Saul's Notes
Blog by Saul Klein
San Diego, California
A collection of notes and observations by Saul Klein, CEO of Point2 Technologies and InternetCrusade. CategoriesSubscribeRecent CommentsReading is important for agents to stay up to date... Your list of skills are great, do not know of anyt... ArchiveRealTown BlogsSite Feed |
Posted at Saul's Notes by Saul Klein
Jul. 15, 2009
Categorized in: Goal Setting and Motivation
I have done a lot of selling over the past 35 years, cumulatively at least a few hundred million dollars in personal selling. The largest single sale was a 1.5 million dollar apartment building in the 1980s. Most of my sales were just your median priced home, or typical duplex up to 30 unit apartment building, a strip center here and there...and it took me a few years to really get going…I sold condos, houses, apartment buildings, shopping centers, industrial properties, medical buildings, limited partnership interests in real estate investments…and then stocks (including REITS), bonds, mutual funds, tax services, financial planning services…and website services, e-mail services…and education programs, online and offline…and the benefits of the Internet itself to the entire real estate industry. I never thought I would have a career in selling, but it turned out that way. When I started in real estate, it was not the selling that I fell in love with, it was real estate that was my passion. It was only later that I grew to enjoy the excitement of writing the contract, and the "close." I think for many that may be the case. A career in sales by default…So, here you are…how do you make the most of it? I have been thinking about sales a lot lately as I contemplate the task of writing a book on sales. The idea to do this came when I started to think of my experience in engineering as a Naval Officer many years ago…yes, Naval Engineering and sales. What is the correlation you ask? You'll have to wait to see…but in the meantime…
Effective selling is a skill to be developed for those serious about a sales career.
Learn the art and science of sales. There have been many good books written on the subject. Develop a reading list, a schedule, and then read.
Understand persuasion and how it fits into your business. Again, there are a number of books on the subject.
Think of yourself as a "helper" (no one wants to be "sold" something). After all, if you are in real estate sales, you are helping people with what is usually their most valuable asset, their home, and something they want to buy (or sell), or they would not be talking to you about it.
Here is a short list of what I believe is necessary for one to have an effective career in real estate sales (and most of it applies to sales in general):
Product Knowledge
Communication Skills - verbal skills and writing skills
Access to Potential Clients
Marketing Skills
Technology Skills
Financial Skills…for business and your personal life
Generational Knowledge
International Knowledge
Integrity
Perseverance
Commitment
And let's not forget....
Enough money (capital) to get you through start up and the lean times.
Saul
User Comments
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1. RE: Improve your selling skills and improve your sales
Your list of skills are great, do not know of anything you left out on the top of my head. Enough money, that's a very hard one for many to grasp. How much it does cost for startup and how long it could be before a payday.