To Speak Or Not To Speak, That Is The Question

As a keynote speaker I often am approached by aspiring speakers who want to know what it takes to be a successful presenter.  I always hesitate to tell them what I think it takes, because there are so many different types of speakers that have grown to be far more successful than I, such as Tony Robbins (author of Unleash the Power Within), yet I do not find him that great of a speaker, in fact, walked out of his seminar the first time I heard him.  So, I don't know that I have the right set of tips ... but here is my take on what makes a great speaker.

1. Be Comfortable In Your Own Skin
   Standing in front of a large group of people is basically like bearing your soul to the world.  They not only assess what you are saying, but also your age, your appearance, your manners, your body language, your experience level, your thought process ... EVERYTHING!  Therefore, you have to be very comfortable with yourself, the worse traits for speakers to have are inflated egos, defensive behaviors and know-it-all attitudes.  In my estimation, these people will crash and burn in the first 10 minutes on stage.
2. Be Comfortable With Your Content
   As a presenter, audience members are attending to gain knowledge and ideas from an expert regarding the topic being presented.  Therefore, presenting on a book you have just read, or a trend you have just heard about, is probably not a good idea.  Present on something that you are comfortable with, have first hand experience with and have implemented or practiced multiple times.  You have to remember, on stage is not the time to be making stuff up!
3. Be Comfortable Not Knowing
   Sometimes I think you gain tons of audience trust by admitting that you don't know something.  It is inevitable that at some point, someone from the audience is going to ask a questions that you don't know the answer to ... awkward!  The best thing you can do is compliment them for asking such an insightful question, admit to having not previously thought about the content of their great question and then throw it out to the audience to see if they have an answer.  You know the old saying, "Two heads are better than one", well, you have an audience of heads so you are sure to come up with a buffet of great potential answers.
4. Be Comfortable Sharing The Good And The Bad
   The best and most inspiring teaching method is life experience.  Don't make the mistake of sticking to your success stories, while they are great and lend credibility to you as a speaker, they tend to get boring.  Your "Epic Failures" are what are truly entertaining, and again, I believe by sharing these failure stories you gain the audience trust, you seem more real and trustworthy to them.
5. Be Comfortable Making A Fool Of Yourself
   The key to a successful speaking engagement is comprehension, retention and implementation.  Many studies have proven that laughter creates a positive learning attitude aiding the brain to comprehend at a more rapid rate.  Additionally, this positive attitude inflates the motivational desire to implement the skill the audience member has learned.  Therefore, make a fool of yourself, tell embarrassing stories, create bizarre scenarios to drive your point home.  Now is not the time to dress yourself in the armor of pride, now is the time to strip and show them your foolish self.  If they are not laughing, they are not learning!!!

I am blessed enough to have a friendship with Joel Zeff', one of America's funniest motivational speakers.  He has the innate ability to not only make a fool of himself, but also complete strangers from the audience, and might I add, without getting a fist thrown at him.  His ability to engage a crowd through humor, present a point and drive it home with a summary is inspiring.  He once told me, you have to treat the stage like your home, say what you want to say, be what you want to be, do what you want to do ... and people will want to come and visit you at your home, the stage.  Because of this comment and his undeniable success, I have presented my Top 5 "Be Comfortable..." speaking tips!  I hope that you find the stage as comfortable as Joel and I have, and soon call it home.

Break A Leg, and hope to see you on the next speaking circuit!

Welcome, I'm Your Door Staff, Responsible For Your Emotional First And Last Impression

I have had the luxury of living in many hi-rise buildings as well as managing them, and I quickly learned that who you have at your entry can make or break you.  Your community drive by is your "Visual" first impression. Your door person is your "Emotional" first & last impression, and if that first & last impression is not good, things will decline quickly.

I lived in a beautiful hi-rise just off of Lake Shore Dr. in Chicago that had the best "Door Staff" I have ever experienced, one specifically standing out by the name of Debra.  This amazing employee, originally from Ireland, set the bar for the team, and this team strived to equal her service practices.  Here were the things that I learned from Debra that allowed me to better manage my door teams.

1. Own The Entrance - Debra took great pride in owning the entrance, not just the coming and going of the people, but also the cleanliness and the appearance.  She believed that the entrance was not limited to the front desk, but also to the driveway as well as the lobby.  Many times I witnessed Debra chasing after a gum wrapper, locating an empty can in the entrance landscaping, picking up a cigarette butt from a flower pot or pulling the Windex from beneath her desk to eliminate finger prints on the entrance door.  On her watch, her entrance was going to be "Spick-n-Span".  Once, I actually witnessed Debra walking to Dominick's (grocery store) and purchasing inpatients (flowers) to replace the six that had died at her entrance.  I couldn't help but think, "WOW"!
2. Manage The Behavior - Debra knew that the front entrance was the hub of all coming and going and had to run smoothly and expeditiously at busy times.  If a taxi, limo or car pulled through the entrance circle but remained in the center of the two unmarked lanes, she would quickly go out and ask them to go through the circle again and pull to the side so other cars could pass.  If she saw people approaching with their hands full, she was "Johnny-on-the-Spot" to open the large swing door as opposed to having them maneuver the revolving door.  And yes, there were those few times that I witnessed her calming the late night resident who had just stumbled in with friends from a great party, asking them to all quiet down before entering the lobby and resident hallways.  My favorite, was when a pet owner would make the fatal mistake of allowing their dog to pee (or should I say attempt to pee) near the entrance.  Debra was like "Super Man", leaping over the desk and through the door in a single bound...there would be no puppy pee smell at her front door!
3. Guard The Resident - No one got past Debra!  I don't know if possibly she was a prison guard in Ireland before coming to America (certainly not that her upbeat delightful sweet personality ever reflected that), but she took her job seriously and no one got past her without checking in.  Not once did a friend, pizza delivery boy or solicitor ever knock on my door prior to having received a call from Debra requesting approval to let them enter.  In fact, even family members whom visited regularly, who she knew well, would never get past her without her first calling for approval.
4. Man The Desk - The front desk was NEVER WITHOUT personnel.  During lunch, dinner, breaks or bathroom visits - the front desk was covered by maintenance or office personnel.  The desk was never unmanned for more than a few seconds when she had to run and get a key or grab a package. However, during those few seconds the doors were secured and visitors were required to wait, always receiving a sincere apology for any inconvenience they may have experienced upon her return.
5. Go The Extra Mile - Debra fully understood the concept of customer service, and took it to a "Rock Star" level.  She knew that she was the first service experience upon entering and the last service experience upon exiting, and you were not going to go past her without being impressed.  Many a morning, I would leave at 5:30 to get in a limo for the airport.  Each morning, Debra would be there, opening the door, taking my luggage, putting it in the trunk, closing my door and wishing me safe travels.  Upon my return, all was repeated, but this time with a warm welcome home and a sincere comment noting that I had been missed.

Oh how I miss Debra and the team that supported her.  Today I live in a beautiful well managed hi-rise but unfortunately the door staff does not have a Debra to lead and polish them.

Each morning I disembark from the elevator and receive no greeting from the door staff, exhausted from their night shift that they are eager to conclude.  Oh how I yearn to hear "Good Morning" in an Irish accent.

Anxious to start my early morning beach walk I step outside with my morning coffee and am overwhelmed by the stench of dog urine caused from unmanaged pet owners allowing their dogs to urinate on the base of the poles supporting the entrance canopy.  Oh how I yearn to see Debra leaping from the desk and redirecting the pet owners to a more optimum location for their dog to take care of business.

I take note of the four large decorative entrance pots, one that has existed for many months with merely the trunk of a once beautiful variegated corn plant that most likely a malicious teen has beheaded.  At the base of the pot, vines are attempting to survive but have become a temporary resting place for drink containers and cigarette butts, only to be extracted by the morning cleaning team.  I cannot help but take note of the white car, owned by the door man, sitting in the entrance fire lane, prepared for the quick get-away once his shift is complete.  Oh how I yearn for Debra's landscaping and entrance management skills to be imagined where I now live.

I quickly move on, and engage in my morning walk, knowing upon my return that the morning subcontracted cleaning team will be working to sterilize the entrance, that there will have been a shift change, and while Alan might not be Debra, he is the best of the team and will greet me as I return from my walk, as well as when I leave soon after to go to work.

Unfortunately, upon my return from work, will also be the return of the puddles of yellow urine at the base of the poles, the trash in the pots and the shift change to an unengaged door staff, of whom will most likely have their car parked in the fire lane.  Oh how I yearn for Debra to take charge!

I can just imagine Debra entering my building and taking charge of the door staff.  1st - pull back these curtains so you can see what is going on at your entrance, "Stop being Helen Keller the Doorman".  2nd - start using the valet door to get out there and assist or manage the residents and visitors.  3rd - get yourself a box of rubber gloves and trash bags and make sure your entrance is spotless at all times.  4th - don't let one person get by you without greeting them.  5th - no sleeping, eating, newspaper reading or feet up on the desk at anytime ... you should be working!

Unfortunately, I would probably have to give up the sunshine of beautiful Florida and return to the snow of Chicago in order to have my "Door Woman" dreams of Debra again.  But hopefully, this blog will influence managers of hi-rise buildings to recognize the important role the door staff plays, and to take a closer look at their "Emotional First and Last Impression" that their door staff imparts.

So in the words of Debra, "Goodbye, safe travels and I look forward to your reading return".

7 Vital Sales Steps to Earning More Commission

When people ask me, "What do you look for when interviewing and hiring a Leasing Sales Professional", I always respond with, "Personality and ability to follow direction".

It is my belief that you absolutely cannot teach personality.  This is something that is developed from childhood and becomes engrained over the years making it impossible to professionally teach or re-engineer.  So, if you find someone with a great personality who easily relates to others during conversation, you are 50% there.

It is also my belief, that if you find someone who accepts and follows direction ... you can teach them ANYTHING!  When employees stray, I typically find a supervisor that is not providing them with adequate direction or a supervisor that is not holding them accountable for implementing and maintaining that direction.

So, I pose this question to supervisors, "Have you provided your Leasing Sales Professionals with the 7 vital steps to increasing their sales"?

And I pose this question to the sales people, "Have you maintained and consistently implemented the 7 vital steps to increasing sales"?

And you all answer back, "No, but as soon as I read this article I certainly will"!  Good-4-U!

STEP 1 - PROSPECT
We must first start with identifying our target and sub-target prospects that we want to attract.  This identification process starts by reviewing our product.  If our community is in a great school system and the bulk of our apartments are 2 & 3 bedroom floor plans, then most likely families will become our target prospect.  Conversely, if we are in an urban area and the bulk of our apartments are studios and 1 bedrooms, then students or singles may be our target market.  (As a Fair Housing side note, all we are identifying is who is most likely to take advantage of the floor plans we have to offer.  I am not suggesting that if a married couple comes to our urban nest that we do not accept them since they are not single or a student).  Now that we have identified our target market, we can more effectively execute our marketing plans.

The community with the 2 & 3 bedrooms might want to adjust their model to have one of the bedrooms display bunk beds reflecting a children's room.  They may want to realign their outreach programs to include county fairs.  They may want to redirect social contributions toward sponsoring elementary schools athletic teams.  They may want to place print ads for the first time in the children's section of the newspaper coloring page (also reflected online)  that will prominently be displayed on refrigerators by budding artists.  And of course they will want to reorganize their amenity listings on .com sites to give priority to things such as playgrounds, monthly resident events, children's community activity programming, etc.

The community with the studio and 1 bedrooms might want to adjust their model to reflect more of the student or single lifestyle by replacing the traditional couch with an elaborate futon, by replacing the traditional dining room table with a pub table bar stool set or by replacing the traditional bed with a platform bed.  They may want to realign their outreach programs to include college job fairs.  They may want to redirect their social contributions to walks/runs/marathons for social awareness causes.  They may want to place print ads in lifestyle or entertainment sections of newspapers (also reflected online).  And of course they will want to reorganize their amenity listings on .com sites to give priority to such things as location, neighborhood social amenities, social programming, etc.

STEP 2 - APPROACH
Your approach during first communications are detrimental to your success.  A unique sincere energetic approach will always earn you a home run on the sales field with prospective residents.  Change your stereotypical greeting of, "Good morning thank you for calling", to something that is welcoming and unique, like "I'm glad you've called today".  Divorce yourself from overused industry greeting rhetoric, such as "It's a great day".  Same goes for your auto response email, replace the Dear Jane with, Jane, we are thrilled you contacted us today!

STEP 3 - INTERVIEW
This is where the true sales professional shines!  It is our job to interview the prospective resident, without them knowing we are interviewing them.  The trick is to do it in a very conversational manner, not necessarily by asking them direct questions, like "How many bedrooms do you need", but instead by asking them open ended discussion questions, like, "Describe to me your apartment home needs".  Any question that begins with, describe to me, tell me about, share with me, talk about, let's discuss, etc. puts you and the client in a give and take conversation mode.  Your goal is to find out their priorities as well as the potential objections they my voice regarding your product.  Document these and be prepared during the tour to point out how you met their priorities, and be prepared to overcome the objections you predicted may arise.

STEP 4 - PROPOSAL
During the tour prior to arriving to the apartment home, be sure to propose lifestyle situations they might consider.  For example, point out the unique pool cabana and ask them if they can picture themselves relaxing beneath it after a refreshing swim on a warm summer day.  Point out the onsite car care center and ask them if they can picture themselves utilizing the car vacuum after accidentally spilling a potted plant during their move.  Point up to the apartment balconies and ask them if they can picture themselves relaxing with a glass of wine after a long days work.  This proposal process can ultimately be carried into the apartment home tour, but the give and take format needs to be established prior to seeing the apartment home itself.

STEP 5 - DEMONSTRATION
I believe our industry professionals as a whole are weak in this area.  I believe that they depend on the product to impress the prospective resident, and therefore offer weak verbal descriptions and limit their effort toward pointing out worthy features.  We say useless things like, "As you can see we have granite counter tops and stainless steal appliances".  Unless you are touring Helen Keller, this is a complete waste of sales energy.  Instead you should be saying, "Take notice of your 18 linear feet of counter top space, as well as your 16 cabinets and 4 utility drawers".  This is also the key time to get them to mentally arrange their furniture.  The old real estate saying of, "If you can get them to decorate, you can get them to buy", works exactly the same in our industry, just substitute buy with rent.  I also love the "Interaction with Reward" concept.  Ask them to open the refrigerator and have cans of soda as their reward.  Then ask them to open the cabinet and have koozies with your logo and phone number printed on them as their reward.

STEP 6 - NEGOTIATE
Ok, some of you already have your "Fair Housing Bristles" standing up on the back of your neck after reading this step.

Negotiate does not solely refer to price, it refers to "Negotiate Customer Considerations".  This means, get them to consider that you provided them 13 of the 14 things on their priority list, they need to consider this apartment home as a viable option.  Get them to consider that though you were unable to provide them with reserved parking, your community is 18 miles closer to their work than the community that was able to provide reserved parking.  Get them to consider that they will save close to 45 minutes a day to work as well as gas, which might be worth walking a few additional feet for.

This can also stand for "Landlord Considerations".  This means, be sure to dig deep and find out what is preventing them from filling out the application and putting down a deposit.  Sometimes it is something as simple as replacing towel bars or adding a ceiling fan ... and this might be worth considering pending on the occupancy of that specific floor plan.  Others may be more costly like replacement of carpet, however, if it has sat vacant for 4 months, this may be a viable consideration in exchange for occupancy.

STEP 7 - SUPPORT
Customers want to know they are making the right decision.  It is imperative that we resale to them once they have decided that we are their preferred new home.  You need to support their decisions by reminding them of the 13 priorities we fulfilled.  You need to remind them of the additional features that they expressed approval for and plans to utilize.  This is also a great time to draw upon your market survey knowledge to support that they are making an outstanding investment decision and have selected the best value from within your market.

I am sure that many of these steps were not new to you.  But the real questions is, do you consistently utilize these 7 sales steps collectively?  Missing one step can compromise the success of the sales process.  Sales is a psychology.  It is a pattern that helps the buyer to feel confident in their decision, allowing them to walk away feeling comfortable with their investment.  Most importantly, preventing them from having second thoughts that motivate them to continue shopping, later leading to a rental cancellation.

So, One Two a few more steps to do, Three Four show them some more, Five Six break out those final leasing tricks and Happy Seven, welcome to commission heaven.

A Legend In Their Own Mind

Have you ever had one of those employees who just seem to know everything?

The Maintenance Supervisor who knows more about leasing than you and your entire leasing team combined?  The Leasing Consultant who is brand new to the industry, has gained three months of experience and is now applying for a Community Manager position?

I cannot tell you how frustrated I get with these individuals.

I did learn very early on, that there is a difference between confident arrogance and delusional arrogance.  Over the years I have realized that if someone is confidently arrogant, typically they have earned the right to be through repetitive success.  It does not necessarily make it easier to accept their inflated ego, but you can't help respect them for their consistent accomplishments.  On the flip-side, the person displaying delusional arrogance typically has little to show regarding accomplishments. Interestingly enough, for some reason, they have come to believe that people not only want to hear them but actually put value in what they have to say!  Yet, you and I know, we really just want them to "SHUT THE HELL UP"!

I once had a Leasing Consultant that thought she was a ROCK-STAR!  She had her own blog, she told professionals how to market, how to collect rent, how to lease, etc.  She was and probably still is today, "A Legend In Her Own Mind".  I remember her bragging to me about how she was best friends with all of these keynote speakers in the Multi-Family Housing Industry, and how they all came to her for advice and recommendations.  Knowing most of them, I was shocked, so couldn't help but contact them and ask them about their relationship with her. Most said they didn't know her personally but she might have been a Facebook friend, others said, "UGH, yes I know of her, I made the unfortunate mistake of letting her Facebook friend me and now she has an opinion about everything".  With that in mind I started monitoring, and of course, "Little Ms. Know-It-All" was giving her ill advice during work hours, along with updating her blog.  I had to address her unacceptable use of time during work hours.  Later she informed me that she had received a request to have an article from her blog printed and it would recognize her name and place of employment, did she have permission to use the company's name.  I requested to see the blog.  OMG, it was full of spelling errors, grammar errors and punctuation errors.  I did not know who to be more frustrated with, her for being so egotistically blind to her blatant elementary school errors, or the apartment association wanting to print the crap.

Another time I experienced a maintenance person who attended an apartment association event.  At the event he apparently befriended one of the event leaders.  Later the maintenance person unveiled to his boss, that he had been offered a job from this individual he met, he added that the offer was for higher pay and a much better position.  Interestingly enough, the Regional Manager knew, the guy who supposedly offered him the position worked with me.  She contacted me immediately to see if our company had truly offered him a position.  Upon quizzing my colleague , he replied, "NO WAY, he was the most obnoxious and arrogant dude I have ever met."!  Ah, another "Legend In Their Own Mind".  My colleague went on to inform me that this guy had told him that the company he worked for was giving him a huge promotion and raise for having saved them thousands of dollars.  Oh the tangled web they weave when they attempt to deceive.

So, what is the right way to deal with this type of employee personality?  Can you mentor these individuals out of their state of self acknowledged awesomeness?  Are they salvageable?

My gut reaction based upon numerous experiences is NO!  And I can't help but ask, "Why would you want to put yourself through the hell of trying"?  Unfortunately, as a dedicated manager, we can't help but try, even if the odds are against us.  Therefore, the question becomes, "What is the best tactic for mentoring this type of employee"?

I believe the best mentoring tactic is the truth.  Many of these individuals are so self-absorbed they truly do not know they are doing it, and they definitely do not recognize the perception people have of them.  When you say out loud to them, "I know you think you are an employee Rock-Star, but in fact I have been unable to find one of your cheering fans, so I need for you to come down off of your stage and join the crowd as an equal team member", it gets their attention.

I still feel due to experience that few of them will change, mainly due to the fact that this type of behavior tends to be more of a personality trait or low self esteem compensation tactic.  The good news is, you provided them with the truth.  Then, have regular team meetings and after each meeting let them know how they interacted with the group.  Did they talk too much, did they listen well, did they interrupt, did they accept others opinions as options, etc.  By doing this, you know you have done your best to modify their behavior.  If they can't change, they will rapidly self eliminate, because they want/have to be an "Employee Legend" even if it is in their own mind.

Remember, "The Truth Will Set You Free", meaning, either they will change or go play on another stage.  Whichever the outcome, your team will applaud your ROCK-STAR management skills, and you will become a legend in their minds!!!