In a recent example we conducted a secret shopper campaign within our company.  We undertook over 100 open homes of salespeople from within our business and also from other real estate companies.  An open home is when an individual comes into contact with a salesperson, who then generally has to follow up to be able to make more of that potential business.  When there is no follow up the business is lost at that point.  When there is follow up the business continues to be available and, depending on the skills, can be converted to more business.

The reason why questions are so important is because there is one space in business you don’t want to be – and maybe this is also a part of our life experience – and that is the space of “don’t know”.  It is the bearer of a lot of thought and allows possibility and options but if the “don’t know” space is where you end then you are unlikely to be the converter of any business.  There are two responses that you get when you ask for business; you get a ‘yes’, which is great and allows you to continue to build and grow with your contact; or you get a ‘no’, which either generally ends that association or gives you a reason to find a different solution.

When I look at the recent results of the secret shopper campaign I can only determine that there are a lot of people who should be good at sales who are not because they sit in the space of “don’t know”.

I would suggest if you don’t ask questions and don’t follow up, you will reside in the unsuccessful space of “don’t know”.  A ‘yes’ is great; a ‘no’ is disappointing; a “don’t know” is a waste of time.

]]> http://www.careysmith.com/who-knows/feed/ 0 http://www.careysmith.com/the-climb-must-never-stop/ http://www.careysmith.com/the-climb-must-never-stop/#comments Wed, 21 Jul 2010 15:04:34 +0000 Carey Smith http://www.careysmith.com/?p=2657 I can confirm that you go quicker downhill than you do going up. I am at the Inman Conference in San Francisco. A quantum leap for me in my understanding of our industry business aligned with its compatibility to technology. Opinions divided but acceptance of direction is universal.

I also find myself with an opportunity to walk the streets of a new destination in the City previously unknown to me. I was up and away early this morning on a walk that was first searched on Google – seemed appropriate to do that considering it has been the most discussed topic here. What is San Francisco famous for? – The Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz. Could I potentially see both at the same time? San Francisco has some of the steepest streets in the world so what did I search? “List of the steepest streets to see Alcatraz and the Golden Gate Bridge”. It came up with the 10 steepest streets in San Francisco.  I chose the 5^th steepest.

A quick insight in the Golden Gate Bridge that we heard yesterday by the host of Inman – When the bridge was built the men knew there was a safety net below they stated that the ‘safety net’ increased productivity but 30%. It also has the highest rate of suicide in the world one person every week. With no safety net the consequences are known.

The street I walked up was steep in any language – and as I climb it was thinking about the view that hopefully I would see from the top. My slow steps however were a testament of the climb to the top it was hard work. I made it – The view from the top was exhilarating. The Golden Gate Bridge to my right and Alcatraz straight ahead. I reflected. The view at the top is much different to the few even 10 steps before. You must make the top to achieve the view. But I then began to wonder about the No 1 steepest street. A flash of ‘think again’ came over me. Why would you necessary get the best view at the steepest street in San Francisco? Maybe the highest but that doesn’t mean the steepest.

The business I lead is No 2 in the industry. I do not get to see the view from the top in our business or industry. I am surrounded by those who do. The language at the top is different to the language I use. The business leaders at the top have walked up the hill. They know the you go down quicker when you are the top than when you are still on the climb.

We could do this – We must do this.

We should do this – We will do this.

The dream position must be to reach your capacity but be forever testing it and create room to take another step up the hill of momentum.

The climb must never stop.

I admire business people and salespeople who have the ability to be routine in their follow up with making phone calls.  They build trust, they build confidence and ultimately they bond the relationship.  So why do so many sales orientated people not follow up?  It is linked to perceived failure and also involves self talk regarding the call before the call is made.  The best way to get around call reluctance is to either have a set script or to have three set questions.  When you go to a call centre there is no call reluctance.  Why?  Because the caller has a set script to work from and the call becomes routine.  It is easy to do, you know what direction you are heading and you know how the call is to be finished.  Most of us are not call centres, most of us are people in business trying to generate more business. 

When we establish a routine in making phonecalls then we are guaranteed that business will be generated.  In the cycle of the sales process there are two parts to making telephone contact.  The first is where you are calling a client to either establish a relationship or to sell a product.  The second part is the follow up call to either ascertain where the business is up to or to close the business.  Making telephone calls is the fastest way to generate new business and to make appointments.  Going from part contact to full contact is the reason why we make phonecalls.

Three things to remember to avoid call reluctance: 

1. Set a routine time every week to make your calls.
2. Know who you are going to call and what you are going to call about.
3. Promise that you will be making a follow up call.

With these three components making phone calls will be successful. 

PERSONAL TIP : If you are serious about phone contact get yourself a headset you will find they have many benefits for you.

This is due to be published in The Independent next week.

What are the best/worst airports – and why?
Auckland – based on the fact that I know it; the short-cuts, check-in counters and Customs.  Delhi airport is the worst – there is no APEC; it’s ciaos as you come through and baggage takes at least half an hour.  I do know however that they are building a new airport which is understood to be the biggest in the world, hence why it probably isn’t so great now.

What is the best/worst hotel/accommodation – and why?
The Westin in Shanghai.  It’s centrally located but one of the few hotels that actually has an area around it, which is unusual in such a heavily populated city.

Your best/worst hotel experience? (eg. Did you ever get stuck in a lift for 12 hours, or find your hotel was actually a brothel, or have your best wool suit shrunk by the laundry service?)
The worst hotel was a capsule hotel I had to stay in because of a plan diversion into Hong Kong. A very unusual experience – I probably know how a morgue feels.  It had a very claustrophobic feeling to it.

Best/worst airline for service – and why?
Emirates.  The feeling is very calm on their flights; unobtrusive service and they seem to rely on the passenger to be the best judge of their behaviour.
The worst airline is Dragon Air.  Two reasons for me personally; firstly, I don’t understand Chinese and secondly the age of their planes seemed to be more dated than most other airlines.

Which is the best airline on the Tasman (NZ-Australia) route?
Air New Zealand is the best airline for the Tasman.  They have a number of services which makes flying easier and the process quicker.  They have very much lifted their processing points across the Tasman route to now be the best.

Which domestic airline do you rate best?
Air New Zealand is the best domestic airline.  The introduction of the e-tag Fast Bag and their valet parking services takes them to the top of the list.

Top tip for arriving fresh and ready to go on long-haul flights – or for avoiding meltdown later in the week if you are flying to Australia and back in a day
A top tip on long-haul flights is to set your watch to the destination time straight away and begin to act in the time zone you are going to. To avoid a meltdown if travelling to Australia in one day I would recommend you turn left instead of right when you board.

Favourite New Zealand destination – and why? Which destination do you hate most?
The Southern Lakes region.  The scenery is spectacular, it’s always a welcoming destination and there is a definite sense they understand the travelling process.  There is probably not a destination that I hate as such.  The more difficult destinations are those that are remote which tend to be on the extreme East Coast and extreme West Coast – you can’t link your travel.

Favourite international destination – and why? And which one do you hate most?
Shanghai simply because of the diversification in culture, the transformation of the city over the last 15 years, the defining points between the old and the new, and the world-class financial district.  Again, I don’t hate any locations as such but Delhi would rank as being the most difficult just because of the sheer number of people and lack of infrastructure.  You need to be patient as it takes time to get from place to place and that ultimately puts pressure on you as a business traveller.

Favourite New Zealand bar/eatery?
Home.  I also like Orbit because of the view of Auckland.

Favourite overseas bar/eatery?
On the Huangpu River in Shanghai there is an area called 3 On The Bun.  This is an extraordinary experience of different places to eat. There is an eatery called Slice which is a teppanyaki experience.  Right next door to this is a brewery (see photo) where they actually pour the beers from the vat and I had never seen such a large range of beers before.

Worst/most interesting meal(s)/food you’ve had on an overseas trip (did you enjoy fried grasshoppers, or find yourself next to the cast of Friends, or have to get through a 6-hour, 12-course Asian banquet after a 24-hour flight)
The most interesting experience of a meal was in a restaurant called The Black Cafe in Shanghai.  It is run by blind people and you order downstairs and then go upstairs into a completely black room.  You cannot see anything and you are led to your table.   It is so you experience life (in a short window) as a blind person.  You can’t see the food they serve you and you end up eating with your hands.  You are aware that there are people around you but you can’t see them.  It is the most unusual experience.

Packing tips – anything unusual/useful you pack that you’d recommend other people take?
I always have a toiletries bag that is permanently left in my bag together with power leads then I never have to worry about those.  I also have a copy of my passport and a copy of my credit card numbers.

Do you work on the plane? – Why/ why not?
Depends on the length of the trip but it is a good time to completely clean out emails and to also work on bigger thinking projects.

What are the best/worst aspects of long-haul flights?
The best aspect is being able to watch a movie which I rarely do and the other one is having a longer period to be able to read. 

What is the most interesting/horrifying/dramatic thing that’s ever happened to you on a flight?
I was on a flight where the plane was diverted due to cyclonic conditions going into Hong Kong – I was quite nervous.  The only other one was when I was flying to Tauranga and they couldn’t get the landing gear down.  It was quite a small plane but eventually they did get it to work which was quite a relief at the time.

Most interesting/horrific fellow passenger/person sitting next to you on a flight?
There was one guy on a long-haul flight who kept his light on because he was scared of the dark.  This was both interesting and horrific.  People who snore are a problem.  The only other one was during a flight to Sydney we landed and there was a potential H1N1 passenger at the back of the plane and we were quarantined for 5 hours.  Fortunately I wasn’t sitting next to them.

If you didn’t live in New Zealand, where in the world would you choose to live – and why?
Sydney.  It’s a world class city now.  I also have a number of friends and family in Sydney.

Best travel experience?
My honeymoon on Waiheke.  We rented a small batch right on the beachfront in Palm Beach. The weather was great, there was plenty to do and the location was perfect.

Worst travel experience?
I had missed a flight between Auckland and Gisborne and had to do auctions.  The only way was to get a flight to Napier which landed at 10am and the auctions in Gisborne started at 12noon.  It was a 2 hour 15 minute drive.  Unfortunately they only had a Ford Focus available.  I won’t tell you what time I arrived but the Ford Focus seemed to be a bit overheated.

Any tips for getting upgraded? Any good upgrade stories?
I think upgrades are a thing of the past.  Airlines have a more defining relationship with their passengers now and it seems that upgrades occur from time-to-time but that is usually when the flight is overbooked more than any requests you can make.

I was with my friend this morning and he has a car wash business.  He will have an annual turnover of about $300,000 per year.  He has run this business for just on 3 months.  What should he spend on marketing? What marketing should he do? How does he measure the results? 

When you take into account a business and the three key costs which are generally labour, premises and marketing, usually labour will be approximately 45% of total turnover, premises 5%, and marketing should be no more than 4%.  The balance are generally sundry costs which add up to around 20%.  This gives the business a target of 25% gross to net profit.  If we quarantine marketing then he has a total spend available of $12k.  It doesn’t seem much but there again he is in the business of making people feel good about their car 

What we all know is who our customer is.  80% of his customers are known.  So immediately he has a target but if he can only spend on average 4% of his total turnover to attract a customer then where does he target it? 

The best form of marketing for his business is brand marketing through the customers that he currently is getting.  Emphasising loyalty and referral will be the best way for his business to continue to grow at a steady rate.  Remembering that the customer of his business will always want their car washed.  The question for him is “will they come back?” 

It is important to know the percentages within your business, they are standard and how you market your business or your product, linked with your service, is a key to new customers and customer retention.  In our business of real estate, generally the focus is on the product and rarely on the brand but with many businesses the focus is on the brand and then it drills through to the product.  My recent experience at looking at cars shows an emphasis on the brand which then provides the different products within that brand.  How much do you spend on marketing and is it at the 4% level?