TRAINING
been raised. In business, if you want to compete to win, then you have to move on too. Clive Woodward the English world cup- winning coach wanted to be more progressive in rugby, being a trendsetter, not a follower in the game.
How does this fit into estate agency? Both are interactive processes, both have set pieces – scrums or market appraisals – both rely on individuals making the most of the opportunities in front of them. In rugby, the term ‘heads up rugby’ was introduced to put across
to players that they had individual responsibility to do the right things at the right time. This meant that at any moment, players had to look up and go through this routine: Assess what they see
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Chose the correct play option Execute the play skilfully
Well that sounds simple doesn’t it! In order to execute ‘heads
up rugby’ effectively, you have to manage a lot of things coming together at the pivotal moment. I am sure that we can all remember vital games when a sports person got it right and those times when they got it wrong; my favourite moment being the drop goal which brought the rugby world cup to England!
Identifying and assessing what they see In these pivotal moments first of all the player needs to instantly recognise what it is in front of them. With the benefit of instant replay which it is slowed down for easier analysis, assessing what we see becomes somewhat easier, but the sports person has a split second to make that judgement. Doesn’t this fit neatly into estate agency? When a buyer is being qualified, does the negotiator recognise firstly, who is a good buyer or seller and secondly, what opportunities this buyer or seller offers? Clive Woodward analysed the England rugby team’s
performance in this area and did not like what he found. England had lost so many grand slams in the last minutes of a match because they performed badly in this area. So he worked on T-CUP (Thinking Clearly Under Pressure). He said, “There is no greater critical component of success in sport, in either a team or individual context, than the ability to perform and think correctly under pressure.”
Chose the correct play option The next step is doing some thing about what you see. Does the negotiator know what to do and what options are open? In team sport, to put someone into a potentially winning position, every one has to know what their part is. Delivering Jonny Wilkinson’s drop goal was a team effort which involved seven players using T-CUP to get him there. In estate agency you may think that choosing the right option is
pretty obvious – it is if you know and are confident of asking! I am constantly amazed at front line negotiators who have very poor knowledge of the basics; things such as the stock they hold, the local area and the features of the services that the company offers. Many are not confident in their ability to close the opportunity, so even if they recognise that the client needs financial services, they may not have the confidence and knowledge to explain the benefits of the service they are about to offer.
Execute the play skilfully The final step is to undertake the chosen play effectively. How do you make your negotiators develop skills? The answer is very
Identify what you see, choose the play option, score the goal. Simple.
simple: coaching and practice! Do you think the drop goal that won the rugby world cup was a matter of chance? Jonny Wilkinson didn’t leave things to chance, he believes in thorough preparation and practice. He remorselessly practices his kicking from all parts of the pitch and differing situations. Woodward got the whole squad practicing the very scenario that
faced the England team on the day. Regarding the start of the practiced zigzag move, Woodward said, “We all knew what had to happen. The zigzag pattern would give us the best chance of a drop goal… We could all see the lineout call that Ben Kay made, it was a bold move… Ben Kay had made the correct decision under pressure… under pressure, at the end of the match, exhausted, our training prevailed.” Skill is not a matter of luck, it needs hard work and practice. When a buying signal is given or your buyer or seller has objections, can your negotiator deal with these skilfully? Have you practiced these scenarios to make sure that effecting a close or overcoming the objection is not just a matter of luck?
The goals Do your staff convert the opportunities in front of them? Take a look at your key performance indicators (KPIs), these will identify how well ‘heads up estate agency’ is working for you. Can you ignore it? In today’s market, successful businesses need skilful staff to convert every single opportunity; can you afford to see business going elsewhere? There is nothing complicated in ‘heads up estate agency’, but you
have to work at it. You need all your staff on board with this concept and help them with the ability to make it work.
Philip Bowden, Bowden Training & Management Services.
www.bowdentms.com
www.propertydrum.com/articles/headsup Do you have any views on this? Log on and add your comments.
PROPERTYdrum OCTOBER 2011 45
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