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business practices: My Top 12 ways to ensure a successful real estate career - 07/31/10 08:08 PM
One of my comments in Richard Weeks' post was long enough to make into a nice blog post of my own, and that's what I'm going to do.
Richard is from Dallas, Texas. He will be teaching a Principles 2 class next week and had asked what advice he could pass on to new agents about being successful. Here are my Top 12 ways to ensure a successful real estate career:
Define success for yourself and your family. Don't let someone else's definition become your definition without truly analyzing it to see if it works for you and your family. Absolutely, positively … (13 comments)

business practices: Why are agents who complain about low-ball offers the ones who write all the low-ball offers? - 07/22/10 01:25 PM
I don't like the term low-ball offer because I believe any offer is good enough to get the ball rolling. Without an offer, there can be no negotiations. In fact, without an offer, there can't even be a sale!
I understand what is meant by the term, but what always puzzles me is why the agents who do the most complaining about low-ball offers on their listings are the agents who turn around and write nothing but low-ball offers when they are representing buyers.
Am I missing something here?
Are you one of them?
If I'm writing an offer for a … (52 comments)

business practices: Don't want to do the work? Don't be surprised at the results! - 07/20/10 04:34 AM
Don't want to do the work? Don't be surprised at the results!
Don't want to have the oil changed? Don't be surprised at the results!
Don't want to have the tires rotated? Don't be surprised at the results!
Don't want to track your income and expenses? Don't be surprised at the results!
Don't want to go to work today? Don't be surprised at the results!
Don't want to study? Don't be surprised at the results!
Don't want to eat right? Don't be surprised at the results!
Don't want to exercise each day? Don't be surprised at the results!
Don't want to … (23 comments)

business practices: No pain, no gain - 07/06/10 10:24 AM
I run my life using a five-year plan. Where am I today? Where do I want to be in five years?
I use five years because that's what I learned from my marketing guru. Anything longer than five years gives you too much time for third parties to interrupt you, and anything less than five years might not give you the inspiration and motivation to really do something with your life or business. Just my take on time.
Once I know where I want to be in five years, I determine how best to get there. All those incremental steps. Education? … (14 comments)

business practices: Get started right now - 07/06/10 03:15 AM
I just finished reading a lot of blog posts written by people who didn't make their second quarter goals, or their first half goals, or don't know how or where to get started since the year is half over, or they are just getting started but don't know how to create their first year plan since there's only six months left in this year.
There is no secret to getting started:
Start a new day right now. Start a new week right now. Start a new month right now. Start a new year right now. There's no reason why you have … (21 comments)

business practices: If you don't know, tell me what you do know - 06/19/10 10:37 AM
I love reading because I can find out what makes people tick, whether someone immensely successful like Bill Gates or someone immensely despicable like Adolph Hitler. I'm pretty sure that if one person ticks like that, there probably is another person ticking like that among these 6½ billion people on Earth. The best way to learn about those people are to read biographies and autobiographies.
One of the people that I enjoy reading about is Quentin Crisp because of his quirky nature and his oh-so-true, no-holds-barred take on life.
Quentin tells us one of his secrets:
If you're taking an essay … (14 comments)

business practices: Our businesses can learn from what just happened in college sports - 06/15/10 12:27 PM
For those with short attention spans, here is what I learned:
There are four things that we can learn from all this:
Go where the money is — This means that you need to market your company where you're most likely to make money. Be a big fish in a small pond rather than a small fish in a big pond — This is a general rule of thumb, but I've always found it to be a good one. Only follow someone if following will bring you more exposure, more money, more influence — Newly self-employed often follow what someone else has done to … (7 comments)

business practices: Are you the worst doctor? - 05/06/10 11:24 AM
Many years ago, the great comedian George Carlin stated that if you ranked the nation's doctors, there had to be a worst one. Someone has to be at the bottom of the list. Makes you think, doesn't it?
I was reminded of that recently when a friend asked me to rank The Beatles' songs. I've tried to do that many times before but find that I can't. Each song is different and provides me with a different mood or memory. I like them all, and trying to rank them does a disservice to each song and the moods and memories that … (19 comments)

business practices: Get beyond the basics - 04/26/10 08:41 PM
I was visiting with a Client today when we got into a discussion about life.
Something she said really made a lot of sense, that life is like cooking. You have to learn the basics — chopping, stir frying, boiling — but until you get beyond that to add ingredients, and to even experiment with ingredients, amounts, cooking times, etc., you won't gain much.
The same thing could be said for our businesses. There are the basics to any business — income, expenses, taxes — but until we get beyond the basics and add some ingredients — customer service, unique marketing, … (14 comments)

business practices: Postcard farming and marketing still works! - 04/20/10 09:11 PM
There currently is a Featured Post by Ryan Smith about Postcard Farming.
Personally, I'm still a postcard fan, and most of my business has come from postcard farming. Perhaps it's because so few people use the USPS anymore that people are longing for the olden days.
Get a good postcard design and then use that design, and that design only, for six months. Send them out monthly. People don't realize how inexpensive the USPS is, yet they constantly complain when the cost of postage goes up by one penny. Doesn't make sense to me.
The beauty of postcards, and any type … (14 comments)

business practices: Here's a little help if you have an important decision to make - 03/28/10 01:17 PM
I have a very important decision to make in the next couple of days.
When I mentioned it to a couple of friends, they asked how I was possibly going to make such a decision.
Making decisions is actually quite easy, regardless of the consequences that could result from the decision.
In fact, that's what makes it easy! The more important the decision, the easier it is to make.
Whenever I'm going to make a decision, I do two things. First, I make a top 10 list of all the good things that could result from making the decision, and then … (11 comments)

business practices: If it smells, and there are no pigs around.... - 03/22/10 08:39 PM
At Internet places like ActiveRain there are many people from many different cities, counties, states, and countries.
When you find something interesting in someone else's blog, and you are considering adopting and adapting it to your service area, run the idea through your company attorneys, your trade association (standards of practice and code of ethics), and your insurance advisors (E&O) to make sure that what someone else is doing in their service area can be done in yours.
I regularly see Realtors asking home inspectors to participate in preferred vendor and concierge programs, which are against the Codes of Ethics of all the … (14 comments)

business practices: Make sure your old customers have TOMA about you! - 03/21/10 09:29 PM
With the first day of Spring now in the past, and schools and colleges everywhere already having taken Spring Break, currently on Spring Break, or going on Spring Break very soon, it's time see where we are at the end of the first quarter 2010.
The first thing to do is to make sure that we've been in touch each month with past Clients who can provide future referrals. Take a moment to pop by, even if it's by mail, telephone, or email instead of in person. Of course, I'm hoping that you pop by each month, but if you've been … (9 comments)

business practices: There can be only so many people on page one! - 03/19/10 02:11 PM
Many people apparently believe that search engine optimization is the one and only method for getting prospective Clients to your web site, but I'm here to tell you that's not necessarily so.
There can only be one #1 (unless it's major college football), and things change regularly with the search engines coming up with new ways to rank everyone. If you like playing that game, though, then by all means, go for it.
I prefer to play a different game because it gets me out from behind the computer, out of the house, and actually out where my prospective Clients are … (21 comments)

business practices: Is someone waiting on you? - 03/16/10 10:06 PM
I read a lot of blog posts each week that complain about the incompetence of someone else, such as another Realtor who doesn't return phone calls promptly, or has an emailbox that is full, or even a wrong email address in a contact me link.
What's interesting is that sometimes when I do a little more exploring, I'll find a bad phone number or email address at the ActiveRain profile or web site of the person writing the post.
It might be worthwhile to look in the mirror before complaining. I know I've had to do that occasionally.
We always seem … (17 comments)

business practices: Look your best - 03/16/10 11:37 AM
One area that many people overlook is their stationery, although in the Internet age, stationery can also be your email.
If you don't have email stationery with your contact information, ActiveRain blog URL, web site URL, etc., you're missing out on that subtle influence that looking professional in ALL that you do can have on people.
With many people getting contact messages from lead generators, either with an independent company on from their own web sites, looking your best in your email response can go a long way to hooking those prospective Clients and reeling them in!
Look your best in … (13 comments)

business practices: You don't get a second chance to make a first impression - 03/10/10 12:01 PM
There are basically four components to any package:
It should convey your identity. — For people like Realtors and home inspectors, appearance can be a key, both the appearance of you and your car. If you think that no one will see you if you go down to the local corner store real quick to get a quart of milk, think again. At least look semi-professional! Wear your company shirt, name tag, hat, or jacket. Make sure you have some sort of professional graphics on your car, either permanent or magnetic. It should have words, colors, and designs that inspire confidence — You … (24 comments)

business practices: How is your package wrapped? - 03/08/10 11:32 AM
Remembering that Christmas is just around the corner, I want to discuss how you wrap your package, your business package.
You might think that you don't have any packages because you provide a service. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Your package first and foremost is YOU! How you dress, style your hair, smell, etc.
There is a Realtor here in San Diego who works just in the beach communities, and he dresses the part. Anyone wanting an inland empire or a Rancho Santa Fe McMansion is referred to another Realtor for a referral fee. 
I was pretty sure that another Realtor … (18 comments)

business practices: Luck comes to those who work - 03/07/10 09:01 PM
I just came from Mary Yonkers' blog.
Mary is up in Erie, Pennsylvania, which still has some of that white stuff on the ground.
Mary was looking for signs of spring, which to her, is the equivalent of flowers.
With all the snow on the ground there in Erie, flowers were not to be found, so she got creative and made her own Spring using her arts and crafts.
You need to pop by Mary's blog and see them. Really cool.
If you don't have time to wait for Spring to arrive, make it arrive. If you don't have time to … (13 comments)

business practices: How to expose yourself without getting arrested - 03/06/10 07:14 PM
Clients often ask me how to make it easier for prospective customers to find them.
The obvious answer is a web site, advertising, and marketing.
In this case, marketing and advertising are not interchangeable. Advertising is pretty specific, such as the print or online Yellow Pages, online click-throughs, Open House sections of the newspaper, etc. Marketing can, and probably should, be different.
Rather than sitting inside all day working on one's web site, which can be fun — heck, I do it myself — go out and find your customers. Here are  just a few suggestions:
Churches and religious groups — Many … (13 comments)