In the book The Go-Giver by Bob Burg and John David Mann, the first of the five laws of Stratospheric Success is this: The Law of VALUE: Your true worth is determined by how much more you give in value than you take in payment. Not how much you make per hour. Not how fat your bank account is. If you want to experience true success, You Give, Give, Give. You give of yourself more than anything else.
Too many agents (especially newer agents) place too much emphasis on their Commission they are earning than anything else. If more agents would place their emphasis on the value they provide over the commission they are to receive at the closing of the transaction there would not be a need to concern themselves with their commission. The commission earned at the closing of the transaction is an echo of value. But too many only look transactionally or in other words on one transaction at a time. This is two fold…
1.) Too many agents focus on the commission scale they are currently receiving from their brokerage rather than the value that the brokerage is bringing to them for them to do their business in the first place. Then a fatal mistake is that they will tend to compare brokerages based upon commission scale above everything else. They tend to overlook culture of the company, name brand recognition, agent services offered, company reputation in the industry and a myriad of other things.
2.) Too many agents only focus on the current transaction payment and what it will yield at closing rather than focusing on the value they are to give to their client(s) without giving much thought to the multiple opportunities that this one client(s) could bring in the future when the transaction is closed. Your clients should be treated as a precious diamond. When you treat your clients and customers as the precious commodity they are and give exponential value to them, they will in turn give right back to you. It just works that way.
As The GO-Giver explains in Chapter 2, You can not say to a Fireplace, give me some heat first and then I will provide some logs to burn. You can not say to your bank, please pay me the interest on my money and then I will make a deposit.
At a recent conference in Charleston, Author Bob Burg was the keynote speaker. He was and is what I would consider an expert in his field and an excellent speaker. I held on to every word he shared. He provided 5 elements of value that you as a business person MUST communicate to your client / customer in order to “stick out” from the competition. He also provided a few examples that will make you think and how these companies “stick out” from the competition:
1.) Excellence – Ritz Carlton Hotel – Check out this BLOG on WHY they are so successful
2.) Consistency – Chick Fil A – Honestly, when was the last time you went to a Chick-Fil-A and the drive through was slow? The food was cold? The restaurant was in need of cleaning? The staff was rude? The staff was un-appreciative? Chick-Fil-A is a prime example of a company that lives and breathes the Law of VALUE everyday, everywhere, at every location.
3.) Attention – Those who sweat the small stuff get the sale. Do your homework. Be better than Google. And don’t just pay attention to your content that you will provide….pay attention to how you even shake the hand of the person you are meeting with. Did you look them in the eye? Did you come across as you and NOT someone else? Were you genuine?
4.) Empathy – communicating to the client that you understood they are feeling something stressful and that you are there to help them through it. Don’t deny the other person’s feeling(s) YOU can not overcome an objection, BUT you can work correctly within the objection.
5.) Appreciation – It is not just feeling grateful, it is expressing it to your client and saying thank you. (i.e. Writing a thank you note to your client.) When are we as an industry going to make this a standard of practice? That is right…I said a “Standard!” A Common and Normal practice of everyday business. Ask yourself, do my past clients know how much I appreciate them? Will they refer me or use me again when it comes time to sell or buy? Will they remember me and remember the Value that I brought to their situation? I am hoping the answer is yes to all these questions.
New agents – Give of yourself. Show the value of yourself to seasoned agents. Help them when they need assistance. Conduct open houses for them. Help them market homes for their client(s). Help them with their technology. Give of yourself without keeping a score card. Learn the business from those that have been in your shoes.
Seasoned agents – reach out to newer agents and have them assist you on your latest listing. Just because it it is your lead does not mean you can not share it with someone else. When you GIVE, your actions will long be remembered. The newer agent that you assist and reach out to will not forget your actions, and when that newer agent has a listing or a project that may be a little too large for them to take on, and when they need assistance who do you think they are going to call and ask to assist them? That is right….YOU. Multiple opportunities will come up when you give to others, especially when helping a newer agent get their business started.
I know, I know…you think I am crazy. Give part of my commission away? Share in my leads and my listings? Who does Matthew think he is? If you have never tried it…give it a shot. Whatever category you are in New or Seasoned. Try it. Test it! The payoff of your giving (Sharing) will be immeasurable.
The Law of Value is a business strategy that has been proven time and time again. Remember that those who are open in sharing their business secrets instead of keeping their secrets to themselves are typically the most successful agents in the market. Are you willing to try something new? How can you put this first law into practice in your business right now?
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