Real estate is as cutting edge as it is traditional, and the same thing goes for the English language. Just think: When you’re calling a prospect on your cell, you might “dial” in their number, just as you might also “hang up” when you’re finished. But is there a rotary dial on your phone or a cradle within which you can hang the mouthpiece of your telephone? Nope.
Credit: Kim B/thepeachmartini
As a word nerd, I love these contradictions that flavor our everyday speech. In I Love it When You Talk Retro: Hoochie Coochie, Double Whammy, Drop a Dime, and the Forgotten Origins of American Speech (St. Martin’s Press, 2009), author Ralph Keyes calls these contradictions “retroterms,” or “verbal artifacts that hang around in our national conversation long after the topic they refer to has galloped into the sunset.”
I Love it When You Talk Retro is a fascinating book by all accounts, and worth a read just for fun. But for Book Scan readers, I pulled out a few of the more real estate-related items for which you might want to know the origins.
Ever encountered an actual skeleton in the closet of one of your listings? Probably not nowadays, but in nineteenth-century England you may have. In the beginning of the era of modern medicine, doctors found that dissecting corpses was a very good way to learn about the human body and disease. However, doing so was illegal. So doctors had to hide the results of such experiments in closets, for fear of punishment. Now, of course, a “skeleton in the closet” is more likely to refer to family secrets than any frightening open house surprises.
Some of the best deals are struck on the front porch. Yet, back when political candidates William McKinley, Benjamin Harrison, and Warren G. Harding used front porch campaigns to connect with fellow citizens, they were derided as lazy by opponents who crisscrossed the country for votes. It was not particularly impressive to give speeches from one’s own front porch, but effectiveness is another measure altogether. Though each front porch campaigner experienced success from their efforts, the phrase is still used as a way to describe lethargic efforts to win people over. Or maybe it’s just a soft sell technique? You decide.
Next time you’re showing off the backyard of an early 20th-century home, don’t offer to take house hunters on a trip to the woodshed. Continue reading »
While running like crazy around the Las Vegas Convention Center covering the 2013 International Builders Show last week, I didn’t imagine I’d find time to hear assertions about similarities between Jesus Christ and Bernie Madoff. Thankfully, I got a chance to unwind with author and sales coach Jason Forrest, for whom unconventional irreverence comes naturally.
Jason Forrest, chief sales officer at Forrest Performance Group
We managed to find a somewhat empty meeting room to talk, just minutes after he sold his last Builders Show copy of his new book. Forrest already has two books about becoming a better salesperson under his belt, but his latest, Leadership Sales Coaching: Transforming From Manager to Coach, takes training to the brokerage level. I asked him about some of the challenges he, as one of Training magazine’s Top Young Trainers of 2012, encounters in the old-school world of established real estate brokerages.
“One of the biggest benefits of being younger is that I can wear jeans when I speak… If you’re older, you have to wear a tie and a suit that doesn’t fit well,” he joked. “People sometimes don’t like what I say at first [but] I am able to bring a fresh approach in an old-school way.”
One of the challenges Forrest faces at some of the more established brokerages is with his company’s emphasis on “culture change.” He said that if a company’s top brass is on board with the notion of change, the experience can be truly “transformational,” comparing the effort with working on turning around a failing school. Continue reading »
By Brian Summerfield, Online Editor, REALTOR® Magazine
We need to talk.
Those aren’t my words. It’s from Catherine Blyth’s recent book, The Art of Conversation: A Guided Tour of a Neglected Pleasure (Gotham Books, 2009). In fact, she starts it off with that sentence.
According to Blyth, an English writer, the decline of this “art form” is more than just a mere cultural problem; it represents a nearly existential challenge to civilization itself. If a society doesn’t emphasize skill in conversation, it can result in social fragmentation, personal isolation, and a general loss of humanity.
Fortunately, the book is not all about making a case for conversation as a source of civilizational salvation. That would probably make for a heavy, tedious tome. Instead, most of it covers — in a light and humorous way — practical methods for improving one’s ability to verbally connect with others, from “Hello” to “Goodbye” and practically everything in between.
There are plenty of interesting suggestions here, but Blyth’s overall point can be summed up as follows: Great conversation does not equal great talking; it’s not a scripted performance, but rather a spontaneous, open give-and-take between two or more enthusiastic participants.
For real estate pros, who are ultimately in the relationship business, conversation can be a powerful tool for achieving success. Below are some of the key ideas they can take away from reading this book.
FROM THE BOOK: 5 LESSONS FOR THE REAL ESTATE INDUSTRY
1. Silence is (or can be) golden: Silence gets a bad rap, mainly because an overly long break in a conversation can create immediate discomfort among the participants. But disciplined, confident speakers know silence can be used to their advantage. Pauses can be a great way to emphasize a point, and an effective method for putting pressure on another party in a negotiation. Continue reading »
By Erica Christoffer, Multimedia Web Producer, REALTOR® Magazine
It’s everything you’d ever want in a business: a high quality work environment that attracts and retains talented employees while delivering top-of-the-line customer service and a great product. But how is it accomplished?
Author Ann Rhoades, president of People Ink, has worked with corporations such as Southwest Airlines and Doubletree Hotels to develop their values-based mantra and culture. She reveals what it takes to create such an enterprise in her book, Built on Values: Creating an Enviable Culture that Outperforms the Competition (Jossey-Bass, January 2011).
Her strategy begins with the creation of a “values blueprint” – a summary document that clearly outlines the essential values and behaviors of a business or organization. “Just as you would not build a house working off only an image in your head, you cannot build a lasting culture without a written blueprint,” she says.
Rhoades explains how to create a “values blueprint” in her book, and how to get employees on board. For a real estate broker, it might mean finding sales agents for your team who display the same company values. “Just because someone is skilled and experienced does not mean they are right for your organization,” she writes. Rhoades suggests assembling an interview team, which can also help reduce turnover.
Broker-owners should keep in mind their role in company culture. It’s essential to reward employees and provide effective and valuable leadership communication. Rhoades emphasizes the importance of mirroring the values of your company and finding new ways to connect with people to build trust. Also remember, trust develops through communication of both the positives and the negatives – with your team and your clients.
SNEAK PEEK:
[Excerpt from chapter one] Drivers of Performance Continue reading »
By Erica Christoffer, Multimedia Web Producer, REALTOR® Magazine
Mark Twain once said, “Always tell the truth, then you don’t have to remember anything.” This is the philosophy behind the book Getting Naked (Wiley; 2010) by teamwork consultant and speaker Patrick Lencioni.
Getting Naked, Lencioni says, is the mantra of being transparent with clients. His fictional story delivers this message through the main character, Jack Bauer, a strategy consultant with a large management consulting firm. Jack’s view of what works in business is turned upside down when his firm merges with another that has a very different approach to serving its clients. For the first time, he sees that providing competence trumps protecting one’s own reputation.
Lencioni, founder and president of The Table Group and nine-time author, gave REALTOR® Magazine’s Weekly Book Scan insight into his motivation for writing Getting Naked, and explained what holds service providers back from being transparent with their clients.
What is the model of Getting Naked in business?
LENCIONI: “Being naked” is being vulnerable, open, and honest. The concept of being naked can really apply to anyone in a service field who has an ongoing relationship with their clients. Getting Naked is a fictional story about two consulting firms, but I largely drew from my experience in management consulting during my first few years out of school. I started out at a company that was not “naked.” The culture was to keep up a front with our clients. Rather than serve their needs, we were encouraged to create a dependency. Continue reading »
By Erica Christoffer, Contributing Editor, REALTOR® Magazine
So much of the real estate business is about building relationships. But how do you achieve the kind of relationship with your clients where they would never think of choosing anyone else? Professional speaker and author Shep Hyken talks about his new book, The Cult of the Customer (read our review), about ways to attain client loyalty and how to create a business culture people love.
Shep Hyken
At the beginning of the book, you explain the use of the word cult and defend its meaning. Why would you want a cult of clients, and how can that cult improve your business?
HYKEN: The average home owner moves roughly every seven years. The idea is they’re going to come back and buy another home down the road. They are also going to have friends who are going to move. You’ve got to do such a great job that they won’t think of anyone else when it comes time for their next move. And when they hear of other people moving, they will refer them to you. That’s the whole concept of evangelism.
Most people think of the word cult as something that ties into a fanatical or religious group. Really, the word cult is playing off the word culture. A company with a culture of taking care of customers, while at the same time taking care of their employees internally, will have a cult of customers. Continue reading »
By Haley M. Hwang, REALTOR® Magazine
Opening Doors: Selling to Multicultural Real Estate Clients Michael D. Lee, CRS, GRI Oakhill Press, 1999 284pp., $34.95
Buy this book from Amazon.com.
Opening Doors: Selling to Multicultural Real Estate Clients is a valuable resource for any real estate salesperson who wants to expand his or her sales by working with clients from different ethnic and cultural backgrounds. Indeed, citing a statistic by Fleet Mortgage Group that an estimated 80 percent of all first-time homebuyers will be immigrants by the year 2010, author Michael D. Lee suggests that practitioners who don’t prepare themselves now to work with these new Americans may have to find a different line of work.
Although the book has been out for five years, it’s still the only book of its kind written by a veteran real estate professional that incorporates cultural teachings and applies them specifically to practice of real estate. Much of the first half of the book is an abbreviated geography and history lesson about countries and cultures represented in the United States. Because the book was published in 1999, it cites statistics mostly from the 1990 Census or other updates from the early 1990s. Although the numbers are not the most current, the cultural information and practical tips offered in the book are timeless.
Some of the generalizations that Lee makes about certain ethnic groups and their preferences in the homebuying process are a little too sweeping and broad. But Lee acknowledges, “Out of necessity, this book will make some generalizations about cultural ‘tendencies’” that not everyone may agree with.
But Lee’s take-home message is clear: treat each client as an individual. Don’t make assumptions about them or their beliefs based on their cultural background. Take the time to learn their cultures, and if uncertain about anything, ask questions.
“Every person you meet in the real estate profession is an individual with rights, interests, and visions of the future that are their own, yet much like everyone else’s,” Lee writes. “Understanding their cultures and beliefs will help you to establish friendship, rapport, and sound business success.”
Lee started his career in real estate in 1977 and is now a broker, professional speaker, and author. He spent 10 years researching and compiling the information for this book. He stresses that the information contained in the book should only be the beginning of your studies into other cultures that make up the United States and your specific market.
Tips for Real Estate Professionals
Tips for Showing Property
- Know how important punctuality is to your customers. People from Germany, Austria, and Switzerland are sticklers for promptness. But being 15 to 30 minutes late is generally quite acceptable to those from the Middle East. The Japanese may be consistently 30 minutes late, yet they expect you to be on time. Waiting for them is how you show respect. People from Latin America, Italy, and Spain expect you to arrive late, which they, too, consider a sign of respect.
- Make known your smoking preferences. Smoking is more prevalent and accepted in other countries than it is in this country. If you prefer that customers not smoke in your car or in your sellers’ house, say so. But it’s best for you not to smoke in their presence if you’re a smoker. They may be offended by the smoke but won’t tell you out of politeness.
- Carefully plan transportation logistics. Many multicultural customers bring extended family members with them to showings, so confirm travel plans in advance. Some expect to be driven to showings in a spotless, even luxurious, car. Avoid passing cemeteries and funeral homes with Chinese clients, since they consider them bad luck. Treat a Hispanic woman with respect and solicit her opinion, since she wields great influence in her household.
- Don’t steer your multicultural clients to one particular neighborhood. You can’t legally or ethically assume that people of a particular culture want to live in an area occupied by others from their culture. Your best tactic is to all the information you have about various neighborhoods where they’re qualified to buy. Let them make the decision.
The Meaning of Colors and Numbers
- In Germany, red roses express love and romance, so it may not be an appropriate gift in the business setting.
- A yellow gift in Mexico would not be well received because the color yellow is associated with death.
- The Chinese traditionally wear black to weddings and white to funerals. The color white is associated with death in a number of Asian countries, which is the opposite of European and American traditions.
- While the number 7 is considered lucky and 13 unlucky in the West, the number 4 is a bad omen in much of Asia and 8 is considered lucky.
- Bring a small, thoughtful gift when you meet with new customers. Although giving a gift before the end of a business transaction may be considered bribery in some cultures, it’s acceptable and even expected in certain countries such as South Korea, India, and Japan.
- Neer outspend your clients or customers when exchanging gifts, or they may lose face. One strategy is to open your gift first, and then say you need to retrieve their gift from your car. You can have several wrapped and ready in different price ranges.
- Avoid giving gifts bearing the American eagle to customers from China and Saudi Arabia. It’s a bad-luck symbol in those cultures.
- Never give alcohol to Islamic clients. Most people who practice this faith do not drink.
- Avoid giving Asian customers knives or scissors. Anything that cuts symbolizes the severing of a relationship. Also avoid giving a clock or any white gift, and stay away from white wrapping paper. Such details symbolize death to Asian clients.
- Don’t give handkerchiefs to Middle Easterners. They connote sadness, tears, or pity.
- Exercise caution when giving flowers. In Mexico and Brazil, purple flowers are associated with death, while white flowers, such as carnations, have a similar connotation in Japan and for many European natives.
Tips on Gift Giving
Editor’s Note: It’s worth noting that there is one recommendation that Lee makes in his book that this reviewer disagrees with. Lee writes: “It’s perfectly acceptable to ask where people are from. Better than to assume and be wrong. One simple way to show interest in your client’s cultural background is to ask straight-forwardly, ‘Where are your ancestors from?’” This question, as phrased, can be considered highly offensive to many ethnic minorities in this country, especially if their families have been in the United States for generations. Questions that are equally offensive include, “Where are you really from?” “Where are your parents from?” or rattling off a number of ethnicities in the hopes of hitting the right one eventually (“Are you Chinese? Japanese? Vietnamese?”). A more politically correct phrasing to ascertain the ethnicity of potential clients is to ask, “What is your cultural background?” Or better yet, if you have been referred to a multicultural client by a current client or have targeted a multicultural niche in your market area, you should already know the ethnicity and not even have to ask.
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