Congratulations, you secured an invitation to present your proposal to a client. You can’t hit a home run without getting to bat, so now it’s time to take your swings.  Forgive the baseball analogy; corny as it is, it is true.  Now what do you need to do to make your presentation a success and win the listing or representation assignment?

If you haven’t already, and the opportunity is for a listing, get out to the property and become an expert on it. Take pictures, drive the neighborhood and drive all of the comps you will be using in your proposal. You should also do research on the area to ensure you are aware of any upcoming projects which could affect the marketability of the asset.    If this opportunity is for a tenant or landlord representation, find out everything, and I mean everything, about the company/owner.

We see  listing and representation presentations, almost daily, from across North America.  Many miss the point of the proposal.  Prepare a presentation you can be not only be proud of, but also addresses the specific needs/issues of the opportunity.  Believe it or not, many brokers frequently just slap a few pages together and hope for the best. If you’ve been invited to present, you can be pretty sure your competition was invited also. Put your best foot forward and prepare a well-structured proposal.  Remember, “You Can’t Wing It to Win It”.

Practice. Then practice some more. Make sure you know what you are going to say and that you can say it concisely and convincingly. Brush up on your ability to overcome the client’s objections. The best way  to do this is to role play with a mentor, colleague, your coach or your spouse.  Don’t laugh, my wife has  improved a vast majority of my speeches.. then again maybe she enjoys correcting me.. but I digress.  Whoever  you use, encourage them to throw you some curve balls, to make sure you can think on your feet when the time comes.

I know I just told you to prepare a great presentation, but when you get in front of the client, remember the most important thing is your ability to tell the story, which is completely different than telling your story.  It’s not about you.  It starts with telling the story of the opportunity and how the client sees it. Once you’ve told that story, you can tell the story of why you are the only plausible broker to service the account.  The presentation keeps you in the game, but articulating the right story is what wins you the business.

• Before Duke’s debacle in the NCAA tournament (one of the few reasons I will watch TV) a new Staples commercial caught my attention.  In this commercial, everyone in the office, including the President, the receptionist, the IT guy and the marketing team were the same person.  Dave, the redheaded, bearded entrepreneur, was the reflection of many struggling business owners and commercial real estate brokers.

They try to do it all and be all.

In my 25+ years as a broker, owner and manager of local, regional and international brokerage firms I have yet to find a top producing broker who can do it all.  I have however seen thousands of average brokers who try.

It’s either one of 2 scenarios.  Average brokers think that they really know more about prospecting, presenting, closing, marketing, social media, web design, computers, administrative work and answering the phone than anyone else, or they believe they can simply do it cheaper.

In Brokers Who Dominate, the 8 traits of top producers we explored how top performers
attained and maintain these top production levels.  One key trait is top brokers are “Team
Oriented”.

It doesn’t mean you have to go out and hire a team at high fixed costs or give away a nice portion of your commissions to create a team.  What it does mean is that you have to do these important steps to stop being average.

• Take an inventory of everything you are currently doing – and I mean everything.
• Determine how much you are worth –in relation to dollars per hour.
• Create a ‘Not To Do List’ and simply stop doing those things that do not:
• Make you money
• Bring you pleasure in doing

• Find someone else to do things that is better at doing them and cheaper than it is for you to do them!

Sorry to say top performers are smarter than average performers; they have accepted that they cannot do it all.  Take the 4 steps noted above and leave the ranks of average.  Don’t  be a Dave.

This past week I took a long weekend (yes we all need to take a day or two away from commercial real estate) and headed to Vail, Colorado for some skiing with some friends.  Some of these friends are commercial brokers, like you, and one particular friend, Jason of CNL, I had not connected with in quite some time.

In past Massimo Minutes, I have stressed the importance of presence.  I have outlined the three essential elements of creating and maintaining presence and outlined the key targets to direct these efforts towards.  These targets include clients, prospects, market makers and influencers.  There are certainly more extensive and detailed targets, but that is beyond the scope of this article.

Two key targets in your individual presence campaign must be your friends and family.  Why; because I can guarantee you that most of them simply think of you as “a broker”.  They have little idea of what exactly this means and how you personally work with clients in a variety of ways to assist them in achieving their personal and/or business goals.

As for Jason, I had the luxury of sitting next to him on several subsequent ski lifts and shared with him how we work with individual brokers, brokerage teams and companies in our coaching and consulting practice.  How our entire organization is positioned to maximize our client’s brokerage income.  I shared with him that most (not all) trainers are vendors, where as we pursue the role of being partners and trusted allies in our client’s success.

The Massimo Minute is distributed to tens of thousands of commercial brokers, many of my friends and all of my family members, and now Jason as well.  The next time you send out  an email blast, success story, white paper or postcard think beyond the obvious targets and be sure to include your family and your friends, for they will be your biggest champions should they hear of an opportunity that may be a great fit for you.

There is an old adage in real estate.  In order enhance the likelihood of closing a deal, you need to ensure you are working with a buyer, seller, user, landlord and/or tenant who is “ready, willing, and able” to consummate the transaction.  Ready, willing and able are great qualifiers when working with prospects and clients.  The ability of qualifying well is a skill procured by commercial real estate brokers after many years in the industry. And yes, it is a skill likely acquired through failure, or in some cases getting burnt by an unscrupulous client.

But if a qualified prospect or client is “ready, willing and able”, what are the 3 analogous characteristics of a truly qualified and successful commercial real estate broker?  The three keys to commercial real estate brokerage success are the individual broker must have 1) The Skill 2) The Will and 3) The Thrill.

Skill is not talent.  Don’t confuse the two.  I have worked with many talented brokers.  They were naturally charismatic, very astute in a particular element of a transaction or a good negotiator.  Many of us are born with certain talents.  No one is born with a skill.  Skills are acquired through hard work, experience (the aforementioned failures), and practice.   Show me a top producing broker and I will show you someone with skill.  Yes, they may have talent, but they definitely have the skill.

Will is the decision to put in the hours and work on each of the many variables associated with commercial real estate brokerage to truly acquire the skill.  Think about those who are market leaders and they are most likely the hardest working brokers in your office.  If not, they certain put forth the effort early on in their career to create a platform of continued lead generation.  Today there seems to be a belief that the web is going decrease the need for hard work.  The web, if utilized correctly, can be a great source for lead generation but ultimately you must have the will to develop the skills necessary to do something with those leads.

Thrill is the separator of all true top performers.  They love what they are doing and see every day as both an opportunity and a challenge.  Top performers don’t view the work necessary to acquire the skills as necessary evils.  They view these as personal investments in their growth.  They have the will to acquire the skill and even more so, they are thrilled to do it.

To succeed in this market and to be a leader in any market, you must have all three.  There is no doubt a wide range of SKILL among the brokerage community.  I assume all of you are WILLING to do this, or you would not be doing so.  Lastly, but most importantly, you must have the THRILL.  Are you passionate about your business?  Do you see each and every day as a challenge and an opportunity?

Possess all three of these keys and you will greatly enhance your probability of success.

Statistics overwhelming demonstrate that coaching is one of the most successful decisions of individuals looking to maximizing results.  Athletes, Fortune 500 CEOs and top performing residential agents all have coaches.  Recently a growing trend in commercial real estate is the hiring of a coach who specialized in the industry. 

The very first question we ask anyone when they contact our company regarding our coaching services is “Why do you feel you need a coach?”  This is followed up with a more telling question “What does a successful coaching relationship look like to you?”  Time and time again the inquirer outlines the main reasons our client’s desire, select and value coaching.

1)      A coach will work with you in defining what the most important elements to focus on based on your personal vision of success.  Your role in your organization and possibly on your team has a significant impact on what is going to maximize your and/or your teams’ production or commission income.

2)      Coaching will create clear, and more importantly, relevant metrics to measure your progress and provide the critical feedback during the journey.  Goals and vision are great, especially if they are clear and committed to, but without a metrics, they are meaningless.   More often than not, sales meetings and pipeline meetings are focused on the result or effect and not the metrics that drive the cause.  Without metrics, success is not planned, it is simply accidental.

3)      A coach should work with you in not only monitoring and providing feedback on your behavior, but should also assist in defining the actions to reach specific goals.  The bridge between planning and production is performance.  If you are going to achieve a goal you have not reached before, you must change your behavior.

4)      The coach will highlight both the positive progression as well as any regression made.  A coach will help identify alternatives if there is an obstacle to performance or behaviors.  Without a consistent review of the aforementioned metrics, action plans and results, the likelihood of achievement on what truly drives income depreciates exponentially.

5)      Hiring a coach is an investment in your greatest asset – YOU.  A professional commercial real estate coach will be your partner, your motivator, your confidant and your trusted advisor.

Coaching is certainly not for everyone.  No doubt many less seasoned and less successful commercial real estate brokers look at items such as coaching, training and education as a cost.  With this perspective, coaching would rarely be successful.  Coaching is an investment.  The dividends are real, but they are also earned.  If you are truly committed to success, than hiring a commercial real estate coach may be one of the best investments you can make.

The Massimo Group is proud to include every major commercial real estate firm and/or their individual brokers as clients.  In addition we provide services to many regional and local firms as well as associations.  To learn more about our services, please see our 2012 Service Offering package.

It is our pleasure to present our 2011 Holiday Video for you and your commercial real estate brokerage team.  2011 was full of both challenges and achievements, but you made it through.  Despite the obstacles facing all of us in 2012, greater success is certainly ahead!

Please click on the link below to play the motivational message, or copy and paste it into your browser. Your speakers must be on; it fact CRANK the music!

 http://play.goldmail.com/bd0q0538e2zd

Happy Holidays!

The Massimo Group

Wherever I travel throughout the country for presentations or workshops, or speak with our coaching prospects, there always the No. 1 question:  What do top producers do to both attain and maintain their dominant positions in the market?  

Having worked with, studied and/or managed literally 1,000’s of brokers during my 25+ year career, I have identified the 8 traits of dominant brokers.  Over the past weeks we have share with you these essential qualities of success.  This week we will explore traits 7 and 8; Team Orientation and Entrepreneurial

Team oriented is your leverage.

It’s amazing how many brokers work in little silos and don’t even try to leverage the skill sets and knowledge of others to maximize their effectiveness. When I talk to some of these brokers, they’re frustrated and often say something like, “I can’t do it all,” but they don’t take the next logical step and investigate the resources they have or can acquire to make their day, and more importantly their effort, much more productive. Here’s the simple exercise we use with clients who want to build a team.

First, identify exactly everything you believe you have to do, from the mundane to the most productive. Put everything in one big list. Don’t leave anything out. Next, go through the list and identify everything you’re good at and everything you like to do. Then we go through that inventory with our clients and we prioritize, we allocate, we figure out what the broker needs to do and then we delegate everything else. Take some time and do the same thing; you should wind up with a list of your most productive activities and a list of everything else to delegate.

Then identify sources, whether external, virtual, or in your office who can handle “everything else.” Now comes the hard part. You have to invest in those resources. That’s a big hurdle for some people, so let me remind you that what you’re really doing is investing in yourself and your career. Don’t forget, your greatest asset is you.

Entrepreneurial approach brings everything together.

Most brokers think and act like an employee, even though the legal fact and practical reality is that most brokers are independent contractors. If you work for a large firm, your firm may have terrific resources and brand, but ultimately your success is measured by how well you leverage those organizational assets. Many of the brokers profiled in this book are aligned with strong regional and national firms, but they act like they’re the CEO of their own firm. They use their brokerage firm as a platform to launch their personal success.

Wherever I travel throughout the country for presentations or workshops, or speak with our coaching prospects, there always the No. 1 question:  What do top producers do to both attain and maintain their dominant positions in the market?

Having worked with, studied and/or managed literally 1,000’s of brokers during my 25+ year career, I have identified the 8 traits of dominant brokers.  Over the next few weeks we will share these essential qualities of success with you.

Last week we addressed discipline and orientation to the client.  This week we will dive into traits 3 and 4.

Build Market Presence three ways.

There are three important channels for building market presence, the personal (one-on-one meetings), the physical (mailings, advertising and media campaigns), and the digital (email blasts, e-newsletters, social media). The most common mistake brokers make is using only one of the three approaches and expecting that one approach, alone, will bring great success. You just cannot do that and expect to get the best results.

I see brokers who only build presence with one-on-one meetings. That’s fantastic, but the problem is your reach is extremely restricted because you can’t hold enough of those meetings to get the word out to the larger market. Other brokers depend on advertising campaigns using postcards, letters, and media appearances.   Those are great for visibility, but they won’t give you the personal contact you need to build business. And, today, many brokers are trying to build presence using social media and nothing else, but you won’t reach clients who don’t use social media that way and you rarely get personal contact either.

Another mistake brokers make is assuming the Personal piece is a prospecting piece. It is not.  Prospecting is directly asking for business.  Presence is about building your sphere of influence and creating that “Top of Mind” position in that sphere, as well as with your targeted prospects and clients.

There’s one more very important thing to remember. These efforts don’t pay off right away; this is not a quick-payoff business. I see brokers who do a newsletter for a month or two, and give up because “it didn’t work”. Presence needs to be a varied, yet consistent effort. There are no shortcuts to building a strong presence. To build presence you need to use all three channels with consistent effort. Then to build production, you must follow up with prospecting and develop one-on-one relationships.

Industry/geography focus turns you into the expert.

No one can do everything, not even you. Even if you could, trying to do everything is a bad idea and one which will not lead to a profitable career. When we ask people what they specialize in, and we’ve done it a variety of ways over the years, more than half will say they do it all.  They do leasing, sales, investment property, represent tenants, represent landlords, and so on. We use the analogy that if you have cancer you’re not going to a generalist or an internist! Face it, you want the doctor who knows cancer and not just any cancer, you want the doctor who’s a specialist in what you’ve got. The fact is people trust experts and if you’re not an expert it’s harder to get business.

Now, don’t get me wrong, there are successful generalists out there, but what they really are is specialists in a smaller market area. If you’re in secondary or primary markets you have to specialize, to have a niche where you’re the expert, or you’re doomed. So become an expert in something, find a niche that’s a combination of a product type and either a type of client or a geographical area. Then, do your homework, dig in and learn everything you can about your niche and key your presence building and materials and prospecting to your niche.

Wherever I travel throughout the country for presentations or workshops, or speak with our coaching prospects, there is always that No. 1 question:  What do top producers do to both attain and maintain their dominant positions in the market? 

I’ve worked with, studied, and managed literally thousands of brokers during my 25+ year career and I know what it takes to succeed, but I wanted something based on research, not just experience.   So I studied several of the top brokers in the business and distilled what I learned into my upcoming book, Brokers Who Dominate: 8 traits of top producers.   The book will be available next month.

Over the next four weeks we are going to share with you these essential qualities of top performing brokers.  Follow these principles and you too can put yourself on the path to brokerage success.

This week we will dive into the first 2 of 8 traits; discipline and oriented to the client.

Discipline is the secret sauce that makes everything else work.

Discipline comes first, because if you’re disciplined you can improve in every area of your business and life; but if you aren’t, you may simply have to depend on luck, and you can’t control luck. That’s why the biggest mistake brokers make regarding discipline is they don’t have any.

Too many brokers lack the discipline, the planning, the approach to their profession as a business, so they wind up chasing deals and never building an infrastructure for long-term success. Instead of a disciplined approach to business, they just wing it, and you can’t wing it to win it.

We find those brokers who create a business plan with real action steps and then work that plan make a dramatic improvement in their business. Unfortunately, the majority of brokers who do take the time to come up with a “business plan” for the year wind up sticking it in a drawer until next January. This is why we created our proprietary R.A.M.P. program, an extensive series of audits and exercises to help our broker clients identify the key initiatives (we call them “Success Levers”) they’ve got to act upon to move forward, and then track their performance on those initiatives.

Orient to client is building long-term success.

The big mistake here is focusing on anything that’s not best for your client. What’s that look like? When you’re not oriented towards your client, you tend to chase deals, go outside your specialty, be uncooperative with other brokers as far as sharing your fees, or take shortcuts in regard to servicing that client by not looking at enough opportunities or not exposing them to the maximum number of buyers. It’s easy to start doing this when times are tough.

In tough times you still have bills to pay and you have to take care of your family. Then it’s a fine balance, sometimes, between meeting your current obligations and building your long-term success. But, anytime you’re just chasing commissions, you’re not oriented to your client; you’re oriented to your commission. Don’t get me wrong; commissions are essential. But focusing on the payday won’t build a long-term, profitable business for you. You build long-term profitability by building enduring relationships with your clients that generate more referrals, more leads, and more profit.

So, what can you do? What habits can you develop that will help you focus on the client? Make your client look good, especially to his or her boss. Every time you touch the client, do something to add value to the experience of doing business with you.

What went well in 2010?
Certainly things went well for you in 2010. Perhaps you adjusted your approach to brokerage and had you best year ever. Maybe you stayed the course and your resolution and focus proved to be a sound approach to the opportunities which presented themselves. You learned from those deals that did not proceed as planned or clients who did not live up to their commitments. Either way you must always recognize, and celebrate what you did well. More importantly you must apply those lessons to your future activities.

What did not go well for you in 2010?
It’s not an exercise to beat yourself up or to blame those items outside of your control. Look at where you struggled, goals that were not achieved or transactions that were not consummated. What went wrong? What would you do differently that would have changed the outcome? You cannot blame the market. Many brokers had phenomenal success in 2010. Look at what you can control and determine where you can adjust.

What are you going to do about it?
Once you have identified the elements from the first two questions, how are you going expand on your success and grow from your failures? You have to put a specific plan in action. Although this is a time most think about business plans, but you should implement action plans to quickly implement the lessons learned from 2010.

How will you insure success in 2011?
You reflected back on 2010, you set a plan of action to leverage the lessons learned; now you need to put the support system in place to insure you remain on plan. Goals and plan are only as good as their execution. Define specific targets and time intervals to reflect on where you are. When you look to at the complexion of 2011, it should be a reflection of 2010.