I was never supposed to be a sales trainer, coach and author. I was supposed to be a ballerina. Many years ago however, I needed a day job, so I got a job with a telemarketing company and the rest is history. Here I am many years later, “The Queen of Cold Calling.”

Dancing is still my great passion and in spite of the years and many injuries, I still dance. Recently, I started taking a ballet class with a new teacher. At that point I was going through a period of pain and frustration due to an old dance injury.

During my first class with the new teacher, she pointed out to me that I was not initiating my leg movements from my foot. This is a ballet basic. All leg movements initiate from the foot. Because I was not initiating the movement properly, I was engaging the wrong muscles. The teacher suggested that this might be the cause of my pain. And you know what? She was right. By focusing on initiating my leg movements from my foot, the pain from the old injury started to subside!

I knew that in ballet all leg movements are initiated from the foot. I’ve been dancing since I was a small child, I’ve even taught ballet classes. At another time, I might have been the teacher making that particular correction to a student. And certainly, if someone had given me a test and asked that question, I would have aced it. It wasn’t that I didn’t know; it was that for many different reasons, I wasn’t doing.

So what does this have to do with sales?

If you’ve been in sales for a while, you probably know at least some of the basics. You’ve probably done the Sales 101, features and benefits and have at least heard of some of the tools and techniques touted by sales superstars and sales trainers. You may have visited bookstores, flipped through a few books and said to yourself, “I know all of that.” You may have looked at different training courses, looked at the agenda and said to yourself, “I know all of that.”

Wouldn’t it be great if you could simply take a test proving what you know and customers would then flock to you based on your test results?

Unfortunately, selling is not about what you know. Selling is about what you do consistently, time after time, with every prospect with whom you speak.

There is a huge difference between knowing something and actually implementing it. And there’s an even bigger difference between being able to implement something and having totally mastered a skill.

The people who are most successful in sales are not necessarily the ones who know the most. They are, however, the ones who have mastered certain skills (and they’re frequently very basic skills) and they are able to use those same skills over and over again, and that’s why they’re successful.

If you are new to selling you need to learn the basic tools of your craft (what you know) and then focus on using them all the time (what you do). If you’ve been in sales for a while, focus on making your skills consistent (what you do). And if your sales process is not working for you, the question to ask yourself is: Am I using what I know about selling consistently each and every time that I speak with a prospect?

It is just like me in dance class. I certainly knew that all leg movements initiate from the foot. I’ve known it for years. It’s a ballet basic. I simply wasn’t doing it and because I was not doing it, I was in pain.

If your sales process is causing you pain, go back to the basics. Look not just at what you know; look at what you are doing with what you know. You might need some help to do this, an outside eye (like my dance teacher) to help you evaluate. Ask a colleague, your manager or perhaps a coach to help you analyze and ascertain that you are implementing what you need to be implementing in every step of your process. If you do this, like me with my old dance injury, the pain should subside.

Wendy Weiss, “The Queen of Cold Calling,” is a sales trainer, author and sales coach. Her recently released program, The Miracle Appointment-Setting Script, and/or her book, Cold Calling for Women, can be ordered by visiting http://queenofcoldcalling.com. Contact her at wendy@wendyweiss.com. Get Wendy’s free Special Report, How to Write an Effective Cold Calling Script, at http://www.queenofcoldcalling.com

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REALTOR® Magazine PRINT EDITION - February, 2008

It’s no secret that search engine behemoth Google is muscling in on Microsoft’s territory with its suite of online applications called Google Apps. One of the big drawbacks of using these application tools is that you can only work on them when you are online. That is about to change in a big way…

Free Software Applications On Demand

Google Apps is an online suite of applications including email, chat, calendar and document creation (word processing, spreadsheets and slide presentations). Google Docs is the part of Google Apps that allows you to create, edit, share and manage these documents all through your Web browser for free. Do these online word processor, spreadsheet and slide applications have the same bells and whistles as Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint? Not even close. However, for many people and businesses they have enough to get the job done and, in addition to no cost, have the added advantage of allowing collaboration with multiple parties through the Web. Also, you never have to worry about backup because everything is stored on the Google servers.

The problem is, very few people are always online which is a big limitation to the practicality of using these applications. Google in its prescient wisdom recognized this early on and has started a beta program to address this issue for its Google Docs applications and for any other online application from any vendor.

Putting Online Applications Into High Gear

Google Gears is an ambitious initiative that promises to supercharge the ability of online applications to work just like the ones installed on your computer. It is essentially an open source browser extension which enables web applications to provide offline functionality using the following JavaScript APIs (Application Programming Interface):

• Store and serve online application resources on your computer

• Store application data on your computer in a fully-searchable relational database

• Run asynchronous Javascript to help your online applications run faster

The importance and impact of Google Gears cannot be overstated. It is the last piece of the online application puzzle that will finally bring online applications into the mainstream as viable software alternatives to the ones you install on your computer. And remember, Google isn’t just creating this for their Google Docs suite of applications. They are building it so any vendor offering online applications can provide offline functionality. No wonder Microsoft is concerned.

Google Gears is still in beta testing and will eventually be released as a finished product. When it is stand back and watch the entire world of online applications suddenly become viable (and much less costly) alternatives to traditional “shrink wrap” software we’ve all come to love / hate for so long. And when that happens, everyone wins.

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.

Mr. Internet is the alter-ego of Michael J. Russer, an internationally recognized Internet speaker, trainer, author, and strategic consultant to the real estate industry. He’s dedicated to helping real estate professionals leverage their people skills into profit on the Internet. Send your Internet questions to help@askmrinternet.com or you can visit his Website at http://www.russer.com

This article is reprinted in its entirety from the February 2008 issue of REALTOR® Magazine by permission of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®. Copyright © 2008 All Rights Reserved other than mentioned above. Mr. Internet® is a registered trademark and IEC™ and Ask Mr. Internet!™ are trademarks of RUSSER Communications.

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My friend and colleague Brad Carroll, CEO of Dakno, a Real Estate Marketing Company turned me on to something that was just so phenomenal that I had to write about it immediately. So often we talk about “leads.” I have even made the mistake at times of using this term. First, I want to apologize for the usage of this term. From here on out, I will make a conscious effort to forsake this term, because these are people looking for information. When I reduce them to a lead, I have done nothing more than make them a number, or put them into a category. The truth is these are people who want some information, maybe it is not specific to what you were hoping for, but have you ever thought that these people are asking for information from you because they find you trustworthy, you have relevant information on your website, or possibly they may have nowhere else to turn. Even if this is not the type of individual you were hoping to speak to, the fact that they contacted you puts the ball in your court. You have a responsibility to contact them, even if it is with a recommendation to someone else. To ignore these people is the worst thing you could do for your future business. These are people, these are people with questions, these are people with needs and wants, and they are looking for someone to help them. Are you that person? Watch this video, compliments of www.1000wattblog.com and I think you will see what I mean.
I am not a lead

Another Prescription for your Internet w-Health.

Jay Izso, “Dr Jay”, M.S., Broker
Internet Doctor
1641 Stannard Trail
Raleigh, NC 27612
919.369.2121
Toll Free: 800.506.0633
FAX: 800.506.0633

doc@InternetDr.com

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If one picture is worth a thousand words, how many is one web page worth? 2,000? 500? Or as many as you can squeeze out of your copywriter? The correct answer is the minimal number you need to tell each page’s story clearly and concisely. This is one situation where less is definitely more.

In the newspaper biz, important stories are placed “above the fold,” meaning that readers can see them right away without having to unfold the paper. You should adopt the same philosophy for your web site. If you think of the bottom of the screen as the fold line, your headline and the copy that’s most critical to your business should appear on one screen, without the reader having to scroll down. It’s my firm, however unscientific, opinion that readers shouldn’t have to scroll more than once on any web page. If your copy requires continuous scrolling, try one of these options: 1. Judicious editing, or 2. Create a new page.

In order to maintain the “above the fold” format, it is important to stick to one main idea on each page of your site. Your home page should offer an introduction to your site stressing the main points of your business. The copy should state your location (I am amazed at the number of real estate sites that don’t name a city on the home page!) and your target market: e.g. first time homebuyers, downsizers, urban lofts. This insures that visitors to your site know they’re in the right place within the first 15 seconds of reading your copy. If so, they’ll be likely to click onto your other pages for more information. If not, they’ll know right away to keep on surfing for an agent who’s working in the right market.

Each subsequent page should stick to the one theme per screen idea. Again, get to the most important points right in the headline and lead paragraph. Try to keep all the copy on one screen or, at least, within one downward scroll.

Making it easy for your potential customers to read and navigate through your site makes it more likely to capture their interest—and their business.

Lois H. Feinstein produces powerful and compelling Web copy, marketing materials, newsletters and brochures for Realtors® and other business professionals. She is Chair of the Real Estate Virtual Assistants (REVA) Copywriting Guild and a member of the International Virtual Assistants Association, and has written for a number of magazines including 5280 and Denver Woman. Her business, I Can Do That!, www.i-cando-that.com, is based in Denver, Colorado.

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As a manager, when considering how to motivate others, understanding the internal nature of motivation is critical. Motivation, like attitude, cannot be worn on the outside like a raincoat- it has to come from within. As everything we accomplish is related to how we feel, our attitudes towards work, life and our goals are something we should be checking on the hour rather than by the year.

Just how critical is motivation? One manager joked that he would rather have a stupid motivated person than a smart unmotivated person! Why? Because motivation creates momentum and momentum is the force that makes money, unifies strong teams and builds businesses up to their true potential.

First and foremost, good managers must cause motivation to happen internally, rather than causing employees merely to produce the desired external results. When properly motivated, those results will flow naturally. If you want an employee to increase productivity on a certain task, for example, but you micromanage the task until it is done to your satisfaction, you will have put so much of your own effort into the process that you will not be able to focus as successfully on your own work, not to mention other employees or colleagues. In addition, the employee is not really able to feel proud of his or her accomplishments and is thus not as motivated to work harder at the next opportunity. When managers simply cause results, the end effect is exhaustion for the manager, inferior performance from the employee, and a decreasing sense of motivation for all in question.

In order to feel motivated, people need to take pride in what they are doing. That pride extends to all levels and all participants of any given job. No matter how many things are on the to-do list, do one thing at a time and make sure each one is completed. There is nothing more un-motivating than feeling like you’re simply running on a treadmill, with too many tasks to ever successfully finish and/or with ever-incomplete tasks that are a standard part of the operating procedure. If you consistently promote the expectation of success throughout every project, employees are more likely to feel motivated at each step, expecting subsequent successes. In this vein, remember that it is always better to have one thing completely done than many simply hanging in the balance.

Listen and listen well. One of the biggest de-motivating factors for an employee is an employer who does not listen. Listening is often a difficult skill to learn but an incredibly important component of promoting self-accountability in all members of a team. Tune in before you turn on and remember to listen first, and talk second.

Be available and approachable. Employers can significantly affect the driving force of their employee’s inner motivation by having an approachable management style. While letting the employee do the job, also let them give you feedback on the project. When everyone is involved in the planning stage, everyone understands and appreciates how he or she contributes to the final outcome.

Lead by example. You may have heard it before but it’s true. Successful managers agree that the best way to get excellent performance is to set a stellar example. Your own motivation—as evidenced by your actions—in leadership and your hard work speak volumes more than anything that your words could say to a member of your team.

Have your expectations in place. Starting with the hiring process, keep in mind that a person lacking enthusiasm and motivation from the start will be much more difficult to motivate than someone who comes in with these innate qualities.

Keep track! In order to track motivation, have managers and employees set goals for themselves. Write those goals down, keep them in a visible place and make sure to verbalize them. Once a week, discuss with your team how close you are to reaching your target.

Let them know. As a project progresses, give everyone involved sincere feedback. With a positive but honest bent, let people know how they are doing and give them the space and time to adjust their actions and working plan to reflect the feedback received. Positive reinforcement should be given for results! It could be anything from a special parking spot, a badge, a cash bonus, a plaque, or a gift certificate for dinner. Remember this: people like recognition and recognition helps drive motivation.

On the other hand, don’t be afraid to let people know when they are under-performing. Confrontation in the form of sincerely addressing the issue instead of attacking the person takes finesse. It’s truly an art and it leads to enhanced motivation. Begin by appreciating what the person you are confronting brings to the table. Feed the person’s ego a bit while reinstating your commitment to that person. Create a performance agreement that relies on accountability. Track the performance, show the person their improvement and reward them. The simple knowledge that one is becoming increasingly successful at his or her job after previously struggling is a great motivator in and of itself.

Lastly, make sure to tell employees every day that you appreciate what they do. Feeling listened to and cared about helps to create a motivated team that gets results that benefit everyone!

With a client list that reads like a who’s who of the real estate industry, Ken Goodfellow (Coach Ken) brings experience and a proven track record to all his clients. As the CEO and Founder of CKG International (www.ckginternational.com
) he takes great pride in the caliber of the program offered. His proven coaching programs are highly regarded among real estate professionals as the top in the industry. In 2005 Ken was given the prestigious Business Coach of the year Award. On top of coaching Ken is widely known through out North America for his interactive and hard hitting speaking style that keeps audience wanting more. He focuses on how to make your business extremely successful.

Within his first year of being in real estate Ken became a top producer and maintained that level for five years. He then went on to build his own real estate company from the ground up, creating a firm that had 3 offices and over 150 agents. After achieving success with his business, Ken moved into the training business bringing all his experience with him.

With over 10 years in coaching, Ken is widely known for taking high producing agents and real estate companies to a level they never dreamed possible. www.ckginternational.com

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