Yes, you read it here first! Ralph Roberts, the Emperor of Energy, the Colossus of Closings, the Sultan of Sales has written a dynamic new book which he will tell you all about in an exclusive interview with our Agent News editor, Blanche Evans. Walk Like a Giant, Sell Like a Madman published by the Harper Business, a division of Harper Collins, was released in hardcover on Sept. 23, so look for it in your favorite book store or order it from your favorite on-line bookshop.
Ralph Roberts is known throughout the nation as one of the most high-profile examples of success the real estate industry has to offer. From humble beginnings, he rose to become what Time magazine in November 1995 called the #1 residential real estate professional in the nation. A top broker for over 20 years, Ralph was one of the first agents in the nation to implement the "team" approach to marketing. Today, he heads an multi-million organization with over 30 employees who assist him in a variety of marketing specialties. Among his wide range of services are listings, closings, buyer representation, first-time buyer assistance and the marketing of foreclosures. By departmentalizing his business and hiring specialists to assist him, he is able to maximize his time to the 100th power. He consistently closes over 570 houses a year or two or more per day, and even closed ELEVEN in a single day! Meet Ralph Roberts, an interview by Agent News editor, Blanche Evans. Ralph's book will sell for $24 in hardback, available at most book stores. Call 1-800-704-5189 to order autographed copies.
Vital Statistics
Name: Ralph Roberts
Name of business: Ralph R. Roberts Real Estate, Inc.
# of years experience: 20+
Industry designations and awards: NAR member, CRS, GRI, RPAC Golden R Award winner
Areas of business: Metro Detroit
Specialties: Personal marketing and a team approach to real estate marketing, writing, training.
Annual volume: N/A
Annual units: 550 +
B.E: Walk Like a Giant, Sell Like a Madman sounds like a manifesto to boost
confidence and sales. What is the book about?
R.R: It is a book that will help the beginning salesperson become very good at sales, it will help the very good salesperson become a top performer, and it will help a top performer become a superstar.
B.E: What are a few of the highlights of the book?
R.R: It is more like a reference book but not as boring. It is broken up into sections and covers topics like Know Your Product, Know Yourself -. In other words you are the product. In reality, you may work for Century 21, but you are working for yourself. You are You, Inc. and you have to think like an entrepreneur. If someone is buying a house, any Realtor® in America can write up the deal. You want the client to want you because you are the expert in your market.
B.E: What else?
R.R: There's how to use technology, choosing a market, closing a sale, coming across well on a sales call. That's very important. For example, I always park my truck, a big Suburban, on the street so I don't block anyone in. I never park in the drive.
On one sales call, I went with an assistant and when I knocked on the door, it was the cleanest house I had ever seen. This was in the winter and the roads had been salted for ice. So I whispered to my assistant, take your shoes off. When the lady of the house let us in, she was very impressed that we had taken off our shoes. I said to her, "Doesn't everyone? Look at how beautiful this
house is!" We got the listing.
B.E: What is in the chapter titled How I Found a Wife, Lost a Hundred Pounds and Came to Believe in Miracles?
R.R: I got into real estate right out of high school, so I took my graduation money, $900, and bought my first house. I was twenty, buying houses and thinking I was hot stuff. I bought this house on a land contract (seller financing), and had to pay a balloon payment every quarter in addition to regular monthly payments. I thought I could sell more real estate and cover the expenses. Needless to say, I got in over my head and got foreclosed. The sellers decided to move back in the house. I sold all my possessions. I slept in a cold waterbed, left the window up in the freezing winter so I could hear my car phone. Then I was burglarized and lost $1,500 worth of stuff. The police came and thought I might be scamming for the insurance, but I was so broke, I didn't have any insurance! I was so embarrassed, I didn't tell
anybody, even my own family. I lost the house.
Because of that situation, I understand what it is like to face foreclosure. I had set myself up for failure and even though I was successful, I still failed because of my big ego and cocky attitude. I learned that with a little help, I could have turned that situation around. So now I prospect people in foreclosure and offer the help to them that I didn't get.
B.E: Foreclosures became one of your specialties, -- why is it most agents don't want to handle them?
R.R: Because you can't always save the home. Some don't like the fact that someone might be unhappy. I can help many people save their homes or at least recover some of the equity. Or I can buy it from them and sell it back to them on a land contract if they want to save their home. If someone is down on their luck, and you help them, they become your biggest fan. Some people you can't help because they can't change their ways to turn things around for themselves. They don't hear the wake-up call. You have to focus your energy on those you can help.
B.E: Do you advise other agents to develop a specialty like you have with foreclosures?
R.R: Absolutely. If you can be known as a specialist in a niche in your market, you can write your own ticket. One agent in California specializes in pools. So if customers want a home with a pool, they think of him. You can pick a neighborhood of 200-300 homes and start there. If you are a single mom, you might develop a specialty in working with single moms and helping them buy homes in their tough situations. Look at what your interests are and you can build a repoire more easily. That allows you to become known among that population. If you pick a location instead of an interest, then pick a location where you can do a mailer. Get in front of them, so your market expands like tree rings. As your budget for marketing grows, you can expand. If you scattershot, you are dooming yourself to failure. You want to be a big fish in a small pond not the other way around.
You can always rise above your situation and you have to set yourself up for success rather than failure. The way to do that is to look at people who are successful and model yourself after them. If you want to be a good father, hang out with good fathers. If you want to be a good Realtor®, put yourself around good Realtors®
B.E: Is that how you recently lost over 100 pounds?
R.R: Yes. If you want to lose weight, don't hang out with fat people eating salads. Go and get professional help. I have personally shadowed hundreds of top Realtors® around the country and watch how they work. You can always learn something.
B.E: How did you start teaching?
R.R: I used to seek out people to learn from and I wanted to learn as much as possible. I joined groups like Howard Brittain. The industry gave so much to me, that I wanted to give something back. By teaching other Realtors®, I can reach across the country and leave my mark on the industry.
B.E: I think most people are interested in how to get from here to there. How did you get started in the industry?
R.R: I knew before I got out of school that I wanted to go into real estate.
B.E: Any obstacles?
R.R: Youth was the biggest one. But, I had boundless enthusiasm. I also had lots of ideas and people told me constantly that I couldn't sell. I was fired from three real estate offices who didn't share my vision. (laughs.)
B.E: How old were you when you made your first million?
R.R: I was in my twenties.
B.E: At what point did you realize that in order to expand your business you needed help?
R.R: At 19. I was a Realtor® at the age of 19 and had an assistant. That was unheard of in that era. Back then, everyone had floor time when we worked the phones. It became obvious that I was a bad note taker, so I hired someone to take calls when it was my floor time. If it was a sales call, my assistant would transfer the call to me. I realized quickly that I was not good at administrative things but I was good at selling. If you are doing paperwork, and answering phones, you aren't selling. That was my first lesson in maximizing my time.
B.E: What are the three most important things Realtors® should do everyday?
R.R: Make 100 phone calls a day, promote yourself, and surround yourself with people who are going to make you more effective.
Allan Domb in Philadelphia specializes in high rise condos and sells several hundred units a year. Personal contact is the key. Putting an ad in the paper doesn't do it. If you told a hundred people a day what you do, you would get more business.
If you went to a restaurant and had a terrific meal, you might tell a couple of peolple, but if someone from the restaurant called you and asked for you for the names of your friends and offered them a coupon to come back, I'll bet that restaurant would do a lot more business.
Walk your territory and hand your business card or personal brochure to everyone you meet. You should be spending a minimum of 10-15 percent of your revenues in promoting your business or it will never grow. If everyone in your market knows who you are, you will get the calls. Stay in front of
them. Don't expect them to remember who you are.
We do direct mail like a Val-pack once a month, then we do cable t.v. and billboard, and then phone calls. I once hired a girl whose only job was to call past customers to see how things were going and ask them Are you thinking of buying or selling? Also, if anyone is unhappy with your service you can correct it right them.
Third, if you have the right assistant you will make three times the money.
B.E: What qualities do you look for in an assistant?
R.R: In my book, I say I don't necessarily want someone just like me. If I am a salesperson, I need someone who can do the administration. I even have someone else do the hiring because I am more likely to pick someone who is more like me than someone who has the qualities I need in a certain position. Salespeople tend to assess someone on their personality traits and that may not be the best person for the job. Another salesperson type of personality is not going to be any better at administration than I am.
B.E: What is the source of your tremendous energy and enthusiasm?
R.R: I have always had that. I have a passion for real estate and there is nothing I'd rather be doing. I am taming it from an obsession to a passion. If you are a Realtor® and don't enjoy the process of helping people, you are doing the wrong thing.
B.E: What is your biggest weakness?
R.R: Not letting people I hire handle more details. It is hard for me to let go and delegate. I get excited and get involved in things I should let alone and let them do more without me. I actually cost my own company money. Stay away from the small details.
B.E: What gives you balance in your life?
R.R:My family. My wife and I have a date night every week. And we have a family day every week and we spend the whole day.
B.E: How do you manage a family on a twelve hour work day?
R.R: That was earlier in my career and the hours were even longer than that. Now I am trying to spend more quality time with my family. Now we take 2-3 trips a year and on our real estate related trips, we try to take the kids and make it a social occasion as well as a business trip.
B.E: What advice do you have for agents who are starting out?
R.R: Find someone who is a better agent than you and shadow them. Find out what makes them successful. Ask yourself if it would be better to join a top producer as an assistant. Some of our assistants do much better than the average Realtor® does on their own. *
Walk Like A Giant, Sell Like A Madman is Ralph Roberts first mass market publication.
Published: October 15, 1997
Use of this article without permission is a violation of federal copyright laws.
