If I were to ask a room of 100 realtors to raise their hand if they wanted more sales, 98 hands would jump up. The other two people probably weren’t listening! Problem is, there are probably 837,772+ different ideas or sales strategies. Where should one begin?

Wanting more sales is a goal.. An actual closed deal is a result or an output. In short: Effective systems are the Golden Key to increasing your sales.

“We do not rise to the level of our goals, we fall to the level of our systems.” -James Clear

So what is a system? And how can you use them to reach your goals?

What is a system?

Think of a system as a consistent set of inputs and actions that when used in combination, delivers a consistent outcome.

Systems in everyday life

When you think about, systems are everywhere! We grow up through the education system, the phone, tablet, or computer that you’re reading this on uses an operating system to deliver you a consistent and stable experience each time you turn on your device. My favorite system to study is the human body. It is a system of systems. I consists of 11 major subsystems (respiratory, circulatory, digestive, etc.) that work together to keep you alive and healthy.

What are the key ingredients in a system?

The diagram above is a simple but powerful tool for understanding systems theory. Let’s use the example of a chef making a pizza. The inputs would be pizza ingredients such as flour, water, salt, cheese, tomatoes, pepperoni, etc. Using her skills and knowledge, the chef would combine all of the indigents step by step—in the right order—onto a raw pie. Then she would put the pie in the oven at perfect temperature, for the perfect amount of time, and take the pizza out fully-cooked and delicious. The final product would be output. Based on how the pizza looks and feels, and customer reviews, the chef may take that feedback to improve the recipe for future guests. We can’t forget about the environment! It impacts the entire system. In our example there are at least two environments to consider: the natural environment in which the ingredients are grown, and the environment in the kitchen where the pizza is cooked. Change the environment, and you will change the output (pizza). A pizza recipe is a standard operating procedure for consistently creating a delicious pizza. As you can see, systems can be fun and create deliciousness! You may be thinking, “Pizza is great and all, but what does this have to do with increasing my sales and improving my productivity?” My friend, allow me to explain…

Key Systems to increase your sales

There are three systems you can leverage to increase your sales: Lead generation, lead conversion, and referral. Lead generation is the lifeblood of your business. Your ability to consistently introduce your brand to people who need/are interested in using your services will determine just how much your business can grow. Your ability to convert those leads into actual clients and closed deals will determine just how much you get paid. And your ability to deliver a great client experience, and stay top-of-mind for your prior clients, will determine how much of your future business will come from referrals. Great businesses master the art and science of developing a strong referral system.

What makes a good sales system?

A good system delivers consistent, repeatable results. Think of our pizza recipe example. Using that recipe, the restaurant staff should be able to make a consistently delicious pizza nearly each and every order, and every day of the year. In the case of your business, good sales systems should deliver consistent clients and closed deals, which means consistent checks going into your bank account!

In addition, a good system provides useful feedback in the form metrics or Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). Accurate metrics provide valuable insights used to continuously improve the system and its results. If your lead conversion percentage rate suddenly drops significantly, it’s time to take a deeper look at your lead conversion system, and make some adjustments.

Using systems to improve productivity

Systems help you focus your time, energy, and resources to maximize the output. By following a proven system, you don’t have to waste time guessing and doing things that do not drive your desired outcomes. This is where the phrase “Trust the process” comes from. Just follow the recipe!

Bonus tip: Be sure to ask all new clients the following question: How did you hear about me/us? They will provide super valuable intelligence that you can use to adjust your lead generation system. For example, if you’re doing mailers, cold-calling your network, Facebook ads, and LinkedIn ads, but you find that 75% of your new clients are coming from LinkedIn ads, you might consider moving resources from the other marketing channels and investing more heavily into your LinkedIn advertising campaign. Good data allows you to optimize your return on investment of time, money, and resources.

Final thoughts

Hopefully, by now you see how you can use systems thinking to increase your sales and improve your productivity. A good place to start is with your lead generation system. Then optimize your lead conversion system. Remember that providing great service and staying top-of-mind is critical for developing strong referral system. Enough talk. Now it’s time for you to put this stuff to action. Cheers to your success!

If you ever need any help developing or optimizing your sales & marketing systems, feel free to set-up a FREE strategy session with me. You can click the link, or send me a message via LinkedIn. We offer training, consulting, and business coaching to help agents get more clients, and close more deals, more consistently.

-J, Managing Partner, Clientosity