From RealSource... Glenn's Blog

This is Easy.

What is "this?"   Well, most anything and everything.  

But, yes, there is a catch.

You see, most things are generally easy... as long as nothing ever goes wrong.

Most jobs are harder than they look.  So are most lines of business.  And the better someone is at their job, the easier it looks to everyone else.  That is why so many people think others are overpaid.  They assume that because it looks easy, it must be easy. 

But business, project and life rarely go without a hitch.  The "hitches" are where the real professionals get the chance to separate themselves from the pretenders, the "wanna-bees," the complainers, the rookies and the amateurs.

The world gets further confused by the overly optimistic.  These are so-called professionals that price their services as if it will all go perfect.  They don't budget time or money for handling surprise problems.  These super optimists usually go out of business but not before confusing the market about fees, under delivering work and/or losing a lot of their own money.  

The customers also get confused by the "promisers."  They talk a big game but deliver little.  They may even mean well at the time but then just can't manage to follow up and deliver.  They make it "look" easy at the start but not at the end (though they usually have great excuses).

The successful professionals do often make a job look easy.  But only to those not paying close attention.  These are the professionals that work hard, work smart and stay client focused.  The projects are built to expect a surprise or two, whether it impacts time, money or both.  This keeps their projects successful when others struggle.  And they have the experience to be sure the surprises are handled efficiently and thoughtfully.

These pros remember why they are doing the job.  And they remember that the best way to take care of themselves is to take great care of the customers.  These successful people don't just hope it works out.  They make their projects into winners on a consistent basis, in many different economies and markets!

Are they perfect?  Of course not.  But they do usually have consistency combined with the power to adapt and overcome.

Sounds easy, doesn't it?   Yet so few pull it off well!

In all business discussions, there is a goal.  Maybe not a stated, written-on-a-mission-statement type of goal.  But there is still a goal.

Perhaps it is a goal to share information, impress someone, close a deal, make a sell, make a purchase, make a referral, learn something, teach something or even avoid answering a question.

A challenge for many people in business communications is that they may not keep in mind the goals of a conversation.  They may also not understand or keep in mind the goals of the other people in the conversation.

A very common mistake in business discussions is forgetting the point of the conversation because of insecurities.  This usually results in someone trying too hard to impress others.  Candidly, we've all done this AND we've all had it done to us. 

The problem with this is that it rarely impresses.  People would rather observe actions, empathy and applicable expertise.  In fact, working too hard to impress others actually does the opposite.  All that effort can result in a loss of credibility.  And that makes success very difficult.

Want to have more success?  Just remember what you are trying to accomplish and listen regularly to others so you can understand what they are wanting to accomplish. 

This sounds EXTREMELY simple but is often a lost skill (or a skill never learned).  But like most skills, you can work and practice so this becomes second nature.  And that is a good thing for all!

We've all seen the deals that were a disaster.  Some started that way.  Others became disasters as they evolved, for any number of reasons.

Disasters create opportunity for the true smart professional to show the value they bring to the table.  This is a great thing and a way for great reputations to be built.  The seasoned pros may not love these projects but they embrace them and show they are the professional they have claimed to be (and are paid to be).

Unfortunately, it also creates opportunity for those that create the disasters to claim their value later for cleaning up their own mess. 

These people just cost everyone time, money and energy. 

The disaster creators are usually good at pointing fingers and blame, pulling everyone into the mess and may even honestly believe this is normal for a project or deal.   What a waste.

A MARKET PROBLEM

How do the "disaster makers" stay in business?  In my opinion, a problem in Real Estate is that most buyers and sellers do not get in the market often enough to know who to seek for professional help and who to avoid.  And their friends, family and neighbors are usually not knowledgeable to distinguish the professionals that make the project easier from the ones that actually make it harder. 

In other words, few people know who to believe.  Not really.  Buyers and seller usually just make a leap of faith.

Don't believe me?  Ask 3 people outside your industry to name 3 ways you are a better Realtor than anyone else they know.  Exclude answers about how nice you are, and how they see so many of your signs. 

If they can't explain specific BUSINESS differences (such as "she sells 3 listings a month with an average days-on-market of 43, all within 4% of list price"), then I stand by my "leap of faith" model of Realtor selection for you as well.  Sorry.

SIX TIPS FOR YOU

So, what can you do to better avoid the unnecessary disaster?  Here are 6 tips to get you started!

1.  Avoid the "disaster makers" when possible.  Not just on deals but in life.  We are all known by the company we keep, whether we realize or accept it or not.  If you have an emotional need to "help", "fix" or "enable" others, find another place to do this or, even better, get counseling.  Remember, your clients did not hire you to "rescue" others, they hired you to be "their" professional.

2.  Acknowledge (to yourself) you cannot always avoid the "disaster makers" but you can minimize their impact by being proactive.  And accept and embrace that to do this you will have to do more work to keep the deal focused. 

You are not paid just to do the easy deals, your paid to make them all successful (even when you have to exert more effort to overcome challenges created by others).

3.  Old Russian saying, "Trust but verify."   Don't assume everyone will be as thorough and professional as you.  That is not suggesting you micromanage everyone, just stay on top of the progress and issues to see they are being addressed appropriately.

4.  Communicate clearly, accurately and regularly.  Many disasters build because they were allowed to develop over time.  Or were unknown to others that might could have solved the issue before it grew and came to light.

5.  Avoid emotional aspects.  Be the professional.  Anger, rage, aggression, whining, complaining, and bullying are the tools of the "disaster makers."    So don't go there.  Be the calm in the storm.  

In a storm at sea, we all would rather follow the captain that is calm and decisive than the raging, scared or thoughtless captain.

6.  Establish clear futures. This makes others accountable, including yourself.   You cannot control others but it can be established what is expected and done in a way that all understand.  This make the problems areas more obvious and removes some of the tools, such as confusion, that the "disaster-makers" love.

For example, send an email after a discussion that says, "Thank you for your phone call.  Per our discussion, you will have these documents to the title company by 3pm on Thursday.  If there is any problem, you will notify me and Mr. Smith by that time.  If I misunderstood any of this, please let me know immediately at...."

There will always be those that just make things harder than they should be, whether intentional, from inexperience, from arrogance or just honest mistakes. 

And mistakes and surprises happen.  To be honest, I am not as impressed with perfection as I am with how someone reacts and responds when there is a problem.  And with those that know how to limit problems that naturally occur.  

True professionals are the ones that add value by making a deal easier than it would be without them. 

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Got ways to avoid the "Disaster Makers?"   Please share!!

Big Words.  Jargon.  Lingo.  TLAs (Three Letter Acronyms). 

When striving to communicate for success, these are not your friend.

Why?  Because most of the time the person you are talking to is not understanding.  Essentially, you are talking AT them, not with them.  And isn't the point of talking to communicate an understandable message?  

Why do people talk this way?  A number of reason:

1.  They think it impresses people... "See how smart I am!"  Sorry.  They just think your a geek... or worse.

2.  They have not developed any other ways of talking.  I suggest they read more and record themselves.

3.  They don't understand the perspective of the other person.  This one takes effort but is important.

4.  They don't care about the other person.  Dumb *ss.  See number 1 above again.

5.  They were easily impressed when someone else did this and think its impressive.  Sorry, that just suggests they have self esteem issues.  See number 1 again!

Now granted, there are time where this type of language is useful and important, particularly when working or meeting with peers, mentors, bosses or others that use the same language.  In these cases, the language of the business or project may be necessary and important.   The language may even be a critical tool.  But most of the time it isn't and if you want your projects and deals to succeed you better understand that quick!

Language is interesting.  It is a tool.  HOW you use it can often tell more than WHAT you say.  What does your language say about you?

Everyone has what they think is the key, or "magic," to success.  Hard work, experience, honesty, location, timing, connections, and such.  And are usually very important, critical and key ingredients. 

But all of these can still fail you unless you master the "magic" of the successful deal:  EXPECTATIONS.

Disappointment comes from a failure to meet expectations, real or not.  The project or deal may be a great success in your eyes and yet others may be disappointed.  This disappointment may surface from your clients, your vendors, your staff, your boss or you.

Likewise, meeting and exceeding expectations creates raving fans!  These people will send customers to you even without you asking.  But to meet and exceed expectations usually means managing these and doing so early and often.

For instance, who has heard these comments:

"I didn't think I would need this much cash for closing!"

(Why did they think this?  Not told, didn't listen, deal changed without notification, didn't understand?)

"I thought this house would be in better condition!"

(Why did they think this?  Bad description, bad photos, preconceived notions, hopeful thinking?)

"I thought you were going to handle this!"

(Misunderstanding, failure to communicate or just a bully?)

"You should know you need pre-approval first!"

(If they knew that, they may not need your help!)

"Don't you know my time is valuable?"

(Maybe it is but if it is really valuable, it can be billed! If someone will not pay for it, maybe not so valuable ot others. What does each pary expect?)

After each of these types of comments, how did at least one party in the process look?  Probably not very good.

Here are 5 TIPS for managing expectations:

1. Explain the situation, product, service, and/or time-line early, clearly and often.  Expectations are created early, so create the right ones and then remembers to reinforce as you go.

2. Talk clearly about money, fees, commissions and financing.  These are often topics that are postponed and that allows false expectations (and then disappointment) to develop and gain strength.

3. Ask questions to see that the other party listened and UNDERSTOOD.  Some people wills say they understand when they don't because they are afraid of how they will appear.  Help them out without being a know-it-all.

4. Listen actively for false expectations and professionally explain more realistic explanations ASAP.  Don't wait to for reality to beat you to the punch, else you'll look unprepared.

5. Be aware and address your own expectations.  Don't assume... know the outcome expected by everyone, including yourself.  Make sure they match.

If you are ever greatly disappointed, it is likely you "expected" an outcome that may or may not have been guaranteed.  It is okay to be hopeful and even disappointed, just in appropriate, practical, balance moderation.

Naturally, there are so many other ways to approach this topic and tips for setting and managing expectations.  But doing so reduces the risk of others seeing your work or results as failure when it really is a success by the goals and standards set in the beginning.

Be measured by the real project, effort and outcome, not an exaggerated idea someone else created with imagination and lack of understanding!  And you can have a role in this if you are not just reactive but are proactive. 

Set and manage expectations and you'll see happier relationships, projects and deals!