5 Ways To Find Buyers From Brochure Boxes!

I just returned from visiting my brother in Boulder, CO this past 3-day weekend.

Wow! What a beautiful place!

As I flew in on Friday morning, the foothills had a thin layer of snow that sparkled in the sun light. By mid-day, most of the snow had melted.

While I was there, I noticed that most real estate companies had brochure boxes attached to their for sale signs.

I found out that homes are a lot more expensive in Boulder than back here in Cincinnati. I walked down one street of early 20th century homes (photo above) and pulled out a black & white flyer of a home with a list price of $2,500,000. In Cincinnati, that home would be listed for $400,000 - $500,000.

That got me to thinking...what strategies can be used to get more buyer calls from yard signs?

Here's 5 brochure box, yard sign strategies:

1) Print a color brochure with photos - add a toll-free hotline # on the flyer for prospects to call about the current price on the home. You can also be notified when someone calls and follow-up with them right away to see if you can show them the home or answer any questions.

2) Offer free home buying and selling reports - people are always looking to see how they can save time and money. Write some free reports and promote them. You can become an expert in the eyes of the consumer.

3) Invite prospects to read your real estate blog - people want to learn and by inviting them to your blog and web site, you may pick up another client

4) Add a sheet with details about your other listings - tell your sellers that their property information will be posted at your other listings as well.

5) Promote any buyer or seller service guarantees that you offer - add a sheet that states your various service guarantees (what they can be is another topic). You need to stand out from other agents in your area. When done right, you will get business from this source.

The important thing is to do something. Then go out and test to see which strategies will work for you.

The #1 goal is to get prospects to contact you, so that you can qualify them. If you give people everything, they have no reason to call you. Then you won't ever know who they are and won't be able to help them.

We all know that consumers want to stay invisible as long as possible. Don't we too sometimes? But by having them inquire about a property or service you provide, you're potentially offering them something of value. Show them that you're there to counsel them, not sell them. Nobody likes being SOLD!

Even though 80% or more of home buyers today search online for property, those and others still drive by homes in their areas of choice. Now go put your yard signs to work and generate some leads.

To your success,

Dan

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Going Back To School!

It's time to go back to school.

With needing to learn some new strategies in this ever-changing real estate market, you need to keep pace with the changes, so you don't get left behind.

We're back in a cyclical buyer's real estate market. Some of the causes for getting here are in dispute, but the reality is in many areas, housing inventory is high and buyers are scarce. This marketplace has created a hardship for some and found new opportunities for others.

What does that mean to you?

It's time to RE-MAKE yourself!

You need to analyze your business plan and determine which parts of it can be profitable in this market. Focus more attention on fewer strategies. Figure out how you can go deeper into making those few strategies better. Instead of scattering your energy, trying to be a jack-of-all-trades, fine-tune your strengths and delegate your weaknesses.

It's time to RE-EDUCATE yourself!

Now is the time to attend local and national training events...those that fulfill your continuing education requirements as well as topics that you have an interest in learning more about. One such constantly changing arena is in technology...web sites, blogs, RSS, digital photography, virtual tours, Twitter, Facebook, SEO, the list goes on and on. There's so many exciting things to learn and so little time.

It's time to take back CONTROL your environment!

Whatever is controlling the thoughts in your mind is controlling your life. Every day we are being bombarded with negative news about the economy from CNN, e-mails, billboards, direct mail and even the comments from family and friends.

You have to block it out...all of it. It's hard to do...I know. Some things slip through the armour, but you need to keep as much of it out as possible. Otherwise, it can turn your positive thoughts into negative or scary thoughts. It can cause you to go from daily, consistent, action steps to into inaction and feelings of doubt.

Don't allow that to happen. You are stronger than the outside negative forces. 94% of all people are still working. People are still buying and selling real estate. Yes, you will have to work harder and smarter to find them, but they're out there.

Sure, there is concern and anxiety among many people right now, because they are allowing the media to scare them into inaction...and the sky is falling. Stop allowing others to influence your thoughts. The situation is not ideal right now, but you must do everything you can to stay focused on controlling what you can control...your actions.

We will get through this...we have to!

"What is 'Blamus Realtus'?"

How many times over your career have you heard friends, family and clients tell you "Hey, I tell everyone I know about you."

To which you reply, "Great! I really appreciate that."

But in your own head, you're saying to yourself, "That's nice, but NO ONE has CALLED me!"

This is a case of "Blamus Realtus".

What in the world does that mean, Dan?

I'm glad you asked.

This common and painful condition is the real estate agent's fault.

Our family, friends and clients frequently come in contact with people, who are planning to make a move...whether buying, selling, relocating, etc. Sometimes it's something they hear through the grapevine. Other times, they hear it firsthand and get a lot of details.

The problem for you is 'you'll rarely if ever hear from these people'.

Why?

Because you haven't "trained" your family, friends and clients on how to properly handle that sometimes ackward situation, where they want to recommend you, but they either botch it up or don't say anything at all.

We, as agents, have the word "referral" tattooed on our brain. We know what it means and how it can benefit our business. It's used as common real estate jargon between agents every day.

But consumers don't usually know how important that word is to us.

When the opportunity arises, you need to ask those, who 'know, like and trust you', if they'd be comfortable recommending you to others when the topic is broached.

If they say "YES", then you need to share them the strategy that will allow them to help you help their family, friend or co-worker.

When they find out someone is moving, have them share some of your qualities with that person. Next, they need to ask "Would it be ok if I had ____ touch base with you and see how they can help you?"

Once they get the OK, they need to call you with the person's name and number, so you can follow up. Please don't do a hard-sell on the person. Remember, you were recommended and you need to honor that person's trust.

If your phone has 3-way calling, see if your client would introduce you on the call, maybe say something nice about you and hang up while you go ahead to see how you can help your new, potential customer.

Remember, the biggest frustration many agents have is knowing that they do a great job in helping people with their real estate needs, but when they're recommended by a friend or client, they never hear from the prospect.

Here's a script you can use, "If you hear of any friends or co-workers wanting to take advantage of this buyer's market, please tell them about me and then tell me about them."

Each situation can be a little different, but come up with some ways to show clients and friends how to recommend you and you'll add a few more transactions to your real estate business each year and it didn't cost you a dime.

Let's Simplify The '3-Foot Rule' For More Business!

You walk by real estate prospects all day long and you usually don't even think about it. We all do.

Sometimes, you have other things on your mind or you don't want to bother them.

Here is a real simple way of adding value to someone by using your business cards.

Whether you're pumping gas or in a checkout line at a store, make eye contact with someone and say a simple phrase: "Hi, I'm Dan, the Cincinnati Real Estate Guy. If you ever have a real estate or mortgage question, I'd love to help you. Here's my direct line and email address."

Obviously, say your own name instead of mine. But I'd love the extra business. :)

We all change or lose phone numbers and emails over time. You can even write short notes to your long-time clients and include a new business card for them to keep.

It's a subtle way to introduce yourself and not force real estate down their throat.

Are you going to leave your business cards in their box or pass them out and make some money?

We all miss opportunities every day, me included.

Why not grab a stack of business cards and put them in your car. Then set a goal of passing out 5 business cards every day when you're out in public. Do that 5 days a week for a year and you've passed out over 1,000 cards.

Do you think you'll get any business from it? Absolutely!!!

Nervous or afraid of confrontation? Then find one person each day. You can do it. Real estate is a contact sport.

Some people will even ask you questions on the spot and that's a great way to get their contact information, so you can follow up with them.

Now, go out and consciously do it and share your results with me. Reply to this post in the "comments" section and tell me how it worked for you. I challenge you. I'm doing it too.

Have You Ever Heard "You're So Lucky"?

I was recently talking with a gentleman about his real estate business and he said that his business was 'way down'.

He didn't know if he could stay in real estate. His cash reserves were running low and without any closings on the horizon, he didn't know what he was going to do.

I asked him about his options for a job outside of real estate and he said "Real estate is pretty much all I've ever done and I wouldn't know where to find something else."

He said to me, "You're so lucky! You've always got things happening."

I told him "It hasn't been easy for me either, but I live by a quote my dad told me many years ago when I was a teenager."

My dad would always say "The harder you work, the luckier you get!"

In today's world, I think you also have to add "the harder and smarter you work"...

It's true, the harder and smarter you work at something, the better you get at it and the easier it appears to others. The people, who aren't doing anything, will always think you're just lucky.

They don't see:

• the prospecting calls you make
• the hours each night that you spend studying and reading to improve yourself
• the goals and affirmations that you take time to review each day
• the mistakes you make, but then learn from and correct
• the practicing and preparation of your buyer & seller presentations
• the hours upon hours of fine tuning your business systems

Selling real estate is a contact sport and you need to work on your real estate business day after day. Don't ever think you know it all, because you can't. There's always change in the market and only those who change with the market and adapt the strategies that work will survive.

If you're struggling a little bit in your business right now, take a look at what you're doing and not doing in your real estate business. What changes can you instantly make to improve your situation? Sign up for a continuing education course that looks interesting. Call some of your inactive clients and see if you can help them with anything right now. There are lots of things you can do to turn your business around. There's plenty of business available for those who want to find it!

So the next time, someone tells you "You're so lucky!", just tell them, "Yes, the harder I work, the luckier I get!".

Save Gas & Time When Showing Homes!

Do you ever show homes in an area you're not that familiar with? Do you need a map to not get lost in front of your clients?

Well, I recently came across a cool web site that will save you time and gas when you're out showing properties.

It's called www.IdealRoute.com and it's a free service.

You just enter the property addresses that you're going to show and it assembles the best route and maps out the directions on how to get from one property to the next.

The site was created by the Virginia Association of Realtors for its members, but it can be used all over the country.

It's so easy to use. It's takes just 2 steps. Enter the addresses and click on "Calculate Fastest Route".

There's even a YouTube Video Tutorial to help you.

Try it out the next time you have a client that wants to see 4 or 5 properties. You may even want to copy and paste the directions to your clients in an email, so they know the order of the homes you'll be looking at.

Finding Diamonds In Your Own Back Yard!

Do you remember the story of the man, who searched the world, looking for diamonds his entire life, but after he died, diamonds were discovered on his own field?

In which part of the country do you know the most about real estate?

In your own city?

In your own community?

In your own neighborhood!!!

Are you sharing your wealth of real estate knowledge with those closest to you?

Do you want to connect with more of the homeowners in your neighborhood?

Here's what you do.

Schedule a "Neighborhood Name" Real Estate Update Event:

• share market values with homeowners
  
• bring your preferred lender to talk about the financial markets
  
• bring your handyman/contractor to talk about maintaining home values
  
• bring your insurance agent to talk about adequate insurance coverage
  

See where I'm going here?

If the neighborhood has a pool area or clubhouse, send out flyers for an event from 6:30 - 8:00 on a weeknight. Have other speakers bring drinks and snacks.

If you don't live in a specific neighborhood, then select one that's near you.

This way people get to meet and feel comfortable with you and they will be more likely to consider hiring you when they're ready to buy or sell.

Tell me what you think!

Go ahead and set one up and let me know how it goes.

You may get some immediate business or maybe in the spring, but it's a great way to add to your database.

ALERT: 2008 Isn't Over...Yet!

We still have one quarter left on 2008!

Some trainers are already talking about preparing to build your business in 2009.

WHOA!

We still have 3 months in 2008 - a whole quarter of the year left. Don't write this time off!

This reminds me of the "Holiday Advertising Season". Each year, stores get out their holiday season decorations earlier and earlier. I mean, it's ridiculous.

Count these numbers out loud! Go ahead!

1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8 - 9 - 10 - 11 - 12 - 13 - 14 - 15 - 16 - 17 - 18 - 19 - 20 - 21 - 22 - 23 - 24 - 25 - 26 - 27 - 28 - 29 - 30 - 31 - 32 - 33 - 34 - 35 - 36 - 37 - 38 - 39 - 40 - 41 - 42 - 43 - 44 - 45 - 46 - 47 - 48 - 49 - 50 - 51 - 52 - 53 - 54 -55 - 56 - 57 - 58 - 59 - 60 - 61 - 62 - 63 - 64 - 65 - 66 - 67 - 68 - 69 - 70 - 71 - 72 - 73 - 74 - 75 - 76 - 77 - 78 - 79 - 80 - 81 - 82 - 83 - 84 - 85 - 86 - 87 - 88 - 89 - 90

These are the number of days left between now and the end of the year. That is a lot of days to just glide through, have missed opportunities on and to lose them forever. Each day is just as important as the next.

How many listings and sales can you achieve in the next 90 days?

What you do in the next 90 days will affect today's income as well as into 2009.

I know it can be easy to get side-tracked over the next 30 - 60 days in anticipation of the upcoming holidays and parties, but now is when you have to "grind it out" - work harder, smarter and stay focused on your daily business activities.

So, review your business plan and determine what you have to do to stay on track to keep your income flowing. You may traditionally do different activities this time of year, like talk to more family, friends and clients that you like. See what's going on in their lives right now. When they know you care about them, they'll pay more attention to you and give you an opening to talk about your business. You can then tell them about the great buyer's market we're in.

The harder and smarter you work during these last three months of 2008, the better prepared you'll be for 2009. You will have sustained momentum that will keep you way ahead of most other agents in your area.

While other agents slow down, because of the upcoming holidays or the economy or they're just tired, it's time for you to push forward, because there are still people, who need to buy and sell properties in this market.

There's nothing wrong with taking some time off over the holiday season, but make sure when it's time to work you're working. Stay focused on achieving your goals and completing your daily activities.

Make yourself proud on January 1st when you look back to all that you achieved over the previous 90 days...and not have to ask yourself, "If I had only...?"

Go get 'em!

"I Want The Truth!"...Can Sellers Handle It?

It's now officially the "Fall" season and no matter what your market conditions are, it's more important than ever to keep your home sellers updated on what's happening in their local real estate market.

Have you had any listings for 3 to 6 months or longer?

How are you communicating with your sellers?

It was probably easier in the beginning to pick up the phone and call them every week, but as time goes by and their home just sits on the market with no end in sight, here are some ideas to put into action:

• Are you communicating in your seller's preferred method of communication...by phone or e-mail? Are you contacting them each week with an update? Sellers want to know what's happening. Also, share information with them about what's happening in the financial markets and how that's affecting the ability of home buyers to be approved for mortgages.
  
• Set up an e-mail program in your MLS system that can send them information on new listings, new pendings and new solds. If that's not possible, you may do it yourself or out-source it. Let your sellers see what their competition is and see what's selling and for how much. When they review the information for themselves, then they believe it more than if you 'told' them the statistics.
  
• Schedule appointments to view 4 - 5 homes with your sellers that are closest in features, location and price to your seller's home. How do they compare? Do you need to get a price adjustment? Tell your sellers that buyers are looking at more homes now than in the past. They even look at homes on the Internet before ever getting into their car and if your listing doesn't show well online, you won't be getting a phone call for a showing.
  
• Take another close look at your listing (first without your sellers there) and imagine that it's someone else's listing. How would you critique it? Is it tired and full of furniture? Does it need a fresh coat of paint and wallpaper removal? Would it look sharper with updated light fixtures and more? Then have a heart-to-heart with your sellers about what they can do to make their home stand out above their competition.
  
• Ask them..."Do they REALLY need to sell right now?" If the answer is NO, take their home off the market. In my area, we have a 9+ months supply of homes for sale. That's twice the average of a 'balanced' market. With so much for sale, only the most appealing, best-showcased and 'bargains' are selling.

These are a few ideas that can help your seller better understand what they're up against. If they watch the news, they know the media's take on our housing situation, but local market conditions do vary. A person's perception of how things are is their reality. If it causing them to believe things aren't really the way they are, it's your job to show and tell them what's really happening in the market.

Hurricane Ike Strikes The Midwest!

Even though we didn't get any rain in the greater Cincinnati area, the 40 - 60 MPH winds with gusts of over 70+ MPH still did plenty of damage.

Two days after the remnants of Hurricane Ike's winds and over 500,000 homes and businesses are still without power. We were fortunate enough to get power back on in our home last night with one more outage overnight...not sure when it came back on, just glad it did.

Fortunately, the rains didn't come with the wind or in addition to lots of roofing and siding damage and fallen trees throughout the area, you could have added flooded basements to the list.

You don't realize how much electricity plays into every day life. We all take it for granted.

This got me to thinking about emergency preparedness for my family, my home and my business.

For this tip, I want to mention some strategies that can help keep your business afloat in the short-term:

• Make sure that you consistently back up everything on your computer.
• Use a software program like Top Producer, that's web-based, so that you have access to your files and client data anywhere you go online.
• Contact your active sellers and see what immediate needs they have that you can handle for them. If you have vacant listings, you need to visit them ASAP to make sure they're OK.
• Contact your buyer prospects, depending on the severity of the community damage, and let them know what's happening. Some listings have been damaged, so before showing homes again, make sure the showings you schedule aren't damaged homes.
• Always have some cash stashed away in a "tin can". Many times banks and ATMs can be shut down without electricity and there may be no way to get money.
• In a more severe setting, where Mother Nature has destroyed a lot of homes, know that the displaced people will need temporary or long-term rental properties until they get back on their feet.
• Build an Emergency Fund equivalent to 3 - 6 months of living and business expenses, so that if you have a major destruction of property in your area, you'll be able to survive, because the bills will keep coming in the mail.

These are just a few of the things that you need to think about and plan for ahead of a major storm or other natural catastraphe. May you never need to experience one, but follow the Boy Scout motto: Be Prepared!

Are You Lost in a Sea of Agents?

I recently read about an agent, who had run into 'bad luck' lately with prospects.

He was showing home after home to several, different prospects, but no one was buying. They would look at 20 - 30 homes and then disappear. Some would buy a home from a different agent.

It got me thinking.

Whenever you have a problem, is it because you aren't using a system in your business or is a component of your system not working properly?

In this case, the agent didn't have a system.

Here is what I would recommend:

It's very important to devise a system for your buyer prospects before you spend countless hours and dollars on them.

Are they motivated to buy now?

Are they pre-approved by a reputable lender?

You need to schedule a consultation with them before you head out to show them properties. Sit down with them, preferably at your office, and review the home buying process with them. Find out their needs and what concerns they have about the process. Then share with them how you work and the benefits they'll gain by hiring you to be their agent.

Then make sure that they have been pre-approved for a mortgage that they understand and will be comfortable with its terms. If you don't have a preferred mortgage consultant that you've worked with over time and can recommend, make sure you talk with the lender they've selected and find out the details about the mortgage they are recommending to the buyer. When possible, ask for a Good Faith Estimate or a breakdown of closing costs and fees associated with the mortgage.

Then set the buyer up to receive new listings by e-mail. Make sure they closely review each listing before making an appointment to view it. Many times there are things about a property that will disqualify it in their mind or they miss reading about a certain feature of the property that would have eliminated it from consideration in the first place.

Always ask continuously about which features and amenities they'd 'like to have' versus 'what they must have' versus what they'd 'never accept', i.e. in-ground pool.

Constantly pre-qualify prospects. Their wants and needs can change during the process.

You should be interviewing them as much as them deciding on you. It's really all about your mindset. People will use up your most precious resource: time. Don't let them do that if they don't meet your standards to work with. Don't put yourself in a position that you've worked with them for so long that you can't afford to lose them. They will sense that.

It's better to work with fewer, highly-qualified buyer, who know what your expectations are and appreciate your real estate expertise than to waste time and gas money driving looky-loos all over town.

When you meet with someone one-on-one and they see that you're a professional, who really cares about serving their real estate needs, you'll have a much better chance of helping them find a new home.

In today's market, whether you're working with buyers or sellers, it's all about quality clients, not quantity.

So, don't become a "commodity" among real estate agents, where consumers think that we're all alike. We're not. Constantly improve your skills by practice, education and just going out and doing it.

Are Consumers Afraid Of You?

How much business are you losing, because people are afraid to talk with you?

When consumers call you from your for sale sign, attend one of your open houses, or come from a client referral, how do you handle those situations? What percentage of the time are you able to convert those prospects into closed transactions?

I believe many people still look at real estate agents as slick, pushy, or high-pressure salespeople. They try to avoid us as much as possible. They call for property information and then are ready to hang up. The Internet is a great, safe haven for consumers, because they can stay anonymous until they're ready to act.

What you need to do is change the public's perception of you.

I always tell people that I'm here to help them - consult and advise them through the process. I'm not a typical salesperson. I don't care which property they buy, but when we find the right one for them, they'll know it. My purpose is to be their advocate through the negotiating of an offer and inspection issues, if any, and to do my best to make sure that they understand which type of mortgage is best for their situation.

I don't want my clients to fall for a bad home or bad loan.

I want people to feel at ease when they talk with me. If they have their guard up, it's a lot harder to help them. If they've a bad experience with an agent in the past, get them to share it with you and show them how you're different.

A great strategy to use in getting a consumer to want to work with you is to have a consultation. Meet where they are most comfortable...at their home, at Starbucks, at your office. Share your business philosophies with them. Take them through the home buying or selling process. Update them on what's happening in the current real estate market.

No matter what type of market it is, there's always myths out there that you need to inform the consumer about. Find out about their family...where they grew up...what's happening in their life...what amenitites are important to them. Focus on getting to know them. You've obviously heard "No one cares how much you know until they know how much you care".

Ask Yourself These 5 Questions Each Week...

As I review each week, I look back to see how I did.

It's a part of my PLAN - DO - REVIEW sequence.

The successes, the frustrations, the activities completed...

I have a simple checklist on a 3 x 5 card that I have taped to my computer. I want to share it with you, so that you will make an effort to 'consciously' think about your week and see how you could have improved upon it.

Here's what I do on Friday afternoons for 10 - 15 minutes...

End Of Week Checklist - (Questions to ask yourself)

1. Have I improved myself and/or my business this week? If yes, in what areas?
   
2. What mistakes did I make that I can learn from and improve upon?
   
3. Have I done at least 1 thing each day this week that I didn't want to do, but that would help myself or my business if I did it?
   
4. What have I put off that needs to be tackled next?
   
5. What are the most important actions I need to be focusing on next week?

Prior to implementing this strategy, I would find myself going through the motions of every day real estate life...doing the tasks I enjoy and procrastinating on those that I greatly disliked.

When I made a more conscious effort to start asking myself more powerful and productive questions, better
results immediately followed.

You will be amazed at the results of this strategy when you consistently and faithfully do it each week.

You need to stretch yourself. You can complete more in the same time and watch your businesses increase in profits without putting additional time constraints on yourself.

You and I can be SO much more than we presently are.

Let's GO FOR IT!

Are you in?

Make a 1-week commitment...then a 4-week commitment...then a 90-day commitment. The longer you do it, the better and more focused you become.

Your business will take off...it'll EXPLODE!

But don't fool yourself, nothing will happen without action.

Each day, take 1 action that you REALLY want to put off.At the end of the week, read your 5-Question Checklist and write down the answers and put them in a binder. Then each week, keep adding more answers for the week.

After 90 days, look back and review your answers. If you're being honest with yourself, you should see a better Realtor in the mirror looking back at you, because you stretched yourself and did activities that you weren't previously doing.

YOU deserve amazing things and I believe in you.

Now just go DO it!!!

3 Highly-Effective Habits For Success!

Is your business doing as well as you expected so far this year?

Do you find yourself not hitting your goals?

With all of the news media outlets constantly harping on negativity in the housing market, it can be easy to get distracted and think that the real estate market really is bad. Well, the reality (my reality) is "It's an incredible time to buy!" Don't get sucked into watching all of the talking news heads.

What you may be experiencing is a lack of focus in your business and life. One of the ways to help you get back on track is to develop a few routines that when done consistently every business day will increase your income, increase your confidence and put you in a great mood.

Habits are like routines. Every day, you have a routine of a series of steps you take when you wake up and when you go to bed. You don't even think about them. You do them automatically, because you've been doing them for a long time.

Everyone has habits in their business too. They may be good habits or bad habits, but we all have them. If you continually do your bad habits, then you're not going to get the results you want. One common bad habit is procrastination. You may be thinking to yourself "I can do that (task) later." The problem is when you procrastinate, you're greatly reducing your effectiveness in your business for that day. None of us get a re-do of any day in our lives.

Well, here are 3 Simple Disciplines (Habits) That Will Help You Achieve Your Goals:

1. Design Each Day - Have you ever heard that breakfast is the most important meal of the day? Well, by taking 30 minutes each morning before you get to work to rejuvenate yourself, you will start out refreshed and focused on the day's tasks. During this 30 minute warm-up to your day, you can read 10 pages of a good book (or an article on prospecting or negotiating, etc, something to improve your skills). If you believe in affirmations and visualization (professional athletes do this all of the time), take 5 - 10 minutes in a quiet space to do this. It's also good to do this while exercising, so you can multi-task your time.
2. Review Your Business Plan - Some agents have a 20-page, extremely detailed business plan. Many agents don't have a written business plan at all, while others use a simplified plan, where they know how many transactions they want to close or how much income they want to make each year. I would go a little deeper than that, because you need to break down your annual goals into monthly-weekly-daily tasks to help you achieve your goals. And most importantly, it all needs to be in writing, so that you can review the numbers and tasks each day. If you fall behind a bit, then you can look at your numbers and increase them by 20 - 25% until you catch up to where you should be. If one of your tasks is to call 10 of your clients/prospects each week, turn it into a daily action step of calling 2 people each day. Why? Because it's too easy to say "I'll get to it tomorrow." It's critical to your success to consistently do your tasks each day.
3. Turn Drive Time Into Learning Time - We're all so busy in life. We never seem to have enough time, but here's an ideal place to educate yourself while you're on the road. Turn off the talk radio and music stations and invest in some real estate training CDs and some motivational CDs from speakers like Paul J. Meyer, Les Brown, Zig Zigler, Jim Rohn, Anthony Robbins. You'll pick up ideas each time you listen. Listen to them several times, because you'll retain different strategies each time you listen. I love doing this and every time I get excited wondering what idea I'll learn about and put into action.

So, in closing, remember that to be successful in life, many times it's taking action on simple steps over and over again. It may seem mundane at times, but keep striving for perfection and making your skills better. We all know what's easy to do is also easy not to do. That's why you need to focus on your business plan to take you to where you want to go.

To your success,

Dan

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What The OLYMPICS Has In Common with Real Estate!

As I've caught peeks of watching the Olympics the past couple of nights (Michael Phelps & the U.S. Women's Gymnastics Team competition), there is a lot to be learned those athletes...commitment, focus, a dream, a vision for anywhere from 5 to 15 years or more.

Tonight they mentioned that the American gymnasts start training hard for Olympics selection and competition at the age of 10, while the Chinese hand-pick girls at the age of 3 to start training.

Think about the years and years of endless training, food portion control, various injuries to work through, normal childhoods lost forever...is it worth it? Only each athlete can answer that question for themselves.

As they compete, the difference between the medalists and the rest is usually only separated by 1/100th of a second in the swimming pool or the slightest slip on the balance beam, which results in a deduction of points. I saw an American gymnast tonight miss her entry jump onto the balance beam. After she completed her routine, you could see she was holding back the tears as the cameras focused on her. Her teammates tried to console her, but you know that didn't help her much. It's the smallest of mistakes in a competition that helps decide the winner.

It gets me thinking sometimes about you and me. Are we the best we can be in real estate? It's a career where never-ending improvement and education do come into play. You never know it all. Are you presentation skills perfect? How would your listing presentation be rated by a panel of your peers? Would you earn a 9.75 or 8.25?

We are in constant competition with each other, but the reality is we're really only in competition with ourselves. By improving our own skills, we can increase our number of transactions or increase the dollar amount per transaction or ultimately, predetermine a numbers goal, which we complete in 9 months (instead of taking 12 months) and then take time off for the rest of the year. Just a thought!

What are your dreams?

What are you willing to do to achieve them?

Are you as committed as an Olympian?

Michael Phelps (has earned 5 gold medals out of 8 events so far) many years ago committed, focused and dreamed of these 2008 Olympics. His dreams are coming true. Will yours?

What you do today can change the course of your life far into the future. Today is critical. Today really counts. Live for today and do today what needs to be done to achieve your "GOLD" medals.

In real estate today, you have to be at your best in so many every day situations.

In today's markets, where many buyers are in control of which property they buy and for how much, it's critically important to make sure that your sellers know how best to prepare their property for top dollar as well as know what to expect during negotiations and inspections.

You must make your sellers aware of ALL of their options in today's buyer's market. Yes, there may be a few markets, where the seller is still king, but those are few and far between.

You are being paid to represent, counsel and negotiate for your client. Whether that's a buyer or a seller, it's important to explain as much about what will work effectively in today's market as possible. Consumers crave information. It's your job to interpret it for them and make recommendations for them to make the final decisions.

Even when there are tough situations that have to be worked through, that's part of your job. Don't back off! By recommending that a seller accept an offer now that may be less than they wanted, you could be helping your clients avoid a more serious financial distaster down the road in their life. It's not always easy, but you need to stand up for what you believe is in the best interest of your client and tell them. Then it's their decision on what they decide to do.

Be like an Olympian and strive to do your best every day. Think about walking up to the podium to receive your "GOLD" medal for yourself and your team.

To your success,
Dan

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A Lack Of A TEAM Is Costing You Business!

An experienced team will increase your profits and increase your business and save you time!

Are you surrounded by an experienced team?

In today's market, it's imperative to have an experienced team of professionals around you. Even if you're a solo practioner without any personal assistants, you can do this.

Let's look a few people outside of your office that can be vital to having a successful real estate business:

Mortgage Consultant - You need to align yourself with a mortgage lender, who has years of experience, communicates frequently with you, and has a staff that knows what they're doing behind the scenes.

There is no such thing as an easy deal any more when a buyer gets a mortgage. It's also okay to have a couple of other lenders when a client wants a second opinion, but hopefully your preferred lender can provide quality service, competitive interest rates and timely closings.

(On a side note, you should promote experienced lenders that you work with as mortgage consultants, not loan officers. When you talk with your clients, showing that you work with a group of professionals, not salespeople, exudes confidence and can give your clients peace of mind.)

A great mortgage consultant will also save you time when you have your prospects and clients contact them to be pre-approved. If you think back in your career, there have been times when you showed homes to unqualified prospects, because you believed them when they 'said' they could get a loan, but hadn't talked to a lender yet. We've all done one time or another. Now your mortgage consultant will be able to tell you if the prospect can afford what they think they want to buy and you won't be spending gas money on a prospect's pipe dream.

Title Co. Rep - A title company is as important as a lender in making you look good or bad during a transaction. So many closing tasks happen behind the scenes and if a title rep isn't doing their job effectively, they can cause you massive headaches. You know what I'm talking about. If you don't, when you have a closing as a listing agent, you'll see which title companies are bad real quickly.

With all of the short sales and foreclosures happening in the market, your title rep can be your deal saver. Without them, you could end up with a lot fewer closings.

When's the last time you received a closing statement 5 days prior to the closing? Does your title rep order the seller's payoffs? Does your title rep ever step in and take the lead to help you eliminate the problems? A great title rep will do all of these things for you and make you look good in front of your clients.

Home Inspector - In my opinion, a home inspector's purpose is to inspect and accurately state the condition of a property to the best of their ability at the time of the inspection as well as explain the various components of the home to the buyer during the inspection. If they are unsure of something, then they should figure it out or find an expert in the particular field who can answer it. It's not an inspector's job to make you look good, but to protect the buyer's interests. The more experience an inspector has the better....a minimum of several hundred to a few thousand inspections under their belt is ideal. In my state of Ohio, we still don't have licenses for home inspectors, so I don't want my clients going through the Yellow Pages and end up finding some newbie inspector. If a property inspection reveals a bunch of latent, material defects, I want my client to know it, so they can decide if they want to move forward or not with the transaction.

These professionals need to be a part of your core team. They can help you identify, qualify and close on the properties that your clients want. I do believe in giving your clients and customers recommendations, but the cream does usually rise to the top when it's time to select the various professionals.

If you don't have a core group of professionals or only a partial group, don't rush into finding just anyone. You need to take your time, watch and build a rapport to make sure you have the best professionals surrounding your team.

There are other professionals that you can add to your core team, such as a termite inspector, insurance agent, financial planner and others. Think of who else can help and be a benefit to your clients.

It will make a difference in your business and you'll end up with a lot fewer headaches!

Who's For Real And Who's Faking It?

As we approach August, many schools will be starting up again within the next 30 days. So unless consumers with children plan to move within the same school distict, a portion of the market is settled in right now and won't consider moving until next year.

It's now time to determine who your serious and motivated clients are.

When working with consumers, it's imperative to thoroughly qualify your prospects to make sure that they are financially able to make a move and want to take advantage of this great buyer's market. I believe it's better to have quality clients right now instead of quantity of clients and prospects that aren't motivated to listen to you.

Sellers, who have had their homes on the market through the summer, need to buckle down and really look at what needs to be done to get their home sold.

Here are 3 steps you need to take:

1. If you have active listings that aren't selling, meet your sellers with an updated CMA and discuss the current market place with them. (Hopefully, you've been keeping them updated throughout the listing period.) See if they'll adjust their listing price to get an offer on their property. Do they need a dose of reality in having their home in top showcasing condition? If their home needs some work, show them other homes on the market that you know show well, because that's what they're competing with. Your sellers need to be motivated to sell or you're just spinning your wheels going into the fall months. If they aren't serious about selling, then recommend they take their home off the market until they improve its condition or until the market rebounds. (We've all heard "It's no time to just test the market".)
   
2. Review your list of current buyers who said they want to buy a home this year and if it's been awhile since you've shown them a property, schedule a time to meet with them again one-on-one and have them re-focus on their housing goals. Find out what's most important to them. Interest rates are still great with favorable housing prices and plenty of inventory to show, so see who's ready to buy a home in this buyer's market.
   
3. Do you have any prospects that have fallen by the side over the past few months? Call them NOW and see if they are ready to sell or buy now. If not, find out when they'll be ready and keep in touch. If you have any buyers, who are waiting to buy, because their credit situation is not where it needs to be, help them by having you or your mortgage partner put them on a game plan for restoring their credit. Some buyers only need 6 - 12 months to bring their credit score back to where they can qualify for FHA/VA or conventional mortgages. Don't blow off buyer prospects that can't buy this moment! If they make a sincere effort to qualify for a mortgage, you'll have a loyal buyer when they're ready to buy in the near future.

One last question: When someone asks you about what's happening in the market based on all the news, what are you saying? Are you all gloom and doom? (It's easy to fall into that trap.) I tell them "It's a great buyer's market. Who among your family and friends do you think is next to buy or sell?"

To your success,

Dan

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