Decisiveness

One of the qualities that is needed in business is the ability to make decisions. Not every decision we make will be correct – but not making decisions is the surest way to get it wrong. If you are not currently capable of making decisions – if you habitually prevaricate or procrastinate – then either learn to be decisive , or go and work for someone who can. Not being able to say yes or no, or which way to go, is one of the surest ways to ensure your business stagnates. It’s not that decision making is hard, but many people paralyse themselves with a fear of making the wrong decision.
 
We will all get some decisions wrong from time to time. But that’s no reasons to avoid making any decision. Procrastinating will just frustrate clients, suppliers and staff.
 
Not that I am advocating being cavalier about decision making. Far from it. But ultimately  we need to make a call – or stand aside and let someone else do it.
 
My formula for decision making is relatively simple – just gather enough information (relevant information of course!) and the decision usually is obvious. If it’s not, then get more information. And if the decision is reliant on opinion, then get three different opinions – all elicited from open questions.
 
So, what can we do to assist clients when they need to make a decision?
The starting point is to understand that we don’t know the entirety of the clients position. We might know some of the basics – when their lease expires, that their warehouse is overflowing or that they are struggling to pay the rent. But often we don’t know the motivating factors behind the obvious – that they have just gained (or lost) a major agency or contract, that they have been taken to the cleaners by an ex-wive (or husband) or a  major competitor is about to enter (or leave) the market. Often the knowledge behind the motivations won’t be divulged – and perhaps it shouldn’t be.
 
So the first thing we shouldn’t do is hassle without cause. The agent who hassles me without contributing something (such as new or additional information) is most likely to result in receiving a perfunctory “no”.

However, conversely, what can assist in decision making is information. And that tends to be what many agents are deficient at. Tell me the pertinent information about a property, and it makes it much easier to make a decision. Instead, so often I receive an 18 page “information memorandum”. Information is described in the Oxford Dictionary as “facts provided…”

Yet the so called “information memorandum” often contains one page which is a reversed out cover that will use up half the toner in my printer just printing it out. Then a whole page listing what is in the other 14 pages. Then it will have a series of pages with titles such as “Certificate of Title” and “LIM report”. The page is usually blank except for the brief phrase “available on request”. And another page which basically disclaims any liability for providing information which may be correct or otherwise in the “information” memorandum.

It would just be repetitious to go on and detail just how little information is actually in the document, but how many trees are wasted in printing it out.
But back to the subject – decisiveness – and providing information.  Provide enough information, and making the decision will be easier – and quicker.
 
As for this month’s award, it goes to the agent who took six days to present my offer to the vendor. And then once it had been accepted, hassled me a minimum of twice a day wanting to know when I would be declaring it unconditional.

Ultimately the deal did go unconditional – no thanks to the agent who failed to declare certain material information which should have been declared. That agent will receive a commission for that deal – but will never receive the opportunity again from us!