Ask buyers what they want (and I do every chance I get) and they’ll tell you at length, with gestures, that they don’t want to get "sold" on a marketing pitch, they want to "buy" the real thing. That is, buyers want the facts so they can clearly understand what they’ll get and what they won’t get. They want plain language with the emphasis on clarity, so they can make informed decisions, free of any regret. That’s buyer friendly! A novel idea?

Social media has enabled a lot of conversations and revelations - and a few revolutions - but its true potential is still overlooked by too many professional real estate sellers, including those who add all the social media icons and iterations to advertising and marketing.

Social media has the power to spark lifelong connections through informative behind-the-scenes insight and creative enlightenment. This shared knowledge spurs social media "receivers" to spread the word to their friends and family. The resulting connected knowledge communities represent benefits for participants and long-term business opportunities for knowledge-sharing organizations and professionals. For instance, professional real estate sellers could translate this general truth about social media into specific connections with potential real estate buyers, and accomplish sustained business growth instead of settling for a sale or two today.

The focus on selling this real estate listing or selling this "unit" in this new home development made business sense when print media was king. Short-term thinking was reinforced by print media, itself short-lived. The newspaper that carried ads for listings and new homes ended up in the garbage within hours. Advertising, marketing... everything started over again the next day, and the next.

Websites, blogs, podcasts, and social media postings can have longevity on the net with a staying power that was never possible in print media.

• Online longevity lasts as long as value persists. This means useful, easy-read, accurate content with depth and insight has long-term value over flash-in-the-banner advertising or marketing.
• Online conversations and connections that share genuine real estate buying and ownership smarts with wanna-buyers, turn them into determined buyers who understand how to make the most of their purchasing power while ensuring they don’t end up "cash poor, house rich." This transformation makes them committed supporters of their knowledge source.
• Online chat-style opportunities, including those enabled by smartphone aps, can offer the same type of support-group strength and momentum for wanna-buyers as these empowering sounding boards have for others with challenges to overcome. Yes, homeownership is a challenge that demands pro-active lifestyle and decision-making standards and discipline. Taking a team approach to achieving and maintaining homeownership may make an important difference for many, whatever stage of life they are at.

Homeownership, a common valued goal, is one topic that can start long-term conversations since each week and every year brings new challenges and insights. Professionals that consistently contribute relevant, practical content to these conversations, earn trust and loyalty. Although not always encouraged to do so, real estate buyers who make long-term connections with professional sellers seem to achieve more than those who go it alone. Developers and other real estate professionals who are in for the long haul know that a truly satisfied buyer will become one of their most valuable "salespeople" by telling friends and anyone who will listen about their terrific home and the professional’s terrific service. When professional sellers genuinely delivered great service and product, buyers will move from one project to the developer’s next, or use the same real estate broker for a lifetime of transactions. With long-term connections as the goal, instead of just "making this sale," both sides benefit.

If your first reaction to these musings is to think of scam artists and a wide range of criminals who could move in, you may underestimate what could and can be achieved online. Yes, the dark side of the internet is strong, but good things happen online. The possibilities above illustrate how long-term thinking could help professional real estate sellers when they offer help, not hype, to wanna-buyers, buyers, and private real estate sellers.

Those who regularly blame the net and technology for shortened attention spans, haven’t experienced the determined long-attention-span strategy used by those who really want to learn how to get it right, from the beginning. This it includes anything that matters, and homeownership is on that list. If you’re sure the internet, social media, smartphones, and your favorite technology, have made life different in this century, why are we still doing so much that matter to us in the same old way it was done in the 20th Century - just digitally?

Don’t you keep coming back to anywhere and anyone you feel takes real estate ownership seriously and shares their knowledge openly - online and off?

Source: What's Your Point? Cut The Crap, Hit The Mark & Stick! (CatapultPublishing.com)
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The demand for a convenient form of payment has caused many building managers and home service providers to go mobile. By incorporating mobile point of sale (mPOS) technology into their business, home service providers, building managers and independent contractors can leverage the value of mobile devices to streamline payment acceptance, accommodate customers and gain a critical competitive advantage.

According to IE Market Research2, the global volume of mobile payment transactions is expected to grow to over $1.13 trillion in 2014, which means a compound annual growth rate of 94.8%. In addition, the number of mobile payment users worldwide is predicted by Gartner to surpass well over 150 million, an increase of almost 40% compared to other years. Yet, there is still much room for growth.

Further research by the Yankee Group shows that 41% of iPhone users have expressed an interest in mobile payments. Moreover, the research has shown that 18% of iPhone owners have carried out m-banking activities from their devices.

From our vantage point, the challenge, is finding a convenient, affordable and secure mPOS solution that businesses can use to facilitate these transactions. That technology must not protect sensitive customer information, but it should be able to easily integrate with existing backend systems, process payments in both online and offline scenarios, and work on all of the leading smartphones and tablets. In addition, the solution needs to be easy to manage, cost-effective and customizable for a company’s individual needs. Leveraging a complete end-to-end platform enables building owners and home service providers to reap all the benefits of mobile payment acceptance, while overcoming the complexities that are often associated with this technology, and having to manage multiple products.

Think of the advantages of mobile point of sale as part of a broader suite of services that will improve the way building owners, independent contractors and tenants interact. This mobile revolution is an invitation for the real estate industry to showcase its commitment to excellence, and to progress with what consumers want. The subsequent rewards are substantial, benefiting not only the real estate market, but the entire home services industry as a whole.

The technology responsible for this phenomenon will give these businesses the competitive edge they need to differentiate themselves from competitors, reinvent their interactions with customers, improve cash flow and increase their bottom line.

While the benefits are clear, the question remains: how long until mPOS is truly a real estate reality? From speaking with our customers, partners and peers, we believe it’s already begun.

By tracking and knowing our number of dials, contacts, leads, appointments, sales units, sales volume, commission earned, we can establish sales ratios. If we know our sales ratios, we can project income for the company and ourselves. We take the guess work out of our success.

I tell salespeople all the time that If I see their sales ratios, I will know exactly what to help them improve on to dramatically increase their sales. Your sales ratios will indicate clearly where the problem lies in your sales results. They will reveal where training, coaching, and corrective action need to be taken for maximum results.

Most salespeople who are under achievers aren't under performing in every segment of sales. It's usually one or two specific areas or specific skills that create the poor performance. If you knew your sales ratios, the diagnosis of the problem and proper prescriptive changes would be easier, faster, and more effective. That's the power of sales ratios.

Now that you are convinced that you need to prospect, the next step is to determine how to keep track of all this activity and evaluate the results. We will need to focus in on the numbers aspect of prospecting. In sales, numbers is the name of the game; being able to understand your efforts or activities as they relate to the leads you generate and the appointments you set. Then comparing your goals versus the actual results to establish a sales ratio or sales matrix.

Any business in sales can be broken down to a series of repeatable numbers that, over time, will produce a pre-determined result. If you track your numbers over a few months, you will be able to determine the activities you need to earn the income you desire.

Here is a word of caution. The law of averages evens the numbers out over time. If you don't achieve the connection on your ratios in a day, that's too short a window of evaluation. Even a week is too short. I had days when I didn't set an appointment. I probably had weeks that I got skunked. Over a three month period, however, I was always within a 5% margin of error on my number of appointments.

I have included a tracking sheet here for you to use.

Total “Real Working Hours” Invested

Prospecting Hours:
Lead Follow-Up Hours:
Presentation Hours:
Contract Hours:

Rate Your Day (1 – 10) __________ Comments:

Lastly, your personal education and skills based training is essential. It will help you climb the ladder of success. This is the area salespeople usually skimp on, as well.

I attended every seminar I could throughout my sales career. I read every book that I could and bought every training tape on sales, mental focus, leadership, discipline, and motivation I could get my hands on. My success was guaranteed through my commitment to be a life-long learner and the investment I was willing to make in myself.

The most significant asset you have in your sales business right now is you. Ten years from now the most significant asset in your sales business will still be you. Don't fail to invest in yourself.
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