings in his market are REO and Short Sales -without question a rather tough place to do business.

Here’s another sales associate who was so excited when she saw the results of using this script that she shared the consumer’s response with some of her fellow associates:

The first part of the consumer’s response to Talley’s reply is very instructional (highlighted section).  You will see that she explicitly voices the very things we discussed earlier that are important to all online consumers.  It’s as if it came from the mouths of babes!

If It Ain’t Broke Don’t Fix It!

These scripts are easy to implement.  Simply create an email signature for each version of the script, making sure that your spelling and punctuation is correct.  DO NOT be tempted to alter these scripts by even one word (other than of course your contact and PS: copy).  Invariably, when sales people “tweak” the text they introduce their unconscious bias’ into the copy that typically reduces its effectiveness.  I’ve heard some sales associates complain that the scripts don’t “sound like them”.  Chances are they don’t, otherwise they wouldn’t be having the problem of converting online inquiries into closed transactions!

Success with online consumers is all about understanding human behavior.  By applying this understanding in a practical way via “Critical First Response” email scripts you greatly increase your chances of turning casual inquiries into serious new business, no matter how tough your current market is.  While not a “silver bullet”, they certainly are the next best thing.

NOTE: Mr. Internet®, RUSSER Communications, its staff and officers receive no compensation whatsoever from any third party vendors (unless he/they are directly involved with the creation and/or improvement of a vendor service or product), and make no recommendations as to the suitability of the products or services mentioned in this article. Always thoroughly investigate any product or service before trying or purchasing.