Happy New Year!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Whenever a New Year rolls around, most of us make plans for what NEW stuff we\u2019re going to implement into our lives. But I prefer to reflect on past lessons (the OLD stuff) and consider whether I can still apply those lessons today. Somehow it seems much easier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At first, this message may seem like it\u2019s got nothing to do with Real Estate, but I promise it does. In fact, it might be the most powerful lesson you can ever learn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When I was 26, I started a wholesale motorcycle parts distribution company called Power Twins Performance Parts. \ufe0f<\/p>\n\n\n\n
All I could afford to rent was a 400 sq ft mezzanine in the back of a warehouse, so every time I got an order, I had to climb up a ladder and back down again, balancing a box on my shoulder. It\u2019s a wonder I never smashed my skull on the concrete below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I had no idea what I was doing, so I just straight-up asked the dealers across the country, \u201cWhat do I need to do to earn your business?\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Their responses were remarkably consistent and straightforward:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHave the parts in stock and deliver them fast!\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Alrighty, then!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Based on this, I focused on two things:<\/p>\n\n\n\n First, I vowed to have the best fill-rate in the industry. It wasn\u2019t easy since I had extremely minimal cash flow. But I was determined. <\/p>\n\n\n\n I watched the inventory like a hawk and placed smaller, more frequent orders with my suppliers. This often meant re-ordering on the very day I sold the ONE item I had in stock. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Of course, this was much more work and more costly, but I offset that by quickly improving my fill-rate to over 95%; a number that was unheard of in the industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n My customers started to take notice. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Next, I established contract rates with the major national couriers and began delivering over 90% of my shipments OVERNIGHT for FREE. (This was years before that Bezos guy started flogging books out of his garage.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Suddenly, my little company was a trend-setter. My customers were amazed at the new standard I was setting for super-fast, reliable delivery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n My much larger fat-cat competitors stirred in their sleep and blinked just a little bit. But they must have figured it was only a matter of time before I bankrupted myself. After all, how could I possibly afford to offer free overnight shipping? <\/p>\n\n\n\n Well, I had to run lean and mean, and I offset a portion of the extra cost with slightly higher prices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But my customers were quite happy to pay a little more for fast, reliable service. After all, I was delivering exactly what they asked for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n My sales increased rapidly over the next few years, and I negotiated better and better rates with the couriers, so my profit margins steadily improved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n By the time my competitors finally woke up, it was too late for them. I was no longer the \u201clittle guy.\u201d They scrambled to catch up, but I was always five steps ahead of them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Out-Think, Out-Service, Out-Sell<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Having the best fill-rate and providing the fastest delivery were two of the most important examples of how I out-serviced and out-sold my competitors, but there were many other programs I implemented over the years, all based on customer feedback.<\/p>\n\n\n\n By focusing on delivering a superior experience to my customers, I never had to worry about the bottom line. In fact, I grew my sales at an average rate of 55% every year for 14 years. From a tiny start-up, my business eventually became the national leader in the industry, and it\u2019s still around today, operating as Parts Canada.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So, what does all this have to do with Real Estate? Only everything. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In business (and life), it\u2019s all about your attitude<\/em><\/strong>.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n When I started in Real Estate\u2014just as in my previous career\u2014I asked people what they wanted, and once again, the answer was simple and straightforward: <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBetter communication and guidance throughout the process\u201d were the main answers I got. So, once again, I listened and figured out how to deliver.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Keep it Simple<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n My success in the motorcycle parts business was simple. I asked my customers what they wanted, and then I figured out how to deliver.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In Real Estate, it\u2019s the same thing. Stop chasing commission cheques, and start figuring out how to deliver what people want.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cTry not to become a person of success, but rather try to become a person of value.\u201d \u2014 Albert Einstein<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n My third major life venture (Agent Skills) is where I get to SHOW you how to become a person of value. When you achieve that, success naturally follows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It really is that simple.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ted Greenhough,<\/p>\n\n\n\n Agent Skills, Corp.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Happy New Year! Whenever a New Year rolls around, most of us make plans for what NEW stuff we\u2019re going to implement into our lives. But I prefer to reflect on past lessons (the OLD stuff) and consider whether I can still apply those lessons today. Somehow it seems much easier. At first, this message […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":262,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-261","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/agentskills2.dvsrvr.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/261","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/agentskills2.dvsrvr.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/agentskills2.dvsrvr.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/agentskills2.dvsrvr.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/agentskills2.dvsrvr.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=261"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/agentskills2.dvsrvr.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/261\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/agentskills2.dvsrvr.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/262"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/agentskills2.dvsrvr.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=261"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/agentskills2.dvsrvr.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=261"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/agentskills2.dvsrvr.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=261"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}