I took many things from my Dad. One of the most significant gems that I remember getting from discussions with my Dad was that no matter what job you had, know more about it than anyone else. Be that person who everyone else goes to for answers. Become indispensable, become important, become the smartest person in the room. This is a process with any job. The depth to which you go is a function of how much time you have, the importance you attach to gaining knowledge, etc.
Let us start with Real Estate. I was an agent who sold homes. In reality, selling homes was the goal but how do you become the best at it. How do you become the smartest realtor at your company? First of all, make it your business to never stop learning. Know everything there is to know about contracts and contract law. You have printed real estate contracts, know every word in that contract. There is an amazing amount of detail in that printed contract. Our contracts in San Jose had the phrase “Time is of the Essence” printed on them. Know what that means. Know how to negotiate, take classes, participate in seminars regarding negotiation. Know the laws surrounding home sales. Meet the title and escrow people, the termite companies, the lenders, appraisers, tradesmen, painters, movers, storage facilities, handymen and other real estate agents. Watch and learn from other real estate agents. All of these people in essence become part of your team. You are a member of the local real estate board. Network with other agents, volunteer for committees, take advantage of any training that is available. Finally, become an expert on the homes that are for sale. Look at trends, look at the market. What things are working, develop an approach when you are working with buyers or sellers. Understand what it means to have a fiduciary relationship. Again…it doesn’t pay to tell customers and clients that, “you don’t know”. At least follow that up with “but I will find out”. What is that? It is a promise that you have to keep. Becoming successful is a million little things. Try to develop things that your competitors are not doing. This may be the kind of presentation and booklet that you leave behind when you are being considered for listing a home. Your track record is important. What other homes have you sold. How long did those take to sell. One of the things that I did was produce a monthly newsletter for my “Farm”. This was approximately 1000 homes in Almaden in South San Jose where I lived. That newsletter, over time, gave me credibility with many of these homeowners and paved the way for many listings in that area. It set me apart from my competition. It is important in any sales situation to do things that do set you apart. Clients want to work with people who are successful. Share your successes without violating any confidences. Be willing to share. In my many years in real estate I never sold one of my own listings. Seems crazy, but I never felt that I could honestly represent both the buyer and the seller. We all had a fiduciary relationship to the seller, but I couldn’t justify the whole concept of representing both parties in a transaction, I always felt that there would be a conflict of interest. It wasn’t worth it to me to be in that position. The alternative was cooperative sales. Both a listing agent and a buyer’s agent. This worked for me and it promoted cooperation. It is the most professional approach in my mind. I believe if you take a listing then you tell the world and you make it available to the world. To try and be the person who sells the listing as well as being the listing agent is to limit the exposure to the market and may not result in the highest and best offer.
Let us talk about the paper business. Once again, know more than anyone else about the business. This means that you know all of your products and dispensers, inside and out. Know all of the features and benefits. Know all of your competitors products and dispensing systems, the good, the bad and the ugly. Know how paper is made and converted. Know what your competitors are doing. What do they offer in terms of “FREE” dispensers. Will they install them, will they replace broken ones at no charge or not. How long is the commitment that the customer must sign. The more you know the better you can provide counsel to your customers or potential customers. Pricing, cost in use, will your system save them money, or labor, or make things more convenient. Will your paper last longer before needing refills? Again you need to be able to answer all of these questions. You need to always be prospecting for new opportunities. Take advantage of any sales training that is being offered. Know what your company’s limitations are. In my case, I worked for one of the largest tissue companies in the world. I rarely had issues with being able to meet my customers needs. Most of the time we manufactured enough to meet the needs. I do know that in some instances for some of the larger customers like… Burger King or Taco Bell we needed to make sure that we could produce enough product to meet their volume requirements. In this scenario knowing product, knowing features and benefits, knowing the competition was essential and I wanted to be the sales representative that my peers would look to for answers.
I want to briefly talk about my role as a Foodservice Route Representative. I really loved this job. Unfortunately, for me, I worked for a relatively small foodservice distributor. I had to sell against much larger companies like Sysco and Rycoff. They had much broader offerings, also included fresh meat and produce, and dairy and had a vast offering of chemicals and dish services. The cards were stacked against me, so how could I survive and thrive. Most of my customers would buy the lions share of their products from one of the big companies. I was allowed to be a back up supplier. One of the things that I did was tell my customers that whenever their primary distributor shorted them any products that I would be happy to fill in. Here is what that meant. I would spend Friday at my distributor’s warehouse. I would field calls from my customers in Grass Valley and Nevada City. They would let me know what they had not received and I would take those orders. I would also promise to deliver them on Friday before their Friday night rush and the rest of the weekend business. I became indispensable. They could always count on me to make those deliveries and essentially bale them out. They had what they needed for the weekend business. They knew they could count on me, and I prospered as well. In some cases, this flexibility and quick response caused the customers to actually move their business to me and then I was no longer their secondary supplier. It did screw up my Friday nights, but it was worth it. The customers loved me and I made a point of them knowing that I was there with their all important deliveries on Friday night. This really set me apart from my competition.
Knowing more about your job than anyone else is so important. Just showing up and putting in the time isn’t enough. Making the extra effort, becoming a student of your job. Learn every element so that you can train others is vital. I have never collected a day of unemployment. I was never out of work. I made it my job to be the best at every job I ever had. Thank you Dad. I think it is mostly an inherent work ethic but it is more than that. A work ethic basically only requires that you show up and put in the work. I believe that work ethic is a start, then you add knowledge, creativity, becoming an opportunist, being ready to move to the next level, being the smartest person in that job. Subscribing to this approach will form the foundation for your success.
