okay, all right so welcome to the read method inside a podcast folks again, this is episode 28 and this time we’re streaming live in.
Facebook live with mr.
Hopkins from Arizona and I’m here in the studio in Toronto as we get down to the end of 2017, I must acknowledge some incredible year that we’ve had on the podcast worldwide in over 40 countries, now with thousands of listeners and growing daily.
Thanks to special guests here, like mr.
Hawkins, I could not have imagined the support and the encouragement that I’ve received so far and I and see so.
Thank you very much to all the loyal listeners as we get down to the end of 2017, with two more episodes scheduled for December.
We look towards end in 2017, with about 28 or 29 episodes, at least featuring great guests, like mr.
Hopkins and many many others that have joined me over the last year, you can subscribe to podcasts now on three different platforms: SoundCloud iTunes, Google Play so in this Episode of the podcast we aim to take take on a subject: that’s becoming relatable and relevant to everyone in sales and in business, and today’s guest is the ultimate sales and business professional and has had the ultimate sales and business success.
And that is how he exemplifies.
How to stand out in the crowd, and we want to talk about and that today and how to set you up.
All our sales reps out, their fellow salespeople in automotive, real estate, like mr.
Tom Hopkins, was and business, is how to stand out in the crowd and to set yourself up for sales and business professionalism and success in 2018 and to take on the subject.
I’m pretty pumped innate to have for the third time back on the show.
Mr.
Tom Hopkins welcome again Tom well.
Thank you.
I’m excited to be back with the everal amazing.
So, just a little bit about you Tom there that I’ve rambled on there about the year that we’ve had, but I want our audience to know why you’re on the show again for the third time – and you know, there’s so much that we could say about you – You you recognize, as the as you know, a master sales trainer and, as America’s number one held sales trainer published over 18 books, many bestsellers and one of the latest books when buyers say no.
Yes, that’s out now.
Thank you.
You sent me my coffee, so I’m reading that slowly and learning a few tidbits from you.
So I appreciate that and you’ve traveled across five continents now training.
Yes, I have lived pretty much almost for 40 years every week, getting on a plane and flying somewhere in the world where they have wonderful salespeople, which of course is the lifeblood of our country in free enterprise and so yeah it’s been a great great life.
Well, that’s good, that’s good to hear – and I know you’ve you know you’ve coached in 350 different industries across the world, obviously from real estate that you started in too many lawyers.
I don’t think there’s an industry in selling that we haven’t customized a program for in all these years.
So, yes, the art of selling, is a very important concept that we all have to.
I think realize, is kind of foundational for our wonderful country.
It certainly is certainly is especially in today’s fast-changing technologically advanced.
You know, economy and environment, the ability to sell and, more importantly, the ability to sell oneself is that is becoming the utmost important.
So I want to welcome you back to the show.
The audience will certainly know who you are, and my audience would you know been following us for the last year are always thanking me for having you on, because they appreciate the insight that you bring to the show.
So, thank you so much for and by the way, I’m looking forward to joining you again in March March.
Second, and third in LA oh, yes, good, good, good, you’re! Coming back! I’m excited yes, yes and we’ll definitely talk talk about that to the audience so that worldwide audience can can get on board and join us in in LA for your two-day workshop.
That’d be super, that’s nice, so we’ll definitely leave the audience with some information on that and then we’ll definitely share that online or online as well.
So so tonight’s episode of the reed method inside a podcast folks, it’s episode.
28 and again we have mr.
Tom Hopkins here on how to stand out from the crowd in sales and business, and we want to get you all ready and pumped up for 2018.
So this is about Tom, exceeding customer expectations.
So in your, in your perspective, how does one for me, from all those 40 years of child in the world and coaching you’ve, seen some people stand out in the crowd, obviously used sit out in the crowd 365 home sales in 2000? What do you attribute that most? Do you think? How does one go ah well? Well, as I knew we were gon na have this session, I sat down and spend some time saying what are the key elements that separate mediocre to an average people to the most successful people, not only in sales but in the business world and I’ve come up With some points that I think will be very salient to your your listeners, your audience – and I think the first thing you have to say to yourself is how committed am I to better performance than everyone else and, and I believe the word commitment is very important.
I had people say to me when they heard that I had 365 homes in a year and sold, which of course is an average of one a day which had never been done in the United States, and I don’t think has been done since I did it.
I’m little laugh about that stats.
You had a long and short of it.
The first thing was: I was really committed to outperforming my competition and, as I go over these points today, I hope everybody that’s taking advantage of our time realizes that in in a way we are in business for ourselves.
That’s right! You, you may have a company.
You represent, you may be we working for a firm that has a title that is known in your community, but in a way a salesperson is in business for themselves, and I share that with you this time of year, because you you have to realize that there’s A basic truth of spending money to make money and you’ve got to invest in yourself to do better than average people do yes, I course I came from a construction background.
I didn’t go to college.
I didn’t have a lot going for me, but luckily I found my niche and I hope the folks listening right now will realize half of happiness and financial success is earning your living doing your niche.
Now I call the niche doing something not work that you love to do so passionately that people beat a path to your door to do business with you.
Yes, my last year, 96 percent of the homes I sold were referred or people had already sold property and and the reason I say that is that’s one of the keys to building a six career, a business.
You have to have reputation that people want to hear your message.
They want to know why you’ve done so well and in essence, they become coachable to what you teach, and so I think the first of the things I talked about our thought about, while I’m preparing for this time is you’ve, got to find something.
You have a passion for, and you commit to it, and you have to put in more time and effort to build the business.
Many people want to have a successful business without putting forth the time and effort, and my first three years every light took three days off, meaning I had for three solid years three Christmas days off.
That’s it now.
It’s fanatical and I have had people said.
I don’t want to work that hard.
Well, maybe you don’t, but I found by that three-year commitment of fanatical effort, an activity, that’s how I built the business to where the fourth year I worked less 50 or 60 R and of course, why my eighth year, I never had a prospect because people set Business to me, because I had worked so hard, so I want to start off by saying this next month or two as we prepare to start a new year.
It’s it’s important.
You have quality activity and not just kind of slow down like so many of your competition will.
Yes, I think this is a the time to to call your clients to sin.
Thank you notes that you’re thanking them for being your your client getting in the most important folks.
I think you at the time of year, you may want to get a gift and thank them, but please realize you got to spend money to make money, invest in yourself and, secondly, you’ve got to be a sent ik, meaning there’s no need to be a fake, Be yourself sincerity is the key to building long-term relationships, and I really believe in the world of business and sales we’re in long-term relationship building.
I mean I can’t tell you the number of times people I had a seminar in San Francisco a while back and a man came up to me.
He says Tommy, I want her to say hi, I heard you came into town for a seminar and I I didn’t come to the seminar I came to.
Thank you.
I said well for what he says.
Well, almost 40 years ago, I walked into your real estate office, my wife and I had no money.
We wanted to rent a home, and you were so not only insistent that we consider purchasing.
But you helped us with a very low initial.
Investment got us into a home, and I came today because now my wife and I are retired, but the largest part of our net worth and the equity that we enjoy our golden years with is the equity in that property that you almost made us buy.
Instead of rent, so thank you Tom and now see when people spend their money and thank you you’re doing a good job hundred percent, and so that was kind of the thing.
So you also, I believe another point is you’ve, got to be different.
Do things other salespeople or other people don’t do to exceed what I call customer expectations? For example, here’s a couple things I did.
If you came in to look at homes and you didn’t buy, I still sent you a thank-you note and I really believe the thank-you notes today handwritten are more important than they were back when I did it because today, no one’s doing it, it’s all electronic transactions.
You know it’s all email, which is not real personal.
I would love to suggest the folks right now with us, find their 10 best clients and send them a very, very nice thank-you letter, letting them know how much you appreciate the fact that you’re getting to serve them and you’ll be amazed how this type of a Letter will also have an impact.
Today I used to do crazy things.
Fourth of July.
I would pick out a hundred or 200 of my best clients and I would spend the whole day putting a little flag on the front yard for fourth of July Wow.
They make up, they go out to their car or go out to drive away and there’s this little flight with my card on it saying thank you for letting me be your servant in the field of real estate, and I would do that when people would come To my open house to look at property, especially in the summer and a hot summer day, I’d have 1/2 gallon of ice cream for everybody that came to look at the property.
Well, of course, it was a nice thing to do, but if it’s 95 or a hundred degrees, let’s say 44 or Celsius, where are you going with a half a gallon of ice cream in your car you’re going home now? This is how I got them off.
The street, to not look with any other Realtors till I got weak and showed them properties nice.
So these are the little things that I think set me.
Apart from this food flick and – and I think if people will be different, do things other people don’t do they’re going to be the path to your door, not for once, but for a lifetime to have you serve them and then another thing.
It’s so important that we stay in touch and do a follow up with people.
You have no idea everal how many people in sales don’t keep in touch with their people ads.
I think I had a goal every year, if you purchased a home from me, you would hear from me at least six times a year now I would tie it into holidays for Halloween.
I put a pumpkin on your front porch.
So you’d have a pumpkin without going to the market I for Christmas.
Of course I would have a very nice letter for you and that, of course I would put the flag out on 4th of July Halloween.
I would give a some type of thing, but I tried to tie in my follow up with with dates now, of course, everybody listening when you have a buyer, husband and wife, or one of them make sure if they have children, you get the children’s names their Ages and most importantly, their birth dates, and you can make this part of the way you build the structure of your follow up and I used to every month.
I would have first myself, but then eventually my assistant would send all those children birthday cards three days before their birthday and it was amazing how the kids would go to their mom and dad and say.
Oh mr.
Hopkins, the real estate agent sent us a birthday card, cost nothing, nothing yeah, but you are doing something average people don’t do which makes you stand apart from your competitors.
So so you want to stay in touch also.
I think it’s important that if you make a mistake which we all can well yeah yeah, absolutely but admit the fact you might have made a mistake but keep in touch with people.
One thing I learned over the years I had had unhappy clients.
We can’t make everybody happy, god bless people weren’t that happy, but I kept in touch I followed up.
I sent them all this stuff and sure enough.
Two years later, they still call me back because I’m the only one that kept in touch all job gave them a pumpkin whatever.
So, let’s, let’s make this good the goal, keep in touch follow-up because out of sight is out of mind and you’ll not have a long-term relationship with them and that’s the whole and realize that following up with people builds trust and as we’ve talked about the last Time that we’ve been together on the show, if you had two minutes with me and said Tom, what’s the most important thing, I can do to not only make more money but have a better happier.
Life work harder on yourself than you do on the job to become a person that people like and trust and not only have to listen to because you’re talking but want to hear you and we listen to you because we’re doing three things in selling.
We’re educating people on the benefits, we’re motivating them to take action and we’re having fun with them.
We’re making will enjoy the time we’re together, and I think, if you make that part of your life be different, be authentic.
Keep in touch follow up, admit, mistakes and fixed challenges, and the court become a follow-up specialist and if you’ll do this, you’ll be amazed how you’ll build a long-term, successful career, and I hope people taking our advice today, will realize that it’s got ta be a long Term – and I think you also have to remember the famous P word now – I I know many of you know Wayne Gretzky ya Witzke, who, with the Edmonton Oilers, changed that whole city as far as hockey yeah and we moved to Los Angeles.
He happened to buy a home just up the street from us yeah, because I love golf and we lived in a golf course and he loved golf.
He and I would play golf quite often well, you know one day after we had quite a rapport and friendship.
Build you know, I said to him.
I said you know when I got ask you something you as number 99, the great one changed the field of hockey here in Los Angeles, because believe it or not back then, when he first moved there hockey was a popular but not like it is today.
No, I really believe Wayne Gretzky can be thanked for making that sport, so wonderful for our country, yeah, so we’re driving home from the golf course and of course I had some few go-rounds with him and I said Wayne you don’t know much about me.
You know.
I’m an author, I write books and but I have seminars and you know I have thousands of people every year in front of me and I teach and of course I’m flattered to head you as a friend and a golf buddy, but I go to Canada.
Quite often – and so I want to let them know if you had one thing, you could tell me that would help the people that want to be better in business and sales.
What might it be and he didn’t hesitate? He said you must have a burning passion for all aspects of your endeavor.
He said I had a passion for hockey.
Of course, I had a passion for practice, which many people don’t want to practice.
They just want to get out and play.
I just want to play Yeah right.
He said I had a passion, of course, sir winning, but I had a passion for losing.
I had a passion knowing that when I skated on the ice that most of the other opponents were skating after me, because at that point in my life I would be winning most of the games, which is true.
He changed hockey for the Kings here in LA absolutely.
I guess the point in getting in it is he said that one word passion and – and I hope all the folks now listening or watching us will find something you’re passionate about now.
You might sit there and go well.
I I’m not.
I don’t love what I do where you got it.
Life is too short not to be happy, and what you do absolutely give you some suggestion find out how long you must have money without needing to make money, and you put it away this year so that you can live without needing the money for an amount Of time to build your own business mm-hmm, and I totally believe that people that make the most money in life take a risk.
They they put their name or on a building, or they say I’m opening up my own company or I’m going into sales.
Where I get paid a commission, I’m gon na find it something I love to do and that’s really one of the keys.
You know I’ve had people say: where can I make the most money? Don’t look at it like that? Where can you do something? You have a passion for, and love to do and the money will be a bribe product of the service you give to your fellow man.
That was really when life is fabulous.
Yes, people say to me: I’ve got four relatives and friends that know my whole life and they go.
Why Hopkins? Do you every week, almost every week, get on the darn airplane and fly somewhere in the world, spend all the time on the plane live in a hotel room? Why? And I said because I have a passion for teaching and people that come up to me and say Tom.
You know you changed my life 25 years ago when you found us a home or you know you changed my life when you got me into an apartment.
Building an investment or I’ve had people say you know, you helped got me that commercial building and you know I bought the second Taco Bell in the United States when they first started.
I was only 20, but that little Taco Bell, of course has flourished as well as all the other investments I’ve made.
So you got to make money and spend money to make money, and I have a thing learn more, so you earn more.
So you save more.
So you then invest more and the end of your life.
You’ll be able to give more and they’re happiest times in your life is when you’ve been blessed with abundance, and you can give not only to your children give to your brother or sister, who goes into a financial trauma or your mom and dad who maybe they Didn’t make enough money to live in dignity and you can reach out and say: hey.
I’m gon na help you every month, so the giving is the key, but it started with the serving yes be a servant and you’ll be blessed with abundance and thus have the opportunity to give more to others, which is the fabulous way to live.
And that’s so amazing.
So folks, we’ve been with Tom Hopkins on the reed method, insider podcast, it’s episode, 28 and we are having fun here discussing how to stand out in the crowd for 2018 and tom has given us some good lessons here.
Some good stories, one with Wayne Gretzky, which is great because, obviously from Canada, we are right in Toronto, where the Maple Leafs are just a few few blocks away from the stadium right now, yeah we are.
We are downtown Toronto right now and obviously, I’m familiar.
I’ve been to Wayne Gretzky’s winery in the Niagara region, so his winery there, beautiful and my kids have actually played played football at a field that he sponsors.
He has a hockey complex with football fields as well.
So we’re very familiar with him, and that’s just so.
You know so close to home.
Well, you know, what’s funny to ever old is uh.
His home is on the top of a mountain and all of us that know him call his home tars mahaki, so he lives in Taj Mahal key, but what a fine man and what a good friend.
But I just hope that people realize that the qualities that we’re talking about are just in sales people’s lives.
There aren’t any one who stands apart from the crowd, who is looked up to as a success and they live certain things.
They make a commitment to what they do.
They have a passion for life and what they do and they love people, and don’t forget that I mean I don’t care what you’re doing in business you’re, first and foremost in the people business.
I really wasn’t in real estate.
I was in the people business for eight years, serving people getting them happy into a property and, of course, earning a wonderful income.
Making people happy is a fabulous way to live amazing.
So folks, we’ve been talking about all these great things that we should set out to do to stand out in the crowd for next year and we started with well I’ll just share with you for the tips that tom has covered so far.
We’ve spoke about exceeding expectation and how important that is to be different focus on being here.
You need self authenticity right, not trying to be like other people and doing the things that most other salespeople.
Don’t let you talk about pumpkins.
You know different pumpkins at Halloween time.
You know, I all those unique things do matter.
Those are.
Those are all huge and staying caps to build those relationships.
So obviously, following up meticulously or consistently and [ Applause, ] building relationships is those relationships that you Forge in the early years.
Do pay exponentially over time, and I find that in my career right now in sales, where a lot of my business is repeat business.
I sell the same clients multiple cars over and over and over.
So although I’ll do hundreds of vehicles, but I won’t actually sell to hundreds of clients because I’m selling multiple cars to the same car.
So these are such valuable tools that when you make it authentic, when you make the experience unique when you make it real, when you exceed their expectations and when you put them first, they only want to deal with you anyways.
Why go somewhere else well on one idea, I love the folks to try – and I did this because I got so darn busy with so many clients that I my time was so valuable that I didn’t have a lot of time to talk to my clients.
So what I started doing was, I would wait till if they had a company worked for an office.
I wait till it was nine or ten o’clock at night.
When I knew they weren’t there, then I would call the business and I would just call you know: Jim Smith, hey Jim, it’s Tom Hopkins is 10 o’clock at night.
I know you’re not there, of course, but I just wanted to take a moment and thank you for being a valued client.
I’ve so enjoyed serving you this last year and look forward to doing so for many years now that took me about 10 seconds.
I don’t have to talk, I don’t have to chitchat, but he gets there in the morning and turns on his machine and there’s Tom, saying hi.
Thanks for being a valued client and my god, you called me a 10 at night.
So these are those little things that are huge, because no one else is doing them.
So some great tips – and I think this this is just an amazing way – to wrap up 2017 and to pretty much put things on a platter, though that our audience, including myself, can take.
You know take a survey of how good we’ve done for 2017 and how we can improve and how we can you know, make some adaptations or some of those minor changes that can affect huge results and do spend time.
Everybody setting your short-term and long-term goals for the next year.
You know the average American in our country spends more time planning the details of their vacation.
Then they plan the details for their long-term success.
So I would love the folks to not only have a wonderful holiday season enjoy and and have fun but get away.
And if you’re married with your spouse and say I want to get some short-term goals.
I think you need for a year, and then I think you know a long-term goal is: what are we going to have? Is a net worth? What are we going to enjoy financially when we do decide it’s time to hang it up and retire? Average people do not invest time, setting those goals, and I hope, the folks that we’re sharing ideas where they’ll say hey, I’m gon na have my long-term goal.
What’s my net worth going to be in 20 years as an example, how much money will my net worth generate as to the interest on the money so that I can live without needing to make money, because when your money works as hard as you do, it’s A really a wonderful life to live off the money, your money is making so take those ideas from, and I hope you know, Sarah t-that, both you know overall and I have in our message to have you have a better life and if that happens to you, Because of our message, then, our life is being fulfilled and that’s what we I know live for exactly so.
I very much appreciate the the perspective and how you’ve crafted v-b answers to to these questions, even though they are sales and business and success.
Questions crea brain in the human element and the feel-good element to the equation right because ultimately we want the whole purpose of being successful is to have that better life for ourselves and for our families.
So I love the.
I love the angles, so thank you.
So much for that, so to wrap up a little bit about if we talk about admitted mistakes and fixing problems, so that we can is.
The whole thing here is to have this form all these great relationships and some people don’t get to form as many great relationships as they can, because they sometimes lack the ability to say.
I’m sorry or I made a mistake.
So that’s it.
So that’s important as well, so how do you? How do you think it and throw your career? Have you ever had to take a step back and say you know I made a mistake, but let me try and fix this.
Oh yes, definitely, as I mentioned to you, can’t make everybody happy and in the darn business when I was so darn busy, I would mess up.
I’d forget to follow up, maybe not keep a commitment, and you know I’m a very sensitive person because I love people.
So much but my course always humbled myself to apologize and oftentimes.
I would write a note.
You know just saying hey.
I know that I didn’t handle that properly and I hope you realize I’m so darn busy and I would never want to not give you a hundred percent of the service you deserve, but thank you for being a valued client now what I also found, even people, That weren’t, that happy or if I made a mistake – or there was a challenge in the transaction many times, not my fault, where you couldn’t get the loan or financing because of some challenges and their credit rut lot, relying or whatever ever I still found once I Kept in touch followed up, wrote the letter and then, of course, kept in touch with all the things I did date still two or three years later, if they’re ever thinking about real estate, they come back to me because you follow up.
Follow up follow up till they buy or die alright, so so Tom, if we were to you, know, we always try to leave the audience with a few takeaways like so just a couple I mean we were we’ve gone through about ten different items.
Here we’ve touched on just so that the audience to again exceeding expectations, focus in on being your unique, authentic self.
Do things that most other salespeople don’t stain and keep it in touch, building those relationships, very valuable, daring to be different.
You know authenticity, your unique self be more committed than ever, because obviously people like to buy from you know: sales, people or business people that are committed, exam, yeah, admitted mistakes and sometimes saying you know what I made a mistake or I’m sorry.
Maybe I should maybe I could have done better and follow-through always, and one of the last ones I want to leave with the audience is about listening is there’s a lot of truths in sales and business.
Just from listening exactly and – and I I think you know what the takeaway is, I love everybody.
That’s on this program to make a commitment to eliminate five words from their vocabulary in this next year and the five words are number one.
Don’t ever say the price of your product: it’s not the price of the vehicle, the price of the home, it’s the total investment, because total investment is much more positive than the price they’re, paying also don’t use words, sell or sold.
We sell a lot of these vehicles.
I sold this car right away.
They here seller sold that you pushed him into something I never sold a home.
I just got people involved in the beautiful ownership opportunity so, instead of seller sold, we get them involved.
So remember that we don’t sell them, we get them involved involved.
Then never call your form if you have won a contract.
Even if you do it electronically people are scared to death of a contract.
Call it.
The agreement see people love agreements, they just don’t want to get near a contract, so ask permission to outline your thoughts on the paperwork or agreement, and it’s a little word buy.
But don’t use buy, see when you, when you buy from us right away they’re going we’re not gon na buy today we’re looking so use the word own.
It’s when you own people, love to own they’re afraid to buy so we replace the word buy with own and then, of course, don’t ask them to sign anything.
Mom and dad said: don’t you sign anything, ask them to approve or authorize or endorse the paperwork or the agreement.
It’s amazing how nicely they’ll authorize the agreement they used to want to sign a contract.
Sorry so again, the takeaway is five words are eliminated and those new words put into your vocabulary and you watch how much better you do when you’re presenting your transaction and closing that beautiful thing called the sale.
So those five words folks, our price instead of price, is the total investment instead of cell use, get involved, get them involved, get them involved instead of contract, we’re talking about the agreement right and instead of buy.
We want to talk about owning right and instead of signing a contract, we want to talk about, approve or authorize.
Approver authorized the agreement great and those five words will increase your sales Stickley, because those are five words that create fear and fear is what holds most people back from purchasing anything so make that a goal all of you and it works, come see me on my Website Tom Hopkins comm – and maybe you can come see us in LA in March, 2nd and 3rd March, 2nd and 3rd and I’ll, be there ok lucky there did the audience’s love him when he comes because they’re again he’s a pro and we both share very similar Beliefs and values in our lives all right.
My friend I’m very much.
I enjoyed it as well and we’re almost we’re in similar color sweaters mine’s a little darker, but it’s winter and snowy here now, so we got snow outside.
I bet you don’t know we don’t we’re hoping to get snow, open flagstaff where we’re going for our Christmas holiday.
Ok, we get some snow.
Well I’ll, send our snow your way, cuz! We can put it out.
Thank you so much you, god bless you! Your families! Well, thank you very much Tom for being a guest on the show for the third time appreciate it.
Ok, my friend, take care, take care bye-bye .
