Dallas Real Estate and Short Sale Blog

Action Makes the Difference!
Tom Branch | RE/MAX Dallas Suburbs

It's important to keep an open mind as you read, hear, or otherwise experience ideas that can help you. Try not to judge them or cast them aside too quickly because they don't sound good, they're not part of your personality or make‑up, or because you may have heard them before.

Instead, consider these courses of action:

If you've heard an idea before, say to yourself, "Yes, I've heard that before, but am I using it? If not, why not?"

If you are currently using the idea, ask yourself, "How effective am I at using it? How can I improve on it to make it even more effective for me and my business?"

Next, ask yourself this question: "What will I do as a result of what I've learned?"

Remember, it's not what you know - it's what you do that counts. Ideas are powerful. And good ideas are really important for any business. They're what keep your interest up and your business fresh and alive and growing. And when put into action, good ideas can make a huge difference in the way you do business, the results you realize, the fun you have, and the profits you make.

Activerain is full of good, practical, and usable ideas that can help make that big difference for you. But it's up to you to tailor them to your own unique situation, and more importantly, to put them into action.

As a business person, it is imperative for you to understand that only 35% of the reason people buy the products or services you offer is for the actual product or service itself.

The other 65% of the reason they buy is for what you can do or provide beyond the product or service, and what that product or service does for the customer.

In other words, if you are trying to sell your customers and prospects products and services, you are wasting your time. They are only 35% interested in products and services.

But they are 65% interested in the benefits of having you involved.

You see, chances are good that your customers and prospects can buy the same product or service (or at least comparable ones) from any one of several of your competitors.

And with that product or service, your competitor may offer a number of additional advantages as well.

They may have a lower price, better quality product, some added bonuses or extra services, a location that's more convenient, or a payment plan that fits their budget better.

In today's tough, competitive market, it's difficult to compete on price or product. You may be able to command a certain advantage for a period of time because you have a lower price than your competitors, but we both know that it will be short-lived.

The truth is you will never be able to maintain a competitive position in the marketplace - long-term - because of the prices you charge or the products you provide.

It'll just be a matter of time before either one of your competitors lowers prices or duplicates (or even betters) your product, or you raise your prices because you no longer have the necessary margins to justify your prices.

But there's one thing your customers can't get from any of your competitors. And that's you, your empathy, your problem solving expertise, and your knowledge and commitment to service that you bring to his or her unique situation.

We're pleased to announce that, "Avoiding Foreclosure - The Field Guide to Short Sales" is now available in Kindle format at Amazon.com. The book is also available in paperback and PDF formats at www.fieldguidetoshortsales.com.

Regardless of the reasons used to explain the current housing crisis in the United States, the cold reality is that more homeowners are in financial distress than at any other time in the history of residential real estate, according to the Distressed Property Institute.

Hence, real estate Short Sales. If you're not familiar with them, you soon will be. In this book, you'll travel the journey with a few of our actual clients and explore the Short Sale process through the eyes of sellers, buyers, investors, and lenders.

Short Sales are reshaping the way lenders liquidate homes in default. Historically, these homes and their owners would simply be foreclosed upon. Today, Short Sales are a viable alternative where everybody wins!

Source:  Amazon.com

This is Part Four of a series covering the Eight Personal Qualities for Success.

In Part Three I covered, Self Responsibility and Be Committed. In Part Four, I'll discuss, The Extra Mile, Control Your Time, and Persistence and Determination

The Extra Mile

The sixth personal quality necessary to achieve outstanding success in business is that you must be willing to go the extra mile. It's the "Under Promise, Over Deliver" concept, and can be summed up in the following statement:

"If you are always willing to do more than what you get paid for, the day will come when you will be paid for more than what you actually do."

Robert Cialdini, in his book, Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion, discusses what he calls the Law of Reciprocity. Basically it says that when you do something for someone else, there's an unstated obligation for them to want to do something for you in return.

So when you go the extra mile for your customers or clients, you've just set the stage for that law to take effect. But it's only on that "extra mile" that it works. When you give what might be considered "normal" service, or "adequate" service or even "good" service, you haven't earned the right to expect that law to work for you.

In fact, even performing "knock-out" service often isn't enough to gain you an advantage. We've all come to expect that from any number of businesses.
 
You've really got to do something special in order to gain an advantage in today's highly competitive marketplace. Then, and only then, can you expect to create that nearly compelling desire in your customer to want to reciprocate. This simple truth says it all:

"There's no traffic jam on the extra mile."

Control Your Time

The seventh quality is that you must master and take control of your time. Time is an expendable commodity. Each one of us has the same 24 hours in each day. When those hours are gone, they cannot be replaced. They are gone forever, never to be recaptured.
 
You must treat your time as precious, and guard it wisely and selfishly. Don't let anyone disrupt you or take you away from the focus you have on your goals.

People who don't have goals are used by people who do. If you let others draw you away from your goals, you are simply saying that their goals are more important than your own.
 
If you are serious about business success - really serious, then this is one of the most important and critical areas to defend.

Persistence and Determination

Number eight, is to develop persistence and determination. From time to time you will encounter set backs or reach plateaus where it seems like nothing is going right.

Your competitors lower their prices, run massive ad campaigns and unheard of promotions, and the next thing you know your customers and clients begin doing business with them.

Business is walking out the back door faster than it's coming in the front door. Your volume is beginning to drop, and you become concerned. You seem to be spending more time in a defensive posture than you do in servicing your existing customers, and you're losing. Now is not the time to give up. Now is the time to dig in and begin to play offensively.

Now is the time to be determined not to lose your good customers - the ones you worked so hard to get. Your strategy should be to keep in touch with them and continue providing exceptional service.
 
Nearly every business is cyclical. Eventually things will change. While you can't be competitive on price all the time, you can be competitive on the service you give, and the empathy you have for your customers and their problems.

We'll talk more about how to do that in a later blog, but for now, just resolve in advance that no matter what, you'll never give up.

This is Part Three of a series covering the Eight Personal Qualities for Success.

In Part Two I covered, The Ability to Focus and Determining the Price You'll Pay.  In Part Three, I'll discuss Self Responsibility and Be Committed.

Self Responsibility

You are totally responsible for the success of your business and your life. There are no excuses. There may be set backs or economic downturns, or problems that affect your business.
 
Your suppliers or vendors may discontinue making or providing your favorite products or services, change the way they do business with you, or even merge with another company.
 
Economies change, corporate policies change, and prospects don't buy from you, and the weather is too hot or too cold.
 
While those things definitely have an impact on you, the way you do business and the sales you make, it is important to realize that those things are beyond your control, and it's up to you, and you alone, to accept responsibility for the success of your business.

No matter how bad you might have it, no matter what difficulties or challenges you might encounter, let me assure you that there are many people who have had difficulties and challenges far greater than any you are ever likely to encounter, and somehow, they manage to pull through. And you can do the same.
 
Here's a little credo that can help you. It contains just 10, two-letter words:

"If it is to be, it is up to me."

That simple one line sentence says it all. It places the responsibility exactly where it should be... directly on your shoulders.

Be Committed

Make a total commitment to your success. Once you have made the decision to be in business, be in that business. Jump in with both feet. Don't let anything hold you back. Even more than getting into the business, see that the business gets into you.

Make a commitment that you are going to succeed, no matter what.

Don't try to work two different jobs or projects at one time. You can't do either of them justice, and you'll likely end up frustrated and broke, and never know whether or not you could have been successful.

In Part Four of the series, I'll cover The Extra Mile, Control Your Time, and Persistence and Determination.