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.

Could you imagine a problem with being too successful?  What could possibly be wrong with having too full a pipeline?  You may think nothing at all, but if you have yet to experience this problem it means one of two things; either you have not achieved this level of success or when you achieved it you were prepared.   Hopefully, it’s the latter.

Earlier this week I hired my first full-time executive assistant.  In the past I relied purely on virtual assistants, scattered across the globe, to provide functions in every conceivable area, including marketing, scheduling, research, etc.  Currently we are also in the midst of hiring new coaches as well as improving our platforms,  solidifying our processes and evaluating where else we need to improve to support our future growth.

Paul Massey is Chief Executive Officer of Massey Knakal, New York’s #1 firm in real estate investment transactions ten years in a row and running.  Last week during a coaching call (yes Paul is a client) we were reviewing their recruiting plan and he stated “Rod, you recruit for where you want to be, not for where you are.”  Thank you Paul for sharing this vision clarification strategy and allowing me to share it with all of our followers.

So let’s review some steps for you, depending on where you are.

If you have yet to achieve the level of success you envision for yourself, plan for it now.  Invest a minimum of 10% of your time to set up the processes, procedures and even human capital plans that will support this vision.

If you are already there and have a pipeline that is keeping you at the office all day and forcing you into “busyness” versus true business, then stop.  Take a day, make it today and get the heck out of the office and find a quiet place to focus on three specific items:

• Which opportunities could you move forward to the closing table or lease signing with a concentrated effort?
• Which opportunities will create the greatest income for you and what can you do to get these rolling?
• What processes can you define and implement to alleviate these backups in the future?

Success can be absolutely thrilling, but it also can be problematic.  The key is you have to plan for it.

The Massimo Group, the nation’s premier commercial real estate coaching and consulting organization is once again seeking full-time and part time commercial real estate coaches for its growing practice.  The Massimo Group is proud to include every major commercial real estate brokerage firm and/or its individual brokers as clients, along with scores of regional and local firms.

The position will be responsible for delivering the Massimo Group’s proprietary coaching systems, as well as supporting several of the Massimo Group’s consulting assignments.

The position, shall be independent contractor-based.  Licensed candidates are welcomed, and even encouraged.

This is an opportunity for an independent, driven, real estate professional to be part of one of the fastest growing companies in the industry.

The ideal candidate will possess:

• Minimum 10 years of commercial real estate brokerage experience
• Proven track record for success
• A higher industry-related designation, such as an SIOR, CRE, or CCIM is preferred, though not required
• Brokerage management experience is a major plus
• Excellent Communication, Presentation and Writing Skills
• Excellent Listening Skills
• MS Office, and ACT CRM Skills, preferred but not required

Serious inquiries only please.  Submit resumes to info@massimo-group.com, under the subject “CRE Coach Candidate”.

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.

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

The Massimo Group, the nation’s premier commercial real estate coaching and consulting organization is seeking 1 full-time and 1-part time commercial real estate coach for its growing practice.  The Massimo Group is proud to include every major commercial real estate brokerage firm and/or its individual brokers as clients, along with scores of regional and local firms.

The position will be responsible for delivering the Massimo Group’s proprietary coaching systems, as well as supporting several of the Massimo Group’s consulting assignments.

The position, shall be independent contractor-based.  Licensed candidates are welcomed, however actively performing brokerage functions are prohibited as the Massimo Group does not compete with its brokerage clients.

This is an opportunity for an independent, driven, real estate professional to be part of one of the fastest growing companies in the industry.

The ideal candidate will possess:

• Minimum 10 years of commercial real estate brokerage experience
• Proven track record for success
• A higher industry-related designation, such as an SIOR, CRE, or CCIM is preferred, though not required.
• Brokerage management experience is a major plus.
• Excellent Communication, Presentation and Writing Skills
• Excellent Listening Skills
• MS Office, and ACT CRM Skills, preferred but not required.

Serious inquiries only please.  Submit resumes to info@massimo-group.com, under the subject “CRE Coach Candidate”.

Brokerage Lessons from the NYC Marathon

Last October my friend Charles Herskowitz was visiting from California and asked if I wanted to go for a run.  Back then I was running regularly and could finish 6 miles comfortably and 9 miles if I really pushed it.  Charles however struggled to keep up with my old man pace.  After our run I figured I had shown him who’s boss and he would go away softly.  However he asked me if we could go running the next morning, and I agreed to meet him at 7:00am at my house.

The next morning there was a cold and steady rain.  I hit my snooze button on my 6:30 alarm and rolled over.  30 minutes later my door bell rang.  It was Charles.  “What are you made of sugar?  Let’s go!”, was his greeting.  He pushed me and held me to my earlier commitment and off we went.  He still struggled, albeit less, to keep up with me, but there was no way I would have run without his prodding.

This past Sunday Charles finished his first Marathon.  It happened to be one of most famous marathons of all, but nevertheless, it could have been the Topeka, Kansas marathon and it would have had the same impact and the same lessons.

Over the past 12 months we would communicate by email and telephone.  We would encourage each other and try to outdo one another.  I am more of a casual runner, more of a P90X guy, but Charles kept running and running – faster and longer.  Faster and longer than I could ever imagine.  All culminating with this weekend’s New York City Marathon.

It’s incredible what a steady measure of accountability can do.  Whether you have a fitness goal, or a personal brokerage goal – creating a platform of accountability, a partner, spouse ,  or perhaps a coach is the best approach to keeping you on-track, pushing you when you falter and celebrate when you succeed.

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 are going to share with you these essential qualities of success.  Follow these principles and you too can put yourself on the path to brokerage success.

Last week we addressed market presence and industry focus.  This week we will dive into traits 5 and 6; Navigate Careers and Assertive.

Navigating your career means taking the long view.

The biggest mistake I see in navigating a career is brokers’ making a change without thinking through what the results will be and how the change fits into their career plan. They jump at an offer, thinking the business or the managing broker will be better someplace else. But they usually forget a couple of things. Number one, the grass is not always greener on the other side. For example, higher commissions are higher for a reason, maybe because the supporting resources are fewer. Number two, when you change your company, your address, there is absolutely a down period, a slow period that will happen during the transition, no matter how sound you think your client relationships are.

Assertive moves you to the front.

Lack of assertiveness shows itself as caution or conservatism. That cautious approach, in a more extreme form, can suggest fear. During their careers, brokers may face several things they fear. Fear of rejection and fear of failing are probably the most obvious. Brokers rarely suggest they fear anything. Instead they say. “Prospecting isn’t really effective” or they need to do a little more homework before they call a client, or they know that client really isn’t in the market or something else that sounds like it makes sense. If you find yourself making excuses for things you know you should be doing, like prospecting or making presentations, ask yourself what you might be afraid of.

Assertiveness is a personality trait. We screen all our clients at the Massimo Group with a personality/behavioral assessment to better understand several such traits, with assertiveness being a key component. We also know if you don’t test at the top of the assertiveness scale, there are things you can do to become more successful. Psychologists tell us people who are fearful usually spend their time and energy thinking about what could happen, but people who overcome fear concentrate on what needs to be done.