Bringing dead files to life

Many years ago, as a junior real estate agent, I set out into the world of business and sales without connections or client relationships. So I took every bit of sales training I could find, and discovered two sources of leads (until I started building referral and repeat clients).

The first group, "FSBOS", were people advertising privately their homes for sale. Using the "script" from a sales trainer, I would call them, start a conversation, and ultimately obtain a few listings. I determined the boundaries to call would be within the free calling area of my home (in a far suburb of the city).

Interestingly, I had the greatest success in another suburb, at the opposite end of town -- and by this community's standards -- a very long drive. But any time I tried to screen the list to be more geographically convenient, I failed to get business, even though when I didn't screen, I often found business away from this distant suburb.

Lesson learned: Don't screen too hard at the start, provided the core qualifications are met (but don't deviate from your qualifications.)

My second best source of cold leads turned out to be the real estate brokerage's "dead file", expired listings and records from former clients. I discovered a filing cabinet full of these records and set out to call them (with the brokers' permission, of course). Several were happy to hear from me, and signed up.

You may have dead records in your own office; it won't hurt to go through them and make a connecting call -- you may find new business that way.

I learned some other lessons during my time as a Realtor. First, I discovered I enjoyed the work as long as I was learning and growing; within two years, I had achieved my brokers license, and helped put together some reasonably advanced commercial transactions. As soon I stopped learning, however, I began to hate the work -- one deal seemed to morph into another; the actual intellectual exercise required for the work seemed to lack enough challenge to motivate me. Worse, while I was good, I knew I could never be great. I needed to move on.

My solution: Return to my first passion, journalism, but this time as a business owner. I would start a publication for real estate agents and brokers. Financially, the original venture never made sense, but it got me into a business I truly enjoy and where I can take the ups and downs because it always challenges me.

However, I haven't forgotten the lessons from the real estate sales experience. If you are starting out in sales or marketing with a construction business, maybe your boss won't mind you going through the former client files and calling a few of them -- and if it is your business, you might find gems of future business in those dusty files.

Lessons learned

This Iowa blog entry offers another perspective on lessons learned -- and suggests some other good principals for business survival.

Back in 2001, as the technology bubble melted, I thought I had achieved the holy grail of business success. We were selling up a storm, profits were excellent, and (so I thought) my delegation was so effective that I had little to do -- so I could spend time on other fun stuff and leave the heavy lifting to employees, as the business raked in the profits.

Of course, things really weren't so good underneath the surface in 2001, just as they weren't really that secure back in 1989 and 1990 a few years after I started the business -- in fact I was setting myself up for the longest and most painful business implosion of my life. And, as things started falling apart, I attributed the problems to a variety of causes which may have contributed too the difficulties, but were most definitely not their sources.

Today, again, things look promising, but I have no illusions as I am well aware of the recessionary environment affecting much of the marketplace. In part, our current markets are not affected by the recession; as well, our business, by its nature, can do relatively well at the early stages of a recession only to hit the wall later if the recession deepens or lasts too long.
Nevertheless, while it is dangerous to prophesize -- things often turn out different than expected -- I think I can avoid some of the mistakes that got me into trouble previously, and remember the things that helped me out of problems twice in the past.

My mistakes:

Inconsistent hiring and business management practices. We had sales reps on pure commission; we had sales reps on salary; we had reps who worked as 'teams' but under different rules of engagement; and they were hired under different rules and contracts. When things were going well, this did not cause problems; but when things started falling apart, the pain spread quickly, with resentment, envy, and "protect your own hide" behavior. As an example, I hired -- without proper testing and evaluation -- a less than effective sales rep based on the recommendation of another employee; we paid a full salary to this person for several months; while another representative on pure commission, working hard, struggled.

"Disappearing" from the business; falsely thinking I was delegating effectively. With a hired editor, and sales team, I didn't feel a need to spend time with the clients; with the market, and with the employees. "I'm getting in their way; they are doing a good job," I thought. So I travelled, dreamed of new markets, spent hours thinking about complex forward thinking business plans, not listening to client rumblings about some of our business practices; not listening to internal dissentions and hostility; and not seeing the deep and underlying malaise affecting the business.

Failing to respond in a consistent and rapid manner to real problems. Sometimes I just 'left things alone' hoping they would get better; in part because we didn't have clear performance standards, but more because I feared that rocking the boat would turn things into a messy picture. At the worst stage, I increased my disappearance -- taking a long vacation as key employees were struggling, not sure what to do.

Failure to have a clear planning structure, system, and guidelines for business operations. We expanded through 'seat of your pants' philosophies, sometimes digging out of one problem, only to deep into digger ones. With all the inconsistencies in our approaches, when things started going bad, they went from bad to worse as no one sensed leadership, thoughtful response, and everyone felt panic.

So, that is what went wrong. How did I dig myself out of the mess, twice?

I knew my limits, and when I reached them, did what I needed to do. The cuts may have been mismanaged, they may have been brutal, arbitrary, and ill-planned, but I did what I needed to do as the wolf cried at the door. Now, of course, I realize, I could have taken measures much earlier, with less pain for everyone involved.

I hired really talented people to do the work; both rebounds occurred when I (often through luck rather than planning) hired truly competent people. In previous successful periods, these individuals propelled the business forward; in fact, even though these employees have left us; some of their contributions remain legacies to our current operations.

I took hands-on responsibility. I really focused on the basics; rolling up my sleeves, working hard and effectively, and connecting with clients as employees saw that I wasn't living the easy life as others struggled.

But the most important test of the current business rebound is ahead, and I think will be the solution when we hit bumps in the road. Everyone we hire must meet consistent (high) minimum standards; I am staying out the ivory tower, and in touch with clients and our employees, and we will make major decisions only after thoughtful and insightful planning. Will we be able to transcend the previous 'good times' and enjoy lasting prosperity? I think so, but experience will prove the point.