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Seeds For Thought Try to leave the past in the past. Perky isn't enough. Invest in research. Not all salespeople are compensated equally. Losers always find excuses to excuse themselves. The journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step. Becoming Your Dynamic Self     In this story, we met Andrew Martin, a young man drifting from job to job looking for the right opportunity. However, what we eventually learned was that the man that Andy is, is more important than the job he holds.     Initially, Andy expected big things from real estate, just as he had expected big things from computer sales and insurance sales before real estate. But, in drifting from job to job, there was no change in Andy as a person. All Andy found in changing jobs was a different routine.     When Andy finally arrived at Taylor Realty, he found an atmosphere that was humming along at an unfrantic pace. Andy settled into the routine. But he couldn't stand inactivity for very long.     His special ability forced him into action.     Real estate brokerage is a commission business. You sell a home or an apartment building and you receive commissions. If you don't sell or rent anything, you don't make anything. From this method of compensation, it follows that the most successful commissioned salespeople tend to be self-motivators.     Self-motivators are able to make a fresh, clean and enthusiastic start each business day. They put away and leave the rejections and problems of the past in the past. Today is today and they can work unburdened. A commissioned salesperson may leave the house in the morning with few prospects but with the optimistic belief that he or she may have a solid sale by nightfall.     This putting on a happy face to start each day isn't easy. Not many people, even in the commissioned sales ranks, have the power to maintain a positive mental attitude (PMA) day after day. But, those having PMA will find an easier road to financial success, presuming that reasonable ability and corporate support are matched with the positive mental attitude.     In other words, PMA is important but just PMA alone is nothing. With PMA alone, a smiling face and an empty head, you'd simply appear to the world as some poor, demented brainwashed cult member. You have to be more than a perky airhead. To work at all, PMA must be linked with ability. You must be someone who knows what he or she is doing. And together with attitude and ability, you have to be selling in the right place. You can't be selling air conditioners in the Arctic. Finally, you have to pick an industry such as insurance, real estate or automobiles where compensation is directly related to sales and commissions are only limited by your ability to sell.     It is not unusual in a commission driven sales office to find a room full of sales people, all supposedly doing the same job, but with some of the sales people barely making a living and other sales people making a handsome income.     In the Taylor Realty office, four of the five salespeople are scraping by, either through choice or because of their lack of special ability. And, one salesperson, Don Nardo, is making close to $100,000 a year.     This particular story is about a young man in the real estate business. However, remember to expand upon the story. Hopefully, you will be looking for the principles and ideas involved in Andy's success and how these principles and ideas might be applied to other business situations. Don't be afraid to expand your thinking. Try to make these principles and ideas your principles and ideas. Feel free to change and adapt them to suit you and your situation.     For example, suppose that instead of a real estate office, we were talking about an insurance agency, and you were a new salesperson at that agency. Your first few days on the job, you see that most of the agents are making a living, selling one or two policies a week and making a few hundred dollars a week. On the other hand, you hear about one or two agents at the company who are selling one or two major policies a day and making a few thousand a week. Now, as a young trainee, whom are you going to choose for your role models?     Of course, you say, you would choose the several thousand dollar a week salespersons. And, since you are a person with special ability, you try to figure out what the successful agents are doing differently than the less successful agents.     What are the successful insurance salespersons doing?     What are they saying?     And, just as importantly, what aren't they doing and saying?     What do you think makes a good commissioned salesperson?     Let's continue with the insurance analogy. Maybe every morning, the "just getting by" agents spend the first hour of the business day drinking coffee, telling war stories, worrying about where to have lunch, and giving their opinions on why the home team won or lost last night's game. Perhaps every morning, the "successful' agents are using that first hour to plan their work days; to call back new customers and help old customers resolve problems with the claims department.     Maybe if you talked with the "just getting by" agents, they'd tell you that the economy was bad, that allowing banks to sell insurance was killing the business, that government interference was dampening sales, that interest rates were too low, that the claims department needed revamping, that the sales offices could do with some new carpeting and that the boss wasn't spending enough money on advertising. Now, listen to them. This is important. Listen because they'll talk and talk. They have most of the day to talk and talk. Are they saying that all of their problems are external to them? "If only someone or something else would..."     If you talked with the "successful" agents, they'd say, "Just get back to work, kid. Are you here to make friends and be one of the guys or are you here to sell insurance?"     Do you think it would be easy to choose "making money" over "being one of the guys?" It isn't. It isn't easy to resist the peer pressure to conform. But, like it or not, you probably will have to force yourself to resist. You have to do things differently. You have to be different. Successful people are different. Successful people are standing outside the crowd because the way to gauge achievement is to use "the average guys" for comparison. The more of a success you are, the farther you are drawn away from everybody else.     You probably want to say that you'll be different and that you could do both. You'll be able to have breakfast and lunch time to chew the fat, joke and gossip with the guys, to be one of the guys, and you'll still have time to be a super-salesperson. You think that you can be a regular guy super-salesperson. You probably won't be able to. Until you build a very strong client base, you'll probably have to choose between the guys and success. If you don't choose, you will fall naturally in with the regular guy pack and earn regular guy income.     Can you handle the fact that success may make you different from your peers?     Let's get to Andy who has spent six months on the job. Andy's special ability tells him that he should model himself after the one winner in the office, Don Nardo. At least, Andy knows that the way to make money in the real estate business is not spending the day doing crossword puzzles.     Andy talks with Mr. Taylor. And, Mr. Taylor frankly tells Andy that becoming a master salesperson like Don isn't automatic. To be like Don means that Andy has to learn the business from the ground up. You have to know more about your product than do your customers. You have to know your customers needs. Why and how will your product benefit them? Research. Research. Learn the product you have to sell. Never presume that you can or should stop learning. In this case, Andy needed to learn about investment properties. In your case, it could be computers, or cameras, or office copiers, or pet supplies.     Your knowledge will instill confidence in your customers. Many times it will be your confidence that will be the deciding factor in the customer making the decision to buy from you. When buying, many people look to the expertise of the salesperson to lead them to a buying decision. People want to be convinced that they are making a wise decision, the best decision. A primary role of the salesperson is not to be a company/product robot but a friendly convincer.     The experienced salesperson first establishes a sincere bond of trust with the prospect and then leads the prospect to the buying decision. In words, it's, "Mr. Franklin, having listened to your needs, I know you're looking for the best lawn mower you can buy for less than $300 and having researched all the models, I would recommend the Green Top LX50 with the turbocharged shredder as a strong best buy."     Andy's special ability allows him to see that in doing months of research, he is investing in his future. Andy is fortunate. Andy is fortunate that he can see beyond the tip of his nose. He can see that eventually there will be a pay-off for this day after day after night after day after night of work. Perhaps the results will not come immediately, but they will come eventually. Andy invests research time in his future.     When you research you are investing time in your own future.     This is a key point. People with the special ability can see that part of the work they should be doing is an investment in their futures. And, they have the patience to realize that the rewards of investing may not be immediate. The rewards may not come tomorrow or next week. If the rewards come in six months or next year, that's all right. Time passes quickly and six months and next year come quickly and, then, those who have made study and research investments start to reap the benefits of those investments and so on and so on as they continue to invest in the future.     The insurance salesperson who invests by helping an "old" customer with a claims problem may not have the "old" customer as a new customer for another three years until renewal but, maybe, in the mean time, that old customer will be referring other customers who become new business.     What do you think?     Andy does his weeks and weeks of research only to find that, really, he's less than half-done. He takes a deep breath. He keeps his chin up. He invests some more. He does all the rest of the research.     How many people would have balked at doing all this work, which remember, is all voluntary work? You can decide to forego the research and sit in the office and knit and wait for your time to be the "up" person, which means that you get your chance to answer the next telephone call. How many people would have looked at Andy's research project and, at some point, have said,     "Hey, I'm wasting my time here. This isn't making me any money. I've got to be doing something that's going to make me money, now. I need the money now, not in six months. Who's going to give me any guarantee that I'm going to make any money from all this work in six months anyway? No one else has to do all this work just to sell real estate. The economy is bad ... We aren't doing enough advertising ... These buyers will drive me crazy, they can't make up their minds. Maybe I should be working for Brown Realty. Have you seen all the listings they're getting? Where are we going for lunch today?"     From his research, Andy has a list of the real estate investors in town and he has learned different things about each of them and their buildings. Now, he has to put the research to work. He doesn't want to wait for the off chance that one of the investors may call him. At this point in the story, the investors don't even know Andy. He's the new kid in town. Andy has to find a way to tell these investors, "Hey, I'm here, I'm special and we can do business together."     The newsletter is a good catalyst to start things bubbling. The newsletter is a means for Andy to open up a dialogue with the town's investors. The newsletter contains general information, which should provoke comment from investors.     "Mr. X, did you receive our monthly newsletter? Great. What did you think about that article on historical rehabs?"     And, gradually in the conversation, by listening, he can learn more about the particular investor's objectives, goals and philosophy on real estate investment. When the appropriate time comes in the conversation, Andy can introduce his rental and brokerage services. These calls are handled as no pressure K.I.S.S. work which means "Keep It Simple, Stupid." Andy isn't trying to force anything to happen. Andy can end the calls with,     "Any time we can be of assistance, sure, thank you, bye."     Make contact. Keep the contacts going. Establish name recognition. Reinforce the services offered.     Read and think about the words of Lao-Tzu again, "The journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step." This is a defining moment. Start your journey now and you need never look back.     Mr. X may not be Andy's client for one month or two months or six months or two years, but     Andy is a young man. He is one of the youngest people in his field ... eventually...     The newsletters give Andy a means to separate himself from the crowd of other investment property brokers in Newton. Presumably, Andy is different. He does more work than the other brokers. He offers a new service. And, he cares enough to keep following up. The first contact may not do it, or the second, or third, or fourth, or eighth or the eighteenth, but, eventually...     What is the real objective of a commissioned salesperson?     The car salesperson can't worry that much about the car. The car is there. Really, the salesman can add some icing on the cake, add some sizzle to his or her presentation, but the majority of buyers in today's market aren't that coercible that they will buy a car and accessories that they don't want. The successful car salesman is really trying to do two things. First, he wants a shot at showing as many cars as possible to as many buyers as possible. The more he shows, the more he sells. Secondly, he wants the opportunity to sell himself and the dealership to the buyer. The auto salesperson might say,     "You can buy another car somewhere else. You can even buy this exact car somewhere else. But, if you buy this car, here, from me, you have me backing up the purchase. I want you to think of me as kind of an insurance policy for buying this car at this dealership from me. Here's what I want you to know: I want you to want to give me your business now and in the future. I want you to want to refer your friends and family to me." The car salesman sells himself, his confident enthusiastic positive mental attitude self.     The same basically holds true for Andy. He's selling someone else's building. He can't do that much to change his product. He can add some icing and sizzle but not much more. Perhaps, he can give the seller some tips on dressing up the building for sale, but Andy really can't change the building. Action Principles Challenge    Go to your favorite newsgroups and tell people about this website, Success.org, and the work of the nonprofit American Success Institute. Go to your favorite website and suggest that they include a link to Success.org. As you help others, you help yourself. We need you to act as our ambassador. Be an Action Principles Champion. Thank you.     Andy's real opportunity, what he can do, is to have many investors, whom he knows on a first name basis, to present the property to, and, he can tell the buyer that he will be around after the sale, if he is needed. And, by knowing his individual investors, he can try to make the best investor/building match.     Later in the story, having completed the research, Andy could sell Mr. Taylor on his ideas to subscribe to the newsletter service and to buy the computer equipment. But, how would someone with the special ability have acted if the response from Mr. Taylor had been negative?     Well, Andy could try to build a stronger case and try Mr. Taylor again. Perhaps, he could dig up some research on the successful use of computers in real estate offices. Perhaps, he could call the newsletter company and ask for more information or testimonials or the names of satisfied, existing subscribers whom Mr. Taylor could call.     Or, Andy could modify the project. Perhaps, he could write a short two-page newsletter himself. In other words, he could use the insert he was writing as the actual newsletter. He could use the office copier to make his copies. He could type or hand address the newsletters himself. He can buy his own computer and software.     Or, Andy could, at some point, decide to buy out-of-pocket the newsletter and the computers himself. Or, he could ask Don to go into the project with him. What are your ideas?     Now, let's change the story. Perhaps Mr. Taylor wasn't the fatherly guiding figure as portrayed in the story. Reconstruct the scene. Mr. Taylor was an old grouch who was set in his ways and didn't want the office to change at all. Andy still has his special ability. Andy still has his research. Andy still has his ideas. Maybe, Mr. King at Crown Realty or Mrs. Simmons at Tri-Star Realty or Miss Stuart at Century 21 would like to start an investment property division with Andy, his ideas and the equipment and support that Andy needs.     Again, to be successful, you need the special ability, you have to have a positive attitude, you have to know what you're doing, and, if you're working for someone else, you have to have the right corporate support.     The newsletters and, later, the Roundtable and New Investors meetings all help to build Andy's image and generate business for him. Andy succeeds. Andy succeeds big. But, Andy was ill prepared for early success. He becomes self-righteous, domineering and full of himself. Andy knows. And, Andy's friends at the hotel lounge should know that Andy knows. And, the investors in Newton should know that Andy knows. Just ask Andy. Andy will tell you that Andy knows.     After working so hard to climb to a solid position, Andy puts himself on the edge of the cliff. He teeters on the edge. One deal goes bad. A second deal, worse, a personal deal almost goes bad. He teeters. So hard a climb up and so fast will be the fall down.     What saves Andy? Andy can go astray. Anybody can go astray. But, Andy is saved by his special ability. The special ability makes Andy pragmatic. The special ability acts as a mirror, which allows Andy to see his true reflection. Basically, Mr. Taylor tells Andy that he's acting like a jerk. The special ability allows Andy to see that, yes, he has been acting like a jerk. Andy can see what's right and what works. And, equally important, Andy can see what he's doing wrong and how self-destructive his actions have been. The special ability allows Andy the luxury of being able to blame himself and quickly put himself back on track.     No success plan is foolproof. Every success plan is going to have hurdles and obstacles and time losing and money losing offshoots. Some people can't find their way over, around and back. People with the special ability usually can.     Also, the special ability allows Andy to learn a few things from the two little punches he took. He learned about a financing technique to save his personal deal. He learned how important long-standing contacts can be, when Don called the bank president on his behalf. He learned what happened to Don and how one accident of fate could bring anyone, in a flash, back to square one. But, he also learned that being a successful businessman helped Don financially to provide his daughter with the best possible care.     Andy helped Don; Don helped Andy. Don showed Andy how, through the use of limited partnerships, he could begin to purchase much larger properties. Andy could move into the big time.     But, in moving into the big time, buying multi-million dollar shopping centers, Andy takes on new risks. This is new territory. After doing all the work to build up a strong investment property brokerage business, and succeeding, Andy switches a lot of his energies to another activity, limited partnerships. Is this right? Is he possibly overextending himself? Remember that on top of all of this, he's committed himself to quite a bit of charitable work. And, on top of that, he'll be buying and managing the entire Taylor Realty business. Andy is a good salesman but will he be a good manager? He wasn't very adept at inner office politics before in dealing with the secretaries. At some point, the support system of Mr. Taylor and Don will be gone. Andy will have to build a new support system for himself and the company. Hopefully, he will chose to be guided by the Action Principles.     These are all great challenges for Andy. But, if successful at each of these endeavors, by hiring and managing the right people, Andy could end up the owner of a large thriving business and a part owner of prime commercial and investment real estate. If all the pieces fall right, Andy could end up very wealthy, rather quickly.     Or, in your opinion, would Andy have been better off taking a much more conservative tack? Instead of expanding out, maybe he should be concentrating on what he knows and what he has proven that he can do successfully. That is, selling smaller investment properties and buying smaller investment properties for himself.     There isn't a right answer. There are risks and rewards. Only time will tell. Could you be Andy? Lesson 28 Resources Go to Lesson Twenty Nine

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