business advice: 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)

business advice: Is Your Marketing YUMMY enough to eat? - 10/14/10 03:43 AM
Is Your Marketing YUMMY enough to eat?
Fast food restaurants spend thousands of dollars just taking one picture of their new burger to make it look SOOOoooo yummy that you want to drop everything and get in the drive thru line and try one.  How much time are you spending to make YOUR marketing get prospects' attention?  Probably not enough!  One area you might need to focus on more is Copywriting.  Simply put, it is writing what you'll say in your ads, flyers, MLS listings, etc.  So today I present:
Top 5 Tips to Amp Up Your Real Estate (and any … (35 comments)

business advice: I was arrested for being a Realtor... will they have any evidence? - 09/20/10 08:14 AM
I was arrested for being a Realtor... will they have any evidence?  
Picture this FICTIONAL situation... You've been arrested (gasp!) for the unconscionable crime of being a Realtor.  The prosecutor is putting together their case against you... will it all be heresay or will there be any cold, hard evidence?  
This is one case where you WANT there to be a ton of evidence!  Stuff like:
Satisfied clients that have given you a written, or even stronger, VIDEO testimonials! A mac-daddy website with tons of traffic and comments from your adoring "victims" An awesome presence on ActiveRain and other industry sites Certifications that show … (34 comments)

business advice: Do you have your DREAM business? - 08/27/10 03:03 AM
Do you have your DREAM business?  
I had the wonderful pleasure of hearing Wendy Kurtz speak at a meeting I was at this week.  Wendy consults with some of the top speakers and authors in the country on building their brand and selling more books.  Since I've been tossing around the idea of writing a book, I figured I'd hear what she had to say... and boy am I glad I did! (find out more at www.WendyKurtz.com)  
One of the things she shared right at the end was her "DREAM Principle" which is an easy to follow 5-step process … (1 comments)

business advice: 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)

business advice: "Positive Thinking" and "Law of Attraction" are Malarky! Here's why... - 06/30/10 02:31 AM
"Positive Thinking" and "Law of Attraction" are Malarky! Here's why...
I think some of the "Positive Thinking" and "law of attraction" ideas have been taken a little too far.  Don't get me wrong...  I completely understand AND  implement the concepts, but IT DOESN'T WORK if you're sitting on the sofa watching TV at the time!
"Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity"  Seneca
Some people have said that I'm "just lucky".  I don't agree with that statement.  My "luck" would not exist if I didn't spend so much time at networking groups, learning new skills, and implementing new ideas in … (8 comments)

business advice: 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)

business advice: How's YOUR follow up system? Mine Sucks compared to THIS guy! - 05/04/10 05:07 AM
How's YOUR follow up system?
We've all heard it for years, the key is in the follow up... most sales are made after the umpteenth follow up... follow up is critical... got the picture?
Well, I agree 110%.  But I practice only about 50%.  I know that is the weakest part of my business and I am working on improving that part. We get busy and all of a sudden that post-it note on our desk is 2 weeks old and we wonder whether it's too late to even bother calling...
Yesterday I saw first hand an EXCELLENT example of great follow … (2 comments)

business advice: 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)

business advice: WDYT about GenY @TEOTD? - 05/12/09 09:11 AM
Last week I was able to attend a VERY interesting presentation put on by Jeremy Conaway from Recon Intelligence at our board office. He shared some of the major factors and differences between the Baby Boomers, the Gen-X’ers (that’s me! Yayy!) and the Gen-Y’ers.
WOW!!! I had no idea! I often talk about how every successful business person needs to be on top of trends and market changes and go with the times, but this presentation made me stop and realize that in many ways, I’M behind the times!
It’s not about ME or what I want, it’s about the CUSTOMER … (3 comments)

business advice: Secret Internal Title Company Memo About Short Sales...Leaked to You! - 04/21/09 01:15 PM
One of my friends at a title company forwarded this to me this week.  It's an internal memo from their title underwriter about (more!) pitfalls of shortsales and what title companies are being warned about in short sales.  Just wanted you to know!  
RE: Short Sales Dear Associates:     Approvals and/or instructions given by a lender for a "short sale" may include unacceptable instructions that make the transaction uninsurable. The following are examples of unacceptable conditions: 
 °  "There are to be no transfers of property within 30 days of the closing of this transaction.  Escrow instructions must contain a clause … (7 comments)

business advice: Top 7 Million $ Ideas to Turn Your Blog into an ATM Machine! - 01/20/09 01:30 PM
If you're not already writing a community blog, it may be time to consider it... if you already are, you may be running out of topics and ideas right about now, so here's some tips to kick around. Remember, you are aiming your blog at CONSUMERS, so think about what a consumer considering buying or selling a home in your farm area would be interested in.
1. Write compelling headlines, or they'll never read any further. Did my headline for this article get your attention? I hope so! Think of how you read the newspaper (if you do!) or how you … (7 comments)

business advice: Why I'm RAISING the price significantly on a house that hasn't sold for 445 days - 12/04/08 04:38 AM
Why a perfectly good house didn't sell, even after 445 days!
And call me CRAZY...I'm RAISING the price!
So did my headline get your attention? Good, it did it's job. And it's true. This week I got a listing that has been on the market for 445 days! Here's a little background, I'll try to keep it short. The sellers had a new home built and figured there would be no problem selling this one when the time came, but they didn't count on the market tanking. Their agent just kept saying "it's the price, we've got to lower it." But … (75 comments)

business advice: 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)

business advice: 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)

business advice: Andy's 10 Commandments of Closing the Sale - 10/22/08 02:05 AM
I’m always talking about low-cost and even free marketing techniques to get people beating down your door wanting to do business with you. We call them “prospects”. But that’s ALL they are until you convert them to paying customers. Then we’ll call them “clients” (and we’ll put some money in the bank!).
As of today, there are tens of thousands of Licensed Real Estate Agents in Florida, and even more Licensed Mortgage Brokers. What makes YOU better then the other 99,999? As a consumer, if you can’t convince me of why I should work with you, I won’t.
For the next … (5 comments)

business advice: McCain V Obama...what about real estate? - 10/22/08 01:58 AM
We're almost to election time...and I'm about to share a very dear secret about who gets elected and how that affects the housing market and the rest of the economy in general...
I don't think it matters!
Yep, you've heard me correctly. I've been in the real estate market for many years now, and in both 2000 and 2004 I got stuck with some investment properties that I couldn't sell.
My mom said "don't buy houses in election years...the economy is always worse because people don't buy things until they know who's elected" and I said..."Phooey!" and bought houses anyways, and … (1 comments)

business advice: Webinar: Selling Homes in a Market Where Nothing's Selling - 07/29/08 09:28 AM
This Week's I am holding a webinar on a highly requested topic:
Selling Homes in a Market where Nothing's Selling!
Andy will share with you some of her secrets to:
-Marketing on a Shoe-String Budget
-The 3 types of buyers and which one you REALLY want
-Getting buyers qualified in the current mortgage market upheaval
-Understanding things like lease options, seller funding, etc. AND how to explain them to the seller
-How to protect your seller in these transactions
-3 secret words to make your phone ring with buyers
-And much more!
Click Here to Register for this Event Right Now!
(3 comments)

business advice: How's Your "elevator pitch"? - 07/22/08 03:06 PM
30 Second Infomercial Revisited
You may know that I am a big proponent of having a strong "Elevator Speech" or "30 second Infomercial" basically that is how you answer the question: "What do you do?" Today I want to revisit this topic for a few minutes and really get you to stop and think...how would YOU answer the question, "What do you do?"
Really, write it down quickly on a piece of paper...go on, I'll wait. Got it? Good.
Now look at what it says. If someone ELSE had just told you that exact same thing, would your response (with your … (2 comments)

business advice: Do you know where 70% of your business comes from? And how to grow it? - 07/18/08 09:10 AM
According to a 2004 report from the Federal Bureau of Labor, 70% of our new business comes from some sort of networking, and yet many real estate professionals just aren't very good at it.  Right here on AR there are examples of people that have taken their networking skills online and EXPLODED with it, and others that struggle and wonder what all the fuss is about.
As I travel all over Florida and meet with Agents, one of the biggest things I hear is they want more business!  I'm also shocked when I find out that only a handful of them … (0 comments)