attitude: Will this be the year you finally acheive your New Year's Resolutions? - 12/19/11 02:35 AM
Will this be the year you finally acheive your New Year's Resolutions?
When I think of "New Years Resolutions" I have to giggle a little, because they've become kind of a joke "so, did you make it past the 2nd of January? Ha ha ha!" But if you're SERIOUS about making a positive change in your life, it can be done… last January 1st I was in a size 20 jeans and today I'm sitting here in 10's, so it CAN be done!  Here are a few tips to get there this time, whether it's weight loss, quitting smoking, getting your … (3 comments)

attitude: It Is What It Is... - 02/21/11 03:09 AM
It Is What It Is...
Lately I've been hearing this phrase a LOT.  I don't know if people are saying it more or if I'm just more cognizant of it because I'm more aware (I even saw it in a TV show over the weekend!), but what I DO know is that every time I hear it the hairs on the back of my neck stand up and I want to hit something!
Here's the scenario: Somthing has just popped up in one of your deals, you call the other agent to try to brainstorm a solution and they say "It is what it is."  … (5 comments)

attitude: How Are You Doing On Your Goals So Far? - 01/14/11 04:50 AM
How Are You Doing On Your Goals So Far?
Here Are Some Tools To Help You Out!OK.  It's 2 weeks into the new year.  Most people's resolutions (if they even bothered this year) are long-forgotten pipe-dreams already.  They're up to their neck in "life" and can't focus on improvement.  Sound familiar? Hit too close to home for you?  Here are some tools you might find useful to stay on track:
2011 Realtor Power Planner by Andy  This is a goal setting planner that I developed over 10 years ago and I've been using and sharing it ever since.  It takes a … (1 comments)

attitude: Time for your real estate agent 6 month performance review... - 07/22/10 02:47 AM
Time for your real estate agent 6 month performance review...
Here we are... halfway through the year.  Time to take a look back at the last 6 months and see where you've been and what your results were.  Set aside at least a half hour to complete this...
1. Look at your closed transactions so far this year: How many? Average transaction size? Average gross commission? How many buyers vs. sellers vs. both? How many short sales vs. REO's vs. "regular"?  This will give you an idea of what "niche" you've been working whether you realize it or not!
2.  Look … (3 comments)

attitude: How to take back control of your time... in meetings and other interactions! - 05/26/10 05:21 AM
How to take back control of your time... in meetings and other interactions!  
This morning I made a BIG change in our property management meetings here at the office.  On the big plasma TV we have in the conference room to show listings on... I set up a 15 minute countdown timer (just google it).  When everyone came in for the meeting I said "we're trying something new today, from now on our meetings will last 15 minutes" everyone laughed, but guess what... we were in and out quicker than we've EVER been (we took about 20 minutes, but that's … (6 comments)

attitude: Are you ready to hire a real estate assistant? - 04/20/10 08:41 AM
ARE YOU READY TO HIRE AN ASSISTANT?  
Ok, it's official: real estate has been tough over the last few years.  But now many of us that are left are finding a whole new challenge... NOT ENOUGH HOURS IN THE DAY!!!  I talk to agents all the time that are swamped and are considering if it's time to hire an assistant, so I thought I'd discuss that a little bit today.  Here's some food for thought (cookies!):  
In many communities over half of the agents have left the business, but the closing volume continues to climb.  However the prices … (39 comments)

attitude: Is 99% Satisfaction Good Enough? - 01/25/10 09:54 PM
Is 99% Satisfaction Good Enough?
One day I had a listing appointment with a client that was referred to me because of my skills in “Alternative Financing” and moving properties that nobody else has been able to sell.
Anyway, as I printed the Mapquest to his house, there was an ad at the top of the printout that was for Genuine Hewlett-Packard Ink for your printer. It said: “1 out of every 4 refilled inkjet cartridges will fail. Trust HP inks for 99% quality” or something along those lines. Their point was the they only have a 1% failure rate as … (3 comments)

attitude: What can an FBI Profiler Teach You About Real Estate? - 12/22/09 06:58 AM
What can an FBI Profiler Teach You About Real Estate?
While Tim & I were in France we had a lot of time to relax and do NOTHING at all. This wasn't a glamorous sight-seeing trip, it was Thanksgiving with the side of the family that just happens to live very far away!
Anyway, just like everyone's Thanksgiving there's a certain point where the TV gets turned on, only there nothing's in English! So Tim's Mom had the DVD's of the CBS show "Criminal Minds" about a team of FBI agents that help catch criminals by profiling them. I had never … (0 comments)

attitude: The 3 Foot Giant... How Tall Are You? VERY Motivational - 11/10/09 06:05 AM
The 3 Foot Giant... How Tall Are You?
I just got back from a full morning of appointments and was all ready to write to you about the USDA/Rural Housing loan programs and how buyers can get ZERO down financing with NO M.I.
But first I checked my email... offer on listing (print), closing confirmation for Friday (put in calendar, 1pm), email from my friend Nick: Hmmmmm.... he usually has some great insight to share for my business... let's take a look! 
What I found was quite amazing, so I'm covering USDA next week, this week, I want you to meet … (2 comments)

attitude: Lessons I've Learned... - 11/04/09 08:37 AM
Lessons I've Learned...
You might have read the poem by Robert Fulghum, All I Really Need To Know I Learned In Kindergarten... You know, share everything, play fair, clean up your own mess, etc.
Well lately I've been pondering where I learned some of my childhood lessons that have made me the person that I am today and I want to share some with you (who knows...maybe you'll get some ideas!)
This may come as a surprise, but I actually am a country farm girl. No, really. My family had farmland and cattle. My first job was selling watermelons out of … (1 comments)

attitude: I Can't... and a good story from a TV star I know - 08/24/09 04:51 AM
I Can't... Have you ever caught yourself saying those words? I can't make it to your party... I can't find any buyers for this house... I can't finish a half-marathon... I can't... I can't... I can't... Think for a minute what you are telling your subconscious... "you might as well not even try because we already know we can't succeed anyway..." Last night I was watching one of my "guilty pleasure" shows on TV... you know, the ones you'd never admit to your friends that you watch? Well, here's my confession.  Tim & I watch "Merlin"  It's the story of Merlin … (6 comments)

attitude: I Got Lucky... Again! (Don't Tell My Husband!) - 08/24/09 04:30 AM
I Got Lucky... Again!  (Don't Tell Tim!)I have a short sale listing in one of those communities that has very strict guidelines on what color/size/etc. your sign panel needs to be, so I had to order a new sign panel.  The sign company took so long getting it ready that I had the house pending already by the time they had it done!  My office picked it up, and I noticed they had not drilled holes to hang it with, so I had to go BACK to the sign store and get holes drilled.  When I told them I didn't even … (4 comments)

attitude: If you have closings right now, it's just because you're lucky - 06/30/09 02:58 PM
She's Just Lucky...That's Why She Has So Many Closings... 
Do you believe that's actually what someone said about me?!?!? I couldn't believe my ears when I heard that, I started laughing uncontrollably!
I see 3 different types of agents in the field right now... 
First: those that sit around and hope something happens 
Second: those that go out and make something happen, and 
Third: those that wonder what just happened!
Let me explain my self, and I'm actually going to lump 1 and 3 together. This morning I was at a closing at a "Traditional" real estate office, and since … (8 comments)

attitude: Does Your Attitude Determine Your Success? You Bet! - 05/27/09 03:01 AM
This week we are going to discuss how your attitude determines your success, this takes shape in many different ways, but today we're going to cover one of the more critical ones: Self Talk:  If a five year old child heard every day "you're stupid, you're worthless, you're never going to amount to anything" do you think that would hurt their chances of being a successful adult?  Of Course!  So why do we do it to ourselves every single day?  When someone makes a mistake they say "I'm so stupid" or when their business is not going well "I'm never going … (2 comments)

attitude: Real Estate Market Lessons from my Redfishing Trip - 02/09/09 07:30 AM
This past Sunday, my husband Tim had a guided Redfishing charter all set up to go with his buddy, David, over in Mosquito Lagoon in Volusia County.
On Friday, David started hinting that he may back out. Saturday at about 8pm he backed out, with some lame excuses like:
- I talked to some other people and they said the fishing hasn’t been good
- It’s too cold
- The water’s too shallow
- We won’t catch anything
- Yada, Yada, Yada….
Tim called a few friends, but they all already had plans. We didn’t want to back out of a … (2 comments)

attitude: A Dose of My Own Medicine - 11/24/08 09:53 AM
Remember last week when I wrote in my Commandments that "Thou Shalt be Truthful, Even When It Hurts?"
Well, last week I followed my own advice. Here's what happened:
Last Sunday, I was supposed to meet a client at his house in Longwood while he was in town. My Outlook somehow didn't save the appointment (I'm sure I did something wrong!) so I forgot and missed it. On Wednesday, the person that had referred the client saw me out at lunch and said "what happened with so-and-so?"
I had messed up...big time! I called the client and apologized first, and then, … (1 comments)

attitude: Andy's 10 Commandments of Closing the Sale...part IV - 11/24/08 09:36 AM
Super-Duper Tips from Andy…Part IV
If you’ve missed the first 3 installments, go to my blog, they're all there!
#4: Thou Shalt be Truthful, Even When It Hurts.
Ok, we’ve all done it. You messed up. Maybe you missed a deadline, overestimated a value, or just forgot to call a customer back when you promised. Many people try to make up some elaborate story so they don’t look so bad, but usually that story gets unraveled and you end up looking even worse.
Even though it is painful, tell the customer the truth. They may be a little upset with you … (2 comments)

attitude: America's Top 100 Growth Markets - 11/24/08 09:30 AM
America's Top 100 Growth Markets According to BizJournals.com
Florida has 4 in the Top 20!
I just finished reading an article about the top 100 growth markets in the USA, and I was pleasantly surprised to see Orlando as #14!
When McCain was running for President, he said "The fundamentals of our economy are good" and he got torn apart for that comment, however, I agree with him. Our house prices are TOO LOW, our umemployment is TOO HIGH, and our consumer confidence SUCKS! These are not based on reality and they are NOT right! Our market fundamentals support much better, … (2 comments)

attitude: Andy's 10 Commandments of Closing the Sale...Part III - 11/18/08 05:33 AM
If you've missed the first 2 installments, Click Here
#6: Thou Shalt Be a Shining Beacon For Our Industry
The general public is a little leary about the real estate market right now, and it is up to us to reassure them that it is STILL a great time to buy a house. One of the ways we can do that is by staying on top of REAL market statistics, trends, and variances. Today I went to a women's networking group here in Orlando. It is not a real estate group, just a general topic group. One of the ladies saw … (1 comments)

attitude: You think YOU have your head stuck in the sand... - 11/18/08 05:21 AM
This morning when Tim & I left the house, there was a cat in our street with a Dorito's bag stuck on it's head.
Now there's a sight you don't see every day! I don't know how long he (or she?) had been there, but she was motionless in the middle of the road and I'm sure we can come up with some jokes...like curiosity killed the cat or something about 8 lives left... anyways, Tim yanked the bag off and she ran off into the woods.
Now you would think that he could have gotten the bag off (Tim said … (1 comments)