WorkPuzzle

Coaching the Prima Donna Diva

Things occur to me at the oddest times and for the strangest reasons.  Last night, I was emptying the dishwasher and listening to music when an artist who has been scrutinized over the years by the media started playing. 

Through that scrutiny, the public gained much unnecessary knowledge of his many relationships. Could it be that he is just too much of a prima donna? This thought crossed my mind then, just as quickly, my mind flashed on a conversation I had with a manager years ago.

I was training this manager on our coaching system. I wanted to review an assessment report (the Core Capacity Index (CCI)) and discuss how she can use this as a coaching tool.

She chose to look at one of her multi-million dollar producing agents, whom she referred to as a "diva" and at times very difficult to work with (this is not a judgment against all multi-million dollar agents, I am just speaking to this one manager’s  experience). This agent would not comply with certain protocols and methods that make the office run smoothly. Instead, she chose her own strategies for her own purposes. 

The first thing the manager told me was that the CCI report was spot on.  This manager was always fighting an uphill battle and was very frustrated. We discussed conversing with (not telling) this agent from her (the agent's) perspective. 

This is what I now refer to as the "understanding point." Speaking with this agent in such a way that she felt she was part of a solution vs. being told what to do, what not to do, and/or what she didn't do. 

Certainly, an assessment like the CCI helps shine light on the coaching relationship.  But the more important lesson is simple--step out of your skin, look at those whom you want to help succeed and work from their perspective.

This will not only help the agents you coach, but it will also make your job much easier because you will fight fewer uphill battles.

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Already of a member of TMOC?  If so, join the WorkPuzzle Dialog Group by clicking on the WorkPuzzle Group icon on the left side of your TMOC homepage.  Questions?   Email the WorkPuzzle editor (workpuzzle@hiringcenter.net) and we'll walk through the process.

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Editor's Note: Lee Gray is the Senior Account Manager at Tidemark Inc. Lee is a guest contributor to WorkPuzzle. Comments or questions are welcome. .

Understanding the New Sales Paradigm

Getting new agent candidates past the stigma of "becoming a Salesperson" has always been one of the primary obstacles to a succesful hire. Most of us, some unconsciously, tend to hold rather negative views of sales people. However, the negative image of a salesmen is slowly changing.

 How and Why?

In times past, when conducting a transaction, the sales person held most, if not all, the information regarding a given product. Oftentimes, the buyer had no prior knowledge of the product. The information imbalance caused the buyer to feel vulnerable, and made it difficult to differentiate the slimy sales people from the values-based sales people. However, with the advent of the information age, that has all radically changed. Now the buyer has access to almost as much information as the salesperson does.  As a result, the image of the slimly sales person is changing as well.

 Sales people are becoming facilitators of transactions.

In the brief video (about his new book) Daniel Pink clearly outlines this change and further describes how this change has made us all sales people. I think you'll not only enjoy this, but also it will help you guide new agent candidates over their fears.

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Already of a member of TMOC?  If so, join the WorkPuzzle Dialog Group by clicking on the WorkPuzzle Group icon on the left side of your TMOC homepage.  Questions?   Email the WorkPuzzle editor (workpuzzle@hiringcenter.net) and we'll walk through the process.

 

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Editor's Note: This article was written by Dr. David Mashburn. Dave is a Clinical and Consulting Psychologist, a Partner at Tidemark, Inc. and a regular contributor to WorkPuzzle. 

Post-Social Recruiting: Peter Weddle’s Epiphany—Part 2

Hopefully, you’ve enjoyed a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday weekend and you’re back at work with a new sense of energy, ready to make the push towards the year end.

In the short week before Thanksgiving, I pointed you to an article that I found insightful and promised to follow-up with some thoughts this week.  The article was written by Peter Weddle, and you may want to re-read it before reading today’s post.

The question I left on the table before heading off for the holiday was, “How does Peter’s insights on social recruiting apply to the real estate industry?”   Here are some thoughts:

1.  Social recruiting via public social recruiting via public social networks has peaked and is now in decline.  

Peter makes this point several times during his discussion:

“The current incarnation of social recruiting has been stimulated and structured by social media sites. The way we socialize with candidates is governed by the format, functionality and focus of LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter. These sites enable us to promote our brands, advertise to and connect with large pools of professionals in a wide range of industries.  These interactions have effectively defined social recruiting as a fleeting and thoroughly functional relationship. Basically, we're saying to prospects: "Hey, we're a buyer of talent, you're a seller of talent, let's do a deal."

I would further argue that the real estate industry has not largely benefited from this stage of social recruiting anyway.  The concept works well when a uniquely talented individual is needed to fill a distinctive job position,  but few people wander around wondering what a real estate agent does—especially if they are already a real estate agent for a competitive company.  Also, since real estate companies are always hiring, the need to get the word out concerning a “fleeting”  or difficult-to-fill job opening is inconsequential.

2.  Social recruiting is becoming the creation and ongoing development of individual allegiances between the employer and a group of candidates.

Peter calls the shift, “Post-social recruiting,” and he makes the following observations concerning its potential:

“Post-social recruiting means interactions with prospects, candidates and applicants that make them feel at home with and thus committed to an organization. It gives employers a way to forge an enduring bond - a psychological rather than simply an electronic connection - with select talented populations.”

As we’ve mentioned in the past WorkPuzzle discussions, private social networking technologies are empowering both companies and candidates to make this shift.  New tools and best practices are starting to emerge that will make this a reality.

For real estate hiring managers, this change should be welcomed.  Once a few minor technology hurdles are overcome, the skills needed for proficiency in this arena come naturally to most managers.  Why?  Because they are the same skills that once made them good agents.  Think about it--building allegiances among a large group of prospects with the expectation of transactions developing over time is very similar to post-social recruiting.

3.  Discount real estate brokers have created a huge “career support hole” among experienced real estate agents.   This hole can be filled by online career communities inside the framework of private social networks.

If you’ve been inside the real estate industry for a while, you may have not noticed what has happened to corporate America in the last two decades.   Peter describes it this way:

“In the early 1990s, economic conditions and competition forced employers to change the way they dealt with employees. They could no longer afford the expensive overhead of managing workers' careers, so they jettisoned both the career ladder and the gold watch. They still employed those workers, of course, but each person was on their own when it came to managing their career.

In the two decades since then, individual workers have had no place to hang their career hat. No homestead where they can get the practical and psychological support they need and deserve. Professional societies and associations have long served that purpose for a person's field of work, but nothing has existed for a person's career.

 And now, the potential exists to correct that situation and, in the process, create a formidable, new talent acquisition strategy. Post-social recruiting involves using social technology to create true career communities - not today's posers that are actually databases of candidates - without the expensive overhead of traditional corporate career support. These virtual "careersteads" nurture allegiance among talented workers and that bond, in turn, transforms them into genuine employment prospects.”

If you think about it, something similar has happened to the real estate industry in the last five to seven years (and perhaps during previous downturns as well).  There has been an exodus of experienced agents from full-service real estate firms to discount brokers who offer better commission splits, but very little support for those agents who joined these firms. 

Here is a chance at your own epiphany:  The opportunity exists to engage these “support-starved” agents who are now working for discount brokers in a cost-efficient manner through the framework of private social networks. 

If these agents can get the career support they're missing from a single local source, they will eventually build trust and allegiance to the person providing that support.  At the end of the recruiting process, attraction will always work better than promotion.  This is the essence of attraction.

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Editor's Note: This article was written by Ben Hess. Ben is the Founding Partner and Managing Director of Tidemark, Inc. and a regular contributor to WorkPuzzle. 

Post-Social Recruiting: Peter Weddle's Epiphany

Hopefully, you've made it to your local supplement store, and you're well equipped to stay healthy as we head into the holiday season (see last week's discussion if you're confused on this).  Enough of the fun stuff--now it's back to work!

Last week I ran across an article written by Peter Weddle that I found profoundly insightful.   I reference Peter's work from time to time not only because his observations are instructive, but also because his viewpoints are based on the broader recruiting industry (not just the real estate industry).  

In this article, he weighs in on the impact that social networking has had and will have on the recruiting industry.  I don't want to spoil his writing by chopping up what he wrote.  So, I am going to republish the entire article below and then draw some conclusions for real estate recruiting in our next discussion.

So, here you go:

Post Social Recruiting, by Peter Weddle

"For the past five years, social recruiting has primarily been implemented in two ways: data mining pools of talent and networking with prospective candidates at social media sites. While such techniques will continue to be important, the thrust of social recruiting in the future will shift to a far different kind of activity: building and leveraging individual allegiance at employer and staffing firm sites. It's the next phase in the War for Talent - the era of post-social recruiting.

The current incarnation of social recruiting has been stimulated and structured by social media sites. The way we socialize with candidates is governed by the format, functionality and focus of LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter. These sites enable us to promote our brands, advertise to and connect with large pools of professionals in a wide range of industries.

These interactions have effectively defined social recruiting as a fleeting and thoroughly functional relationship. Basically, we're saying to prospects: "Hey, we're a buyer of talent, you're a seller of talent, let's do a deal." While it isn't the most alluring of propositions, the fact that it is aimed at a cohort of the workforce not easily reached by other media - so-called passive job seekers - has made it an important addition to our recruiting capabilities.

The word "social," however, means something very different from fleeting and functional relationships. Dictionary.com defines the term as "pertaining to, devoted to, or characterized by friendly companionship or relations: a social club." Translated for our purposes, it is the creation and ongoing development of individual allegiance.

That's post-social, at least as we have to this point understood social recruiting, but truly social if we intend to use social technology on a large enough scale to address more than one-off requirements.

Post-social recruiting means interactions with prospects, candidates and applicants that make them feel at home with and thus committed to an organization. It gives employers and staffing firms a way to forge an enduring bond - a psychological rather than simply an electronic connection - with select talent populations.

Why is it the future of social recruiting? Because of the past. In the early 1990s, economic conditions and competition forced employers to change the way they dealt with employees. They could no longer afford the expensive overhead of managing workers' careers, so they jettisoned both the career ladder and the gold watch. They still employed those workers, of course, but each person was on their own when it came to managing their career.

In the two decades since then, individual workers have had no place to hang their career hat. No homestead where they can get the practical and psychological support they need and deserve. Professional societies and associations have long served that purpose for a person's field of work, but nothing has existed for a person's career.

And now, the potential exists to correct that situation and, in the process, create a formidable, new talent acquisition strategy. Post-social recruiting involves using social technology to create true career communities - not today's posers that are actually databases of candidates - without the expensive overhead of traditional corporate career support. These virtual "careersteads" nurture allegiance among talented workers and that bond, in turn, transforms them into genuine employment prospects.

Careersteading for Talent.  A post-social community is not a network of active or passive job seekers. It is not a one-off interaction based on a specific opening. Rather, a careerstead is an ongoing relationship that employers and staffing firms establish with prospects (i.e., people who haven't even expressed an interest in working for an organization) as well as with candidates and applicants.

Its purpose is not near term sourcing, but rather, long term interactions that help to promote the career success of those who participate. That effort, in turn, develops and sustains individual allegiance, and it's that bond which generates recruiting benefits. These benefits include:

1.  A heightened viral effect, because those who participate feel safe and supported enough to tell their peers about the community. The allegiance community members feel toward the organization encourages them to champion participation in it to others in their field. 

2.  A heightened employment propensity, because those who participate feel as if the organization has their best interests at heart. The allegiance of community members encourages them to work for the organization as many times as possible throughout their career.
In effect, a careerstead is a highly focused, self-sustaining talent generator that exclusively serves the recruiting interests of a single employer or staffing firm.

How do you create such a community? Not with questions and answers on a Facebook page. And, not with job postings in a LinkedIn group or on Twitter feed. No, the only way to establish a true careerstead - one that scales the power of social technology to address all or most of an organization's talent requirements - is by breaking all the rules we've learned to date about social recruiting. I'll talk more about that in my next column.

Stay tuned for part two of this discussion.  If you have some thoughts you'd like to share now, you can join us in the Tidemark Online Community (TMOC) discussion group.

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Already of a member of TMOC?  If so, join the WorkPuzzle Dialog Group by clicking on the WorkPuzzle Group icon on the left side of your TMOC homepage.  Questions?   Email the WorkPuzzle editor (workpuzzle@hiringcenter.net) and we'll walk through the process.

 

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Editor's Note: This article was written by Ben Hess. Ben is the Founding Partner and Managing Director of Tidemark, Inc. and a regular contributor to WorkPuzzle. 

The Infographic Craze: The Revenge of the Non-Technical Majors

As Dave mentioned in his last post, we've been covering some technically heavy topics in the past couple of months. I thought I'd follow his lead and share something that is a little less serious, unrelated to our normal charter, and (I believe) very interesting.

The topic: Infographics. 

If you’re not familiar with this phenomenon, an infographic is a computer generated picture that boils down a lot of information into a single page.  Because the presentation is graphical, the mind is able to soak in much more information from a small space.

There are several infographic sites on the internet, but one of my favorites is visual.ly.  On this site alone there are hundreds of infographics on every topic imaginable—and some of them are truly amazing. 

For fun, I picked one infographic that I thought many of you may have an interest in digesting (pun intended) as we head into the winter months. 

As we all try to stay healthy this time of year, there seems to be a myriad of nutritional supplements available and even more information on how each one could possibly cure a common aliment . 

How could a person possibly boil all the information about such a complex topic onto a single page?   Here you go:

This infographic has become so popular that the author doubled down on his creation and built an interactive version. The interactive version connects the supplement bubble to the research studies that guided its representation on the infographic. 

You could spend years reading through all of these studies, and yet this person has graphically boiled the information down to one page.  If you walked into your local GNC with this document in your hand, you’d probably spend less money and make better decisions.

Are there applications for this technology in the real estate industry?  Perhaps.  If you think about it, a real estate transaction is very complex and the process is typically not understood by the consumer.  Maybe this will get your creative juices flowing on how you can serve your customers more effectively.

Or, maybe you’ll just know what supplements to choose to keep from getting sick this winter...  

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Editor's Note: This article was written by Ben Hess. Ben is the Founding Partner and Managing Director of Tidemark, Inc. and a regular contributor to WorkPuzzle. 

10 Ways to be Happier at Work

It has been awhile since I have written something light hearted, and I couldn't resist highlighting a recent article I read in Inc. Magazine 

I have a special interest in the research of human well-being. It’s not surprising that the article in Inc., entitled, “Be Happier: 10 Things to Stop Doing Right Now,”  piqued my interest.  Now, I don't know if the following tips are research driven, but I CAN tell you that it all rings very true.

Sometimes the route to happiness depends more on what you don't do.--by Jeff Haden

"Happiness--in your business life and your personal life--is often a matter of subtraction, not addition. Consider, for example, what happens when you stop doing the following 10 things:

1. Blaming.

People make mistakes. Employees don't meet your expectations. Vendors don't deliver on time. So you blame them for your problems. But you're also to blame. Maybe you didn't provide enough training. Maybe you didn't build in enough of a buffer. Maybe you asked too much, too soon. Taking responsibility when things go wrong instead of blaming others isn't masochistic, it's empowering--because then you focus on doing things better or smarter next time. And when you get better or smarter, you also get happier. 

2. Impressing.

No one likes you for your clothes, your car, your possessions, your title, or your accomplishments. Those are all "things." People may like your things--but that doesn't mean they like you. Sure, superficially they might seem to, but superficial is also insubstantial, and a relationship that is not based on substance is not a real relationship. Genuine relationships make you happier, and you'll only form genuine relationships when you stop trying to impress and start trying to just be yourself.

3. Clinging.

When you're afraid or insecure, you hold on tightly to what you know, even if what you know isn't particularly good for you. An absence of fear or insecurity isn't happiness: It's just an absence of fear or insecurity. Holding on to what you think you need won't make you happier; letting go so you can reach for and try to earn what you want will. Even if you don't succeed in earning what you want, the act of trying alone will make you feel better about yourself.

4. Interrupting.

Interrupting isn't just rude. When you interrupt someone, what you're really saying is, "I'm not listening to you so I can understand what you're saying; I'm listening to you so I can decide what I want to say." Want people to like you? Listen to what they say. Focus on what they say. Ask questions to make sure you understand what they say. They'll love you for it--and you'll love how that makes you feel.

5. Whining.

Your words have power, especially over you. Whining about your problems makes you feel worse, not better. If something is wrong, don't waste time complaining. Put that effort into making the situation better. Unless you want to whine about it forever, eventually, you'll have to do that. So why waste time? Fix it now. Don't talk about what's wrong. Talk about how you'll make things better, even if that conversation is only with yourself. And do the same with your friends or colleagues. Don't just be the shoulder they cry on. Friends don't let friends whine--friends help friends make their lives better.

6. Controlling.

Yeah, you're the boss. Yeah, you're the titan of industry. Yeah, you're the small tail that wags a huge dog. Still, the only thing you really control is you. If you find yourself trying hard to control other people, you've decided that you, your goals, your dreams, or even just your opinions are more important than theirs. Plus, control is short term at best, because it often requires force, or fear, or authority, or some form of pressure--none of those let you feel good about yourself. Find people who want to go where you're going. They'll work harder, have more fun, and create better business and personal relationships. And all of you will be happier.

7. Criticizing.

Yeah, you're more educated. Yeah, you're more experienced. Yeah, you've been around more blocks and climbed more mountains and slayed more dragons. That doesn't make you smarter, or better, or more insightful. That just makes you you: unique, matchless, one of a kind, but in the end, just you. Just like everyone else--including your employees. Everyone is different: not better, not worse, just different. Appreciate the differences instead of the shortcomings and you'll see people--and yourself--in a better light.

8. Preaching.

Criticizing has a brother. His name is Preaching. They share the same father: Judging. The higher you rise and the more you accomplish, the more likely you are to think you know everything--and to tell people everything you think you know. When you speak with more finality than foundation, people may hear you but they don't listen. Few things are sadder and leave you feeling less happy.

9. Dwelling.

The past is valuable. Learn from your mistakes. Learn from the mistakes of others. Then let it go. Easier said than done? It depends on your focus. When something bad happens to you, see that as a chance to learn something you didn't know. When another person makes a mistake, see that as an opportunity to be kind, forgiving, and understanding. The past is just training; it doesn't define you. Think about what went wrong, but only in terms of how you will make sure that, next time, you and the people around you will know how to make sure it goes right.  

10. Fearing.

We're all afraid: of what might or might not happen, of what we can't change, or what we won't be able to do, or how other people might perceive us. So it's easier to hesitate, to wait for the right moment, to decide we need to think a little longer or do some more research or explore a few more alternatives. Meanwhile days, weeks, months, and even years pass us by. And so do our dreams. Don't let your fears hold you back. Whatever you've been planning, whatever you've imagined, whatever you've dreamed of, get started on it today. If you want to start a business, take the first step. If you want to change careers, take the first step. If you want to expand or enter a new market or offer new products or services, take the first step. Put your fears aside and get started. Do something. Do anything."

I hope you and those you work with can embrace the heart of these timeless messages. Doing so will certainly bring more joy to your life.

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Editor's Note: This article was written by Dr. David Mashburn. Dave is a Clinical and Consulting Psychologist, a Partner at Tidemark, Inc. and a regular contributor to WorkPuzzle. Comments or questions are welcome. If you're an email subscriber, reply to this WorkPuzzle email. If you read the blog directly from the web, you can click the "comments" link below.

Why Every Manager and Business Owner Should Dream of Sushi

Very few movies come along that impact me as powerfully as the documentary Jiro Dreams of Sushi.

How can an 85 year old man, with a restaurant seating 10 people, receive the highest possible rating from Michelin, charge $365 a meal, and serve nothing but sushi? That's right, no appetizers, no desert, no side dishes, just sushi.

Sushi is all you’re getting.. and sushi is all you'll want.

Jiro has been deemed by experts to be the best sushi chef in the world. How good? A 3 star rating from Michelin is reserved for restaurants where the food is so good that it is, “Worth traveling to the country just to eat there.”

 

But that is only part of what makes Jiro Dreams of Sushi an interesting story.

How this man developed a reputation for the best sushi in the world is where this story gets very interesting.

Early in his difficult life, Jiro threw himself into becoming the very best sushi chef he could possibly be. He never set out to become the best in the world, or become rich. However, those extraneous things happened as a result of doing his very best every single day. Hence the title of the documentary; desiring to improve his skills every day led him to, "Dream about sushi."

Here are some quotes from the chef himself and one from his son:

“ Once you decide on your occupation… you must immerse yourself in your work. You have to fall in love with your work. Never complain about your job. You must dedicate your life to mastering your skill. That’s the secret of success… and is the key to being regarded honorably.”-Jiro Ono

“I've never once hated this job. I fell in love with my work and gave my life to it. Even though I'm eighty five years old, I don't feel like retiring. That's how I feel.”-Jiro Ono

“Always look ahead and above yourself. Always try to improve on yourself. Always strive to elevate your craft. That's what he taught me."- Yoshikazu Ono

"I do the same thing over and over, improving bit by bit. There is always a yearning to achieve more. I'll continue to climb, trying to reach the top, but no one knows where the top is."-Jiro Ono

Now, to be fair, you'll see that this kind of intense striving can lead to some poor fathering. He admits that he was not a good father. However, despite this fact, both of his sons have taken up their old man's craft, and pursue it with similar enthusiasm.

Do you know anyone with a similar dedication to their craft? I do. My wife is a dental hygienist and an instructor at a college, training dental hygiene students. While she never dedicated so much time that she came close to putting her craft above her duties as a mother, she was always improving, always wanting to be better, and wanting to stay abreast of the latest research and techniques. I love this about her. I don't get it, (why someone would be so interested in teeth and the mouth with that kind of dedication)... but I love it.

Many years ago, I figured out that most of the people who turn out to be interesting are usually those who are interested in excelling at something. What do you excel at? Do your customers and coworkers perceive you to be dedicated to excellence?

Whether they do or don't, know this: It is never too late to become seriously dedicating to doing something every day, improve what you offer, what you know, or how you serve.

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Already of a member of TMOC?  If so, join the WorkPuzzle Dialog Group by clicking on the WorkPuzzle Group icon on the left side of your TMOC homepage.  Questions?   Email the WorkPuzzle editor (workpuzzle@hiringcenter.net) and we'll walk through the process.

 

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Editor's Note: This article was written by Dr. David Mashburn. Dave is a Clinical and Consulting Psychologist, a Partner at Tidemark, Inc. and a regular contributor to WorkPuzzle. Comments or questions are welcome. If you're an email subscriber, reply to this WorkPuzzle email. If you read the blog directly from the web, you can click the "comments" link below.

Content Rules: How Becoming a Micro-Publisher Can Make Your Real Estate Office More Successful – Part 2

Last week, I highlighted a book called Content Rules, written by Ann Handley & C.C. Chapman.  Content Rules shows how any small business, even a local real estate office, can harness marketing power by becoming a micro-publisher.  You may want to read Part 1 of this discussion before continuing, to avoid missing anything.

 There are great benefits to becoming a content provider on the internet.  For example, Mike Volpe, a VP of marketing at HubSpot, recently reported companies that blog (i.e. produce content) generate 55% more website traffic when compared to companies that don’t. In addition to more traffic, companies that produce content recieve 97% more links coming into their sites.

 Despite the obvious benefits of micro-publishing, most companies are hesitant to commit to regularly producing content. The question we often get from owners and managers is, “How could I possibly do this? It seems complex, a little overwhelming, and a lot of work!”

 Yes, it is going to take some work—there is no way around that.  But, the complexity can be reduced if you start the process with a plan and a set of principles.  Complex Rules has published a simple framework that can help anyone get started down the path of micro-publishing.   There are 11 of these best practices in the book, here are the best six (in my opinion):  

1. “Embrace being a publisher” – Put your quality content online: blogs, videos, podcasts, email newsletters, ebooks, white papers, tweets, webinars, photos and images.

2. “Build momentum” – Set a clear goal. Make sure your content includes triggers that compel users to take actions that will eventually result in buying your products and services. Content itself does not sell; it sets up the sale by giving useful information.

3. “Speak human” – Adopt a natural voice online. Don’t put on airs. Avoid jargon, such as “impactful,” “synergy,” “proactive,” “end-to-end,” “win-win” and “leverage” used as a verb. “Write the way you talk.”

4. “Share or solve; don’t shill” – Your content’s purpose is not to sell, but to educate and inform. This engages people and causes a favorable reaction to your firm. To illustrate: The Pampers division of Procter & Gamble produces online “Welcome to Parenthood” videos. The videos don’t sell diapers; they inform new parents about babies, and cover topics such as “potty training,” naps, etc...

5. “Do something unexpected” – Customers love it when you or your firm does things differently. To gain attention, surprise your online visitors. This works well for B2B firms that want to stand out from their competition.

6. “Play to your strengths” – You don’t have to produce the web’s most entertaining videos, podcasts, or blogs, but you must publish some type of quality material online.

To wrap up this discussion, I want to connect micro-publishing principles to recruiting. It is self-evident that publishing great content will help your real estate office be more successful at satisfying customers and selling more real estate. But can it also help you recruit experienced agents more successfully?

 Yes it can—because attraction is always more powerful than promotion.

Experienced agent recruiting is dominated by promotional activities.  Cold calls, direct emails, staged networking events, etc. are the tools that most real estate managers are using to recruit experienced agents.  Like the direct mail companies who soliciate new card customers, this strategy does produce some results when executed with a high level of persistence.  However, both candidates and managers often get weary in this process.

If you think you can outlast your competitors in the application of these promotional activities, go for it. But you better hope they don't find out how to attract agents to their cause.  If you think about it, Apple didn't become the most valuable company in the world by promoting their products.  They created something compelling and figured out how to attract people to it.  

By becoming a successful micro-publisher and providing great content in your local community, you position yourself as an attractive thought-leader. Successful real estate agents want insightful information and they want to be connected to intersting and  influential people.  If you become a source for compelling information, you’ll have agents congregating around you.  That is every hiring manager's dream.

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Editor's Note: This article was written by Ben Hess. Ben is the Founding Partner and Managing Director of Tidemark, Inc. and a regular contributor to WorkPuzzle. 

Content Rules: How Becoming a Micro-Publisher Can Make Your Real Estate Office More Successful

A few months ago, I acquired a summary of a book called Content Rules, written by Ann Handley & C.C. Chapman.  Our company subscribes to getAbstract, a business book summary service that helps me be more selective about the books I want to spend time reading.

The summary of Content Rules caught my eye because it makes the point that the marketing of products and services is increasingly becoming connected to content creation and management.  The getAbstract summary put it this way:

“On the Internet, a brand new start-up, even a one-person shop, can compete directly and quite favorably with the biggest Fortune 100 companies – as long it offers superior online content.

Today, consumers find the products and services they want by using search engines. Your goal is to create engaging, compelling, and memorable content –blogs, videos, podcasts, and websites – that people like, link to, and pass on to others. This can help your material show up on the first page of search engine results – even ahead of material from huge corporations.”

As a real estate company, have you ever thought of yourself as a content provider?  If not, maybe you should. 

Of course at a basic level, the primary benefit a real estate company offers a consumer is relevant and helpful information concerning the process of buying and/or selling homes.  In this role, you are providing content. 

However, there is a tendency to want to consolidate this content production role under large corporate-powered platforms.  While this is of some benefit, if you stop there you’ve left yourself vulnerable to competitors who leverage the concept of micro-publishing.

As you know, real estate is still a “local business” in most parts of the country.  And on a micro-level, a local real estate office has the opportunity to become the real estate “domain expert” for a local community or neighborhood.   How is this done?  By becoming a niche (real estate/ your specific community or neighborhood) content provider on the internet.

Content Rules gives several (non-real estate) examples on how this can be done.  Here is one I thought was interesting:

“As the new director of instruction at Reynolds Golf Academy in Greensboro, Georgia, golf pro Charlie King badly needed to bring in golfing students, but he had a very limited marketing budget.  King turned to the web to build his clientele by showcasing the Academy with quality online content that would attract golfers who wanted to strengthen their games. He presented useful golfing tips and explained that golf is not as difficult as it may seem. King believed that his expertise and humor would draw golfers to his online activities and thus, eventually, to the school.

In February 2008, King launched his blog, “New Rules of Golf Instruction,” offering free lessons via blog posts and videos. In March 2009, he published an ebook, New Rules of Golf Instruction, as a free download from his blog and Reynolds’ website.  Golf magazine’s website ran an ad-libbed video featuring King teaching a satirical lesson showing angry golfers “The Proper Way to Throw a Club” into the water. The video went viral; at 1.8 million viewers and climbing, it is continuing to generate hits on the Academy’s website, providing great publicity and great fun.”

[Note:  Charlie's video was moved to Golf.com (a site owned by Sports Illustrated) because it got so popular.  To view it, cut the paste the following link into your browser address window:  http://www.golf.com/video/proper-way-throw-your-club ]

Do you think the average golf pro at your local country club is a marketing expert?  Probably not.  If guys like Charlie King can do this, so can you!

The key to playing this game is to turn yourself into a content provider that produces quality content.  What’s quality content?  It’s content that your target audience would not only find interesting, but also helpful and sometimes entertaining.  

Here is a quick checklist for the content your produce.   Quality content is always…

True – Never deal in false messages. As author Annie Lamott teaches, “Good writing is about telling the truth.”

Relevant – Your message must be purposeful and must matter to your audience.

Human – Don’t write about your product; write about how people use it.

Passionate – People will not care about your products unless they see that you do. Use the strength of your feelings to engage them.

Original – An unusual story or a “fresh perspective” captures readers’ interest.

Surprising – Being a bit unexpected is interesting; being shocking is a way to go viral.

In our next WorkPuzzle, we’ll cover some additional guidelines for becoming a content provider and show you how this applies to recruiting. 

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Engage in the WorkPuzzle discussion by joining the TMOC private social network.  Commenting on a public blog like WorkPuzzle can be a little intimidating, so why not join the discussion inside the privacy of the TMOC discussion group?  

By joining TMOC, you'll get to see who else is in the group and your comments will only be seen by those whom you trust.   Joining TMOC is quick, easy, and free (no kidding…this takes less than 2 minutes).   To get started, click here.

Already of a member of TMOC?  If so, join the WorkPuzzle Dialog Group by clicking on the WorkPuzzle Group icon on the left side of your TMOC homepage.  Questions?   Email the WorkPuzzle editor (workpuzzle@hiringcenter.net) and we'll walk through the process.

 

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Editor's Note: This article was written by Ben Hess. Ben is the Founding Partner and Managing Director of Tidemark, Inc. and a regular contributor to WorkPuzzle. 

What is Crock Pot Recruiting?

Everyone has heard the saying "If it were easy, everyone would do it." A couple of years ago, Ben wrote a great piece on the difference between microwave and crock pot recruiting that closely follows this principle.

Every tool and philosophy we espouse at Tidemark is built upon this central principle. It is not surprising that 95% of our clients hold to this principle as well. They have an underlying conviction that in order to see results tomorrow, they must consistently engage in systematic and seamless steps today. It's understood that "microwave" recruiting will only obtain low hanging fruit that competitors are also vying for. Conversely, "crock pot" recruiting may take more time and discipline, but, over time, yields the higher caliber and supplemental fruit that companies need in order to beat the competition.

The differences in the conversations of a microwave recruiter and the conversations of a crock pot recruiter resemble two entirely different languages. A microwave recruiter typically offers anecdotal excuses, usually with no statistics, regarding why they aren’t achieving their goals. When asked a statistical question, the microwave recruiter will usually give you an anecdotal answer. When asked how many candidates it takes to get ten interviews...or how many interviews it takes to get each hire, a microwave recruiter is usually unable to provide numbers. What do they provide instead? More excuses. Why? Because a microwave recruiter does not track methods or results.

What isn't measured cannot be managed, predicted, or improved upon. However, recording and tracking results doesn’t come naturally to most people. I often fall into the common trap of not measuring what I do, or how I spend my time. And guess what? That’s invariably when I’m not accomplishing much.

Now, don't get me wrong...there are always factors that change percentages and numbers from one cycle to the next. There is a time and place to dissect reasons and interpret the changes in percentages, however, making excuses with no grounding in metrics is typically used as an attempt to avoid accountability.

Discipline is the key to tracking and keeping records. Disciplined people and organizations rarely offer excuses. They implement systems to drive, track, and improve performance.

Discipline is defined as:

1. Training expected to produce a specific character or pattern of behavior.

2. Controlled behavior resulting from training.

3. A set of rules or methods.

4. Activity, exercise, or a regimen that develops or improves a skill.

5. Behavior in accord with rules of conduct; behavior and order maintained by training and control.

6. A set or system of rules and regulations.

Two years ago, I wrote a four-part piece on an expert recruiter (Andy Nazaroff) who clearly exercises discipline (1,2,3,4). He provides specifics regarding calls, interviews, information, timing, conduct, etc... all of these methods amount to consistent and impressive success.

For him and others like him, a belief system is at the core of their success. They believe that discipline drives results, and increases responsibility -- two characteristics of every successful company.

Let me know your thoughts and your own methods for assuring your own discipline.

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Editor's Note: This article was written by Dr. David Mashburn. Dave is a Clinical and Consulting Psychologist, a Partner at Tidemark, Inc. and a regular contributor to WorkPuzzle. Comments or questions are welcome. If you're an email subscriber, reply to this WorkPuzzle email. If you read the blog directly from the web, you can click the "comments" link below.