Last time out we examined the first five of 10 business principles that Austin Allison and Chris Smith, authors of “Peoplework: How to Run a People-First Business in a Digital-First World,” presented in Homes.com’s Secrets of Top Selling Agents webinar, “10 Ways to Grow Your Business in 2014, People First Not Technology.”
Allison, CEO of dotloop and Smith, co-founder of the conversation search engine, curaytor.com, believe that by following their 10 principles, it can help grow a broker’s profits for the next decade and beyond.
“A lot of these principles helped to build my career and they can help anyone,” Smith says. “For us, peoplework is about stepping up and putting the people first.”
Resolution 6: Invest in great service. The sixth principle of peoplework is “Service is Marketing,” and touches on the question, “how do we reduce overhead and cost to service a customer?
“Real estate is a people business and the best form of marketing is great service,” Allison says. “Invest more heavily in service. Pull dollars away from marketing and put them into service to deliver a better experience for the customer. Word of bad service gets spread around much faster than good service, so it’s important to focus on this.”
Resolution 7: Develop a strong community. “Businesses are Built on Communities” is the concept behind principle seven, with Allison championing its importance because the twenty-first century world is so connected today.
“We have more friends or friends connected to us through the web and it’s easier to create noise. While it’s easier to connect, it many ways, it’s more difficult to really connect,” he says. “The businesses that create communities and thrive on their own are the ones that thrive.”
Smith adds that communities don’t happen by accident and cites the example of Apple Computers creating a solid community for everyone to connect. According to Smith, making communities has never been easier.
The final three principles of peoplework are less tangible and more philosophical in nature. Still, the authors stress they are just as important.
Resolution 8: Stay focused on doing what you love. Principle eight theorizes “Passion Powers Profits,” which on the surface means that is you put your mind to something and are passionate about the idea, good things will happen.
“In the peoplework era, it’s tempting to chase money or prestige,” Allison says. “What will produce the maximum amount of happiness and wealth is following your passion.”
