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The Business Discipline

Introduction to the Business Discipline

2% Realty has built its success on an effective sales process. The focus has shifted from a transaction approach to a relationship approach. With our unique variety of offered services, we must continue to sell, yet recognize, that the ultimate goal of our brokerage is to focus on a long-term relationship with our clients.

The following is a roadmap of how to establish and run a successful business in the real estate industry and provides detailed steps that will help you plan your day to day business. It's an evolving model that will continue to be modified over time to ensure our ongoing success as well as reflect the changing realities faced by our clients and agents.

Following this material will help you reach your goals.

The Business Discipline is comprised of three main components:

 

The Business Plan

The Business Process

The Business Foundation

 

When you build a house, you start with the foundation. It's the same with The Business Discipline. When you look at The Business Discipline, you see that Business Foundation is at the bottom.

The Business Foundation

The Business Foundation is the base of the model; the building blocks that combine client and realtor skills and knowledge. This is what you'll bring to your business before outlining the details of your business plan.

The Business Foundation requires you to consider the knowledge and motivation of your clients which helps in determining their potential as a client and your potential in representing them.

The Business Foundation is made up of:

  • Readiness Indicators (Clients)
  • Activators (Clients)
  • Core Competencies (Realtor)

Readiness Indicators

As a realtor, you'll be working with clients who have varying needs and objectives. Probing for a prospect's Readiness Indicators will help you get to know the prospect and determine why they do what they do. Are they actually ready to buy and sell? The combination of a prospect's habits, knowledge, and vision will help you identify whether they'll be potential clients.

A prospect or client's Readiness Indicators include their:

  1. Habits
  2. Knowledge
  3. Vision

Here are some important Readiness Indicator descriptions.

Readiness Indicators (Prospect or Client)

Habits - Habits refer to the decision-making behaviors of the prospect or client. For example, some people may have been thinking about buying or selling a property for a long time. They have saved enough money for a down payment, but haven't yet purchased a property that meets their requirements. Are they actually ready to buy? Are they actually ready to sell? Are they simply looking, but haven't found the personal motivation to make the move to become a home owner? Do they have a follow-up plan for when their property sells?
Keep in mind that habits are not easily changed.
Knowledge - Knowledge refers to the information (actual facts as well as preconceived ideas and misconceptions) that the prospect or client has about the current real estate market, property values, and transaction processes. This knowledge can encourage or discourage them from completing on a suitable property.
Vision - Vision refers to the prospect or client's time frame for buying or selling.
Vision can be "limited" (short-term), or "unlimited" (long-term).

Activators

Habits, knowledge and vision determine a prospect or client's decision-making behavior. It's your job to identify these, and then discover what will motivate them towards accepting and committing to an offer to sell or to commit to an offer to purchase - these motivating factors are called:

Activators.

Activators are a prospect or client's aspirations and motivations. The four prime Activators (similar to Abraham Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs) are:

  1. Physical
  2. Financial
  3. Social
  4. Self

Activators (Prospect or Client)

Physical - These individuals are interested in the physical attributes of a property. Example: style, layout, location, number of bedrooms, etc.
Financial - These individuals are driven by a financial goal or desire to improve their financial situation. They may be focused on investment properties, or those that could provide a stronger ability to grow in value as opposed to properties that meet their physical needs.
Social - These individuals do things for social recognition or are socially conscious.
Self - These individuals desire to seek personal achievement and actualization.

Core Competencies

In order to help clients achieve their goals, you must have or acquire the knowledge and skills (Core Competencies) to help them. Your success in building your business depends on your ability to develop and draw upon the following four Core Competencies:

Sales Skills - the specific skills, methods and techniques used to identify prospects and develop them into clients.
Comparative Market Analysis Planning - the specific technical knowledge related to understanding your client's market and values.
Human Relations - the human interaction and communication skills required to build trust with prospects and clients through a true understanding of their needs, expectations, and wants.
Motivation/Belief System - the self-motivation required to remain determined and personally fulfilled on a day-to-day basis; understanding how your belief and value system impacts the way you approach prospects. You make it happen!

The Business Process

The Business Process is about the day-to-day interactions with prospects and clients that will enable you to meet your sales goals and career objectives.

Chapter 2: The Business Plan