32 WAYS TO CONDUCT BUSINESS
WITH CHARM & SAVVYRespectfully Submitted by John Hacker
You may have heard how many have commented on the loss of civility in today’s “New Reality”.
People seem to be more impatient due to factors such as larger workloads, less time to get things done, rapid change, and especially financial pressures that have mounted on us in pyramiding proportions.
As you also know, we’re in a business where these behaviors can become a trap that an agent can fall into showing less patience and tolerance to those who are buying and selling homes, or simply just trying to survive with a loan modification or a Short Sale.
Home buyers and sellers are often in the midst of an emotional decision anyway even in better times and an agent who does not afford them some “emotional wiggle room” may be doing themselves a disservice.
I have decided to include tips on how to conduct business with more elegance and charm that will better ensure that your clients will be “clients for life” even in this “New Reality”.
1. Make a powerful, positive first impression. Establish appropriate eye contact, avoid colloquialisms and slang, and have the proper “support materials” on hand such as your presentation guide or laptop.
2. Avoid a limp handshake; make sure your grip is confident and appropriate to the situation. REMEMBER that it’s not the firmness of the grip but the palm to palm contact that is important in connecting with the other person, especially the opposite sex.
3. If you have a social misstep, and eventually we all have one or several, use this as an opportunity to display grace, wit, poise and humility.
4. Never ask “Who are you?” Find creative ways to determine the names of people to whom you have been introduced but have forgotten the name or it wasn’t clear to you when you were introduced. It’s perfectly OK to say, “Please forgive me, I’ve forgotten your name”.
5. Don’t use the other person’s first name unless you are invited to do so. If someone introduces themselves by their first name, then that is how they would like to be called.
6. Present a single business card; follow the lead of the higher ranking person, rather than asking for his or her business card. Be sure to look at their card when they hand it to you.
When you put it in your pocket, put in the pocket closest to your heart.
7. In terms of dress, when in doubt always dress one level above the people you are meeting with. Otherwise, know when to dress up or down. Don’t pick clothes that reveal too much or leave too little to the imagination.
When in doubt, always err on the side of dressing slightly more conservatively than the situation demands.
8. Keep accessories to a tasteful minimum. Over-accessorizing your look with too much jewelry or lapel pins can be distracting to your image.
9. When it comes to phone etiquette, ask before putting someone on a speakerphone. Many consider this very rude unless you ask them.
10. When on the phone, know your inventory and conduct your call in a courteous, professional manner. Try to avoid putting someone on hold but if you have to, and ask if it’s okay with them if it is necessary. Also let them know approximately how long they will be on hold. ALSO, try not to have anyone interrupt you while you are on the phone. This is very annoying to the other person and very discourteous.
11. Below are rules of cell phone civility:
- Turn off your cell phone during meetings period.
- Try to keep your speech at a soft but audible level while on your phone in a public area. Carefully enunciate your words so that they can understand you.
- Don’t feel that you always have to answer your cell phone when it rings. If the matter is important, you’ll be able to get back to them.
12. Other rules of “phone: courteous:
- Plan the call before you make it. Know what you’re going to say and ask. Try not to improvise when you call a prospect.
- Make sure you have close at hand all of the information and resources you will need. This could include your calendar, the contract, flyers, or other documents you will need for the conversation.
- Avoid calling when you know your client or contact is likely to feel overwhelmed.
- Take careful notes during the conversation so that the prospects don’t need to repeat themselves.
Demonstrate your listening skills.
13. Learn to let the phone ring. Answer your telephone only when you can comfortably converse.
14. Check your e-mail and voice mail regularly. In real estate, this should be done at least three times a day. (Try four times a day)
15. Be specific when leaving a phone message. This means leave your telephone number – TWICE AND SLOWLY! Do this even if you know they have the number. Also give a brief reason for the call. This will make it less likely that you will have to play a game of telephone tag.
16. When leaving a voicemail message, get to the point. Don’t leave a two or three minute narrative. Explain the reason for your call as well.
17. Smile when you’re on the phone.
People do pick up your mood over the phone; make it positive.
18. Show patience and understanding to tough callers. If you have a fire to extinguish with an unhappy caller, learn to ask questions and listen, but do not take it personally.
19. Always be on time for meetings
but don’t be too early for them either. If you are early, don’t make it any more than five to ten minutes. Many consider this a breach of privacy.
20. While being on time is important, sometimes factors such as traffic and other people who are late cause us to be late for a meeting. If you’re going to be late, call ahead to let them know and by how much. Explain what has caused the problem as well but don’t get long-winded.
21. Provide compliments when appropriate. They should be as sincere, specific and as timely as possible for something well-done. Try paying a minimum of five compliments per day and this can include other agents as well as the prospects.
22. Stop stepping on other people’s sentences. Let the other person complete their sentence before you respond.
23. If a meeting ends negatively with a prospect in which you get a “No” response, try to get the person to answer something positively. You might consider saying something like “Will you contact me if I can be of assistance to you in any way?”
24. If you’re planning a party such as a Home Warming celebration, know when it needs to stop.
25. Watch your personal hygiene
remember to bring the breath mints. Breaths get stale as the day goes on.
26. When sending e-mails, try to personalize them so as to offset the abruptness or curtness of the message. Something like “I appreciate working with you” can soften the impact of the message.
27. Make it a point to respond to e-mails promptly.
28. Always use spell-check and grammar-check before sending messages.
29. Include your telephone number in your e-mail message.
30. If you send an attachment, try not to make it too large. If sending multiple addresses at the same time (such as this e-mail), put the addresses in the “BCC” line so that the other addresses are hidden. Also with attachments, most people don’t like receiving 5 MB attachments unless they are integral to the business at hand.
31. Avoid sending too many, and especially inappropriate humor stories or anecdotes, by e-mail to the people in your database unless it is part of your newsletter.
32. When sending e-mail, make sure your heading is clear. Remember many people are selective about which e-mail messages they read and which they delete.
The fact is that many agents destroy relationships mainly because of something they did or didn’t do that they were oblivious to. Learn to become more cognizant of these items. Your clients will appreciate your professionalism.
Good Luck!
John Hacker
Realty Executives General Manager
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