No one likes to think their successes are the result of pure chance. Most cite their hard work and diligence first, giving the roll of the dice last billing in the achievement department. Why give all that credit to something beyond our control?
In their new book, Get Lucky: How to Put Planned Serendipity to Work for You and Your Business, Thor Muller and Lane Becker argue that luck is not only within your control, it’s something you must harness as your own personal ally. We’re not talking about “dumb luck” here, but rather something the two successful entrepreneurs call “planned serendipity,” or the ability to take chance experiences and distill them into eight skills: motion, preparation, divergence, commitment, activation, connection, permeability, and attraction.
In this portion of the book, Muller and Becker show readers how to practice the skill of divergence, making difficult decisions in order to take advantage of challenging, serendipitous environments. They use the separate paths of two major book retailers to illustrate their point. Read on to find out how Barnes & Noble was able to adapt and thrive in a rapidly changing marketplace, and how Borders’ response to the same problem left customers cold.
EXCERPT:
We all like to think we’d jump at a brilliant idea if it smacked us in the head, but few of us or our companies ever do. This, more than anything, is why people like to say that ideas are cheap. In truth, great ideas are priceless, but we only know which ideas are great with the benefit of hindsight. Without a mindset to try out divergent paths, uncertainty and inertia conspire to keep us ignorant. Continue reading »
By Erica Christoffer, Multimedia Web Producer, REALTOR® Magazine
“
Honesty is the best policy.” — An old saying that rings truer today in real estate than ever before.
REALTOR® and author Mario Jannatpour, a sales associate with RE/MAX Alliance in Louisville, Colo., is making honesty his mission in his recently-released second book, “The Honest Real Estate Agent: A Training Guide for a Successful First Year and Beyond as a Real Estate Agent.”
“Honesty is what our clients want today from us as REALTORS®,” says Jannatpour. “Combine honesty with knowledge, expertise and skills — this completes the profile.”
Jannatpour spoke with REALTOR® Magazine about his new book and the power of honesty in business:
Can you talk about the importance of honesty in agent-client relationships?
Jannatpour: In preparing to write this book, I did research on Twitter and Facebook. I spoke with people who were never my clients, asking them what they believed was most important when working with a REALTOR®. “Honesty” just kept coming up as an answer. It’s honesty in that you’re always doing the right thing for your clients, even maybe at the expense of killing a deal. You should always have the mindset, regardless of the deal, that you tell the truth because that’s what your clients need to know. Let them make the decision based on the information you present.
I’ve been in sales all my life and I’ve experienced situations where the sales professional holds back information. In real estate, you can’t do that. The house that people live in is the most important purchase of their lives.
How can real estate professionals break the stereotype of dishonesty?
Jannatpour: I actually have a chapter titled “I Hate Real Estate Agents.” That’s a thing we all deal with as REALTORS®, especially throughout the past decade in light of foreclosures, short sales, and the mortgage industry meltdown. Some real estate agents played a part in that, unfortunately. And we have an industry that includes a lot of people – over 1 million members of NAR – so there are going to be a few bad eggs. I think the way you counteract it as a real estate agent is by simply doing the opposite of the stereotype. Focus on the needs of your clients, be honest to them, and be honest to yourself. Some of my best clients are people who had bad experiences with other real estate agents in the past. When you show them you can do a good job and be honest, they really appreciate that.
What are some of the biggest mistakes new agents make? Continue reading »
By Erica Christoffer, Multimedia Web Producer, REALTOR® Magazine
Mario Jannatpour is not a national speaker. He’s not a sales coach, either. He’s simply a real estate practitioner who loves his job.
Now Jannatpour, a sales associate with RE/MAX Alliance in Louisville, Colo., wants to pass on the success and knowledge he’s gained to other agents.
Jannatpour recently published a Kindle and audio book, Must See Inside: An Up Close and Personal Approach to Real Estate (Spoken Books, 2010), in which he outlines methods to set yourself apart in any market.
A sneak peek from Jannatpour:
Tell us about your background.
JANNATPOUR: I was in high tech software sales for nearly 15 years. I was doing very well, but I didn’t see my career building any personal equity. I decided I needed to make a change. I transitioned into housing, first with corporate housing, and then went to work with RE/MAX in 2003. I’ve been able to build a business here in Boulder based on my knowledge of the area, relocation expertise, and my sales experience in the tech field. It all transferred over to be able to help my clients.
What is professional value and how can a real estate professional identify and hone their value?
JANNATPOUR: First, you have to view yourself as the product rather the house as a product. You’re selling your services and your expertise. Clients today are much more educated on the real estate process, so they’re going to look for someone with a higher level of skill and professionalism. I talk to a lot of people and they’re not interested in someone who’s putting out calendars and refrigerator magnets. All those old methods don’t work for clients today because they want someone who knows the area they need help in. For instance, if I was looking for a horse property, I want a REALTOR® who knows something about rural properties, horses, zoning in that area, water rights, etc. Continue reading »
The following is an article contributed to The Weekly Book Scan by career coach Nancy Anderson. Anderson is the author of the new book Work With Passion in Midlife and Beyond (New World Library, 2010). Buy the Book >
By Nancy Anderson
Joanna was an administrator in a public health agency when she came to me for help with her career. She had two graduate degrees, a large income, and a prestigious title. But endless meetings and the time it took to implement her ideas drove her crazy. To cope with her frustration, she overate and drank too much alcohol.
When I asked Joanna what she did when she was not working, she said she got up early on weekends to organize her house and garage. She loved organizing so much her neighbors asked her to get their homes and garages in order.
“Why don’t you do that for a living?” I asked.
“What, clean houses and garages?” Joanna asked. “My doctor father would have a fit if he thought I was going into such a lowly business. Don’t forget he paid for my two graduate degrees in health administration.”
Here you have an example of how the fear of criticism stops creativity in its tracks. Continue reading »
By Christopher M. Leporini, REALTOR® Magazine
Reaching Out: The Financial Power of Niche Marketing By Doris Barrell and Mark Nash (Dearborn Real Estate Education) 148 pp., $25.95
Buy this book from Amazon.com
Amidst growing competition and consolidation in the real estate industry, niche marketing allows real estate professionals to cultivate a loyal, consistent client base. Reaching Out: The Financial Power of Niche Marketing shows you how to select a niche group and develop marketing programs that appeal to that group.
The book identifies more than a dozen emerging and established market niches—such as single women head of households, seniors, immigrants, and military relocations—and shows you how to research, identify, and pursue these markets. “Steps to Niche Marketing Success,” a series of interactive, hands-on exercises at the end of most chapters, help readers formulate a niche-marketing plan.
The book includes an afterword, “Fair Housing Law in Practice,” by lawyer Marcia L. Russell that offers tips and strategies for working within the law when targeting a niche market.
The book’s “In Real Life” anecdotes draw on the authors’ marketing and real estate experiences. Barrell has worked in the real estate industry for more than two decades. In addition to working as a trainer and consultant, she is the author of Real Estate Finance Today and Ethics and Real Estate. Nash, who also has worked as a trainer, is a Chicago-area real estate practitioner and author of The Original New Agent’s Guide to Starting & Succeeding in Real Estate .
Tips for Real Estate Professionals
- Find a niche that complements your interests. List all the spiritual, social, business, political, sports, and volunteer groups in which you or your spouse participate. Then do the same for your relatives and closest friends. Look for any reoccurring themes through these lists that point towards a potential niche. Ask yourself the following questions to find a niche that you can comfortably and effectively work within: What’s special about me? What unique skills do I have that could be helpful to others? What do I most enjoy doing? What area would I like to become an expert in? Which of my present clients do I most enjoy working with? “Niche marketing is not for agents who want immediate sales response,” ; the authors write. “It is for those who enjoy deriving some nonfinancial compensation in addition to the commissions, rewards that come from helping a niche grow, evolve, and prosper.” The authors point out that you are actually building a sub-business, so you need to lay the foundation of doing research and establishing relationships before you realize the rewards.
- Analyze your current customer base. A successful niche market may be closer than you think. Studying the demographics of your established customers might provide insight into a potential niche. “You might find that you are … working a niche market whether that was your original intent or not,” the authors write.
- Study the competition. Entrenched competitors can make it more difficult to crack a niche market. If there are other real estate professionals in your area that target your prospective niche, ask yourself whether the market is large enough to support more than one company. Secondly, how could you differentiate yourself from competitors?
- Marketing to your niche. Once you determine a niche that you want to pursue, the authors recommend that you establish a strong business plan and marketing plan. Make sure the plans have concrete action steps with deadlines. The authors recommend that you spend at least 10 percent of your annual income marketing yourself—but know that it may take time to get the return on that investment with a niche market. “If it takes at least eight repetitions before anyone will even recognize your name, how long does it take to establish a relationship?” the authors write. “Developing a special market takes time and patience.”
- Consider a sub-niche. Focus is important to successful niche marketing. You may want to concentrate on a segment within a general niche market. For example, rather than targeting first-time homebuyers, you may want to take aim at first-time homebuyers interested in buying distressed properties. Or rather than pursuing a general market such as baby boomers, you may want to zero in on baby boomers interested in golfing, skiing, or purchasing second homes.
Related Articles
- Sales Clinic: A Mature Approach to Niche Marketing, Walter Sanford, March 2003.
- Sales Clinic: Bypass Competitors: Find a Niche , Walter Sanford, August 2002.
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