Category Archives: Commercial Real Estate

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February’s Top Posts

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In case you missed them, here are the top posts from February on the topics of Next Practices in Life, Business, and Commercial Real Estate.

I do want to invite you to subscribe to this blog just to the right of what you are reading now.  This will make it so easy for you to get my new posts without having to remember to check my site.  And I will never violate your privacy!

 

February’s Top Posts:

iStock_000021836294SmallWhat are You Worth? – I have a mentor and client who is incredibly successful.  He owns over a dozen businesses. He employs hundreds of people.  He loves Jesus and is one of the most generous men I’ve ever met.  He is an amazing man.  He is someone who we should all want to be like.  A couple of years ago, I was meeting with this man.  I asked him what the inflection point was in his career.  He surprised me with his answer. He told me about a conversation that he had with his mentor.  At that time, my mentor had hit his limit.  He was experiencing what John Maxwell calls the Law of the Lid (read the book – affiliate link).  Read more…

 

Me and the Beast

Me and the Beast

A Letter to My Kids – So, here is a not so short letter to my children.  I share this because I believe intentionally communicating with our children what they should know is a great idea.  Tomorrow is the first day of the rest of my life, but it could also be my last.  I want to intentionally take steps to share certain things with my children that could make a huge difference in their lives.  I share this to encourage you to do the same.  Read more…

interviewCRE All-Stars:  An Interview with Chad Grout, CCIM – I tried something new!  Thanks to my new friend Dan Hayes, I can now record a Skype call (if you want to know how, just leave a comment below, and I will hook you up).  This is the first in a series of interviews of CRE All-Stars.  I will be interviewing CRE All-Stars throughout the United States and bringing you their best practices.  So…meet Chad Grout!  I asked the following four questions to Chad.  Read more…

  1. How did you get into CRE?
  2. How did you decide on your specialty?
  3. How have you gone about establishing your presence and becoming the top-of-mind broker in your specialty?
  4. Explain what having a coach for your business has allowed you to accomplish?

Thank you so much for reading.  I’m excited about the topics for March’s posts.  If you have any ideas on what I should write about, please leave your suggestions in the comments below.

 

 

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CRE All-Stars: An Interview with Chad Grout, CCIM

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I tried something new!  Thanks to my new friend Dan Hayes, I can now record a Skype call (if you want to know how, just leave a comment below, and I will hook you up).  This is the first in a series of interviews of CRE All-Stars.  I will be interviewing CRE All-Stars throughout the United States and bringing you their best practices.  So…meet Chad Grout!

Chad Grout, CCIM is a true specialist in the market of Nashville, TN.  I have known him for about 18 months as a client and a friend.  I asked the following four questions to Chad.

  1. How did you get into CRE?
  2. How did you decide on your specialty?
  3. How have you gone about establishing your presence and becoming the top-of-mind broker in your specialty?
  4. Explain what having a coach for your business has allowed you to accomplish?

To find out more about Chad and his business, visit http://urbangrout.com.

I will be interviewing CRE All-Stars a couple of times a month.  If you have any suggestions on who I might interview next, please let me know in the comment section below!

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Take Advantage of 2 Year-Making Events

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This is the first time that I have used my blog to promote an event.  In this case I am promoting two events.  I am not making a dime off this.  I am simply bringing this to your attention because both of these events have the potential to bring great value to your businesses.

iStockPhoto

iStockPhoto

AuctionPoint2013

I remember when I first began in the Commercial Real Estate industry in 2004.  The idea of auctioning off a listing meant failure.  Using our own marketing and market expertise, our company could not produce a closing.  Thus, we punted and looked to auction as opposed to losing the listing.  We split our fee with the auctioneer and secretly cursed under our breaths that we couldn’t sell that property without them.

No longer.

AuctionPoint2013 is an incredible opportunity to expose your listings to a national online event.  I’m not sure where to start with the benefits, so here is a list:

  • Over $300,000 is being spent to promote the event internationally.  None of those dollars comes from you!
  • AuctionPoint2013 is a collaboration between AuctionPoint.com, LoopNet, First American Title, Sperry Van Ness, Cushman Wakefield, Marcus & Millichap, Colliers, RE/MAX, CBC, NAI, Lee & Associates, Voit, REITs, and numerous national and regional banks.
  • You keep you entire commission.  Whatever you listed the property for, you receive.  A 2.5% buyers premium is paid by the buyer.  This is half of what normal online auction sites charge.
  • You can still sell before the auction.  This is a great way to bump stalling buyers off-center.
  • This auction is already filling up with outstanding assets.  This is not an auction full or garbage assets.
  • Your brand is aggressively promoted with your property.  Every time your property/listing is seen, you are seen.
So how can you get involved?
  • Go to AuctionPoint2013.com
  • Click Learn More
  • In the circle at the bottom right, select “Click for Details”
  • This will take you to a screen that explains how to submit an asset
Important Dates:
  • Feb. 1, 2013 – Asset Submission Begins
  • March 15, 2013 – Asset Submission Ends
  • March 29 – May 28, 2013
    • Asset list released to the public
    • Nationwide market campaign deployed
    • Property inspections and underwriting performed
    • Pre-auction offers accepted
Note:  All properties submitted are reviewed by a selection committee.  Only a certain number of properties will be accepted.

Question:  What is preventing you from serving your clients by utilizing CRE Event of the Year?

 

Massimo Group Logo

Free Webinar:  How to Maximize Your Brokerage Income in 2013 – Feb. 19, 1:00 pm EST

In 2010, I made a great decision to hire Rod Santomassimo as my CRE coach.  Rod is the president and founder of the Massimo Group which is the premier CRE coaching and consulting firm.  After 2 years of coaching, Rod asked me to come on as a coach for the Massimo Group.  I have been coaching CRE brokers from all over the United States and Canada since then.
In this free webinar, Rod is going to discuss proven strategies and tactics that create greater opportunities for commission income.  This will not be a Massimo Group commercial, but a real sharing of practices and ideas.  Learn how top producing brokers:
  • Fill their pipeline with continual business opportunities
  • Create a top-of-mind position with their clients and key prospects
  • Develop personal teams, both virtual and physical to increase efficiencies and productivity
  • Implement tactics which consistently help them Find, Win, and Close more business.
I encourage you to do what over 500 CRE practitioners have already done and invest 30 minutes in yourself by attending this free webinar.  You will be glad that you did.
Details
  • Date:  Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2013
  • Time:  1:00 pm EST
  • To Register:  Click Here

 Invest in yourself and register today!

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What Are You Worth?

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What are you worth?  You don’t have a clue, do you?

I have a mentor and client who is incredibly successful.  He owns over a dozen businesses. He employs hundreds of people.  He loves Jesus and is one of the most generous men I’ve ever met.  He is an amazing man.  He is someone who we should all want to be like.

iStock_000021836294SmallA couple of years ago, I was meeting with this man.  I asked him what the inflection point was in his career.  He surprised me with his answer. He told me about a conversation that he had with his mentor.  At that time, my mentor had hit his limit.  He was experiencing what John Maxwell calls the Law of the Lid (read the book – affiliate link).

In that conversation, my mentor asked his mentor, “Why can’t I break through?  What is my problem?”

Last week at my company’s national convention, I spoke on becoming a Power Prospector.  Afterwards, one of our top producers wanted to talk with me.  He is tapped out.  He has so much business.  However, he is struggling to keep up with it all. He’s trying to do everything himself.  It isn’t working.

I ask you again.  What are you worth?

This is one of the most important things that you can know when running your business.  Why?  Because you have more to do in any one day than you can accomplish.

Delegation

In both of the stories above, lack of delegation is the problem.  My mentor was trying to control everything.  He wouldn’t delegate.  Thus, he was the bottleneck.  He was the problem.

Our top producer has not put together a team or a system to maximize his efforts.  He is the Lid holding his business and his productivity back.  We are going to remedy this situation, and his business is going to explode.

You have heard that delegation is a good idea, but can you articulate why?  As the CEO of you, there are certain tasks that only you can do.  These are the high-dollar activities or the high value creation activities.  You want to delegate everything else so that you can focus on those activities.  Said another way, anything that anyone else can do, they should do.  This frees you up to do only things that only you can do.

To effectively accomplish this, you must do 3 things:

  1. Catalogue your activities – Before you can delegate, you must know with clarity all the activities that take up your time.  The best way to do this is to catalogue everything that you spend time on for a week.  Write it all down.  Some of you just rolled your eyes.  Don’t skip this step.  Write it all down.
  2. Triage – The triage step involves deciding which are the high dollar activities and which need to be delegated.  Ask yourself, “If I could only do 3 of these activities, which ones would they be?”  Some you will simply want to delete and stop doing entirely.  This step gives you clarity of purpose.  It also gives you the job description for the team member or virtual assistant that you may add.  If you already have an assistant or team in place, this list is now their playbook.
  3. Know what you are worth! – Many of you will be tempted to simply read this and move on with your life.  I challenge you not to.  Go through this with me.  You will thank me.

I’m going to use round numbers.  Let’s assume that you work 50 weeks a year and 40 hours a week.  Now write down what your income goal for the year is.  Great.  The math looks like this.

50 weeks x 40 hours/week = 2,000 hours worked in a year

Income Goal  / 2,000 hours = your value per hour

If you want to make $100,000 this year, then $100,000 / 2,000 hours = $50/hr.  If you want to make $400,000 this year, then your are worth $200/hr.

Rod Santomassimo, the president and founder of the coaching firm the Massimo-Group, knows his number.  He has a note on his desk that reads, “Is what you are doing right now worth $___/hr?  If not, stop doing it!”  This is why you must know your worth.  It allows you to effectively focus on the activities that maximize your effectiveness and earning potential.  Otherwise, you are leaving money on the table.

So what are you worth?  How will knowing this number effect how you lead and work?  Let me know in the comments below!

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January’s Top Posts

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In case you missed them, here are the top posts from January.  Key to note – January marks the first month I’ve expanded the topics of my blog – from Commercial Real Estate best practices to Next Practices in Life, Business, and Commercial Real Estate.  Thus, please enjoy the post below on marriage as well as other business and CRE topics.  Thanks for reading!

I also want to invite you to sign up just to the right to receive my new posts straight to your email inbox.  Don’t worry about remembering to check my site.  I will do the work and make sure that you never miss a post.  I will also never share your information.

 January’s Top Posts

iStockPhoto via Erikona

iStockPhoto via Erikona

Why You Should Use a Simple CRM – ClientLook – CRE Tech & App Review – On the front-end, I must confess to being a CRM-hopper.  I started my career in 2004 with a legal pad – literally.  Then I moved on to Outlook.  Please pay attention when I say this.  Outlook is not a CRM system – sorry Dad.  It is simply email with contacts and a calendar.  Read More…

 

2012-12-21 22.10.31

12th Anniversary Trip

What 12 Years has Taught Me About Having an Awesome Marriage – I’ve had a crush on my wife – still do – since the day I laid eyes on her.  I was 10 years old in youth church choir.  She sings like an angel, and I liked being around girls that could sing like an angel.  It took me 8 years to ask her out.  Two reasons caused the delay.  I was sort of a dork, and she was intimidatingly beautiful – still is!  After 5 years of me proving that she is the most forgiving person on the planet, we got married.  (This is by far the most condensed version of ‘our story’ that I’ve ever pulled off).  Read More…

 

iStockPhoto from cosmity

iStockPhoto from cosmity

The 3 Benefits of a Well Done Prospecting Letter – You have to assume that at least 50% of recipients are not going to read your letter.  They just won’t.  And that is fine.  All I’m trying to do is warm up my initial cold call.  When I call those who actually read it, my ratio for getting a meeting goes up.  Read More…

 

 

iStockPhoto by hidesy

iStockPhoto by hidesy

The One Secret to Winning the Business Every Time – When I started in the Commercial Real Estate Business, I knew that the listing presentation was important.  Very important. I wrote and rewrote.  I practiced and then practiced some more.  I would record myself and play it back while I was driving.  It was canned…  Read More…

 

iStock_000010779625Small

iStockPhoto

5 Reasons to Develop Decisiveness Using the 70% Rule – You will experience failures in your personal and professional lives.  It should not be the failed goal that defines the experience but the way that we respond to the failure.  Consider reflecting on these questions…  Read More…

 

 

January’s Stats

I’ve read on some other sites where they post their stats.  I have always appreciated this – as much as a benchmark as anything else.  It is difficult to know how well you are doing sometimes.

  • 2,371 Unique Visitors
  • 6,761 Page Views
  • 65% Percent New Visitors
  • 61 Countries
  • 30% from a mobile device
  • 81% of those from an iPhone or iPad
  • 119 Subscribers to my email list

I wish you all a fabulous February.  I turn 36 this month!  If you have any comments on the posts above or would like to make a suggestion on what you would like to read, leave a comment below!

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Ask Me Your Questions

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Take a look at the right column of this site.  I encourage you to sign up for the email list of this blog.  Not only will you receive every new post directly to your email inbox, but you will be the first to know of any new announcements.  There are some exciting ones coming up.  And I will never give your info to anyone…ever.

iStockPhoto from myrrha

iStockPhoto from myrrha

2013 is a year of new beginnings for me.  This blog has a new look and an expanded scope.  I have a new job.  I have a new vision for the future and new goals.  I couldn’t be more excited.

Another shift that starts now is I am purposing to focus more upon the highest interests of my readers.  Practically, that means I am trying to write for my readers.  Until this point, I’ve been writing whatever I hoped would be interesting or useful for someone.

In one of last week’s posts, The One Secret to Winning the Business Every Time, I make the case that the most important thing that you can do with your clients and prospects is understand their needs.  You do that by asking questions.

So today, I’m asking for your questions.  Here is how this will work.  You can ask me anything.  As this blog is focused on Next Practices in Life, Business, and Commercial Real Estate, your questions simply need to fall into one of those categories.  Feel free to ask about my experiences, background, job, or my thoughts on any subject.  I’m certainly no expert in most subjects, but I have thoughts on most.  I will respond in one of 3 ways:

  1. Your question will turn into a post – Some of you already been firing questions at me – and they are great questions. Those that warrant a full post will get it.
  2. I will respond that I don’t have a clue – This may happen more than I’d like.  However, if I don’t know, then I will tell you.
  3. I will find out – I expect some questions will pique my curiosity and will send me searching.  In that case, I will report back what I find.

To give you a feel for what I am working on, here are some post titles coming up in the future.

Life

  • A Review of the App ‘Book on Her’
  • How to Pursue the Hearts of Your Children
  • How to Create a Healthy Family Culture

Business

  • The 7 Steps to Cast a Vision that People will Follow
  • The Art of Delegation Results vs Tasks
  • Book Reviews

Commercial Real Estate

  • CRE App Reviews
  • Why You Should Consider Syndications as Part of Your Business
  • More Posts Unpacking the Steps in a Prospecting System
  • An Introductory Post on Creating Presence

Those are my plans, but I want to hear from you.  Here is how you ask a question:

  1. Use the comments section below
  2. Include your name and website – I will link to them if I use your question as a post.
  3. Ask your question!

So ask away!  I look forward to increasing the interaction with you on my blog and ensuring that I am listening to my readers.  Use the comments below.

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The One Secret to Winning the Business Every Time

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When I started in the Commercial Real Estate Business, I knew that the listing presentation was important.  Very important. I wrote and rewrote.  I practiced and then practiced some more.  I would record myself and play it back while I was driving.

iStockPhoto by hidesy

iStockPhoto by hidesy

It was canned.  I would give that same presentation to an elderly couple wanting to sell their land.  I would give it to a bank looking to relocate a branch.  I would give it to the owner of an office building that needed to lease space.  It didn’t matter who it was.  I had it down.

I would talk about the experience of our company (this was important because I had little experience at the time.)  I would talk about successful transactions we had closed.  I would talk about my Marine Corps service (the only thing I had going for me at the time.)  I would talk about how young and hungry I was.  It was all about me.  This, I believe, is what the normal CRE listing presentation looks like.

Through much reading, coaching, and mentoring, I learned there is a much better way.  I was taught the secret.  Before I give it to you, let me tell you a story.

Not too long ago, I received an opportunity through a referral from a CPA (if you aren’t pursuing relationships with CPA’s, smack yourself and start tomorrow.)  Instead of preparing a canned listing presentation for the client’s portfolio of properties, I simply scheduled a meeting.  All I did in that meeting was ask questions.  I didn’t talk at all about me, our company, or my experience – zip.

By the end of that meeting, I knew a few things I didn’t know before.  This prospect was tired of the management and unpredictable net income of multifamily property.  I knew that the prospect wanted to simplify.  I knew that the prospect wanted to be able to hold me accountable throughout the listing.  I knew that communication was extremely important.

I then took that information and crafted a client-centric, customized, benefit driven presentation.  I explained how selling these properties could eliminate the hassle of tenant turnover, dealing with management companies, and fluctuating income.  I showed how a shift to Single Tenant Net Leased properties would essentially produce stable mailbox money.

I explained our commitment to transparency and accountability.  I showed how I could give the prospect 24/7 access to our activities through our cloud-based CRM system, ClientLook.  I promised our commitment to regular communication.  I won the listing over our competition at a higher fee.

If you haven’t figured it out, the secret to winning the business is the Needs-Analysis Interview.  There are many versions of this interview that you can find. I’m not going to plagiarize any of them here.  I am going to give you keys that must be present for this to work.

  1. You have to be authentic – People can tell when you are blowing smoke.  If they care about communication, and you promise it to them, you must be committed to delivering.  If not, they are going to tell all their colleagues.  In the story above, I discovered the prospects highest needs, and then fed them back in a custom listing presentation.  This only works if you are being authentic.
  2. You have to care – Discovering the needs of your prospect is all about putting their needs before your own.  It is about them.  It is about taking the time to craft from your capabilities the solution that meets their needs.  It is about making a difference in solving their problem or helping them capitalize on an opportunity.
  3. You must seek their pain points – You could also say that must understand the opportunity they are trying to seize.  Are they trying to simplify?  Are they trying to pass down a legacy of financial freedom and wealth?  Are they trying to get out from under a mountain of debt and stress that is wrecking their lives?  What is causing them pain.  Learn this and you will be able to earn the business.
  4. You must understand their highest interests – Is maximizing the value their highest interest?  Or is it speed?  How important is visibility to that tenant?  Will they give on price to get the lease term they want?  You can not go to battle for your clients if you don’t know what their desired outcome is.

So I challenge you.  The next opportunity you have at new business, stop.  Don’t go blazing in with your canned presentation.  Schedule the needs-analysis interview.  Let them explain to you how to win their business.  Learn to ask questions and listen, and watch your business explode.

I’d love to hear some stories of how you have used this secret to win business?  Or how do you plan to implement this into your business this year and beyond?  Comment below!

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The 3 Benefits of a Well Done Prospecting Letter

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I previously wrote a post on The 8 Steps to a Killer Prospecting System.  Step 4 in that process deals with the use of a prospecting letter.  In my business, we sent just 20 letters to Dollar Store owners every week.  Then we called them the following week.

iStockPhoto from cosmity

iStockPhoto from cosmity

For the past 2 years I have used this system religiously.  It has had 4 different types of results for me:

  1. It hits the trash immediately.
  2. They see my name on the envelope before it hits the trash.
  3. It is opened and read. 
  4. It motivates the reader of the letter to call me first.

You have to assume that at least 50% of recipients are not going to read your letter.  They just won’t.  And that is fine.  All I’m trying to do is warm up my initial cold call.  When I call those who actually read it, my ratio for getting a meeting goes up.

On average, they will call me first about once a month.  70% of those calls turn into listings – that is our close rate when they call us from the letter.  That is a huge number for the cost of paper and a stamp.

I want to share 2 things in the remainder of this post:  why send a letter, and how to increase your open and read rate.

3 Reasons/Benefits to Sending a Prospecting Letter

  1. Letters warm up the cold call – This is obvious, but it works.  Not only do I have a higher success rate in getting meetings with those that read the letter, it gives me something to refer to right off the bat.  “Hi Mr. Smith.  I’m Bo Barron and I’m calling to follow-up on the letter I sent you last week…”
  2. Letters force you to follow-up with a call – How is that, you say?  The letters force me to call because I tell them in the letter that I will be calling in about a week.  This is built-in accountability.  It gives you your first opportunity to follow through with integrity – or drop the ball.
  3. Letters force you to be intentional and systematic with your prospecting – This is a huge benefit for most.  To send out a certain amount of letters a week means you must have your database set up.  It means you are intentionally signing X number of letters a week.  It means that you are planning ahead.  It means that you are differentiating yourself from 95% of the rest of the brokerage community.

Now that I have covered why to send the letters, let’s discuss how to get more people to actually open and read the letter!

  • Handwrite the envelope – Studies show that more people open mail that is handwritten versus printed.  I generally had my assistant do it.  She has much better handwriting.  Once a week, 20 letters appeared on my desk.  I signed them and gave them back to her.  She addressed the letters and sent them.  She logged into my cloud-based CRM system and scheduled the cold calls to the recipients.  I made the calls.  Clockwork.  Simple.  Effective!
  • Write a scannable letter – This is a scannable blog post.  I utilize simple sentences.  Short paragraphs.  Lists.  Bullet-points.  A friend of mine runs a local Packages Plus business.  He was sharing with me that studies have been done on increasing the read rate of a letter.  The second most likely thing that is read in a letter is bullet points.  I will tell you the first in a second.  Use them.  That is where your most important information belongs – written in a benefit statement for the reader.
  • Keep the letter short – Anything longer than a page is way too long.  Three-quarters of a page is what I think is best. You have about 15 seconds of eye-ball time.  After that, you lose their attention to something else.  Short and simple works best.
  • Talk about them – Don’t send a letter all about you.  They don’t care.  They care about themselves.  Talk about what is happening that affects their property – their bottom line – their lives.  If you don’t do this, you are wasting your time.
  • Use a Postscript – That’s right – the P.S.  The postscript is the single most read thing in a letter.  Therefore, put the most important thing in the postscript.  I suggest to you that is where you tell them you will call them.  If they read nothing but the postscript, and you tell them you are going to call them, they are much more likely to then read the letter.

Most of you will not do this.  Some because you are lazy.  Some because you don’t know where to start.  Some because you won’t pause long enough to build your database in the first place.

I challenge you to try this for 90 days.  I think you will be blown away with the results.

Let me hear from you.  Have you used prospecting letters in the past?  What worked well?  What didn’t?  Comment below!

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Why You Should Use a Simple CRM – ClientLook – CRE Tech & App Review

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I am a systems geek.  I’m not really a techie.  I love to use technology, but I just know enough about how it works to break it.  That said, when it comes to using technology in my Commercial Real Estate business, there is nothing more important than a good CRM (Customer Relationship Management).

iStockPhoto via Erikona

iStockPhoto via Erikona

On the front-end, I must confess to being a CRM-hopper.  I started my career in 2004 with a legal pad – literally.  Then I moved on to Outlook.  Please pay attention when I say this.  Outlook is not a CRM system – sorry Dad.  It is simply email with contacts and a calendar.

I then graduated to a real CRM platform in ACT! by Sage, then to Realhound, back to ACT!, and then to REA9 (Real Estate Assistant). All of these desktop applications have these things in common.

  • they all have a tremendous amount of functionality.
  • they are all loaded on your desktop/laptop (to be fair, some or all are coming out with cloud-based versions, though I see this as playing catch up).
  • they are huge programs.
  • they have bells and whistles on their bells and whistles.

Michael Griffin, the President and CEO of ClientLook, calls these and other desktop software programs Technology Legacy Anchors.  These programs tie you to your desktop – chain you there.

clientlook logo

I’ve been using ClientLook for over a year now.  What follows are the reasons you should consider switching to this cloud-based CRM system.

  1. ClientLook resides in the cloud – As opposed to the Technology Legacy Anchors, ClientLook resides in the cloud.  This means that your data can be accessed from anywhere where the internet can be accessed.  That means from your smart phone, a coffee shop, on the road, in an airport terminal, or even from a client’s office on their computer.  And we are way beyond worries of losing data at this point.  I would guess you have more of a chance of your office burning and losing your data.
  2. It is simple, simple, easy – In contrast to the other CRM programs, ClientLook is as easy as they are complicated.  It is formatted much like Facebook.  You can log notes on all your conversations and contacts.  You can schedule events and tasks and link them to projects and/or contacts all on your calendar.  It generates task lists.  It is super easy to search.

    Actual ClientLook Screenshot

    Actual ClientLook Screenshot

  3. It seamlessly syncs with Google – This is really what made it work for me.  I use an app called Calengoo on my iPhone 5.  It syncs beautifully with Gmail and Google Calendar which I use religiously.  Whatever I put on the ClientLook calendar, ends up on Google Calendar and on my iPhone.  Everything is synced automatically without me having to do anything.   This is the awesome part, though.  If I update a task or event with notes and next steps on my phone, it gets linked back to the correct projects and contacts in ClientLook.  This is a beautiful thing!
  4. It has Betty White – I am in my car all the time making calls.  I can be very productive while driving.  The problem is you can’t take notes.  You can forget to follow through on something committed to.  You can forget when you said you would call back.  This problem has always made me hesitate using windshield time to its fullest potential.  No longer.  ClientLook has virtual assistants.  You can call in and dictate notes, set appointments and next steps, etc.  You simply call in, leave a message with your account info and what you need recorded, then hang up.  When it is done, the VA will email you so you can confirm their work.  Now, on my phone, I have named the ClientLook VA number in my favorites list as Betty White.  So I make a call.  Then I call Betty White.  I make another call – then Betty White.  Nothing ever falls through the cracks, and my productivity is at an all-time high.
  5. It allows for virtual management of a team – If you manage a team, you can see what they are doing.  This really helps with a virtual team working on tasks together.  You can see notes, previous calls, etc.  You can see if someone is not making calls.  And this can be set up per the needs of the team.  Maybe you don’t need to see what someone else is doing in your company.  All that can be set.
  6. It is a great transaction management tool – You can give your clients access to their projects.  This means that they can log in and see what you are doing.  I have never lost a listing when I told my prospects that they have a way to hold me accountable.  This is also a way to allow your clients to drive you crazy so be very careful with this one.
  7. Great customer support – They respond to emails and listen to suggestions.  They have added features because I asked for them.  Super people!

Now, if I could change anything (and so that you know that this isn’t a sponsored post):

  • The search functionality is Google simple and fast.  However, when scanning through your contacts, it is difficult to navigate.  The user interface could be better.
  • Overall, the site runs a bit slower than most sites – for me.  This could be my 6,000+ contacts, but that should be pretty normal in the CRE industry.
  • There is no separate property database.  I simply used the Projects functionality and it works perfectly.  But for those power users of REA and Realhound, this is going to bug you.  To the rest of you, simple is the way to go, and I’m just talking to 100 people anyway.

So what CRM solution do you use?  What do you like about it?  What benefits would have to see to switch to a cloud based solution?  You can comment below!

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5 Reasons to Develop Decisiveness by Using the 70% Rule

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I am naturally a perfectionist.  If my parents read this, they may disagree.  They will remember me leaving potential on the table.  I was the poster child for procrastination.  The truth is perfectionism is the mother of procrastination.

Decisions

Photo courtesy of ©iStockphoto.comjoste_dj

I remember one semester of college at Murray State University.  I decided that I would not procrastinate any longer.  I purposed to work ahead in all my classes — finish assignments early.  I remember going to the library to work on a paper that was due weeks in the future.  I found that I could not focus my thoughts.  The possibilities of what direction I could go and how perfect the paper could be were overwhelming.  I needed the pressure of the last minute to focus my thoughts and force me to action.  I am the classic Ready, Aim, Aim, Aim, Aim, Aim…………….Fire!

My father is not this way.  While he gathers information, he is naturally decisive and instinctive.  I would characterize him as Fire, Ready, Aim.  If you can’t tell, we work very well together.

In business and life, there is a great tension between impulsiveness (foolishness) and perfectionism (procrastination).  Leaders are decisive.  In fact, decisiveness is one of the 14 Leadership Traits of the Marine Corps that I wrote about recently — read more here.  Additionally, decisive leaders reject perfectionism.  They understand that it is an elusive fallacy.  Your business should have a goal of success, growth, and excellence — not perfection.  There is a difference.

So how does a leader manage this tension between impulsiveness and perfectionism?  The Marine Corps taught me the 70% Rule.  It says that you take action on any decision when you have 70% confidence in the success of the decision.  That statement just made some of you uncomfortable.  Here are 5 reasons you should consider implementing this rule in your business.

  1. Reality – Decisions are made in time.  Sometimes it must be made very quickly.  You also have competition.  They are also trying to succeed.  They are also trying to beat you.  Being decisive while not impulsive can be learned.  Rejecting perfectionism frees you up to execute with speed.
  2. Speed – Speed is better than perfection.  A good solution executed quickly will have a higher probability of success than a great solution executed too late.  Speed puts you on the offensive.  It allows you to set the pace of innovation and service.  This also means that it puts your competition on the defensive forcing them to react.  He who sets the pace gains the advantage.
  3. Growth – Speaking of mistakes, you will make them too.  Understand that you will and prepare.  Don’t waste your mistakes — learn from them.  The key to learning from your mistakes is debriefing after decisions are made.  What went wrong?  Why did we fail?  Why did we succeed?  What could we have done better?  How could I have done that presentation better?  If you do not pause and reflect, you will waste the benefits of your mistakes.  You will not grow as a leader.  You will not develop better decision-making skills.  You will repeat the mistakes.
  4. Success – Wayne Gretzky said that, “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.”  This is obvious but so important.  Being decisive with 70% confidence will lead to more success than hesitating due to lack of confidence or information.  As you grow from experience and learning from your mistakes, your success rate will improve.  Over time, this growth can allow you to reach your potential.  Perfectionist straddled by procrastination never reach their potential — never.
  5. Prevents Impulsiveness – Colin Powell is a proponent of the 70% Rule.  He also stated that 40% confidence requires more information gathering and planning.  Going with your gut is often a bad idea.  The 70% Rule acts as a guard-rail for the impulsive who Fire before they make Ready and Aim.

I invite you to share your thoughts below.  Are you a perfectionist?  How would the 70% Rule change how you do business?

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