Excerpt from Profit with Your Personality.
Featured also on Inman News.

“Can you help me?” desperately pleaded a prospective coaching client.“What’s the problem?” I asked concerned.“I want to grow my business. I want the top-producer formula.”

That is what we think, do we not? That there is just one equation (e. g. X + Y = Success) that works the same for each person that will produce and reproduce success.

The New York caller continued, “I have tried cold-calling, but I just can’t wrap my brain around doing this every day for the rest of my career. I don’t like cold-calling, but that is what most of the agents at my office do. If that is the formula for me to succeed, then I will make myself do it.” The caller resigned to being uncomfortable for the sake of copying someone else’s success formula.

Here is the problem with that outlook: Square pegs do not properly fit into round holes.

What do I mean by that?

Remember back when you, your children, or your "grands" were in kindergarten. They had all types of toys to help stimulate their mind while keeping them from sticking a fork in an outlet or annoying the dog. One popular toy included shape-styled blocks that fit into same-shaped cutouts. It could be considered a basic puzzle game. Children new to this toy often would take the triangle shape and try to stuff it into the rectangle, grab the star piece and bang it into the square piece and the like.

The problem was that the right pieces were not being put with the right cutout. Instead, the mismatched shapes were placed in the wrong areas. Frustrated, the child either thinks, “This toy is broken, throw it out” or “Make it fit, bang on the piece until it is in the desired spot." Both approaches cause damage.

Now enter the parent, teacher, or babysitter. The child is now coached on what works with each shape to correctly solve the puzzle. Pop. With excitement and glee, the kindergartener giggles and claps as the square shape smoothly slides into the square cutout.

The game was not defective. Nor, did the pieces need to be forced into the space. There only needed to be an understanding of what worked best in each area.

Likewise, the game of real estate sales is not broken or defective. Nor, can we force every salesperson into one area. Not everyone will fit and damage will likely result. We simply need coaching and guidance to understand where we, as salespeople, best fit. Remember that saying, “All I really need to know I learned in Kindergarten” by Robert Fulghum? Well, this analogy is no exception.

Managers' Moment

Does your organization inadvertently train everyone to be a cookie-cutter salesperson, doing only the familiar lead generation activities instead of speaking to the uniquely varied salespeople and their personalities? Often, managers search to recruit and retain a vibrant sales force and the answer lies above.

We must help salespeople find the lead generation activities that work better and are more favorable for their personality type. This liberates us from dogmatically chasing one or two dominant lead generation methods. If you join this revolutionary thinking, personality work-fit can become your firm’s competitive advantage to attracting and keeping a burgeoning sales team.

Sound off - I would love to hear from you! Give me a shout on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Google+ or by visiting LearnWithLee.Realtor.

Want more of the best practices of our nation's top producers? Grab your copy of the short read, Profit with Your Personality and, the classic, 5-star rated workbook, Plan to Win, to transform your real estate sales game plan. Here's to your success! #LearnWithLee