Kentucky Real Estate Business

Posts Tagged ‘Skills’

I read an interesting article on Realtor.org about a group of real estate agents who took classes on the art of improvisation. Several of the participants mentioned that while the class was scary at first, in the end it helped them overcome some of their shyness, reduced their fear of looking silly, and improved their ability to think on the their feet. It got me thinking about how all real estate agents could benefit from such training.

Improv classes are a great way to force you to be present in the moment, to listen to the person you’re speaking with, and to read body language. These are skills that can help any professional, but are especially useful in the realty business. We work with strangers all the time, some of them friendly and talkative; others are quiet or more on the surly side. We need to be able to handle ourselves professionally and with confidence when dealing with all types of people.

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When working with clients, one of an agent’s best skills is the ability to listen. Many realtors get caught up in their tried-and-true selling scripts, and may not truly hear what the clients are saying. This can cost you a sale if the client is trying to tell you something and you ignore it.

A client’s body language will also tell you if you’re using the right approach with them or not. After all, some buyers or sellers prefer agents who are aggressive and outgoing, while others like a more casual personality. By expanding your ability to read people, you’ll be better able to adapt to your audience.

It’s imperative that you learn to adjust to the current situation rather than relying on a script. Improv or acting classes can also help you to do this. Because you’re forced to think on the spot, you can’t depend on rehearsed selling techniques. You will learn how to roll with the situation, overcome obstacles, and face challenges with much less fear. You’ll be able to trust in your own ability to adapt and be creative. New ideas will come to you more easily because you’ll be forcing yourself to think outside the box, which could be just the thing you need to close your next sale.

Because you’ll learn to be more spontaneous, you’ll also learn how to be more comfortable in your own skin. Your confidence will greatly increase, and this self assuredness will rub off on your clients. They will believe in your ability to rise to various challenges, and to face awkward situations and push through.

By learning how to improvise, you will be giving your confidence as well as your selling abilities a huge boost. And these factors will in turn pay off via increased sales and repeat customers.

http://www.articlesbase.com/real-estate-articles/the-art-of-the-adlib-how-improv-skills-can-boost-your-real-estate-business-545716.html

Remember, the quality of the life you lead is a direct reflection the quality of the questions you ask yourself and others. I learned that is true both of my life and real estate investing business, one or the other only grow when I’m asking questions of these kinds and following through on improving my life based on the answers I receive. Here are some POWER QUESTIONS to regularly use when you feel overwhelmed or have difficulty getting everything done you’d like to. Just ask yourself these questions, be honest, and start making changes in the way you allocate your time so you can be more effective.

1. What is my #1 priority for the day?

2. What is my #1 priority for the week?

3. Who  could help me with this or even do it FOR me in a fraction of the time it’d take me to figure out or get done? (and is there something I can do for them in return?)

4. Who do I know and what valuable resources do they have that I can access at NO cost, that will enable me to do this faster, cheaper, or better–  while having them happy to allow my use of them? (resources could be time, specialized knowledge, skill sets, tools, cash, employees, customer lists etc)

5. Is this important or is this urgent? (If one, time block it and get it done in chunks making it your priority 1 each day until finished. If two, deal with it AFTER your priority of the but get it done so that it doesn’t hang over your head multiple days. If both important AND urgent, do it first and finish before tackling anything that’s just one)

6. If I accomplish only this ONE thing today, would I be satisfied with my use of time and progress towards my goals today?  (great way to tell if your “priority task” of the day is in fact your best use of time)

7. Will this nagging problem in my personal or business life that is struggling me VANISH when I can just write a check and have done with it? (if so, put the problem to the back of your mind and focus on the solution = action to create income to make that problem disappear)

8. Am I being “busy” or “productive”? (if you’re in the ocean and want to be back on dry land, busy treads water, productive swims closer to shore even if only inches at a time)

9. What “time-sucking activities” can I reduce more or completely eliminate so I have more time for both business and family? (doing this once a month as a 30 minute self-evaluation that you SCHEDULE in your calendar can work WONDERS for you)

10. What on my schedule do I need to do but DREAD doing? (Can I do it early in the morning so it doesn’t hang over my head all day? Can I delegate it? Can I outsource it?)

I hope those questions help you in your life and business, continue to grow and have more profit opportunities!

It’s not how smart you are; it’s how connected you are. The business coaching industry is increasingly looking at developments in the understanding of peak performance to help leaders and managers develop their skills. Valedictorians and technical experts are toppling from their pedestals as a large amount of research confirms a new formula for stardom in the workplace. The qualities of EQ, or one’s “emotional intelligence quotient,” turns out to be twice as important as IQ or technical expertise in determining who will succeed in the workplace. Categorized as “soft skills,” the structure of the EQ powerhouse includes objective self-awareness, effective self-management, and the use of social/communication skills that help facilitate understanding and collaboration with others. In Working with Emotional Intelligence, author Daniel Goleman confirms the importance of EQ with an exhaustive review of research on top-ranked managers throughout the business world. Outcomes show conclusively that those with higher EQ consistently surpassed colleagues with deficits in “soft skills,” despite the presence of superior IQ and technical expertise among the latter. Since these skills are not commonly addressed in formal education, their development is arbitrary for many. Fortunately, there are solutions. WealthBridge Connect, an elearning company that focuses on productivity solutions for businesses and entrepreneurs, focuses their training programs around EQ development in today’s workplace. Co-founder and Chief Learning Officer, Dr. J. Gregory Gillum, launched his personal journey of self-discovery through the coaching process, and it changed the course of his professional life. Recalling the moment of self-awareness, Gillum remembers looking at his business coach as he said, “I want to do what you do.” His coach responded, “Why don’t you?” Eight months later, Gillum became an entrepreneur in the coaching world. Prior to his role at WealthBridge Connect, Dr. Gillum served as the Chief Executive Officer of humanfusion, an award winning coaching and consulting firm that focused on leadership and management development. Gillum’s mission as a business coach involves teaching the skills of EQ to individuals aspiring to realize their full potential. His ideas follow the findings of Goleman’s research: “If you can develop core competencies in this area, you will enhance your ability to rise in any organization.” Gillum’s unique approach to EQ training utilizes the integration of EQ into the four life domains, all of which are essential to success. Taken together, they encompass elements such as the organization of physical space, time management, effective focus, an objective awareness of strengths and limitations, and the cultivation of a sense of gratitude and accountability to the community and world at large. Gillum reports that as clients began to practice the disciplines within each domain, they experience a powerfully expanded sense of vision and possibility. Gillum enthusiastically describes transformative outcomes with the coaching process. In addition to enhanced self-awareness and expanded vision, clients can anticipate dramatic increases in productivity. “I coached a group of realtors, and every top performer dramatically increased their productivity during the coaching process. One first-year real estate agent landed in the top 25 (of over 300) for her geographic area. She was astounded,” Gillum said. “I have had similar success with financial planners, small business owners and other entrepreneurs. Coaching has a dramatic impact on performance in any field.” Gillum addresses the area of management with a technique he learned in the pharmaceutical industry called assimilation, an intervention designed for managers with work performance problems. The initial steps involve individual sessions with the manager and interviews with workplace associates who can provide additional perspective on the problem. The coaching strategy culminates in a powerful, live version of the 360 evaluation in which all parties involved in the problem assemble together. With the support of the coach, the manager must decide how to handle issues concerning employees and workplace issues. Gillum summarizes the benefits of this high-impact learning experience: “It creates public accountability and also requires everyone’s participation in getting to solutions. The manager’s performance improves, and the resulting ‘buy-in’ strengthens the sense of community.” A critical part of the coaching experience is client behavioral assessment. To address this critical success factor, Gillum uses the Winslow Dynamics Profile (WDP), thought to be the gold standard of assessments by behavioral psychologists worldwide. WDP measures 24 critical traits, including the individual’s emotional intelligence. WealthBridge Connect is one of the few companies in the Midwest licensed to use the WDP. Apart from his own passion for the work of WealthBridge Connect, Gillum is confident about the future of coaching. “Coaching is rapidly being legitimized in the business literature, as well as through personal and organizational validation with objective outcomes. Rapid changes in the workplace will necessitate the need for coaching as we move deeper into the information age, with knowledge workers becoming more in demand. The new work environment will require a visionary style of management, which gives employees permission to explore, question, and participate in the development of their own potential, and to contribute meaning and significance to the mission of their organizations.” ###

Dr. Gillum is the Chief Learning Officer of WealthBridge Connect, Inc. As CLO, his primary role is managing the universe of information that WealthBridge members use to drive their business to new heights. He lives with his wife and two children on a farm in central Kentucky.