The Death of Illusions

If Congress doesn't extend the 8,000.00 first time buyer's tax credit, or something equally effective to the market we will all need to strap things up a bit tighter as we start December. I thought of a talk I gave a sales team and thought I would share it with you. You might be very happy that you weren't working for me, truly I was just trying to help.

Early in 2007 there was evidence of a tightening new home market. With that I was finding that the sales team I was leading was split with five who were continuing to find good success and five who were struggling. As many managers I found myself investing more time trying to "fix" those who had fallen into a sales slump.

Of these many had enjoyed great success for years but had hit a proverbial wall. One night in a conversation with one of my past stars who had fallen upon a very tough time. What I realized was that this person had been a star throughout his entire career, he was a very good closer, and had always been stationed in a strong community in a very hot market, but had never had to sell through real adversity and had no experience in how to overcome it.

This helped me write my sales meeting for the next day. I went back to the office and wrote what I will show you below, and then prepared the conference room for the sales meeting the next morning. I took yellow police tape and circled the room with it, so anyone entering would have to duck under it. I then used it to make an outline of a body on the table.

The next morning I intentionally came in a few minutes late and hadn't alerted anyone in the office what I had done. As I got there it was obvious that there were some very confused people trying to figure out what might have happened, or what was going on. People were not sure if they should go into the room or not. When I got there, I invited them in and told them that they might notice the outline of the body, and that it was in advance of a killing, that I was going to kill any illusions that anyone might have about what it takes to succeed in this business. I then gave this talk:

The Death of Illusions

Today, my goal is to kill any illusions you may have on how this business works, and what it takes to succeed in it.

I want to apologize to each of you, I didn’t see what was right in front of my eyes, so I was trying to treat the symptoms and not the cause. I was trying to figure out how to instill the work ethic of a hand full of people on the team to everyone, was trying to figure out what it would take to motivate you to do what I thought you needed to do to succeed, but couldn’t figure it out.

There were comments made to me by several in the team that set off a nerve in me, but I still couldn’t really figure it out. I would hear things like “needing balance” etc, of course we all want that, but there are times, seasons if you will, that isn’t possible. The question is how to understand that truth, or when that time comes.

Then the other day, in a conversation with a sales person, it all came together for me. I was told that the current slump that the sales person was fighting through was the first time in their years in the business to have such a time. How frustrating it was, how you question yourself, what you’re doing, have you lost it, your confidence is shot, everything about what you’re doing comes into question. Does this sound familiar to anyone? What was said that I finally heard was this person has been in the business less than 14 years, meaning that their entire career was in an up market, never did they experience a tough home sales market. That is when I realized that the hand full of sales people who were doing what needed to be done, had all weathered such storms before, and the others hadn’t. So the ones who hadn’t simply didn’t have a clue at what level your work ethic has to be to survive if not thrive in a down turn. They simply don’t know where that other gear is.

What dawned on me was when you hear long time salespeople and myself tell stories about what it was like when interest rates where in the 18 - 19 % range, it probably sounds like your dad or granddad telling you about walking 5 miles to school through the snow, uphill both ways each day. Just one of those “old stories” that have no bearing on your life at all. Definitely not something you can relate to. Well, now is your time to live your stories, these are the times where you will be doing things you never thought you would to make a sale. Going the extra mile, and then some. I have told you about driving to Atlanta, Georgia to get one on paper before the end of the month once, that is a true story. To get that sale, that is what it took. Not long ago, I was offering to fly to Houston to write one in Hawks, and would have been happy to do so. You do whatever it takes. Success is built on inconvenience, not convenience. If it was convenient everyone would do it. See I was trying to work on the symptoms with getting you to read “The Go Getter” and watch “Get a Message to Garcia.” I wanted you to understand the work ethic required, but didn’t tell you that what has worked for you in an up market isn’t going to work now, at least without ratcheting it way up.

During good markets, we can make a very good living and coast, that is when we have balance in our lives and do all the wonderful things that brings. However in a down market we have to bust it. I was going to have my wife come in and talk about this, but she said she would be talking to the wrong people in you and not your spouses. What I wanted her to talk about was how much she and the kids saw me in down markets. There were weeks that went by where I had left before they awoke and didn’t come home until long after they were all in bed. These were the times Jodi was key to the success in our home, she was in effect a single mom, but she edified me to the kids about what I was doing, she set the emotional tone making me a hero not an absentee father. You have heard me say before I couldn’t have had the success I have had in this business without her partnership.

In a down market the work load is simply “whatever it takes.” If you’re smart, you will be going to a Real Estate office each morning dropping off spec fliers, then calling the offices roster that afternoon at work to see if they received the flier and answer questions, invite them to come out, etc. Then stay and call prospects on your follow up lists until 9 at least a few nights a week. In other words push yourself.

I remember in the last down turn in 90,91,92 there were a lot of very good sales people who got out of the business, they had been successful between the mid 80’s and then, but started doubting themselves, the business, their builders, everything, until they no longer were in the business. The only problem that they had was they didn’t know how hard they would have to work to get through it, and they frankly were spoiled and lazy, but didn’t know it. Most of the people who survive or thrive in a down turn got in the business during a downturn and learned to work at that time. Very few who get in during good times make the transition, if you are one, I challenge you to make the change mentally to fight hard enough to make it happen. Anyone can do it, it just takes that old fashioned work ethic spoken of in The Go Getter.

One of my biggest fears as a father was how to teach my kids a proper work ethic, not the ones I see that most people have, but the old fashioned one. I grew up on a farm, and didn’t know how to reproduce that for them. My dad had me working for as long as I can remember, I know at 6 I was driving tractors in the field on my own all day. On a livestock farm, it meant that on Sundays or Christmas, whatever, we only had to work maybe 3 or 4 hours in the morning and again in the evening, and didn’t have to work all day like normal. The animals didn’t care if it was Christmas, or if we were sick, they still wanted to eat, drink, have warm bedding, and if they were sick or having babies needed us there to care for them. Growing up like that, I was concerned how to keep my kids from becoming soft.

When it comes to your work in the models, your job description is WHATEVER IT TAKES. Keep in mind, if you are only working the posted model hours you are really nothing more than an overpaid assistant, and I would be better off having an assistant in that model reporting to a sales person who was doing WHATEVER IT TAKES.

I believe in each and everyone of you, or you wouldn’t be here. I believe that you can do this, if you want to, if you aren’t willing to let me know. But now you know what it is going to take, there is no illusion that the work ethic that works in an up market will work now. So Go Make It Happen!