The WOW Booster

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I recently joined the throngs of moviegoers to see Superman Returns. It is fabulous! In case you haven’t heard it’s less of an action movie and more of a romance movie…perfect for us girls.

The oversized movie theatre was packed. Not a seat left in the house. During the previews, I noticed a beehive of activity in the theatre. People answering cell phones. Loud conversations with other movie goers seated several rows away. Babies crying. People getting up and down several times to crawl across entire rows of seated moviegoers. Shouting matches over seats. I kept thinking to myself, when the movie starts they will settle down. Not!

It only got worse. I could barely concentrate on Brandon Routh’s finely sculpted abs for all the commotion going on throughout the movie. I have never witnessed such a display of bad manners. Much of the bad behavior was technology related.

What is your netiquette IQ? Technology etiquette is sometimes referred to as netiquette and is defined as communicatively effectively with others in a non-offensive manner.

CNN.com reports that as the use of wireless technology goes up, the rudeness of the people using the technology is getting worse. We all have horror stories of a fellow guest answering a cell phone at a wedding, funeral or school graduation. We tend to give the offenders an “icy glare” and go about our business.

Because salespeople are heavily technology wired they tend to be netiquette offenders. Bad manners can turn off potential clients. In this competitive marketplace don’t give clients a reason to seek out another agent.

Here are some guidelines to follow to make sure you aren’t a netiquette offender.

Cell phone tips:

▪ Take your Bluetooth earpiece out of your ear when talking to a client face to face. Do you meet with clients while holding your cell phone up to your ear? It’s the same thing. Take the Bluetooth earpiece out!

▪ When you meet with clients turn your phone to vibrate or silent. Nothing is ruder than continuing to answer your cell phone while you meet with someone. If you are expecting an urgent call, let the client know in advance. When the call comes in, excuse yourself and be brief.

▪ Speak softly and in a conversational tone. USA Today coined the term “Cell Yell” and it is so apt. Follow the 10-foot zone rule and maintain your distance from others in public places when talking on your cell phone. If you have to take calls in public places such as a restaurant, doctor’s office or coffee shop take the call outside.

▪ Staring at people is bad manners. If you see someone who appears to be muttering to themselves they may be talking on an inconspicuous cell phone earpiece or they may be crazy. Either way, don’t stare.

Email Tips:

▪ Use a signature line disclaimer i.e. “Sent from my Blackberry handheld” when responding to email from your handheld PDA such as a Blackberry or Treo. Chances are you will misspell words or butcher the grammar. The disclaimer gives you permission to make mistakes.

▪ Always respond to legitimate email messages and let the sender know you received the message.

▪ Use the subject line to inform the receiver of the nature of your message. Don’t try to trick people into opening messages with deceptive subject lines.

▪ If you are sending an email to a big list, don’t show the other recipients’ names and email addresses. Put the list in the blind carbon copy line, “Bcc”, so others can’t see who is on the list.

▪ Respond quickly. Proper netiquette requires a same day to 24 hour response time.

▪ Do not “reply all”. If you are responding to a group email, just hit “reply” vs. “reply all” so only the sender gets your response. The other recipients are not interested in your pithy comments.

▪ Keep your tone professional. Avoid slang, inappropriate language and/or offensive content.

▪ Don’t type in CAPTIAL LETTERS. This in considered shouting in the online world.

▪ Don’t use colorful backgrounds, different color fonts or “smileys”. Keep it professional. Many email programs do not accept unusual formatting and you would be surprised what your email looks like to the recipient.

▪ Use a business email account. Hotpants911@yahoo.com is not an acceptable email account for professionals.

▪ Don’t use your email as a crutch to deliver sensitive news to a client. If the appraisal is a disaster or the financing has fallen through, call the client. Email lacks subtle cues like tone and body language.

▪ Watch your use of technology shorthand like BTW (By The Way) or LOL (Laugh Out Loud). Professional email messages should not contain acronyms usually reserved for instant messaging.

If you want to be an effective salesperson you will need technology. It is important that you are accessible and in touch with your clients. However, don’t abuse technology and ruin other’s experiences. I guess I will just have to drag myself to see Superman Returns again so this time when he leans in to kiss Lois Lane I can fully concentrate on moment! And ahhhhhh……what a SUPER moment!

Before you read this blog, go to the end of the blog. See the “comment” icon? The purpose of a blog is that readers can interact with the text. PLEASE COMMENT! I’ve been doing the blog format for a couple of months and no one is commenting. It’s starting to hurt my feelings! OK…on with the blog…

BE A BOY SCOUT SALESPERSON

I can’t believe the Hurricane season is here again. The first named storm of the year, Alberto, crossed over Florida last week. Since the devastation two years ago, storm season brings up a lot of bad memories and uneasy feelings. The only thing you can do is be prepared. In preparation my husband and I reviewed our storm supplies:

• Generator
• Chain saw
• Blue tarp
• Large electric fan
• Gas cans with gas
• Full propane tank
• Flashlights with batteries
• Weather radio
• Bottled water and canned foods

We have everything and feel as prepared as possible. That’s all we can do!

As the real estate market continues to correct and level, are you prepared? Are your sales tools sharp? Are you up to speed on the latest sales techniques?

The “self-sell” market is over. Prospects and investors aren’t going to sell themselves. You will have to sell them! Imagine that!

Update your sales skills:

• Ask more questions. The era of feature dumping and handing out brochures is over. Ask about key areas like moving timeframe, household size, layout preferences and moving motivation.
• Increase your follow up. Get your pen out and start writing thank-you notes again. Pick up the phone and dial for dollars. Write emails and follow up with additional information. Selling in this market requires aggressive follow up just shy of “restraining order” follow up.
• Self-generate traffic. On slow days during the week get out and visit Realtor offices. Write an eNewsletter for your community and send a blast to your prospect list. Go to the local Chamber of Commerce and network. WOW salespeople don’t wait for traffic to come to them. They self-prospect and generate traffic.
• Always ask for the sale. Make the commitment today that no one leaves your office without defining the next step of the buying process. Remember, closing is more than asking for the order. You can also close for a home site reservation or a firm future appointment. Don’t fall into the trap of prepping the buyer for another salesperson to close because you didn’t ask the question. You worked too hard to let the competition get the sale.

So the easy times might be over. But its still a glass “half-full” market. There are plenty of buyers out there. Just think like a Boy Scout – Be Prepared!

I'm not talking about that feeling in the pit of your stomach after eating a Taco Bell Big Bean Burrito. Salespeople who WOW their prospects and customers believe in themselves, in their product and in their company. They have a desire to be the BEST and to exceed their sales goals. They love being a salesperson and can't imagine doing anything else.

Have you ever met a salesperson who didn't believe in their product? I have. Telltale signs include:

• Lack of enthusiasm
• Poor eye contact
• Agreeing and buying into objections
• Mentioning negative features before the prospect notices them
• Bad sales performance
• Price oriented sales pitch instead of value oriented
• Blaming the product and/or the competition for lack of sales
• No follow up effort
• Poor closing effort

Be honest. Is this you? If you've lost your fire in the belly for your product or service, then get out! Jeffrey Gitomer says it best in his book, The Patterson Principles of Selling, "Before you can sell anyone else, you must be sold on your company, you must be sold on your product, and you must be sold on yourself."

I think the number one reason why salespersons lose their enthusiasm is because they aren't objective about the product's value proposition. You sell based on your definition of value. In other words, you sell how you like to be sold to.

Take selling real estate. Some customers value price. Some customers value lifestyle. Some customers value investment opportunities and others value a name brand. Don't let your personal definition of what constitutes value cloud your view of the product. Just because it doesn't meet your value standards doesn't mean someone else won't love it! Remove your personal bias and look at the product objectively. Determine who is the target market and WHY they might love your product or service.

Step #1 -- Interview 10 of your most recent purchasers. Ask them very simply, "Why did you buy?" Ask them for a written testimonial and three referrals.

Step #2 -- Ask new prospects "What attracted you to learn more about XYZ Product or Service?"

Step #3 -- Ask your marketing department to sell you the product through their eyes.

Step #4 -- Conduct a competition shop and look for the "only's" that your product/service has compared to the competition.

Bottom line -- it doesn't matter if your personally would or would not buy your product or service. What matters is that you understand WHY others want your product/service and you sell it with ENTHUSIASM & GUSTO!

Check back periodically for new postings as I travel around the country meeting WOW and some not so WOW salespeople. Now get out there and WOW someone today!

Meredith Oliver MIRM, CSP

Chief WOW Officer of Meredith Communications