business tips: Get Out of Judgment (Self) and Into Curiosity - 05/21/12 07:07 PM
My title line “getting out of judgment and getting into curiosity” came from a CRS class I attended back in 2010 and it not only helps to better understand both Home Buyers and Sellers but in our communication with others in life as well.
We often get stuck in our own self centered thinking (i.e. ‘my way or the highway’) and forget to step into another’s shoes to get a feeling of their side of the situation. This kind of thinking steers and clouds our judgment when dealing with clients and we end up listening to ourselves talk instead of listening … (43 comments)
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business tips: Do You Have Permission to Give Out Your Client’s Information? - 05/14/12 05:30 PM
It is our fiduciary duty to protect the personal information about our clients. We protect our client’s best interests and personal information while representing them in the sale or purchase of their home. It could make the difference in hurting the transaction and your negotiating powers let alone protecting their personal interests.
How often do you read a testimonial or story on someone’s blog or website and wonder if they had written permission to do so? Even posting pictures of your client’s without their permission is not permissible.
DO NOT GIVE OUT INFORMATION WITHOUT WRITTEN CONSENT!
Their personal life, their … (44 comments)
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business tips: Is It TIME For a Vacation? - 03/06/12 07:39 AM
We ALL need to work. It is a NEEDED part of our lives so that we produce income to support ourselves and our families. Mothers tend the children and the home and most times have to work as well to support their growing families.
There comes a time when we need to rest, regroup and come back revived, rejuvenated and ready to pound pavement. I’m sorry to say that it took me MANY years to realize that a vacation was in order. I ‘thought’ that my clients, the office and my family could not do without me during a vacation … (30 comments)
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business tips: TRUST is More Than Just a Word- It's Lifestyle With Good Benefits - 01/22/12 06:01 PM
I had written a post on How Does One Pick a TRUSTWORTHY Source on ActiveRain but at the time I didn’t know there was a contest going on about TRUST and you can find it by clicking here.
This post is a submission to the ActiveRain / Adobe EchoSign Trust Contest. I could possibly win a prize. You can find out about the contest by clicking here
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TRUST is More Than Just a Word- It's Lifestyle With Good Benefits
I’m going to start off by being a bit transparent. Up until I was about 40 years old I lived … (33 comments)
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business tips: Positive Business Practices For a Lasting Reputation - 09/04/11 06:26 PM
My reputation is my number one priority of my business model. The first impression of who I am and what I stand for will long be remembered by all I cross paths with. The lasting impression comes from remembering where I came from when working alongside other Real Estate Industry professionals as a team through each and every transaction.
After my phone conversation with another agent last night ended, I was left with such a glow that showed from the inside showing out. My husband asked what that was all about because I was smiling ear to ear. I told him … (55 comments)
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business tips: A Path to Success for Healthy Real Estate Relationships - 07/01/11 10:02 PM
We always think in the best interests of our clients. We give them the best of service and accommodate them. We do however have to set personal boundaries so that there are no outside influences getting in the way of the transaction and our relationships with our clients.
What are Healthy Boundaries? It's where one person begins and the other ends. Those that have healthy boundaries have developed their own separate identities. Each person is NOT dependent on another to dictate who they are and also not dependent on others to fill the void inside for their own personal and spiritual growth.
Sound easy … (19 comments)
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business tips: If You Don’t Answer Your Phone and Listen..... They Call ME! - 06/12/11 12:29 AM
The first tip to gaining a client is to ANSWER your PHONE! How many times do they contact me and say the reason they decided to go with me was because I answered my phone and responded right away to a text or email. Goodness, it isn't rocket science to know that communication is the key to having a great business relationship!
We also LISTEN to our clients about what their priorities are when it comes to searching for homes. How's about hearing that the home buyer kept insisting they wanted a certain criteria and the agent didn't seem to hear … (44 comments)
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business tips: SPRING RENEWAL CONTEST | Positive Attitude for the Weary Soul & BananaTude Groups - 03/20/11 05:00 PM
I love the Spring Season! If you thought Hawaii does not have seasons you were misinformed! My garden and flowers start blooming and a sense of renewal comes to mind! CONTEST TIME! It is the Season for Changing old ideas into new ones!
Think for a moment. What have you missed because you were too busy or stuck inside ‘self' to see clearly? Stop for a moment and smell the flowers. Take this time to revive yourself and plant new ideas into your life and business to go forward with an awesome sense of renewal.
The POSITIVE ATTITUDE for the Weary … (153 comments)
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business tips: Fun With Photo Filters - 03/18/11 06:35 PM
I'm a fan of Microsoft Digital Image for creating collages, touching up sharpness in photos and so forth. I am not a professional photographer but I love to accompany my blog posts with nice pictures. I mean, if I am going to write a post, I am going to accompany it with my OWN pictures.
Original Photo of my First Azalea Bloom
I have fun with the filters in this program .....and the following filtered photos are what came out of experimenting with that original photo of my first Azalea bloom.
Using the "plastic filter' for the Azalea....
Using … (15 comments)
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business tips: The Calm Before the Storm- What’s on the TO DO List? - 01/09/11 12:49 PM
I'd been pretty busy the prior few months to the holidays and then it was just...slower. I actually slept in yesterday morning until 6am. WOW. I lay in bed gazing at our ceiling and thinking that I don't have to jump out of bed.....YET. I have two appointments scheduled for morning for a seller and a buyer and had morning thoughts about the last couple of months.
As in most parts of the country the period after the holidays...or maybe after winter is done.... the housing market starts to pick up. Our market seems to be picking up and I thought … (12 comments)
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business tips: Is My Business Plan for 2011 Realistic? - 12/31/10 03:49 PM
Who am I kidding! I have an overall life plan for each and every day of my life. I live by good values and beliefs and always keep in mind how my actions may affect others or how theirs may affect me. A solid foundation for success; although each and every person has their own level of what success means, don't they?
This year I am definitely going to:
Continue to keep balance in all I do. I have to have my work, home, sleep, me time in order to have a life filled with contentment. I no longer have to … (17 comments)
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business tips: Sentrilock Electronic Lockboxes – Safety for Sellers is Top Priority, Right? - 12/23/10 11:43 AM
After reading Scott Fogleman's post on When did it become ok to give buyers keys before closing? I started boiling inside thinking about the speaker in the Sentrilock class at our GMM (Honolulu Board of Realtors General Membership Meeting) meeting a couple weeks ago.
The panel gave their feedback on why the Sentrilock Electronic Lockbox was a plus for our listings. This speaker gave an example of how he had regular Masterlock lockbox on the door and one day he went to check on it and the combination had been changed!
Gasps! You could hear the majority of the class commence … (12 comments)
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business tips: Top 5 Reasons Why Your Fellow Agents Love to Work With YOU....or NOT - 12/01/10 09:47 PM
I'm sure we've all encountered our share of the agents (including, but not limited to- real estate agents, loan officers, home inspectors, escrow officers, termite inspectors , all involved in a transaction) whom we cringe at the very mention of their name- after that horrendous time we had to work on the other side of them. (Boy, that was a "mouthful" in one sentence wasn't it?)
Needless to say we know that in order for a transaction to run its course smoothly we all work together as a team. We are real estate professionals that think in the best interests of … (9 comments)
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business tips: Create a Your Own Real Estate Newspaper at FeedJournal - 11/21/10 04:45 PM
I subscribed to FeedJournal a while back and didn't do a whole lot beside fiddle for a couple of minutes. I decided to check it out this morning and actually do something with it. It's free to try, so why not?
What it is: FeedJournal is a site where you can create internet content into a ‘newspaper' or ‘newsletter' into a pdf file to send to clients, friends, family and so forth.
Think this might interest you? Sign up for a free account now!
You'll first have to get a ‘feed' for your ActiveRain Blog and one of the places you can … (27 comments)
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business tips: Sharing Our Ideas, Hopes and Dreams for Better Business - 10/21/10 02:37 PM
A company that is known for their experienced and highly qualified staff started out making big money. They had loads of program oriented jobs for each department and managed to get them done in a timely manner. After a few years the staff dwindled down to a few of these highly intelligent group of people and they started to wonder why the company was starting to lose money.
Each department was geared toward a specific ‘program oriented' group. Each employee was assigned to each program oriented job according to their expertise. So, what happens when there is a huge job and … (18 comments)
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business tips: Taking Out the Trash for Positive Business Solutions - 10/10/10 08:59 PM
Charles Buell, Seattle, WA, Home Inspector created a contest "Proof that I can blog about anything!" He said to look under your kitchen or bathroom sink and pick an item to blog about while finding some way to make this object relate to whatever your profession is.
I immediately thought of an item and topic and didn't even have to go look under my kitchen sink! It was the trash. I have always kept the trash can and its contents under the kitchen sink so it's not out in front of eyesight. The trash gets thrown out EVERY morning on our … (34 comments)
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business tips: Top 10 Tips to Being a Team Player | Being Part of the Solution vs. Being Part of the Problem - 09/19/10 03:34 PM
How many of you believe you are a team player?
My definition of a team player is simple: Being a team player means to recognize the strengths of all involved within a particular group and meeting a common goal. I learned early on that working together to meet that common goal of getting to closing with our clients is THE most important part of the transaction.
We can rant and rave about the other agent, the loan officer, the buyer, the seller, the home inspector, the stager, the escrow officer, the attorney, the pest inspector, the surveyor (and the list goes … (22 comments)
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business tips: TOP Three Considerations For Choosing Your Realtor® - 09/09/10 02:34 PM
We all tend to grasp a few things along the way to incorporate into our business model. There are some pointers we can use and some we keep on the back burner for another time. Who knows when we'll be able to utilize them with a potential client.
Preparing a listing presentation or a buyer packet is surely an art. I prepare each and every one with care, consideration and geared specifically for the client. I try to make it interesting and attach a cover letter, graphs, articles I've written and loads of information.
I recently added something to the presentation/packet that I really … (19 comments)
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business tips: A Little Support Goes a Long Way - 08/29/10 02:07 PM
The significance of a friendly gesture such as a nod, a hand shake, a smile, a hug and the like is like a day of sunshine.
Even just a few words of kindness when someone is down by an email or card can make the difference between the feeling of alone and the feeling of support.
It takes so little to do something kind for someone. Never mind the selfish reasons why you can't because when you say you can't ...it really means you won't.
Acknowledging someone for their accomplishments; no matter how small, or a friendly word of advice … (42 comments)
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business tips: The Grass is Greener on MY Side - 05/31/10 10:49 PM
There are real estate agents who claim that it's the Real Estate brokerage that is responsible to give them leads handed out on a silver platter.
WE ARE INDEPENDENT CONTRACTORS!
During the last few years I took note of some Real Estate Agents who continuously change companies in hopes of finding ‘greener pastures'. Our Hawaiian Islands are small compared to many counties on the mainland (Continental U.S.) but let's take a look at Oahu (County of Honolulu) where we have about 4,500 active licensed real estate agents. Of all our Hawaiian Islands Oahu holds about 58.10% of all active licensees state wide.
… (33 comments)
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