How to Manage Yourself
August 8th, 2007 Posted in Curt's Articles, How To Sell HomesHave you ever received that phone call from a manager towards the end of the month in which they ask, “How many sales are you going to do before the end of the month?” When you received this call were you in the middle of prospecting and somewhat annoyed that your manager called to ask this? In your mind, did you think, “I’m not sure, I’m trying as hard as I can, don’t they know that.” Then, for some reason, you throw out a random number that may or may not happen.
If this isn’t you, then you are in the vast minority of sales people, as this is a common occurrence in most offices around the country. The reason these calls take place is because, like you, your manager has someone asking them the same question. There are ways to avoid this conversation from occurring, or at least lowering the frequency of it.
At the outset of each week, start to write a quick little email to your manager that shows your top five list of current prospects. Write a little bit about each one, something like their name and why they have not purchased yet, then write down your honest feeling of when or if they will buy. By doing this, you are saving your manager from making a phone call and saving yourself from having to be caught “off guard” and throwing out a random sales number.
By simply making this tiny extra effort, you will be doing several things. First, you will be showing your manager that you are on top of your prospects and diligently working them. Second, you are saving your manager a phone call to ask precisely the same information that you have provided. Third, it will force you to organize your top prospects, which will create a greater urgency internally for you to work on converting them into sales.
Do this same exercise for your backlog buyers. After you make your weekly phone calls, make a note of any new information from the buyer, construction, or mortgage and write them on your backlog spreadsheet. After this is done, email it to your manager. This is an excellent way to let your boss know that you are staying on top of your backlog and it tells them that you are aware of the latest news for each buyer. The other thing it does is that it prevents you from taking the grief of having your manager learn news about a particular issue regarding a buyer before you have briefed them. When this happens, it portrays an image that you are not aware of a particular situation.
Have you ever gone through a dry period where it seems like there are not many prospects walking through the door, and the ones that are have no interest in the purchase of a home? This is the best time to become self-managed. In times of a sales drought, the last thing we as sales people want to be asked is, “What happened?”
In times like these, let your manager in on what you are doing to create traffic or sales. Send them an email about your proposal on how to get your community going again. Give them a detailed strategy on your thoughts about why the sales have stopped or slowed down and then detail out your plan to generate more sales. Anytime there is a downturn in sales activity, use the opportunity to make a change. Whether or not your manager decides to implement your idea is not really the focus; it is that you have taken time to analyze the situation and created a strategy to improve. Efforts like this are proactive and are viewed as such.
Being a self-managed person will endear you to your manager in most situations. In essence, you are allowing them more time to spend on other matters. By taking control of your situation, you are sending the message that you are on top of your current buyers and are working diligently on gaining new sales. If you want, you can even think of this for selfish purposes, the more information you provide your manager, the less calls and community visits you will receive which will allow you more time to focus on your activities.