Differentiate
The more we look and act like our competition, the harder it is to have a competitive advantage, and the more we compete on price.
I was recently speaking at a conference with top real estate agents from around the world. As I entered an elevator, heading down to speak to the group, I heard one of the agents ask another how they were doing this year, and the other agent responded that the year looked good and she was on target to sell $500,000,000 in residential real estate. No, that’s not a misprint; that’s five hundred million dollars!
If you think about it, even if they were all two million dollar homes, the agent would have to sell 250 of them in one year. How does she do it? What do the best of the best in any field do to get so good? What do they do that allows them to sell so much?
Think and Act Differently!
At some point, the best of the best in every field made a decision not to think or act like their competitors. They looked at what their competitors were doing and did something else. In the case of the best real estate agents, at some point, they decided not to be typical real estate agents.
Before going any further, it is important to understand that the vast majority of these “star” real estate agents did not start out wealthy. They were ordinary people who made a conscience decision not to run an ordinary business and not to live an ordinary life.
I asked the $500,000,000-agent from the elevator what she was doing differently from other agents. She said that she takes all of the pain out of the process of finding the best home and then moving from the old house to the new house for each family member. For example, she sets up a personal Web page for each customer, where she puts photographs of each room and the different views out of each window and around the yard. She also includes short video clips with narration. Local attractions and places of interest for all family members are highlighted. All communications are done the way the customer prefers; some want face-to-face meetings, others prefer the telephone, and some want e-mail.
Standing Out from the Crowd
The successful agent went on to tell me that when she was on vacation in England, she enjoyed riding in the English taxi because the passengers face each other in the backseats.
She thought that would be a great way to show properties, so she purchased an English taxi and had it sent to the United States. Now, when she drives prospective clients around, she has a driver take them to the property while she sits across from the clients and answers their questions. Because the English taxi is unusual, people like to tell their friends about it, helping to spread the word about this wonderful agent.
When it comes to the move, she not only selects the best moving company but she pays for the move. If your real estate agent did that, would you tell your friends who were planning to move, to use her services? I would. Most agents would say they couldn’t afford to do that. This star agent realized she couldn’t afford NOT to!
If her clients have children, she helps evaluate the school systems based on the clients’ needs, and when it’s time to register for school, she takes care of it for you. If you need a cleaning service, doctor or dentist, she finds out who is best in the area and makes recommendations.
I have worked with the best of the best in many different fields and they all seem to have several things in common. They enjoy helping people, and each would be described as a “people-person”. They focus on dramatically improving the total customer experience. They keep looking for ways to improve customer service at every point of contact. When they see a competitor implementing a great new strategy, they don’t copy it, they use it as stimulation to come up with an even better idea. And, they think big.
Do you have an ordinary or extraordinary business? Take the time to examine not only what you do, but how you do it. Ask yourself if you are imitating or innovating. What could you do to take your business and yourself to the next level? Look at what the competition is doing, and do something else.
TECHNOTRENDS®
P.O. Box 47
Hartland, WI 53029-0047
1-800-827-6770 office@burrus.com
Daniel Burrus, one of the world's leading technology forecasters, business strategists, and author of six books
Copyright 2004 Author retains copyright. All Rights Reserved.
