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REALTOR® Emeritus |  | SALES MEETING TOOL KIT: SAFETY | |
|  Component 1: Safety talking points overview Component 2: Safety Agenda handouts overview Component 3: Action Plan Worksheet Component 4: Action Plan Worksheet (blank) Component 5: Safety In The News: Safety First Component 6: Activity List Component 7: Activity 2a, 2b and 2c Worksheet Component 8: Activity 2a, 2b and 2c Answers Component 9: 10-Second Rule for Personal Safety Component 10: 10-Second Rule Reminder Card Component 11: Safety Scenario Component 12: Facilitator Notes for Safety Scenario Component 13: Defending Yourself Component 14: Other Resources | Component 1: Facilitator Talking Points These notes will guide you and your salespeople through a discussion and activities on safety Before the Meeting
Print the following: 1. Facilitator talking points—Component 1 2. Handout 1: Safety agenda—Component 2 3. Handout 2: Action Plan worksheet—Component 3 4. Handout 3: True Story—Component 4 5. Activity 1—Typical Day worksheet—Component 5 6. Activity 2a, 2b, 2c—Map out a Typical Day; Recognizing Danger, Avoiding Danger worksheet —Component 6 7. Activity 2a, 2b, 2c facilitator answer key —Component 7 8. Handout 4: 10-second rule—Component 8 9. Handout5: 10-second rule (business card size)—Component 9 10. Optional: What’s Wrong with This Scenario—Component 10 11. Scenario talking points—Component 11 12. Handout 6: Defending Your Life handout—Component 12 13. Activity 3—Applying Safety Techniques—Component 13 Activity 1: Typical day(3 minutes) Have the participants write down their top five tasks—the items on their business to-do list—for the next few days. When they’ve finished, have them set aside their lists until the end of the discussion. True Stories(3 minutes) Gain participants’ attention about the importance of safety in one of three ways: 1. Have them read the story, “Safety First,” about an attack on a salesperson. (Component 4) 2. Relate a story on safety concerns from your own experience. 3. Research and relate crime statistics for your area. Start with: APBNews.com: Obtain crime ratings by Zip code. REALTOR.COM (Click on “Neighborhoods”, and then on “Relocation Crime Lab”): Compares crime rates between any two U.S. cities. Crimes are broken down by robberies, rapes, homicides, assaults, and motor vehicle thefts. County and City Crime Statistics Link Guide National Criminal Justice Reference ServiceStatistics on drugs and Crime; gun violence; homicide Criminal Justice Statstics: Includes link to U.S. Census Bureau ranking of cities (with more than 200,000 people) by crime rate; various police department stats by state Background, goals, and objectives of safety meeting(3 min.) To segue from the story or stats to the discussion, tell participants: U.S. homicide trends; drugs and crime stats, and then explain: “You put yourselves at risk every day, meeting strangers and showing properties. Our company is taking a proactive position on safety by providing you with the skills to detect a potentially dangerous situation and the techniques to deal with a dangerous situation should you ever experience one. In this meeting, we will;
Activity 2a – Map out a Typical Day(5 min.) This activity sets the stage for activity 2b, which demonstrates to salespeople the potential safety risks in their everyday activities. Lead the discussion by asking salespeople about their typical day activities—not their to-do list items necessarily—but the activities that are part of the job of real estate (listing appointments, showings, closings). Make a list of these activities on a flip chart while participants complete the first column of the Activity 2a worksheet. To ensure that the group highlights all the critical typical day real estate activities, refer to the Activity 2a Answer Sheet. Activity 2b—Recognizing Danger (7 min. each) This activity demonstrates to salespeople the potential safety risks in their everyday activities. You can either lead this discussion or break participants into small groups of three or four. In either case, ask them to list potentially dangerous scenarios for each typical day situation in column two—safety assessment—on the same worksheet. Again, to ensure that their lists are complete, refer to the Activity 2a Answer Sheet. 10-second rule(5 minutes) Now that the group has assessed how its safety can be compromised in specific situations, pass out and review the 10-second rule handout—a series of questions salespeople should ask themselves in various situations. Underscore how to use the 10-second rule by applying it to the list of typical activities you wrote on the flip chart. Activity 2c—Avoiding Danger(7 min. each) This activity shows salespeople how they can prevent danger from occurring in job situations. You can either lead discussion or break participants into small groups of three or four. Ask them to list preventive measures in the third column of their worksheets. Again, refer to the Answer Sheet to ensure that their lists are complete. If needed, apply these tips, from the September 2000 issue of REALTOR Magazine, to the Avoiding Danger exercise. 1. Don't host an open house alone; take along a colleague. Never show property alone at night or advertise it as vacant. 2. If you must sit a property that doesn't have a phone, bring along a cell phone. Tell someone at your office you'll call every hour, then do it like clockwork so that person will know right away if something is wrong. 3. Be careful how you dress. Flashy or expensive jewelry might attract the wrong kind of attention. 4. Don't put your home phone number on your business card. Buy a voice pager. 5. Always take your own car for showings. When you leave your car, lock it. 6. Let potential buyers take the lead when exploring a home, with you following behind. Avoid going into the basement or confined areas with a prospect. 7. Always have prospects meet you at your office the first time. Ask them for identification. If they question you about it, say it's company policy. 8. Find out as much as you can about prospects, such as where they work, what they do, and how much they earn. Ask lots of questions and be a good listener. 9. Know your sales area. Preview the property. 10. Don't be greedy. If you're suspicious, it's better to walk away from a listing or a showing. Optional: What’s Wrong with This Scenario?(3 min.) If you have time, ask salespeople to analyze the dialogue in the scenario and identify red flags that might indicate a threat to their safety. Most importantly, ask the group to provide alternative responses for the salesperson. Use the provided talking points to make sure that the group catches all the red flags in the scenario. Discussion—Defending Your Life(5 min.) Explain that even the most prepared salesperson can still run into trouble. Review the handout that describes how to defend yourself. Activity 3—Applying Safety Techniques (2 min.) This activity applies the information learned in this session to their real-life to-do lists. Ask participants to revisit their Activity 1 Worksheet and identify one potentially dangerous situation. Ask them to explain how they could regain control if attacked during the activity. Participants can complete this activity with their own lists or swap lists with a neighbor. Adjourn If you plan to implement or offer some of the items and policies named in the action plan, share those with the group now. Be clear about what’s part of company policy and what’s just good judgment. Then thank participants for their time, and urge them to be careful out there. Safety agenda, next page > |