Why You Need a Team – These 5 Reasons

Leverage The Strengths of Others So You Can Do What Only You Can Do!

Five or so years ago, I was on a call with my coach, Rod Santomassimo. Rod is the founder and president of the Massimo Group, and he had been coaching me through the purchase of my father’s brokerage firm.

I remember him asking me if I would consider allowing him to profile me in a book he was writing. He asked me to think about it and let him know.

I thought, he is asking me to allow him to tell my story to the industry and create a great amount of presence for me that I couldn’t do on my own. Five seconds later, I let him know I would be honored.

That book, Brokers Who Dominate – 8 Traits of Top Producers, became an Amazon.com bestseller. If you are a CRE professional, I highly recommend.

As of yesterday, Rod has launched his second book, Teams Built to Dominate – How to Create Your Own Platform, Grow Your Business And Gain control of Your Life.

teams built to dominate

I wanted to share this you for a couple of reasons. First, I received an early copy of the book and it is fantastic. Second, I have a special code to offer you that will get you 20% off. And third, Rod and I shot a video series that goes along with the book – Team Building Toolbox – where we take you through how to implement the strategies and best practices of team building that Rod takes you through in the book.

And the video series is being offered free this week if you buy the book. But more on how to take advantage of this $300 value later.

The 5 Reasons You Need a Team…yes, even you!

  1. A team allows you to leverage skills beyond yourself – If you are a producer, there are activities you do that generate high income. There are other activities that you do that are low dollar activities. A team allows you to put in place people with strengths in those low dollar activities. You can delegate to them. So no longer do you need to do $20/hr work. Plus, this frees you up to do those high dollar tasks that only you can do. This leads to exponential growth!
  2. A team removes you as the bottleneck – When you work as a solopreneur, you have to do everything. This makes you the bottleneck. John Maxwell calls this the Law of the Lid in his bestseller, The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership. This just means that you can’t grow beyond yourself. You are the lid that prevents it. But with a team, you can break through your personal ceiling and grow.
  3. A team prevents burnout – Most of us have experienced burnout – that hopeless feeling that nags at you. Imagine if you had a team to handle all the activities you hated doing. That should put a smile on your face!
  4. A team brings additional perspectives – Many hard-charging producers don’t like to think of this point. The truth is, there are many perspectives you don’t have that a team brings. It is also true that you don’t always have the best perspective, and other sets of eyeballs can lead to success in areas you will fail on your own.
  5. A team challenges you – When you work on your own, you are only challenged to the extent you can muster motivation and discipline on your own. But when you build a team, those team members will challenge you. They will expect your best. They will push you. This is a reason I’ve had a coach for so many years. I need to pushed.
There was an issue loading your timed LeadBox™. Please check plugin settings.

[Free Webinar] How Your Marketing Can Win You Listings

Commercial real estate is changing. The internet has helped in leveling the playing field. Best practices are now easily shared – within companies and without. It is now harder than ever to differentiate yourself from your competition.

This month’s webinar with my friend Kris Krisco of Buildout.com is all about how your marketing should actually win you listings. You can register for the webinar – at 3pm Eastern on August 5th – by clicking here.
by ShadeON via iStock.com

by ShadeON via iStock.com

The marketing of your listings is for the purpose of finding the most potential buyers. The more buyers equates to more offers. More offers, if the listing is priced right, can generate a quasi-auction environment. So not only do you find a buyer, but the best buyer – and, get the most out of that buyer.

But you can also use your marketing to win listings.

There was an issue loading your timed LeadBox™. Please check plugin settings.

Wow!  Because of the overwhelming demand and the fact that the first session filled up so quickly, we have decided to open a second session of the free webinar:  “How to Thrive as a New to Business Broker”

Free Webinar:  Join me and Rod Santomassimo, founder and president of the Massimo Group, as we share the keys to thriving in Commercial Real Estate as a new to the business broker.  In this webinar, we will show you:

  • Keys to success for new to business brokers
  • What it takes to create a solid start to a prosperous career
  • Specific strategies and tactics that will help you generate early income

This webinar is guaranteed to give you actionable tactics you can immediately apply to your business.  If you are a new to the business broker, or the broker/owner who employs them, you want to be on this webinar.

Plus, we will be announcing two special offers to attendees.

Join hundreds already registered for the call, and I look forward connecting with you soon!

There was an issue loading your timed LeadBox™. Please check plugin settings.
Date: January 23, 2015
Time: 3:00 pm Eastern
Event: 2nd Session | Free Webinar: How to Thrive as a New to the Business Broker
Topic: How to Thrive as a New to Business Broker
Sponsor: The Massimo Group
Venue: Live Webinar
Public: Public
Registration: Click here to register.

Free Webinar:  Join me and Rod Santomassimo, founder and president of the Massimo Group, as we share the keys to thriving in Commercial Real Estate as a new to the business broker.  In this webinar, we will show you:

  • Keys to success for new to business brokers
  • What it takes to create a solid start to a prosperous career
  • Specific strategies and tactics that will help you generate early income

This webinar is guaranteed to give you actionable tactics you can immediately apply to your business.  If you are a new to the business broker, or the broker/owner who employs them, you want to be on this webinar.

Plus, we will be announcing two special offers to attendees.

Join over 150 already registered for the call, and I look forward connecting with you soon!

There was an issue loading your timed LeadBox™. Please check plugin settings.
Date: January 23, 2015
Time: 1:00 - 2:00 pm Eastern
Event: Free Webinar: How to Thrive as a New to the Business Broker
Topic: Free Webinar: How to Thrive as a New to the Business Broker
Venue: Live Webinar
Public: Public
Registration: Click here to register.

Webinar:  I am excited about being the presenter during tomorrow’s webinar hosted by Matthew Smith of RealNex featuring the Massimo Group – History is a Great Forecaster – Identifying Future Income Opportunities.  In this webinar you will learn:

  1. Methods of collecting historical data
  2. How to use tools already at your disposal to become the recognized expert in your market
  3. How to use historical transactional data to identify trends
  4. How to use market data to close for more meetings

Join over 500 already registered, and I will see you tomorrow!

There was an issue loading your timed LeadBox™. Please check plugin settings.
Date: January 14, 2015
Time: 3:00 - 4:00 pm Eastern
Event: Free Webinar: History is a Great Forecaster of Future Income Possibilities
Topic: History is a Great Forecaster - Identifying Future Income Opportunities
Sponsor: RealNex
Venue: Online Webinar
Public: Public
Registration: Click here to register.

Do the 3 P’s of CRE Apply to You?

Last week, I  had the privilege of being in Portland, OR for a commercial real estate conferencence.  I had never been before and discovered it to be a beautiful and unbelievably clean city.  I was blown away.

Courtesy of iStockPhoto

Courtesy of iStockPhoto

Our Pacific Northwest franchisees put on a great training conference.  I got to speak on how to improve efficiencies with technology.  I also got to lead a couple of break out sessions on measuring outcomes and accountability.  It was a blast.

Curt Arthur, our managing director and franchise owner in Salem, OR said something there that I had to write about.

He mentioned in his opening remarks the 3 P’s.  These are the three things that typical commercial real estate brokerages do with a new listing.  He was not complimenting our industry of commercial real estate.

3 P’s of Typical Commercial Real Estate

  1. Put up a sign.
  2. Put it online.
  3. Pray that someone will bring an offer.

These are not bad things.  A sign is a great way to broadcast to locals that property is available.  Most property searches start online, so you have to make sure your listings are there.  And I am a huge believer in prayer so don’t get the wrong idea here.  For those of you who would substitute the word ‘hope’ for ‘prayer’ – hope is not a strategy.

This is called Passive Marketing.  The definition of passive marketing is to flood the market with information on all fronts, and then wait for the phone to ring.  That is simply not good enough.

But this is the norm.  Too often, a seller signs a listing contract and doesn’t hear from the broker for 6 months when it’s time to extend the contract.

The other side of the coin from Passive Marketing is Proactive Marketing.  Proactive Marketing is taking the initiative to ensure everyone who could be a buyer knows the property is available.  That takes work.  That takes a system.

So here are some questions for you to consider as you start your week.  I encourage you to ponder and share your answers in the comments section below.

  1. Is hope your strategy?
  2. Will you be described this week as proactive?
  3. In what ways will you proactively market your listings, products, or services?
  4. What are the most effective ways you proactively ensure that every qualified buyer knows about your listing, product, or service?

Question: Will the 3 P’s describe you this week? You can leave a comment by clicking here.


There was an issue loading your timed LeadBox™. Please check plugin settings.

7 Steps to Unleashing Crowdsourcing by Utilizing Testimonials

My wife drives a Toyota Sienna.  Do you know why?  It is because a couple of her friends do.  My family is going on vacation next month.  Do you know how we came up with Disney World?  We asked our friends on Facebook what they recommended.  This is what crowdsourcing is.  By definition, it is the practice of obtaining needed services, ideas, or content by soliciting contributions from a large group of people.

Courtesy of iStock Photo

Courtesy of iStock Photo

Crowdsourcing is not a new phenomenon, but it has never had more power.  Social media has brought the world to you laptop screen.  You can access more content and opinions – and quicker – than you ever could before.  People are making decisions this way.  You probably did today.

Did you know that over 80% of all due diligence starts with a Google search?  Do you know how many people trust a recommendation from a “friend”?  90%!  Do you know how many people are positively influenced by a Facebook ‘Like’ button from someone they don’t even know?  70%!  That number astounds me.

By contrast, only 19% of people now trust traditional advertising.  I’m talking about print, TV, or radio.  Do you know why?  Because the game has changed.  No one wants to hear you toot your own horn anymore.  They want to know about real people who have actually used your product or service.  They want a testimonial.

I plan on writing more in the coming months about the power of crowdsourcing and how you can maximize its advantages.  But today, I want to give you 7 steps to harvest testimonials.  There are a dozen ways to repurpose them once you have them.  First, though, you have to get them.

7 Steps to Getting Testimonials

  1. Make a list of your top client relationships – This is obvious, but you first need to list those clients from whom you would like a testimonial.  Consider who was in love with the service or product your provided.  Consider who has the most clout.  Who are those people who you have done business with who can sway the most people in your direction?  Write them down.
  2. It doesn’t matter how dated the client relationships are – Don’t be concerned if these clients go back years in the past.  It doesn’t matter as much when you provided value, but that you did.
  3. Write the testimonial for them – Typically, you are going to send an email request.  For the first one or two, write the testimonial for them.  It should read, “I’m writing to respectfully request that you write a couple of sentences as a testimonial for the service I provided.  I’m looking for something like this…”  Spoon feed it to them.  Then let them know that if what you wrote is accurate, you are happy to use it as their words – with their blessing.  This is the quickest path to obtaining a testimonial.
  4. Use peer pressure – Once you have your first one or two, introduce peer pressure.  You can accomplish this by including the testimonials you have already received as examples of what you are looking for.  This demonstrates that others are providing these testimonials.  Peer pressure can then kick-in encouraging them to follow suit.
  5. Engage their competitive nature – By providing testimonials you have already received as examples in your email request, you will engage their competitive nature.  Your client is likely to want to give you a testimonial that out-does the ones you have already received.  Over time, this can really work in your favor.
  6. Make it easy – I have a coaching client who has collected recommendation letters for years.  He has a book of them.  It is very impressive.  It also took a ton of work to accomplish.  I’m not saying this is a bad idea because it is not.  I am saying that you will have more success more quickly if you keep it simple.  Use email.  Ask for a couple of sentences.  Provide examples.  Make it as easy for them as possible.  You are interrupting them with your request.  The simpler it is, the more you will get.
  7. Systematize – To this point, I’m suggesting you look to the past for your testimonials.  Once you’ve accomplished that, then systematize the process.  Make it a part of your business to seek a testimonial from every new client you do business with.  Over time, you will develop a stable of clients that scream from the mountain tops how awesome you are.  Remember that 70% of people trust a recommendation from someone they don’t even know!

I’d be so grateful if you would add to my list by using the comments section below.  What have I left off?  How have you put the power of testimonials to work in your business?

There was an issue loading your timed LeadBox™. Please check plugin settings.

April’s Top Posts from theBarronBlog

In case you missed them, here are the top posts from April 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!

 

April’s Top Posts:

 

Make the dang call! via iStockphotot.com

Make the dang call! via iStockphotot.com

The Anatomy of a Cold Call – While I don’t believe in scripts, I do believe in crafting your opening statement before you call.  Most salespeople have the most problems with how they start the call.  ”Uh, hi.  My name is Bo Barron and I’m with ABC Co.  Uh….how’s it going?”  Terrible!    Read more…

 

 

 

WallpaperWizard-502021866

The first face to face!

The 5 Steps of the Initial Meeting – With some experience and some great coaching, I learned a better way.  Remember, if you are following my system, this initial meeting should be short.  Actually, you told the prospect that it would be short.  If you connect and the prospect starts asking questions – great.  You may be there 2 hours.  However, you told them short.  Prepare for short as you are making an impression as someone with integrity…or not.  Read more…

 

 

 

It is go time!  What do you do?

It is go time! What do you do?

The Winning Presentation – You have now landed a meeting to make a listing presentation (or whatever presentation applies to you).  You have worked through the entire prospecting process to get to this point.  Your put in the work becoming a market specialist.  Building a database.  Sending letters.  Making cold calls.  Conducting the needs analysis.  It has all led to this moment.  You sit in front of the prospect.  The business is there for the taking.  You have the privilege of potentially improving the life of the person in front of you.  What do you do?  Read more…

 

Bo Barron Speaking

Bo Barron Speaking

Why Do We Fall? [Video] –This week I had the privilege of traveling to Salisbury, MD to visit SVN Miller Commercial.  This group is the Sperry Van Ness 2012 Firm of the Year.  They are a study in how to build a team with incredible culture.  They like each other.  They have tradition.  They have camaraderie.  They absolutely dominate their market.

I had the pleasure of training their entire company primarily on prospecting.  At the end of our afternoon together, Brent Miller played this video.  I was so moved that I wanted to share it with you.

  Read more…

 

iStockPhoto

iStockPhoto

Clarity Series – Prospecting – Summary & Conclusion – When I was 15, my dad hired me to clean out a concrete drainage ditch.  That ditch ran behind the houses of a street he had developed.  We agreed on a price and I started digging.  I soon discovered that I could hire my friends at a rate higher than minimum wage.  I made all the income when I did the work.  I made half that amount when they did the work.  Read more…

Thank you so much for reading.  Towards the end of May, I will be introducing another Clarity Series on Presence.  As always, I’d love to hear from you in the comments section.

Question:  What is the single most important activity that drives your business?  I challenge you to articulate and explain your answer in the comments below.

 

There was an issue loading your timed LeadBox™. Please check plugin settings.

The Secret to Great Communication Every Time

How many times have you communicated a message to someone and followed up with “Do you understand?”  In response you get a head nod and an “Uh huh.”

USMC Drill Instructor barking orders

USMC Drill Instructor barking orders

When I was in boot camp, drill instructors barked orders at us all the time.  When they would give instructions, they would follow-up with this question – “Do you understand that?”  When said correctly, it sounds just like, “Undastanddat!?”  Now jack up the volume and say it again.

Our response was always the same, “Sir, yes sir!” Regardless of how loud I screamed, I often did not understand.  Bad things tended to happen at that point.

I remember the first time we were taught how to drill as a platoon.  Not pretty!  Drilling at its finest is choreography.  It is also beautiful when it is down correctly.  Check out this video of the Marine Corps Silent Drill Team.  This is incredible.

My first day learning drill was the opposite of what you just saw.  I distinctly recall that day.  During a certain command, the entire platoon took a 45 degree turn to the right.  Barron here took a 90 degree turn.  I should have been wearing a sign that read “Please make me do push-ups until I create a pool of sweat from my brow.”  Not pretty.

The Drill Instructor communicated the instructions correctly.  Yet I didn’t get it.  What happened?  Where was the breakdown?

Leaders make this mistake all the time.  They assume that because they have clarity in their minds, you should get it.  Right?  Not so fast.  Let’s look at the communication process.

Communication Process

  1. Sender – The sender of the message has a thought.
  2. Encoding – This step involves the sender choosing words to communicate the thought.
  3. Message – Here, the sender chooses which medium to send the message.  It could be spoken, written, communicated through sign language, or even nonverbals.
  4. Decoding – Now the receiver of the message receives the message and interprets the meaning.
  5. Receiver – The receiver of the message now understands the original thought in the mind of the sender, right??

The break down occurs because words have meanings that could be different depending on where you are from.  All the experiences of your past impact how you interpret the words you hear.  Think of the word ‘father.’  Some of you are replaying great childhood memories.  Some of you are reliving painful memories.  To some of you, the word father means hero.  To others it means absent.  Your life experience gives meaning to words.

Because of this, every great leader and communicator adds a step to the communication process.  That step is feedback.  I was in a great workshop last week in Orange County, CA put on by MAP Consulting.  I loved how they framed this concept.  They call this the playback.  Once you communicate the message, have the receiver play the message back for you.

Here is the phrase you want to learn.  “So that I know I was clear, please play back for me…”  Here are _ reasons why this phrase is so important.

5 Reasons to Playback

  1. Ownership – As the sender of the message, you are taking responsibility that it was understood.  You are making sure that you were clear, not that the sender comprehended correctly.  This is a big distinction.
  2. Feedback – Without this step, you have no way to know that your words were interpreted correctly.
  3. Adjustment – Once you hear your message played back, you have the opportunity to adjust your message.  You may not need to, but you can add clarity before time is wasted going down the wrong path.  Have you ever misunderstood a message and cost your company thousands of dollars?  Millions?
  4. Accountability – Once clarified, there are no excuses.  The message was understood.  The entire team is on the same page moving towards the same goal.  And everyone knows it.
  5. Repeatability – This process is repeatable in at least two ways.  The first is playback can be used in every communication situation.  The second, though,It is also repeatable in that it allows you to repeat the playback step multiple times until the message is clearly understood.

Question:  How can you improve your leadership and communication by adding this playback step?  You can leave a comment below.

There was an issue loading your timed LeadBox™. Please check plugin settings.