5 common traits I believe highly successful BDMs follow on a daily basis

We all know the Business Development Manager (BDM) role is a sales-based position; however, everyone has their own particular style. In this article I have highlighted 5 common traits I believe highly successful BDMs follow on a daily basis.

Tip 1 – Create an Ideal Day

Have you ever dreamed of planning out your perfect day where every minute is spent in a productive manner?

I hear so many BDMs say, “I wish I just had more time” and “if only I just had an extra couple of hours in my day I would achieve so much more”. We all know we are unable to change time, and if we could, would it really solve our problems?

No matter how organised we are, there is only ever going to be 24 hours in a day.  This is why it is so important to make sure we have a plan in place to manage what we do with our time, because many of us tend to procrastinate during our daily routines.

Do you find yourself spending time on activities that are meaningless to the outcome you are hoping to achieve at the end of the day? Have you ever considered keeping a daily record of the activities you completed? A great example is emails. I find that they can control our day if we allow them too. A lot of us have a 5-minute send/receive alarm set up in our email account. Imagine how productive your day would be if you checked you emails when you arrived in the morning, at lunch time and just before you go home.

I encourage all BDMs to set up your ideal day and give it a good go.  You will be surprised at where you spend your time and how much time you do waste. 

Tip 2 – Embrace the sales person’s mindset

BDMs with a sales person’s mindset have the ability to create instant trust with new landlords. It should always be your primary goal to create trust first with the landlord, and not focus on closing straight away. Creating genuine trust is the essence of building long lasting relationships, and these relationships can turn into more new managements. Once you start to see the landlord has this trust, you will notice a change in their body language and conversation. This is then when you start with your closing questions and test the water to see if they are ready.

While I want you think like a sales person, you must remember to change your language away from ‘sales speak’ to natural language that connects with people. You should use phrases like “would you be open to” instead of “would you be interested in”. By doing this, you immediately set yourself apart from your competition by coming across as a BDM who is patient, open minded and willing to listen.

Tip 3 – Prospecting

Property Management has become a dynamic and fast-paced world. Now more than ever it is important to have an extra edge that continues your ongoing referrals. By incorporating prospecting into your daily routine, you will see an increase in your database contacts and turn them into qualified prospects.

The best way to start prospecting is to set targets for the number of calls you will make and the number of doors you will knock on each day. It is very important you don’t get distracted and catch the procrastination virus. Just stay focused, start pumping out the calls and get knocking.

Be prepared, have your list of questions written down in front of you and practice. Prospecting is the key to your success as a BDM. Your achievements today are a result of the prospecting you did six months ago.

Tip 4 – Knowledge is Power

At the start of my Real Estate Career, I made the decision that I wanted to commit myself to becoming the expert in my area. I quickly realised that in order for me to become an expert, I needed to be treating education as priority and believe that knowledge is power.

In today’s environment, we have no excuses for lack of knowledge as the online world provides everyone with so much free and valuable information. No matter what industry you are in, you can find information on You Tube, Google or even connect with like-minded people through Facebook, Linked In and Twitter to share ideas. 

To set yourself apart from the competition and be seen as the expert, you must have a strong understanding of the market and your area. It is not good enough to know an “approximate” vacancy rate. You must know the exact figure, for example 1.6%. By simply stating exact vacancy rates, median rents or any other statistics, you will already look more intelligent and knowledgeable than your competitors.

A highly successful BDM will also have a strong understanding of what service their competitors are offering and what fees they charge. It is important to get all the information that your competitors would give to prospective landlords. A good way to do this is to ask a friend to pose as a prospective landlord. You will also need to be aware of what events are happening in the local area, both for your benefit and for your potential landlord. Know where the bus stops are, about schools in the area, along with anything else that is up and coming. By demonstrating this knowledge, your prospective landlords will see you as the expert in your area and have confidence in your abilities to perform. 

Tip 5 – Face your Fears and let go of your mistakes

When I first started out as a BDM, I was afraid of rejection, and as a result, I couldn’t sell our services. After meeting other like-minded BDMs and attending a conference, I realised highly successful BDMs also hate rejection. However, instead of hiding from it and falling into the procrastination trap, they go out each and every day to tackle their fears head on. By having the ability to face your fears as a BDM, it makes you stand out from your competition and increases your monthly targets.

The highly successful BDMs of today were the failures of yesterday. They’ve tasted disappointment. But instead of quitting as many others would, they use their failures as a stepping stone to reach their goals.

Some BDMs have many years of experience where they have collected a great amount of knowledge over time. Unfortunately, many of them consistently underperform, and, in a lot of cases, the problem is caused by the fact that the BDM doesn’t feel any need to expand their skills or learn anything new. This not only leads to complacency, it also leads to the real possibility that the BDM will be passed by other BDMs who are constantly upgrading their skills and leveraging on new technologies. 

Overall the key to becoming a highly successful BDM is to focus on what you can do to improve everyday!