Now before you start thinking Mary has lost her mind and wonder how can she compare a stripper to sales agents, let’s think about some similarities. Caution: while we always want our sales people to stand out and be different, I am certainly not suggesting agents take their clothes off in the sales office! Two very different professions.

Aside from all the essentials of effective selling, sales has a component of entertainment. Oh great you say. Besides everything else I need to do, now I have to entertain? Well yes, sort of. Part of entertaining, whether it is in a show, in your home or in the sales office, is to engage your guests, make them feel relaxed and to enjoy the event. And while agent’s skill sets are definitely never to be classified as ‘tricks’, they do need to incorporate both new and old skills to be versatile in our ever changing markets. We have discussed before how each selling opportunity is unique.

The one size fits all approach is not applicable to home sales. Sales presentations must be kept fresh, lively and relevant to each buyer as well as to the current market.

Otherwise they become stale, robotic and not very effective.

Let’s face it, buying a house is not like buying a vacuum cleaner. This is a major decision that will take time for most people. Some prospective buyers are at the earliest stages of the buying process, others are at the end of their home buying journey. To make their final purchase decision, today’s buyer needs solid information. Other than what information their internet search has provided, the sales agent is the one who must present the buyer with the reason to purchase their product. How that happens is what can make or break the sale.

Additionally the agent must allow the buyer to feel good about their purchase decision, particularly in these uncertain times. Once the buyer has made that decision, they should be smiling and their spirits should be high.

So agents, as we start our new year, always demonstrate integrity in your chosen profession. Be versatile by continuing to hone and update your sales skills. Keep a smile on your face. Use some humor. Then relax and enjoy the process so both you and your buyers can have a real good time – even when our hidden video cameras are capturing your talent.

Most Sales Meetings start with product and status updates, some chat about what is going on in the market place and possibly end with some sales game or the lower producers getting reprimanded in front of their peer group.

Sales People are like no other employee in your organization. They require specials skills and special handling but you are rewarded greatly when you have really great ones working for you. You have to be a great Manager to challenge them and develop their skill sets. Relative information that they can take back to the field and use in their everyday routines IS what they need. They like it when you teach them how to handle situations that they are challenged with.

So if you want to make your Sales Meetings Matter and your Sales Teams Matter, just follow our M-A-T-T-E-R technique and you will see your Sales People turning on in your meetings in no time.

M - Mold the sales skills you want to see from your Sales People. Making it known what your expectations are first, then support those expectations with training and coaching and behaviors learned will make your Sales People winners. Make sure you leave at least twenty minutes each meeting dedicated to molding new skills and mindsets.

A - Action Items Make sure each meeting has action items “Homework” they can take away and work on. Make sure you start each new meeting off with review of the action items you discussed in the previous meeting and how it changed their Sales process over the last week.

T - Time 80% of sales people have some form of ADHD. Make your meetings timely, interesting and engaging. Keep their attention with current information, meaningful topics and discussion they can benefit from.

T - Trends Make sure your information in the meeting is the latest in the industry and addresses current trends. Sales People always need support with what is going on in their sales offices TODAY.

E - Energized There is nothing worse than having to attend meetings with no energy. You leave feeling like you got the life sucked out of you. One way to keep energy up is to include your Sales People in your meeting. Engage them, ask their opinion, especially include your

With the New Year and January, in particular, come the many prognostications, scattered in different directions. Many assume that 2010 will merely be a progression from last year. Which is to say that that the economy is at or near the bottom, and that economic indicators could float a little above or below this bottom throughout 2010 or beyond. The thinking here is that there is too much stress in the financial markets to fund business expansions and innovation, and that there are too many government programs that will expire this year that have been propping up the market.

1. They relate to their clients, understand their needs and work very hard to satisfy customer's demands and desires.

3. Great agents are smart and knowledgeable. They value continued education. They have initials after their name that signifies professional designations.

4. The very best are extremely opportunistic, in a good way. If there is a tiny tear in the fabric of the tent, they will herd a camel through it.

6. The top agents are licensed with a powerful brand. There are a few exceptions, but not many.

7. Every good agent knows how to solve problems and hold, or glue, a deal together. It's actually amazing, sometimes.

Bill Hurme can be reached at billhurme@teambuilderjls.com or 206.200.1679

TRAINING. Using a Video Profile from LeBlanc & Associates of you best agent(s) demonstrates what you expect from the rest of the sales team. What better way can an agent learn than from the best of their peers? The training aspect is then reinforced with our self-evaluation guide.

TECHNICALLY SPEAKING. To maintain the highest quality of final product, all our work is done in-house. Our clients receive two DVDs of each sales encounter and have the option of either a fully processed or non-processed format.

QUALITY. LeBlanc & Associates is established as the premiere company for sales agent evaluations. Our business is your business . . . new home sales. Our high level of training for our field techs provides the best capture rate of your agents. We know you are paying to see your agents – not the walls and windows of your sales office.

WHY LEBLANC & ASSOCIATES? Have you tried the rest and found ill prepared field personnel? Have you seen more walls than agents? Do ceiling shots make you dizzy?

THEN BE PREPARED FOR THE BEST. GIVE US A CALL!

It’s easy! Give us a call!!