Good evening, everyONE!

At some point, the top 20% of agents realize something the rest never quite accept.

This is a sales skill business.

And once that clicks, they lock into the activity that gets them the opportunities to take a swing. Every day. Whether they feel like it or not.

But there's a second piece most people miss, and that's what I want to talk about this week.

They told me to run for mayor

Growing up, everyone told me I should have a career in sales. They used to joke that I should run for mayor. I was always shaking hands with the other kids, and I was always talking in class. (My teachers were not as excited about that as I was.)

So you'd think sales came naturally to me. It didn't. It was completely the opposite.

Early in my career I was in corporate America, and I was forced to work on my craft. People invested in me. They sent me to sales training. And beyond that, I spent a lot of time doing role play. A lot.

I didn't always love it. But I got better because I was forced to do it.

And early on, I made a commitment. A career in sales is what I wanted to do. That decision changed how I approached everything after it.

Showing up vs. working on it

Many realtors just show up. Some work on their craft. The top 20% work on their skills. Consistently. They don't leave things to chance.

So let me ask you... When's the last time you worked on your craft?

Not read about it. Not watched a video about it. Actually practiced it, out loud, with someone pushing back?

That's exactly why we have the Pipeline Builder and the Tech and Sales Tuesday calls. They give you a unique opportunity, and a safe space, to do that work. Mess up on the call so you don't mess up in the living room.

That means role-playing in front of your peers. If you're not confident enough to do that, then you have work to do.

The art of selling without selling

I recently met with an agent who had all the signs of high performance. So I walked them through what I was taught early in my career. It's not hard selling. It's the art of selling without selling.

A few of the concepts:

• Bonding and rapport. People do business with people they like and trust. Get them talking about themselves before you ever talk about the house.

• Don't spill your candy in the lobby. Don't dump everything you know before you understand what the client actually needs.

• The Chinese menu. When someone says they don't have a problem, give them a list of the typical problems clients in their situation run into, and let them pick the one that fits.

• Reverse selling. Answer a question with a question. When a client asks something, ask what's behind it before you jump to an answer.

• The dummy curve. Don't be so eager to recommend solutions. Sometimes not knowing is better, because it lets the client come to their own conclusions.

• Predicting the future. Bring up the objection or the bump in the road before it happens, so it's no surprise when it shows up.

• Up-front contracts. Agree at the start on the time, the agenda and what happens at the end, so nobody's left guessing.

• The budget step. Find out their budget and timeline so you know whether presenting right now even makes sense. Are they ready to make a decision?

None of this works if you're learning it in the moment.

You can't cram for this

If you want to be better at every opportunity, you can't leave things to chance. You also can't prepare for a presentation the day before. All of this work must be done months in advance.

Last week I shared our new listing presentation with you. How many of you have already created your own, or modified the one we gave you as a template?

And don't just build it. Practice delivering every aspect of your presentation. Get so good that no matter where the client points, you can talk about it without notes.

Remember, sometimes you only get one chance.

And if you know me, you know I say this all the time: most people only need to close 6 to 8 deals a year to make meaningful money in this business. Some even less.

That's not a lot of opportunities. Which is exactly why you need to be ready for every single one.

Start small

Let's start small. And for those of you who are already doing a dozen deals or more, I'm talking to you too.

What if learning and practicing made your job so much easier?

What if it helped you close another 10 deals this year?

What could that mean for your family and your career?

Because like it or not, every client is worth over $100K to a realtor over the course of your entire career. And the skills you learn today carry your income well into the future. Not just today's transaction.

Your action this week

Pick one concept above and practice it out loud. Then join us on Tech and Sales Tuesday or the Pipeline Builder and role-play it with us.

And come into the office. You run into business when you're here. I can't tell you how much of success in life is just showing up.

Work on your craft now, so it's there when it counts.

Have a great week,
G.K.