A young man whom we will call Brad—as that’s his name— wrote me a plaintive e-mail yesterday. It is not that his position is unique, but rather that it is so common that I want to address it. As you read it, visualize a room full of old gray heads nodding in complete understanding. Although he happens to be selling real estate, his problems are universal, as are the solutions. I’ll intersperse my comments between the paragraphs of his note.
“Mr. Trisler, I read your web page with great interest. May I ask you a question? (I'll hope the answer is yes!)
“I truly want to be a top producing salesman. I'm 40 years old this month. I've been in sales now for just over a year. (Real Estate) I've never worked in an office with training. I have listened to Ziglar, Hopkins, Tracey and Nightingale. I'm NOT tearing up the market. Not even close to “smoking-hot.” Far from selling ice to Eskimo's, couldn't even close a door if the handle was taped to my hand.
“The bottom line is, if I want this so much, why the hell is it so hard to find success???”
Well, Brad, you’re certainly getting some good advice from tried and true sales trainers. That may be a part of the problem.
If you’re spending all this time listening to tapes, no wonder you’re not making the big bucks. Implicit in all of our training—and explicit in some of it—is the fact that you have to work your ass off to make it in selling. Tapes and books are fine, but you only make money by getting belly to belly with people who can buy from you or sell through you.
Try limiting your tape listening and book reading to an hour a day and work to beat hell the balance of the time.
I also sense a problem with your self-talk. Quit telling yourself (and anyone else) how bad you are and concentrate on the things you are doing well. You aren’t doing anything well? Start seeing more people and you’ll have more chances to succeed. Oh, you’ll have more chances to fail, too, but at least you’ll be in the game.
“I completely understand Ziglar's story of having to buy gas a dollar at a time, Tracey's story of having to wash his only shirt in the sink every night, Hopkins story of only making $60.00 a month the first six months in the business and Nightingale’s story of reading books while living in Tent City. I even understand your story of being “not eating broke.”
“I left a job to follow my dream of wanting to be a salesman. In this first year I've gone broke, lost my home and everything else. But I know I can make it.”
I don’t doubt that you understand intellectually what it means to be broke, but being really, stony broke is a whole different matter, and a year doesn’t begin to ingrain the feeling. When we say, “Hang in there,” we’re not talking about six months, or a year, but hang in until you learn enough to become effective and then you can really start to learn.
“What was it that got you to the level where it all came together??
“For Ziglar, he said it was being told to believe in himself. Nightingale said the answer was in the books he read. Tracey said it was an issue of self-image. Hopkins said it was the words he heard in a seminar by J. Douglas Edwards.”
What in the blue-eyed world gave you the idea that it “has all come together?” I’m out there picking with the chickens every day, just like you are. If you talk with any of the guys you mentioned, they’ll tell you they’re working harder now than they did when they were first starting out. If you think selling is tough, try sales training.
Selling isn’t something you just learn and then go on to hauling your money away in sacks. Sales—like life—is a game you keep on learning every day. Any time you think it “has come together,” you’re ready for a fast trip down the chute.
Tom Hopkins didn’t just “pick up some words at a seminar.” He was already a practicing sales trainer when he packed up his family and left Simi Valley to live in a house next door to J. Douglas Edwards in Scottsdale. He wanted to be next to his mentor and I doubt he has ever regretted the decision. That sort of commitment is called “paying the price” and it is an essential key for success.
“Someone at the last office I was at gave me an OLD beat up copy of a single cassette called “No Bull Selling.” He gave it to me and told me to not give up on selling. Your words seemed to hit a cord (sic) with me. I've been listening to that tape so much this week that the old thing is hard to hear now.”
Throw the damned thing away and go see some people and ask them if they want to buy or sell a shack.
“I do not want to be one of those low producers that get fired when a company wants to attract only top sales people. The sad thing about real estate is that as long as you pay your desk fee, they let you keep failing and struggling.
That’s not so sad. Had it not been for that policy, your raggedy ass would have been history months ago.
You might consider joining a well-known firm with a training department that teaches proven or provably successful techniques. You’ll get a lot more support and you’ll have no desk fees. Just don’t bail out on them when they get you going. It’s easier to carry the bag of a large, respected firm, than to get the maximum commission percentage. One Hundred percent of nothing is what?
“When I get a commission check I've got coming next week, I'll be ordering your tape series “No Bull Selling.” I can't order it now because I'm starving between checks.”
Food is better for you than tapes.
“If I've learned anything listening to tapes it's that if you keep filling your mind with the right stuff and don't give up, you will succeed. It simply becomes an issue of whether or not you will go broke before you succeed. Well, I've gone broke. I don't fear that anymore. My mind is free of that worry. Now it's just a matter of finding out how to succeed.”
“I appreciate your time in answering my questions.”
“Brad” Don’t get too hung up on “positive thinking,” Brad. It is widely misunderstood. I’ve seen lots of folks with positive attitudes grinning in their new car as it goes over a cliff. Going broke isn’t just something you do, either. There are various levels of broke. With leveraged financing, you can watch your net worth whistle right down past zero in the blink of an eye. If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. Then quit. There’s no sense in being a damn fool about it.
“When the going gets tough, the tough get going.” BULL! When the going gets tough, the smart money looks around to find out what’s working and what’s not and changes the game to his advantage. THAT’S positive thinking.
Okay, Brad, here’s your assignment, should you choose to accept it.
Knock on ten doors every day and ask the owners if they want to sell their home. Don’t worry about the specific words, but keep track of their responses and see what you can learn from it. I’ll give you some suggested questions next month. For now, just ask and listen.
Preview five homes a day. Look at only the best: Vacant homes (know every vacant home in your market area so you can move a motivated buyer in FAST), homes with exceptional price or terms and sexy houses, those with special appeal. Feel free to chat with the owners, but do not solicit the listing. In real estate, as in golf, it is considered poor form to pick up your opponent’s ball while it is still rolling.
Personally visit two Owners for Sale homes every day. Ask them anything you like. I’ll give more suggestions next month, not just for you but for all of us sales critters.
Visit two listings that have expired. Ask them why their home didn’t sell and listen to the answers.
Every hour (or a minimum of 10 per day) call someone you have never met on the telephone and ask them if they would like to buy or sell real estate. Listen very carefully to the answers and see what you can learn.
Hand-write a very short “Thank You” note to everyone you speak to. Mail it with a commemorative stamp. Hand written notes will differentiate you from the rest of the mob.
You will now have spoken to twenty-nine new contacts and written to most of them. If you truly do this, you probably won’t need the questions next month, but I’ll send them any way. If you don’t do this, don’t ask for any more help, because you’re unwilling to help yourself.
“I looked around for a helping hand and found one, right there at the end of my arm.” Good luck.
