The Likeability Guy

Uniqueability

Okay, so uniqueability is probably not a real word, but it should be. Since I sort of made it up, I guess I can make up my own definition also.

Uniqueability-To understand and appreciate the ability to be different then something else.

It’s not about just being different for the sake of being different, but rather understanding why you need to be different.

It’s that knowledge of knowing how and why to be different that will set you apart from others. This will affect you in product creation, marketing distribution, interviewing ability, personal relationships….basically every aspect of life.

When I say different, I don’t necessarily mean weird different, but more of a fresh approach different.

Take home builders for example. Especially the large scale ones. They have maintained the same thought of operations for years…more homes, faster construction, service is secondary. Believe it or not, this mantra holds even more true today for these companies, yet they still wonder why they continue to flounder.

I recently became affiliated with a new kind of home builder. A builder that is not in business to sell more homes than everyone, but rather a builder that desires to provide exceptional service at every single turn.

They are a company this is very small in personnel mainly because we have a core of people that all believe in the same goal. Great service first. We believe that when you genuinely take care of your customers ALL the time, the rest (profits / sales) will fall into place….and it has.

Diamond R Homes is truly a company that is the pure definition of uniqueability.

While every other builder operates on old methods and outdated thoughts, we operate on attitude and desire to help. While it is true we have over 50 years of home building experience in our core group, not a single one of us ever adopted the mentality of the big corporation.

For us, Uniqueability is defined by providing a TRUE Custom experience. The fun and joy we bring our customers is surpassed by nobody and our attitudes could not be more in sync as a group.

The way we feel is that if you want to buy the same generic (sticks and bricks) home, you can get that anywhere combined with mediocre to poor service. But if you want something better, something different and unique, you will want to check out Diamond R Custom Homes.

Be different then the rest for the right reasons, and the results will surprise you.

Diamond R Custom Homes

Diamond R Homes is a TRUE Custom Home Builder. Many people think “Custom” Builder just means an upper scale production home. It doesn’t.

TRUE Custom means YOU CHOOSE.

TRUE Custom means WE Cater to YOU.

TRUE Custom means 100% Unique.

At Diamond R Homes, we have assembled a small team of Fantastic People that share ONE COMMON Trait. WE ALL Strive to provide a unique and fantastic service oriented Experience.

Truthfully, we could provide many exciting services because our attitudes are ALL in alignment with helping others.
We selected Home Building because we have a combined 50 Years of unsurpassed success in the art of Creating Genuine Customer Happiness.

In that 50 years, we have amassed an abundance of usable knowledge in home design, personal connections, and systems that when combined to help you, create a TRUE Custom Experience.

Our goal is not to build many homes as fast as we can. Our Goal is to Help YOU build your Dream Home where you want it, how you want it. In undertaking that single act of genuine desire to help you, our market share has increased, but the mission remains the same.

At Diamond R Homes we subscribe whole heartedly with one of Zig Ziglar’s most impressive revelations, “If you help enough other people get what they want, you will get what you want.”

Diamond R Homes is a TRUE Custom Home Builder that operates in the Dallas / Fort Worth Marketplace. We WILL build on your lot, we WILL help you find and purchase a lot, we WILL design a home WITH you, and WILL provide Customer Service to Ridiculous Levels.

We don’t believe in building homes in a static environment. The world is a changing and dynamic place and so are the needs of our Customers. The ONLY way to provide the level of service that we do is to adapt our skills to your desires.

“Amazing Service is our Brand. Superior Home Building is our Medium.”

Can we Lose the Gloom and Doom already?

I gotta say, I am just about totally fed up with the doom and gloom media coverage and other such “world ending” mantras being thrown about by our countries leaders.

Let’s see here, we have Swine Flu, The New Great Depression, Wars, Terrorism…

This is all so ridiculous that there must be some agendas out there.

Let me tackle a couple of these items:

Swine Flu: The world is not going to succumb to some random strain of flu. In a regular year, approx 30,000 people die from the regular flu in the U.S. As of this morning, we have 1 death from the Swine Flu, yet it is the lead for every major news network and the President is actually addressing the issue.

A few years ago, the world was supposed to succumb to the Avian Bird flu…seems that turned out to NOT be the pandemic that was being reported.

The NEW Great Depression: Give me a break. Our country and the world is currently cycling through a downturn. We are NOT in a depression. After 8-10 years of consecutive record shattering growth and boom, we have scaled back. You can’t continue to peak year after year without a setback forever.

Many people have lost jobs due to the newer slowed down pace and many companies are now having to pay the piper for years of greed and bad management. I have had several close friends lose jobs as a result of this, but in less than a month, they are all now employed at new companies making the same amount of money. If we were in a depression, there would not be new jobs….

Everyone needs to take a step back and really think about what is being reported and why it is being reported. Do NOT take everything at face value, because very seldom is the published story the real story.

Media outlets like big ratings. Why? Because they don’t care about reporting news, they care about the advertising revenue that is received when ratings are high.

Political folks such as congress and even the President ALL have agendas. To further an agenda or goal you need your constituents (the public) to buy in. Fear is the Number One way to deliver a message as it gets to the emotional fabric of every human.

If you want to pass legislation to somewhat nationalize banking, what would you do? Perhaps report stories everyday of failing banks and the non-lending of money…

If you want to pass legislation to nationalize health care, what would you do? Perhaps pray on the fears of the public of a flu epidemic….

If you want to pass legislation and gain support for war funding, what would you do? Perhaps report each day of impending world doom from terrorism….

I’m not making political statements, I’m just saying, that all these people have agendas and your genuine well being is very seldom one of them. Don’t be so quick to believe what you read and hear. Use your common sense and start filtering out the nonsense.

Until the masses decide that no more of this is acceptable, nothing will change. Be an individual. Be a thinker. Be different. Don’t follow. Lead.

Doppler Radar Marketing

As I’m typing this here in Dallas / Fort Worth, we are under a severe weather storm warning. This time of year, we are pretty much always under the threat of a severe rain storm at some point during the day. Sometimes it rains, sometimes it doesn’t.

I started thinking though. When there is even a small hint of possible severe weather around here it glues people to their TVs. It could be rain, wind, snow, ice…you name it. It is “stop down” viewing when the weather person interrupts your regularly scheduled TV show to give an update.

What if you could tap into that kind of “stop down” reading for your marketing efforts? What would that entail? How could anyone possibly pull that off?

My thoughts are this:

1) Be Original…ALL the time. Don’t start out with original thoughts then revert to what everyone else in your business does.

2) Don’t be in people’s face ALL the time. It’s good to stay in touch and communicating with your fans, but I am referring to the emails, commercials, ads, etc, that are ALWAYS preaching “limited time” or “unique.” We all know that is crap. If you are selling something for one price today, I guarantee I can get if for the same price tomorrow. Stop lying to us. We are not that dumb.

3) Don’t always hold the details back from the public. If you are going to build up your skills, products, or whatever, then give us a taste. A good taste.

4) Don’t provide a million testimonials from people we don’t know and think we will hand our money over. I want to see a decent sample of your “uniqueness,” not just words.

Watching weather reports on TV and looking at their ratings, should be a message to everyone that it is still VERY possible to hold someone else’s attention span for longer then 2 minutes.

All you have to do is provide people with valuable information that has an impact on their life. The trick is creating your information in such a way that people have no doubt that you can have an impact on them.

When you do that. People will listen. Everything else is just noise.

How to Interview and Stand Out in a Crowd

For about the last 10 years or so getting a job wasn’t really that difficult.  It may not be a dream job, but for the most part you could go out and get one somewhere.  Times were good; employers would over hire because profits were up.  Well, the opposite is true today, so that means ONLY one thing: 

You MUST stand out amongst the crowd.

The days of being average in an interview are long gone.  There are just too many choices for employers.  The pool of available talent is at an all time high as many very intelligent and more qualified people are also vying for the same position.

I’m going to give you some tips.  Not the same boring, tired tips that you read on the Internet, but actual tips of what to do…..or not to do in an interview.  If you have not interviewed in quite some time or are fresh out of college, you are going to need some advice…real advice that actually applies.  Not “paper” advice.  Meaning stuff that sounds good on paper, but when applied is totally useless.

Remember this:
People hire people they like.  Likeability is a HUGE player in the interview setting.  Use it wisely.

1) Be Confident.  NOT Arrogant.  There is a large difference.  Confidence is demonstrated more in your body mannerisms and voice inflection than in what you are actually saying.  Don’t confuse yourself here.  When you speak, have a strong voice tone, this doesn’t mean loud, it means have conviction.  Believe what you are saying.  YES, it is very obvious when people are unsure of themselves.  Your voice gives it away immediately.

Sit up straight.  Not so straight that you look awkward as if you’re posing for a family picture, but straight so that you appear taller in the chair.  This is a visual illusion you are creating for your future employer. Sitting up straight is a subliminal message you send that you are a go-getter.  It says you have the confidence to be different than others. 

When you slouch down, it comes across as lazy and passive.  Be conscious of this the entire time your in the interview…because other people won’t be.  They will start out sitting in a strong position, but as they get more comfortable, they will slowly slouch down.

2) Understand how to tell a story.  This is where so many people fall of the path of getting hired.  Inevitably at some point during an interview, the hiring manager will ask some sort of generic question about how you worked as a team or led a group.  It WILL happen so be prepared.  But don’t answer it the way they expect.

They think you will tell some boastful story of finding a resolution to some problem that nobody else could figure out.  They expect you to tell them your “hero” story.  Don’t fall for it.  That is what everyone is going to say.  All the candidates will speak of how great they performed or how they found the magic antidote.  Blah.  It’s all false bravado.

Take the interviewer down a different path.  Give them a different story.  Provide them just a peek at something personal…but not too personal.  Don’t give them the details about “what” happened.  Show them the details of “why” you acted as you did.  What I mean is this; instead of running through a boring story of some random accomplishment, talk about why you did what you did.

 Boring Example:  In my old position, we had an issue arise with one of our vendors.  After going in circles looking for an answer, I got everyone together, devised a plan and we all put it into action.  The result was basically that we fixed the problem and everyone was happy.  BORING!  Everyone has that same basic story.  You know what I mean.

 Better Example:  In my old position, we had an issue arise with one of our vendors.  As a result, I met with the effected parties to get a better understanding of how this impacted them.  They told me that if they didn’t get this issue resolved quickly, they were going to lose some of their customers which would result in some people losing their jobs.  At that point, my mission became helping these people keep their jobs.  So my team and I quickly got together an emergency meeting; I explained the ramifications to everyone and the lives of the people it would affect.  In short order, we band together, took care of the issue and saved these people and their families from losing their jobs.  To this date, this vendor is our most loyal and dependable customer, not because we helped them with an issue, but because we cared about their people.

What story do you think sends a better message? Which story illustrates a better mental picture?  Which story do you think the hiring manager will most likely want more details about?

When you tell a story that shows your passion and you turn it into a situation that people can get involved with emotionally on some level, you have achieved creating a memory for someone.  Make yourself that memory.

3) Make them Feel your “why.”  Do NOT leave the interview without having the hiring manager Feel your “why” reason for wanting the job.  This is not a talking statement about how motivated you are or any other boring clichéd talking points. 

This is the “why” you must have this job.  This is an emotional reason not a statement of fact.  Share with them that your reason is to allow your wife / husband to stay at home and take care of the kids and your motivation is providing a better life for your family. 

Whatever your “real situation” is, don’t be afraid to share it…within reason.  Don’t be creepy honest, be a “real” person honest.  This is how you make someone feel your motivation and character.  Cliché words and statements don’t help you in an interview.  Everyone says the same old stuff.

Here’s the truth.  The interviewer can read and they already have your resume.  When you show up, it’s a waste of everyone’s time if you are simply going to cover the bullet points listed on it.  You most likely got the interview because someone at that company was either intrigued by your resume, or a friend or family member turned in a resume for you with a little build up about what a great person you are.  Don’t waste the face to face opportunity by being ordinary and boring.

You must grip the interviewer with your reasons and emotion based stories.  Facts and statements make you a robot.  Stories and emotions make you a motivated person that any employer would feel lucky to have.  People hire people they like and respect.  An interview only lends itself to showing a small snippet of you.  Make yourself memorable and don’t do what every other candidate does. 

If you want to help a friend or family member with an upcoming interview, do them a favor and pass this on to them.

Adversity - How do you respond?

In these times of great doubt and much uncertainty, we have to dig deep within ourselves to simply maintain the status quo.  This is somewhat of a feat, in and of itself these days.  It seems there are quite a lot of folks taking steps backwards, which is very understandable.  The cliché is that when you take two steps back, you need to take three steps forward.  This kind of talk always sounds good on paper, but is somewhat more difficult to actually put into practice and make a reality.

This is where your internal fortitude should come to the forefront.  Unfortunately, this isn’t some well thought out plan that can be prepared for in advance.  For instance, there are tons of people losing their jobs each and every day, many of whom felt they were secure in their position.  Would it be normal for everyone to always be prepared to lose their job in advance of it happening?  Not a chance.  Then they would perform horribly each day as one foot is already out the door.

Before I continue, let me ask you this question.

How long do you have to live?

Don’t know do you?  I hope most people do not know that answer.  So, why do I ask?  Well, to me, since you have no guarantees in life, why would you ever give up on anything or quit fighting.  Each day you have, is a blessing. If some company doesn’t want you around anymore, it is their loss.  Here’s the deal.  So many corporations are run so poorly that they don’t know which way is up.  Rather than making intelligent choices to maintain business operations in this economy, they make poor choices that will eventually lead them to bankruptcy or irrelevance…basically the same thing.

Here is what I mean.  If I am a CEO, and need to make employee cutbacks, I don’t just randomly fire or layoff anyone.  I make 100% certain that all employees that have shown great dedication, production, intelligence, and have shown amazing desire remain with me and the company.  Instead, these companies make silly decisions to lay off entire segments of their company, without regard to any of the traits that I mentioned above.  So, some guy that is a horrible employee that doesn’t even like his job maintains his position because he worked in the lucky department that didn’t get let go; but the smart and innovative guy that proved his worth ten times over gets the axe, because it was time for his department to be terminated.

This is really one of the dumbest things that companies do, but they simply don’t get it.  So, don’t dwell on the decisions that ignorant people make.  Yes, it does affect you in the short term, but try to look at it in a different way.  If your company is being managed poorly, the future is not bright for the company or your position.  They did you a favor.  So move on to something new.  If you possess the traits of desire, dedication, productivity, and intelligence, you will fit in wonderfully anywhere.  These things cannot be taught.  Any corporation will need you, more than you need it.  Companies are only as good as their employees, even if they don’t understand that.

I say to you again.  How long do you have to live?

Why spend even a second of your limited time being angry or dwelling on the past.  Step up and move to the next segment of your life.  What is done is done.  You can’t change the course of events that have already occurred.  You can only enhance the opportunities that lie in front of you. 

Due to many events that I have personally experienced in my life, both good and bad, I have learned one very important lesson.  Always be true to yourself and never sell yourself short.  There are very few other items that can be directly controlled by you.  Yes, you can influence many factors in life, but you must always remain true to who you are.

Four traits that will always allow you to overcome adversity

Desire / Passion:  The fire that you feel inside of you to achieve something great.

Dedication:  The ability to stay the course and see your goal completed in its entirety.

Productivity:  Long term results of continuous dedication and desire, working together.

Intelligence:  Knowing what to do and how to make it happen.

Always remember that regardless of how bad you feel, or how bad your circumstances are, the feeling and the situation will pass.  Adversity is simply a strength builder.  Think of it as your opportunity to grow stronger than you thought possible.  I know that this is easier said than done.   I assure you that any adverse scenario that you face, will only be a small fleeting moment in your life that could be filled with opportunity if you allow it.

True personal strength can only be measured by your actions when you face adversity straight in the eye. You can persevere.  Adversity is like a bully at school.  The only way to deal with a bully is to face him head on.   If you give in to the bully’s demands, you will be taken advantage of forever and will never grow as a person.  This is your time to shine.   Stand up tall, be strong in your convictions, and move along to your next level of success.

When I was young, I went through some very adverse circumstances that I almost succumb to.  But I didn’t.  It took me a while to figure it out, but when I did, I knew I had learned the greatest lesson in life.  Fortunately for me, it came early and I have prospered as a person ever since.  I know in my heart that no matter what adverse challenge gets in my way, as long as my family and I have our health, I can overcome anything.  You can do the same.  You just need to believe it; because I am speaking the truth.

Goals and Reflection-How to Learn From YOUR Past

This time of year, the “goal” conversation becomes the popular thing to do.  Managers want all of their employees to tell them how productive they will be for the New Year.  The New Year always seems to bring new optimism and hope for better results.  It never fails.  The calendar rolls over from December to January and WHOLLA!  Let the good times roll!!

Perhaps you sense a bit of sarcasm from me.  It’s not that I don’t think the new optimism is good, because I do.  It’s that I don’t believe in the fact that simply changing the calendar warrants misguided hope.  What is always left out of the goal conversation is reflection.  By reflection, I mean it is important to take the necessary time to digest the results of the previous year.

1. What did you learn? 
2. How long did it take to learn it?
3. Why did you learn it?

In most goal making scenarios, your manager asks you for your goals for the new year. You go back to your office and somewhat haphazardly create a results oriented goal.  You do very little thinking of the previous year, except have the fleeting thought of, “boy, I hope this year is better.”  Then you send your goals to the manager.  BAM!  The year ends, you fall short of your goals and start the process all over.

Obviously, this scenario does not encompass everyone, but unfortunately it does capture about 80% of the goal making public.  So, with this knowledge, let me explain how to properly reflect on your actual previous results before throwing a dart and hoping to hit a new fake goal you set for yourself.  Learn from your real past and you WILL create a much better future.

First, you MUST reflect on what you learned in the previous year.  I’ll equate this to my profession and expertise of new home sales.  In 2008, I learned that the people that have the desire to purchase a new home, have a whole new set of buying motives and fears that MUST be dealt with.  People have a very real fear of job loss, a very real fear of not being able to sell their current home due to market conditions lowering their value, and a very real fear of not qualifying for a home loan.  Have these problems always existed?  Yes.  But in the old days, these buyers were mostly ignored because they represented a small piece of the market.  Today, they must be addressed, because they represent 95% of the marketplace. 

**When searching for what you learned, be specific.  You must be able to grab on to something tangible.  Broad strokes of thought will not gain you any new productive information.

Second, how long did it take to learn this new change?  The idea behind this step is to gain an understanding of your awareness and also learn what kind of time response to change you have.  For me, I was ahead of my personal goal pace for 2008 until about the middle of June.  When my personal goals began to fall short, I knew it was time to sit down and reflect on my daily prospect encounters on a much closer scale.  It’s crucial to become aware that something needs to change. 

**The idea is to improve your future response time to make the necessary changes to keep yourself relevant and current.  The market changes quickly.  If you want to keep up, you must be open and aware of the needed changes.

The third item to understand is why you bothered to learn about this new change.  To go back to my example, I knew I had to sit down and analyze my process because something had changed.  I wasn’t getting the same positive results from my same questions and inquiries with new clients.  For me, I needed to try a new type of questioning tactic that would net the answers I needed to properly help people.  As times became more difficult economically over the summer, people become a bit more withdrawn and less forthcoming. 

The questions I would ask in April, no longer gained good results in June.  If I had not learned this new change in the market, I would have missed countless future sales and probably would have wanted to blame the economy for a bad sales year.  As it turned out, I continued to sell very well through the remainder of the year, finished in the top 3 for my company and I don’t have to blame my failure on anything, since I chose to be successful.

**Understanding that you need to learn a new skill to maintain or gain new success is really the first of the three steps that will occur.  Remember that when you start to slide from your goals or ambitions, it’s okay to revisit some of your current strategies…perhaps they need a tweak or two.

Take note that changing your strategy multiple times during the year is not failing.  It is learning.  There is no failure if you learn something from the experience.  You can only fail if you give up or if you choose to not learn. 

While you are reflecting on last year’s results and experiences, you don’t have to do it by yourself.  Get together with a co-worker or a few co-workers and brainstorm about your experiences.  Try and figure out what didn’t go as planned and why you think that was.

The ability to have future success is without question directly related to your learned knowledge in your past.  You hold your own key to success.  I urge you to tap into yourself, grab that key and unlock all of your skills.  It’s a new year, the game has started and you have the ball.  What are you going to do with it?

Perception vs Reality

My oh my, how the Real Estate sales world has changed in the last few months.  I have seen once proud home builders close their doors and “top” producers of years past, leave the business altogether.  It seems it was such a short time ago that people were begging to try and get into the business.  Now it seems that everyone has one foot out the door. 

So what really happened here?  Truth be told, greed got the best of people.  Home builders got blinded by the money rolling in the door and sales people got lazy with the ease that people were buying homes.  When the marketplace changed, the builders and sales people didn’t adapt to it.  I heard Division Presidents say things like, “Our process is good, we are just in a lull.  We will bounce back.”  Wrong, your company is now nearing bankruptcy.  I would hear sales people say things like, “I can sell, I always have, I just need to talk to more people.”  Wrong, you are now out of the business or will be soon.

My goal isn’t to be harsh, it is to be REAL.  This is what happened and is still happening for companies and sales offices across the country.  If you don’t get it, you can’t get better.  What worked 5 years ago or even 6 months ago is out dated and extinct.  You can be a victim of the changing times or you can CHOOSE to be successful. 

Reality Check:

• There ARE LESS people buying homes today.
• Loans ARE more difficult for home buyers to obtain.
• The Sales approach you used with success last year is outdated and ineffective.
• The company that approaches home sales without much flexibility is a future failure.

So there you have it.  That is a very short synopsis of today’s truth.  So what are you going to do about it?  Are you going to give up and fail?  Are you ready to concede defeat?

That’s Nonsense! 

If you have stayed strong over the last 2 years, you are not a quitter.  If you have kept a positive attitude for the better part of this year, you are a winner.  If you have provided top quality service to your homebuyers while being surrounded by hostility and uneasiness, you are a leader.  Since you are not a quitter, but rather a leader that is also a winner, it’s time to gain the right knowledge in today’s selling climate.

1. Forget the sales techniques that you used last year, they are old and tired.  Home buyers are way more educated than in years past.  If you use any technique that doesn’t involving asking tons of “why” and “what” questions, you are missing the boat.  As I have advocated before, you must be absolutely agenda free with the single exception of helping the person in front of you.

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2. There are less people in the buying arena today then any time in recent years.  This doesn’t mean that you need more people to speak with; it means you need to do a better job with the people that you are speaking to.  We all want more people to talk to, but that isn’t going to happen right now.  Don’t waste or give up any opportunity that you have with someone.  Take advantage of ALL your opportunities.  In today’s market it is very possible that you speak with 4-5 people per week as opposed to 10-15 just a year ago.  Its time to be more productive with fewer people.

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3. Loans are more difficult to come by these days.  That is just a fact.  This means that you need to become familiar with loan programs and options that may be available to future buyers.  This is not something that you can leave to a loan officer unless you enjoy being less productive or leaving your future income in someone else’s hands.  If you have a prospect that is willing and able to buy, you must educate them on how they can get a loan.  People are scared and you must have the right knowledge to ease their mind.

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4. Flexibility within home builders is mandatory.  All those home builders with a purchasing and operations directed approach are failing in this market and will continue to fail.  Companies that take the approach of very limited flexibility or are not focused on buyers, will become extinct.  This style of leadership will not succeed today.  These companies requires a strong home buying climate to sell homes because they focus on the internal operations of the company rather than meeting buyers needs.  Any equation that puts the main focus on anything except the sales department and meeting current buying demands will be unsuccessful unless the market is red hot.

So there you have it.  These are four hard hitting topics that will tip the balance of success back into your hands.  We are selling in a different climate, so please do not keep using the same old tools with the same old thought process.  Be different, gain new skills, be a better listener, be flexible, and take advantage of all your opportunities.

Successful people and the future leaders of real estate will make a name for themselves in this market.  Anybody can have success during easy times, but only true skilled professionals still have success in tough times.  Be committed, stay confident in yourself and be willing to change and learn new things.

Here’s a little dose of reality

Okay, so here’s the thing.  We have banks closing their doors and prominent businesses shutting down operations.  Every day that you look up, something new is happening to discourage your generally rosy outlook. 

I’m not going to write an article that ignores the fact that the buying dynamic for people has changed.  Today’s article will not feature a generic “be happy” and “go get ‘em” story.  We have a real problem to deal with and we need real solutions to overcome it.

I have lost count of how many people each day let me know what a “bad market” it is.  They tell me that they are fearful of the future and that they worry about the security of their jobs.  Out of fear, people are less willing to part with their hard earned money.  There seems to be a whole new appreciation for earning money and the risk of taking on any future debt.

Personally, I say congratulations for waking up!!  I wish it didn’t take the collapse of the banking system to get there, but if that’s what it takes, so be it.  People have been far too careless with their money over the last decade and the banks have done everything in their power to make sure they got their hooks into you.

I’m going to stop short of giving an economic lesson or an explanation of the free market system that exists in a capitalistic society, however…………..I SAY……..

It’s time to man up (this is just a term, no offense to the ladies)!

• Can you control the collapse of a greedy bank that has profited for the last decade on many unsuspecting consumers?  No!
• Can you control the doom and gloom reports the media generates each day to boost their ratings?  No!
• Can you do anything about this new “bailout” legislation that was passed?  No!

You have to tune out as much of the nonsense as possible.  I don’t mean live in “la la” land, but if you buy into everything you read and hear, it will consume you and begin to shape your attitude.  At this moment, more than any other in recent memory, our buyers (consumers) need REAL help. 

People still need items such as homes, cars, clothing, food, recreational toys, etc.  They fear, however, the loss of their money much more than the anticipation of gain right now.  That has always been the balance.  In the past, most people were at an even level of “fear of loss” and “anticipation of gain”.  As it stands right now, the scales are severely tipped to fear of loss.

In the last two months, I have sold 16 homes.  To give perspective, my chief competitor has sold 4 homes during the same time period.  I don’t say this as some effort to brag, but rather to give some perspective.  Are their less people in the market right now?  Yes.  Are people still buying?  Yes!

I have found that people WANT to buy homes; they are just WAAAY more apprehensive about doing it.  This means that you can either do your same routine or try something new.  In general, there are two types of salespeople.  There is the very outgoing and fearless person that is always asking people to make the purchase at every turn or the extremely relaxed person that will do anything to not appear as pushy.

Well, it’s time for BOTH to change.  People need help and they NEED you to give it to them.  Lose the agenda!  This is going to sound ridiculous, but make an effort to not focus on the immediate sale.  Yes, I said don’t focus on the sale.  In August, I decided it was time for a new approach. 

I made the decision that when I am speaking with someone that walks in my door or calls me on the phone, I will help them with zero preconditions or notions of dollar signs dancing in my head.

In the last two months, I have not had to ask for any of the 16 sales that I have made.   Not a single one.  I simply made every possible effort to learn about what they need, and in doing so I provided people with answers that tipped the scales so far in the “anticipation of gain” direction, that fear of loss become a moot point.

I won’t say that this approach has worked with everyone that I have spoken with, as some people walk in and feel a sense of entitlement that I cannot overcome enough to provide any real value.  (This is few and far between.)  People like this try and capitalize on the “bad market” scenario and are just looking for hand-outs and freebies.  Don’t waste your time with them, as you will rarely ever provide enough value for them to really open up to allow you to help them anyway.

So there it is.  Forget the negative nonsense news about the collapse of the economy.  I promise life will go on and people will still live their lives.  It’s time to step up and help.  Drop the same old sales focus and remember that people will be speaking with you with deep reservations about fear of loss.  You will know when you have tipped the balance because they will ask you what they need do next.

If you try and force it, you both lose.  If you are too passive, you both lose.  It’s all about helping without preconditions or agendas.  It is crucial to understand in advance what consumers are feeling.  Without this knowledge, it is hard to disarm people and help them effectively.

The good news is that you KNOW how people are feeling because we are ALL consumers going through the same stuff.  Since you know the problem, and the solution is disarming the fear of loss, you can give real help.

Think of it like a video game.  For every helpful answer that you provide, you get to advance to the next level.  When you have given them all the guidance that they require to move forward, the sale is made and the game is won!  If you don’t give any help, you can’t move to the next level.  In this scenario, nobody will ever win the game.

Have no doubt.  It works.  More people just need to go out and do it!

How to sift through ALL the B.S. and find the substance!

Every four years, we find ourselves in an awkward position as Americans.  We are presented with two candidates of whom we are to decide who would be the better leader.

We get bombarded on a daily basis about why each candidate is going to be the greatest President ever.  We are told every four years that THIS election is the most important election of our lives.

Forgive me for saying this, but what a silly process this has become.   Where are the resumes?  Where is the list of REAL accomplishments?

It seems like we have an inaccurate and incomplete way to decide on the leader of the free world.  We get inundated with slanted commercials, have to fight through the media bias, and then are told to vote for person “x”, because person “y” is not really capable.

Geez.  No pressure there.

For me, I think the most amusing part of the whole process is listening to the speeches.  It has almost become like someone running for Student Council in Junior High School.  “I will lower taxes, make it affordable for this, get rid of that, make our enemies respect us, less homework, better vending machines….”

Every candidate for both parties virtually says the same thing.  Who are we supposed to believe?  Well, I have a simple solution.

This is what we should ALL be given.

1. A Complete Resume of Both Candidates (No Fluff-Just the Facts prepared by a neutral 3rd party)
2. A Complete list of Accomplishments (This entails initiatives presented and ability to work as a team player)
3. References from actual people that have benefited from commitments kept by that person (These MUST be references over a period of time of some length that show hands on dedication)

If these items sound familiar, it’s because that is what’s required of any other human being trying to obtain a job.  For some reason, these are not the requirements for the candidates that are running for the Leader of the Free World.

Presidential elections are a great case study on how to learn to sift through all the B.S and find the substance.   There is a great deal of substance to be found in these elections, but it seems to get buried in the political “junk”.

Let’s look at a few things:

• If a candidate consistently speaks of doing things when they are elected, but has zero history of taking that action at any point in their life, they are probably not going to change the world.  This is called B.S.
• If a candidate has done nothing of relevance in the recent past, but speaks of great accomplishment in their distant past, perhaps this person is beyond their prime.  This is called B.S.
• If a candidate speaks of lowering your taxes, but also presents many new initiatives and new high cost programs…your taxes WILL be going up.  Don’t be fooled.  This is called B.S.

How to find the Truth

The proof, as they say, is in the pudding.  Forget ALL the rhetoric and tune out the media.  (Yes, it’s tough.)

1. Look at actual accomplishments.
2. Listen to what their co-workers have said about them. (Post-candidacy comments from co-workers are meaningless, as they will be biased.  Look for comments that were made about them before they ran for President.  This involves some simple searching on Google.)

Focus on Character, Integrity, and Values.  (Everything else is just clutter that is designed to manipulate the election process.)

Character is not defined by someone else, it is not defined in a promotional speech, and it is not defined in an advertisement.  Character is defined by the body of work you have performed in your life, personal experiences that have shaped your views, and in the way you treat everyone you encounter.

Integrity is not a buzzword.  It is what you do when everyone is looking and it is what you do when nobody is looking.  When those two match, you have integrity.  When they are different and they change constantly, you have no integrity.

Values are your compass.  They give you direction when you are confused and they show you the path when you are lost.  Values don’t change.  They are constant and they are consistent.  Values are your facts.  They are what you know to be true in your heart.