How to easily receive all the leads you can handle

Reg Gupton here.

I recently recorded a video which tells you have to earn more than $10 for each dollar you invest in your marketing system.

And increase sales, increase your profit, learn how to prospect and much more.

Watch it here.

It is only 8 minutes long and well worth your time.

Leave your comments either positive or negative below the video. I promise to respond.

Check it out.

Reg Gupton's Lead Generation Tip #1

Hi Folks,Reg Gupton here. I have recently spent some time thinking and talking with my clients about lead generation in personal sales businesses (mostly and not exclusively real estate agents). If you sell anything then at some level you are in the personal sales business.
I don't care if your business is making widgets, you have to sell them. I don't care if you are a retailer, you need leads (read customers) in the door. I don't care if you sell real estate, you need leads (who will buy sometime, if not now).
As a wise man (who I can not remember) said, your wealth is in your database. The larger your database (hopefully automated) the larger your income. Really.
BTW...one of the biggest mistakes I see while watching retailers come (and lots of them) go on the Downtown Boulder Mall is that folks stumble into their businesses and no attempt is made to capture their contact information whether they buy or not. More on this later.
As Gary Keller (founder of Keller Williams Realty) said: "Until you have too many leads you have no other job."
You don't need another (better) listing presentation, another buyer presentation, another class, another preview nor another tour of a neighborhood.
What you need is more leads. Period!!
Everyday you need to spend 80% of your time on generating leads (until you have too many). It must be on your schedule every day.
It should come before doing deals. It should come before selling your listings (if you have any). It is a part of your schedule that should never, never be eliminated. Moved yes, eliminated, NO.
My observation is that lead generation is the first thing to go in an agents schedule when one gets busy. Then the slump starts. The massive drop in income. The fear. The scarcity belief system. The hole to get out of.
Watch real soon for more tips on Lead Generation.

Reg Gupton

Posted via web from reggupton's posterous

A powerful how to video blog.

I am more comfortable speaking than writing.  More passionate about speaking, have OPD (Obsessive Podium Disorder) needing to be in front of real people rather than sitting at a keyboard like I am doing now,  I have created a video blog located here.

More video content on how to increase sales, get more leads, earn more profit, how to prospect will be posted as in increasingly frequent pace of the next few weeks.

Look for them.

Reg Gupton presents: The Science of Hiring

Hi

Reg Gupton here. There is good news on the hiring front. There is a science to hiring.

The other day, a small business owner, let’s call him Kris, mentioned to me that things were going better for him and his company. He said that he was dreading the thought of hiring more employees since his success in the past had been dismal.

Kris told me that high turnover was part and parcel in his industry. It had always been that way and would be that way into the future.

He confessed to me: I have no organized/proven system for hiring. Pretty scattered when it came to hiring he admitted.

I mentioned that I helped some major and not so major companies create a process for hiring that proved successful. In one case, turnover was reduced from 54% to 12% saving the company hundreds of thousands of dollars in out of pocket expenses.

I told him:

Follow these steps and you will make better hires, reduce turnover, reduce expenses, reduce manager stress and increase profit.

1. Determine the problem you want to solve.

Outline the results you want from your new employee. Forget the past. Focus on future expected outcomes and results.

More sales, phones answered by the 3rd ring. Accts payable processed within a day of invoices being rec’d. You fill in the blanks.

2. Write a brief job description focusing on:

Hard skills

Do you need someone; who knows how to create a web page using Dreamweaver? Use MS Office? Use Calyx, Avista Agile™ systems, or Loan Prospector?

Soft skills

There are numerous soft skills that are relevant for many jobs. Here are 10 to consider;

Top 10 Soft Skills

1. Communicate Effectively

To communicate effectively the candidate must possess the ability to express himself clearly, to be a good listener and to show empathy and understanding of others. They also need to be able to use language and grammar correctly.

2. Commitment to the job

The principal qualities employers seek: honesty, dependability and enthusiasm.

3. Learn new tasks willingly

No matter what the job, at times there will be new things to learn and any employer wants someone who will be willing to learn anything required, within reason.

4. Accept responsibility

Many problems in the workplace are caused by people passing the buck, or not taking responsibility for their own actions, or inaction. Employers are on the look out for those who take pride in the quality of their work, evaluate it regularly and use their time wisely.

5. Excellent Interpersonal Skills

These skills show in the ability to work co-operatively with others, maintain a positive attitude and to accept constructive criticism.

6. Make Decisions

Decisions need to be made all jobs. The demonstrated ability to establish priorities and stick to them goes hand in hand with the ability to organize tasks. Also the ability to contribute new ideas is part of this process.

7. Show Flexibility

In this rapidly changing world, the ability and willingness to adapt and be flexible is becoming a core workplace requirement.

8. Leadership Potential

Leadership traits are desirable whether the employee supervisors others or not. These include demonstrated persistence, self motivation and showing an effort to improve personal and group/team performance.

9. Grow in the job

By showing ambition, the job applicant lets the employer know they are willing to train and gain further skills. Of course, the employers also want this ambition to include staying with the company.

10. Ability to handle personal problems

Everyone at some time feels pressures and stresses in their personal life. With the possible exception of major crisis, employers are looking for people who can cope with their personal lives without letting it interfere with their work.

The candidate must have experiences in previous jobs that demonstrate their use, they must be evident in the resume, and evident during the interview.

Behaviors

There are four easily measured behaviors that relate to job performance. They are how a person deals with:

1. Problems

2. People

3. Pace (rate of change on the job)

4. Procedures or details.

Motivations

There are 6 readily measured motivations that will determine what a person will focus on daily and how their reward system needs to be structured. They are:

1. Theoretical

2. Utilitarian

3. Aesthetic

4. Social

5. Individualistic

6. Traditional

3. Find candidates

There are numerous ways to find candidates. First, start out with friends, family, your industry specific database (contacts), existing and past customers. Then Craigslist and your local newspaper are proven sources. You might consider job web sites. If you do, be prepared to be overrun with candidates who may or may not meet your job fit requirements...

4. Review Resumes and cover letters

Be specific in your request for information. Specify where to reply with what and in what form. This is an easy way to eliminate people who can not write nor follow directions.

5. Interview the subset who passed the resume screen using the Interview Questions

About three decades ago, when hired to be the assistant administrator of a 120 bed hospital in Michigan, one of my duties was to act as the Personnel guy, now called HR.

I knew nothing about human resources which included interviewing candidates for many of the jobs in the hospital. After attending a multi day HR training program I developed a set of open ended interview questions that I have used with minor modifications since that time.

They have served me well, kept me legal by treating all candidates the same and forced the candidates to provide revealing information about themselves, their success and failures.

6. Eliminate for job fit

Using the interview, hard and soft skill tests, resumes and cover letters, pick the best 2-4 candidates. Eliminate the rest. See # 10 below.

7. Run assessments on the remaining candidates

Research shows that if jobs could speak there is a profile of behaviors and motivations that leads to more success than other profiles. You should hire to job fit; a set of behaviors and motivations held by your top performers.

After you have eliminated all but two to four of your candidates, run the DISC and Personal Interview Attitude and Values (PIAV) assessments to determine how they fit your hiring profile.

8. Re-interview with assessments

It is relatively easy to mis-state the truth during an interview. For example when a candidate tells you they are motivated by money (when they are not) and they can follow procedures (when they can’t or won’t).

If you are hiring a commission-only sales person, it would be best if your new hires were motivated by money. The PIAV will let you know if they are.

Likewise, the DISC assessment will tell you if they are really hard chargers or would prefer to sit behind a desk and work on files rather than going out and interacting with the public.

These assessments are valid and reliable. They measure what they are supposed to measure and they do it time after time.

9. Make a written job offer

Create/send a letter to your candidate that confirms the offer you most likely made to them in person or on the phone. An audit trail is a good practice.

10. Send reject letters as necessary

Send a written rejection letter to everyone you do not hire. This strategy will be good for business and most likely good legally too. Check with your legal counsel about the contents that might be useful in your letter.

Further, you never know when you might reconsider or want to do business with this person in the future. Watch those burned bridges.

If you follow these simple, practical, proven steps, your hiring decisions will be better, your pain less and your profit higher.

Reg Gupton offers 5 easy steps to use Holiday Direct mail in your marketing plan

Hi, Reg Gupton here.

Now is the time to begin/start your direct mail marketing plan. If you are not convinced that direct mail, pays. We should talk. The average return on investment for target direct mail is over $14 of income for each one dollar invested. If you don't know how to use direct mail profitably, we should talk about that too.

I have seen it done poorly with all the money wasted.

Below are the dates of the major holidays in the US for 2011.

You can use your Expresscopy account profitably in 5 easy steps. Don't have a free Expresscopy account? Open your free acct here http://bit.ly/b48cnM You will also receive 20% off on your first order.

Here are the 5 steps.

1. Decide that you are going to send holiday cards as part of your direct marketing to your Sphere of Influence and Past Clients.

2. Select the holidays you are going to celebrate with cards to you list.

3. Mark your calendar a minimum of 10 days before the holiday date to send the cards.

4. For those days which you choose with no pre-designed cards, upload your own pictures and create a custom card.

4. Sit back and watch the money roll in.

Date-Holiday Number of cards

Expresscopy.com

Jan 17-Martin Luther King Day

Feb 14-Valentine's Day 8 cards

Feb 21-Presidents' Day

Mar 17-St Patrick’ day 5 cards

May 8 – Mother’s Day

May 30-Memorial Day 2 cards

Jul 4-Independence Day 10 cards

Sep 5-Labor Day

Oct 31-Halloween 20 cards

Nov 11-Veterans Day

Nov 24-Thanksgiving Day 29 cards

Dec 25-Christmas Day 104 cards

Sit down with your calendar and get started.

You will be glad you did.

To your continued success,

Reg Gupton

Reg Gupton asks: 7 Power Questions

Reg Gupton here.

Do you want to make this
your best year ever?

If so, I'd like to help you. And

if not, I'd really like to help you.

++++++++++++++++++++++++

** Power Questions **

++++++++++++++++++++++++

Answer these 7 questions and

you'll get a lot more clarity,

direction, and focus for your

business in the year ahead.

You'll be ready to burst forward

as an explosive force for good in the

world and you'll create more prosperity

for yourself and others.

Also, if so, copy this message into
a Word.doc. Answer the questions.

Email your questions and answers to me

right now I'll personally reply back
with some custom recommendations for you.

7 POWER QUESTIONS FOR 2011...

QUESTION #1: What are your

top 3 business goals for 2011?

(be sure 1 of them is a revenue

goal, like X$/month or Y$ for

the year).

[Type Your Answer Here]

QUESTION #2: How will your life

be different because you've accomplished

these goals? (this should get you even

more fired up because you'll see the

impact that these goals will have on

your life)

[Type Your Answer Here]

QUESTION #3: What do you

think are the biggest challenges

that could be slowing you down

or stopping you from making all

of your 2011 business goals from

coming true? (list as many as

possible - at least 5 at the minimum:

the more clarity you have on your

challenges, the more you'll be able

to do to solve them)

[Type Your Answer Here]

QUESTION #4: What impact do

you think these challenges are having

on you personally and on your business?

(go deep with this, look at your health,

relationships, overall joy in life: the

more you go big here, the more you'll

be ready to tear out of the gates this year

to bust through all of these challenges)

[Type Your Answer Here]

QUESTION #5: How will you feel 1

year from today, looking back on the

year, having achieved all of your goals?

(what will it feel like? What will have

been the highlights of the year?)

[Type Your Answer Here]

QUESTION #6: Where are you at

in your business right now today?

(This is how I'll be able to give you

the most personal recommendations,

so be honest here. Are you...

just starting? have a few clients?

have a good chunk of clients, but

need a few more? already at over

$100K, now ready to go for a quarter

Mill? Somewhere else entirely?)

[Type Your Answer Here]

QUESTION #7: Would you like

to have me work personally 1-on-1

"VIP Fasttrack" Coaching

Session with you for just $97?

(I'll help you get even more,

clarity, focus, and motivation

for the year ahead).

[Type Your Answer Here]

Alright!!

When you have answered all
the questions, send your answers
to me @ gupton@growthseminars.com

I will reply to everyone's

email, but I can't guarantee I'll

be able to do it today (obviously

it depends on how many people

actually take the time to answer

these 7 questions).

I look forward to doing lots

of great things together in 2011.

I hope we get to work together

very closely.

To your continued success,

Reg Gupton

Reg Gupton's Top 10 Referral Business Builder Tips

It is an old saw that it is more expensive to acquire new customers than to work with established ones. This has certainly been my personal experience and the experience of others that I have consulted to and coached over the years.

Ignore these habits at your peril.

1. Be honest at all costs. No matter what.

2. Never pressure someone just to make a sale

3. See every customer as a friend not just as a sale or money.

4. Don't work with everyone that crosses your threshold. Be selective and work with those that you genuinely like.

5. Stay in touch after the transaction is over. If nothing else, be in touch with cards, letters and newsletters. In person or on the phone are the best.

6. Perform a written post-transaction quality survey. Then listen to what your clients say.

7. Follow the "Platinum Rule." Do unto others as they would have you do unto them.

8. Give small referral gifts to everyone that sends you a lead whether it becomes a sale or not.

9. Learn the biggest problem in your industry. Solve it for your customers.

10. If your industry offers advanced designations, earn them and display your credentials.