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| What real estate agents can learn from drug dealers |
| Written by Rob Minton | |||
| Saturday, 14 March 2009 06:43 | |||
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I just watched the film "Layer Cake." It was a pretty good movie about a drug dealer. At the outset, the main character highlighted his business and several of the rules he followed. Yes, believe it or not, this dealer had rules for operating his business.
I just watched the film "Layer Cake." It was a pretty good movie about a drug dealer. At the outset, the main character highlighted his business and several of the rules he followed. Yes, believe it or not, this dealer had rules for operating his business. He started with: "I am a businessman whose commodity just happens to be cocaine." I found this statement to be extremely significant. You and I are entrepreneurs, and our commodity just happens to be houses. The difficulty is that many, if not most, real estate agents do not have this perspective with their businesses. They do not regard themselves as entrepreneurs. When you sincerely start to think of yourself as an entrepreneur, your business starts changing. You see new opportunities. You begin to change the way you do things. The drug dealer in Layer Cake shared these rules: Deal solely in kilos Give people what they want Always work in a small team Deal only with people who come recommended Maintain a very low profile As long as you take care of your customers, they'll always come back for more Don't get too greedy Respect your enemy Make hay while the sun shines Avoid attention seeking "wanna be" gangsters in it for the glory. Stay clear of the end user; they always cause you problems. Very, very important: Always pay your suppliers promptly in full, without fail. Everybody likes to walk through a door marked "private" When business is on the up and up, have a plan. And stick to it Quit while you're ahead When I heard him start to explain his rules, I immediately stopped the movie and grabbed a notepad. I started furiously taking notes, using the pause button on my DVD player. Can you apply these rules to your real estate business? Here is how I've applied them... 1. Notice he only dealt in kilos. He intentionally niched his business to work in a specific quantity of of his product. This means that he eliminated all the smaller, less profitable sales. This volume of the drug apparently is more profitable and eliminates a lot of risk. (I don't know for sure since I'm not a drug dealer!) 2. He worked with a very small, trustworthy team. This meant he kept careful control of the people working close to him. He made sure he could trust those people. If you don't trust someone on your team, you need to let them go. 3. To avoid legal problems, he worked by referral only. This meant that he didn't work with any Tom, Dick or Harry off of the street. He was very selective about whom he spent time with. Should you be selective about which clients you accept? 4. Always take care of your clients. 5. Don't be too greedy. If a client of yours is unhappy, fix the issue even if you have to invest money to do so. If you keep your prospects and clients happy, they will come back to you. 6. Always respect the enemy. Your main enemies are your competition. Pay close attention to what they're doing in their businesses. Look for gaps in the market that you can exploit for your business. 7. Keep away from hiring agents with big egos. They're impossible to please. 8. Avoid contact with the actual client. They are very time-consuming. You are an entrepreneur, not an agent, remember? You shouldn't be showing homes and negotiating offers, because you give up control of your time. 9. Always pay for advertisements promptly, in full, without fail. They are the pipeline of your business. 10. Always make your clients feel special. Do special things for them that you don't do for just anybody. 11. Have a plan for your business and stick with it. Do not allow yourself to be distracted. Don't listen to what everyone else is complaining about. Keep your head down and work your plan. 12. Sell your business while you're on top. Rob Minton, who reinvented this real estate sales business to sell 269 homes to a limited number of clients, has written a very practical book on how real estate agents can sell more homes For a limited time, you can download this entire book for free by visiting Renegade Millionaire Strategies for Real Estate Agents
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