Welcome back to another edition of Mike Ferry TV. My name is Tony Smith, coach, speaker, and trainer for the Mike Ferry organization, and I’m excited to be here while Mike’s out on the road doing some of his work, filling in for him today. This is the week of July 8th. We are all getting fired up, ramped up, excited because we’ve got our Superstar Retreat coming up in a couple of weeks. I hope you’re all set to be there.
How Presentation Affects Your Income
Today I wanted to talk a little bit about how your overall presentation affects your income. Mike has said for years that one of the most important things that we could possibly do is improve the strength and the quality of our overall presentation. And I’m not just talking about a presentation in front of a buyer or seller. I’m talking about the way you present to the world. If you present in the right way, you make more money. This time of year, most people in Real Estate get distracted. They’re out on vacation, they’re traveling, they start thinking of other things. If we can just keep your head in the game with some of the work that we’d ask you to do, your income goes up. Always refer to the strength of our presentation to get better. The first thing I wrote down is your presentation is about giving the customer what they want. If you just step back for a minute, what does a buyer or seller want from a Real Estate agent? They want to know how much their home is worth, how long it will take to sell, how much they will pocket when it’s over, and what you will do to get it done. Why should they pick you over the competitors?
Rising Above the Competition
In most markets, there are thousands of Real Estate agents to choose from. How do you rise above that? With the strength of your presentation. I wrote down this quote: 85% of our success financially, especially in the sales industry, comes from our ability to negotiate, communicate, and lead people. Surprisingly, only 15% comes from our technical knowledge about the process. 85% of your money will come from your ability to negotiate, communicate, and lead people well. Isn’t a presentation all about that? If we work on it, we make more money. Make a commitment to learn what to say and how to say it in every selling situation. Are you ever going to spend any time with the Mike Ferry organization without us talking about sales skills? No. We’re going to talk about sales skills until everybody has them. Understand the value of professionalism. Would you say the Real Estate industry in the last few years has been getting more professional, staying the same, or getting less professional? It might be fair to argue that our industry has gotten a little less professional. So if we focus on being more professional, is that part of a great presentation? Yes.
Upgrading Your Professionalism
When’s the last time you upgraded the quality of your eye contact, handshake, the way you dress, show up to work, manage your time, keep your car clean, or ensure your materials are crisp and exciting? If we upgrade our overall professionalism, the world takes notice. Motivated buyers and sellers want aggressive and confident agents. Am I finding enough motivated buyers and sellers? If you run into motivated buyers and sellers, they want confidence and aggressiveness. Consistency improves confidence. If you only show up to work once in a while, how confident are you going to be about the job you’ve chosen? If you only prospect once in a while, how confident could you possibly be?
Practicing Consistency
You can improve your confidence by getting more consistent practice and role play. Show up on time. Consistency turns into aggressiveness and it turns into confidence, which is what the seller and buyer want. Confidence and authority come from not only knowing what to say but also knowing the market stats and how to deliver them. How much time are you spending these days really coming to understand the market stats? Are you spending time looking at how many properties are coming to market each week, how many are selling each month, and what’s happening with supply and demand, average sales prices, and trends?
Delivering the Truth
One thing I know for a fact: Mike Ferry has been delivering the truth to all of us Real Estate agents for 50 years. Because he’s willing to deliver the truth, even if we don’t like it, we look at him as an authority. Are you able to deliver the truth to a seller when their house needs repairs? Can you honestly deliver the truth about the right price of their home? Can you share with a buyer the exact steps to get a property purchased and some of the pitfalls they might run into? If we want to improve our presentation, we have to constantly consider the balancing act between asking questions and making statements. Are you spending the majority of your time when presenting to buyers and sellers asking questions or making statements? Great presenters are always looking to tip the scale to asking questions.
Improving Efficiency
Great presenters are always looking to improve their efficiency in everything they do. We track all the numbers, right? If it takes you three hours to talk to ten people, are you ever going to talk to enough people to get enough leads to move forward? You have to become more efficient. The only way to get better is with repetitions. If you’re not putting in enough reps, whether it’s prospecting, lead follow-up, or presenting, it’s really hard to get better. Practice intense role play with a seller and with prospecting every day, which increases your reps.
Closing the Signature
If you really want to become a great presenter, you have to understand that closing for the signature is a natural ending to a great presentation. If you’re not getting enough contracts signed for the appointments you’re going on, the first place you have to look is at the quality and strength of your overall presentation. If any pieces are missing, there’s a hole in your presentation which diminishes the results and income. The more changes that come in the Real Estate industry, the more agents get concerned, fearful, and paralyzed by the changes. Our job is to keep you in action. If you can stay in strong forward action when everyone else is getting paralyzed, there are still a huge number of buyers and sellers out there every single day that need your help. But you’re not going to run into them if you’re not in full action. This week, I’d like you to look at upgrading your presentation to start the second half of this year. Really examine if you are fully in action non-stop. If you do those two things, you’re going to keep winning. Thanks for your time.
