Expectations

Setting expectations is wildly important for everything.

The Employer to the Employee...
The Employee to the Employer...
The Sales Person to the Client...
The Client to the Sales Person...

You name the relationship and setting expectations is at the core of making it successful.

If you don't know what someone is expecting, how can you possibly satisfy them?

If your customers and clients don't understand how you will interact with them, how could they possibly understand when you don't call them back immediately?

If the employee does not understand exactly what is expected of them, how can they effectively prioritze their time?

If the Employer does not understand how the employee will be completing their job tasks, how can they feel comfortable when or if it will be done?

Setting proper expectations is a fantastic way to get that "micro-managing" boss off your back. It is also a phenomenal way to get your employees to become far more productive.

Setting expectations will ease the panicked customers concerns, it will greatly reduce the amount of phone calls and emails you receive, and it will instill confidence that you can and will get the job done.

In many ways, setting expectations is the key to any relationship.

People fear the unknown. The unknown creates angst, tension, confusion, anger, and stress.

Setting proper expectations is like building a bridge that connects people. Without the bridge, people are left to wonder how they will cross the complicated and winding road.

It is absolutely necessary in any relationship setting, whether it is business or personal to have all parties clear on expectations.

Set the expectation and enjoy more success.

Curt Fletcher aka The Likeability Guy is a Real Estate Professional, Business Development Strategist, Published Author of the Book, "How To Sell More Homes and Increase Your Income,"Sales Trainer and Sales Manager.

Ethics, Sales and Business Relationships

Shortcuts taken to achieve sustainable business success will lead to future failure. The ONLY way to become a respected and long term successful business is through proper planning and unwavering ethics.

I was recently pursued by a small custom home builder to help them get off the ground and get the right systems in place. I met many times with the owner of this company in advance of my agreeing to work with him. Many promises were made.

What I soon learned, is that this guy had very little care for business ethics or respecting others. He had zero intention of allowing me to do any of the things we discussed, which led to a poor relationship.

Ethics are not optional in business or life. When commitments are made, they need to be kept. When parameters and expectations are relayed clearly, no wavering is allowed. This business owner believed  only about the quickest way to make a buck and sadly it will lead to the destruction of his company.

There are too many people willing to to the right thing for their employees and customers for unethical business owners to be successful long term.

Curt Fletcher aka The Likeability Guy is a Real Estate Professional, Business Development Strategist, Published Author of the Book, "How To Sell More Homes and Increase Your Income,"Sales Trainer and Sales Manager.

Goals and Simplicity

A goal is really nothing more than an appointment you make for yourself. The key is not over-complicating the message. Keep it simple. Simplicity helps with clarity which leads to a higher percentage of success. As you train your mind to handle simple goals and experience more successful outcomes you can start incorporating more complex goals. Just don’t start that way.

It’s like exercise. If you are not a runner, would your first experience be the Boston Marathon? Obviously not. You start slow, develop, learn, grow, and THEN expand. Everyone wants immediate results and immediate growth, which most often leads to no action and no growth.

Get the thought of immediate satisfaction off of your mind. It is lazy thinking. It is entitlement thinking and it’s counterproductive to actual growth. Set yourself up for the best opportunity for success. Simple doesn’t mean easy. Simple just means clear. It means you have definitized the specific steps to take to obtain a specific result.

Curt Fletcher aka The Likeability Guy, is a Real Estate Professional, Business Development Strategist, Published Author of the book, "How To Sell More Homes and Increase Your Income," Sales Trainer, and REALTOR with Atrium Realty Group in North Texas.

How to Interview Prospective Employees

When either starting a new business or maintaining a business, you must be able to bring in new talent and hire employees that will allow your company to thrive.

With a growing number of people to choose from, it is essential to have a firm understanding of how to hire quality people.

Attitude

The most crucial aspect of hiring is the attitude of that individual. You must hire people with an outstanding daily outlook--not false interview bravado, but true optimism. Most interviewees pretend to be someone they are not because they want the job, so you must be able to cut through the act and find the real person.

Do not simply read the applicant's resume and ask generic question about accomplishments she has or where she sees herself in five years. Be more thought-provoking to pull out something real.

Ask the applicant about what or who has been the biggest influence in his life and then find out the story why. When you ask why, just listen. This question is hard to fake an answer for. It will give you a glimpse deep inside someone to see who and what has shaped his personality.

Next, find out what the applicant feels is the greatest obstacle she has ever overcome. This can be related to prior work, but most likely it won't be. Figure out how she felt when this obstacle came into her life and how she came to the decision to overcome it. These are questions that require soul-searching; they elicit real answers from people.

The goal here is to not hire a generic person that can talk his way through an interview, but rather to hire a person who has a great outlook on life, who has human emotion, and cares deeply about the course of his life.

Desire

Desire is the second most important factor that should be looked at. If a person has a great attitude and a high level of desire to do well, that person will not lose and neither will you if she is on your team.

Desire can be determined a few ways, but asking where someone visualizes himself in a few years will rarely provide that information. Be blunt but polite. Ask the interviewee if he would like to have your job in the near future. If he says "Yes," that's actually a good thing. You don't want to hire people who are just satisfied with the status quo.

Good employees push other employees to improve themselves and they push their managers to challenge them with harder tasks and relevant actions. Ask the applicant what motivates her. Ask about the real reason.

For instance, money is not a true motivator; it is what an individual will do with that money that is the motivator. Similarly, power alone is not a motivator; it is the influence and change that can be implemented with a high-level position. If you get shallow reasons to these questions or you appear to have stumped someone, move along to the next applicant. You want good people, people with a great desire and a positive attitude.

Intelligence

Intelligence is the third item on the list. Most people have this prioritized first, but that won't yield the best results in most cases. Intelligence is simply when someone has learned some form of knowledge and they put that new knowledge into action.

This frequently happens when you hire someone with a great attitude and desire. Defining intelligence as simply performing well on a test or having a large vocabulary is misguided. Intelligence is about awareness, social consciousness, aptitude, desire for growth, and the will to continue learning all the time.

Inquire how often people read, what are they reading and why. What kind of hobbies does the interviewee have, and how often does she do it? Intelligence is also about a person understanding balance in life: family, work, and personal growth. Too much tilt into one area over another can be a strong indicator of a future problem.

Curt Fletcher aka The Likeability Guy, is a Real Estate Professional, Business Development Strategist, Published Author of the book, “How To Sell More Homes and Increase Your Income,” Sales Trainer, and Professional Speaker that focuses on improving your Likeability to increase your Opportunities for Success!

Can You Change People...or Can People Only Change Themselves?

I would be willing to bet at some point in everyone's life they tried unsuccessfully to change someone.

There are obviously many reasons to change another persons behavior some good and some bad.

The question here is, IF you can change another persons behavior. I say no.

However, you CAN influence the behavior of another in several ways.

• Take away something that person desires.
• Show that person (by example-not words) how you do certain things.


• Give that person small rewards for certain improvements.


• Never be an enabler.


• Always behave in direct accordance to the message you speak about.


• Do not be confrontational in a manner that you come across as "all knowing" or arrogant.


• When explaining about "the change" speak about the benefits they will receive from making that change. Don't use the "just because" line of thinking.

Try some of these scenarios out next time you desire to change another person's behavioral patterns. When doing any of these remember to keep your approach genuine and calm if you want to receive the most beneficial results.

Curt Fletcher aka The Likeability Guy, is a Real Estate Professional, Business Development Strategist, Published Author of the book, "How To Sell More Homes and Increase Your Income," Sales Trainer, and Professional Speaker that focuses on improving your Likeability to increase your Opportunities for Success!

Likeability vs Normal

The conversation comes up from time to time about what the difference is between Likeable behavior and normal behavior.

For some people, they are one in the same, but for many they are substantially different.

Here is a list of some of the differences:

1. Likeability is opening doors for people. All people. It is holding a door for a couple extra seconds to allow someone to walk through it. It is being aware of other people around you. Normal is being oblivious to your surroundings. It is about letting the door you just opened close in the face of the person directly behind you. It is watching someone struggle with opening a door and doing nothing to help.



2. Likeability is introducing yourself to a new person on a job and making yourself available should they need it. Normal is being quiet and not offering assistance. Normal is the thought that, "I learned on my own, so can they."



3. Likeability is listening during a conversation and responding with something that directly correlates to what the other person is saying. Normal is waiting to speak during a conversation to make your statement. Your statement has nothing to do with the other person's comments.



4. Likeability is volunteering for something that other people don't want to do. Normal is waiting for someone else speak up.



5. Likeability is helping someone that needs help without regard to your personal advancement. Normal is offering to help another person if it leads to a better opportunity for you.



6. Likeability is being yourself and acting the same regardless of who may be listening. Normal is changing your personality dependant on who is in the same room and possibly paying attention.



7. Likeability is taking a personal risk to attempt to succeed at something you love. It is risking failure in attempt to succeed. Normal is always being "safe" and grinding out day after day in something that you dislike doing. It is never risking anything to take your shot.



8. Likeability is living your life in accordance to the same message you speak. Normal is talking about the right things and then actually doing something else.



9. Likeability is being able to "make fun" of your self when you make a mistake or screw something up. It is letting people laugh with you at your own expense. Normal is blaming your mistake on someone else and getting angry when someone tries to call you on it.



10. Likeability is not making excuses when things don't go as planned. It is about looking at a "one time" failure as an opportunity to learn and win next time. Normal is always making excuses when something goes bad, not learning anything from the experience and repeating the same action at a later time.

Curt Fletcher aka The Likeability Guy, is a Real Estate Professional, Business Development Strategist, Published Author of the book, "How To Sell More Homes and Increase Your Income," Sales Trainer, and Professional Speaker that focuses on improving your Likeability to increase your Opportunities for Success!