Thank You, what a simple phrase, but the result of saying thank you and receiving a thank you is mind boggling. Many of as different times in our lives feel under appreciated. Could this be the result of us treating others poorly? It is amazing what a thank you note will do when you send one to anyone who helps you. It could be a note you leave for your mailman, a note you send to your boss, a note you send to a colleague, even as simple as a note that you send to a new client that took 5 minutes on the phone to listen to your qualifying questions. When you send out these thank you notes to people, you will feel more gratitude for what you have. You will appreciate anything and everything that people do for you, and you will be able to create more lasting relationships. 

POSTAGE: 41 cents

Thank You Card: 50 cents

Helping someone know you care: priceless. 

Passion – this is extremely important in our business. Your passion needs to go beyond money if you want to have a long lasting career in this business. We help people to find a home and realize the American dream. Keep your passion with each and every client because even though it may be your hundredth home that you have helped someone buy, many times it will be your clients first or second. Find ways to keep your passion because that is one thing that will drive your success.

Pro-Active – in a great market there isn’t much prospecting involved. Some agents just have to wait for a phone call and that leads to a closed deal. In a slower market this is not the case. Make sure to find new creative ideas to market yourself and your team. Use technology to your advantage with a website, a blackberry, and anything that will help you to get leads and respond to them quickly. Write thank you notes every day to clients who you showed homes to. Keep a database so that you can follow up and have things to talk about with your client. Do anything that you need to do to set yourself apart from the next. Being complacent and idle in this business leads to failure and a new job.

Persistence – with the above two in mind, don’t give up on these goals or practices that you start. If you have a goal of a hundred calls a week, make sure to follow through with that week in and week out and you will succeed.

 

 

As I read more and more about the market struggling and home foreclosures rising, I remind myself to be grateful for what I have. We need to continue to list our gratitudes in our mind each day and this will open up doors for good things to happen. Don't just list gratitudes that are obvious like your health. Search for gratitudes that we take for granted each day, such as an experience, or something you recently learned. When you search for these often looked over gratitudes, you will begin to see how blessed we are. 

The positive focus that listing gratitudes creates is unmatched by anything. If we continue to show gratitude by giving back to the community and helping those less fortunate, than we will realize how much we truly have. We are truly in the land of opportunity where anyone who works hard enough will succeed. 

Push through the tough market. It will only make you better prepared for the immense business that will come when the market gets hot again. 

What is the purpose of hiring a real estate agent? One of the main reasons is that we take the emotion out of the sale for the buyer and the seller. When someone is emotionally invested, they may be offended during the inspection period, or they may pay too much for the home. This is where we come in. As neutral third parties, we help our clients to get the best possible deal and we find ways to keep them from being offended from offers or counter offers. Keep up the good work agents and maybe someday we will get a designation as psychologists for all of the problems that we resolve with clients. Give yourselves a pat on the back.

 

 

Come live on Haven Avenue in Sugarhouse, This beautiful updated home has new carpet, paint and tile. Hardwood floors and a huge master bedroom, the kitchen has plenty of cupboard and counter space and all new appliances. The two car garage is great for those snowy April days and this home is close to Sugarhouse and Liberty parks for when your dog needs some open spaces. Visit www.utahdave.com for a photo tour.

Have you ever been walking down the street or in the grocery store and you see a person or friend that you haven't seen in years walking along? Many of us may think, man it would be gret to talk with that person, but I don't want it to be awkward. Instead of giving into this thought and missing out on an opportunity to re-establish a relationship, engage this person and follow these tips to avoid awkward conversations with these people. 

1- Be excited and animated - it is hard not to match excitement. When you are excited to see this person, they will most likely give the same reaction. Good examples of excitement are women. Most women I see will show so much excitement when they see someone they know even if it has only been a day since they last saw them. 

 2- Be sincere- this is crucial and the easiest way to avoid awkwardness. It is easy to spot a phony who is only talking to you because they were in 10th grade English class with you 10 years previous. Don't be the phony person. Engage your friend in active conversation. Ask them how they are doing, if you struggle with questions follow the 3 best things to ask about, Health, Wealth, and Family. These 3 things will create a strong conversation and most of the time the person will want to know about you.

 3- End well - make sure to end on a good note. Many times these conversations, if you aren't sincere, will end abruptly and awkwardly. Don't cut somebody off mid sentence but plan for an exit sentence. A good one might be, I really enjoyed talking with you, what is your email address so that we can keep in touch.

 

Follow these simple rules and you will no longer have awkward conversations and most importantly you will create more lasting friendships

Have you ever noticed when someone says thank you for something you respond with No Problem? I found myself doing this constantly and I didn't even realize it. Many times, with certain clients, things I did were a big problem and cost me a lot of time and effort. With a response like No Problem, my clients would never know the head aches I had from doing things for them. Then my broker suggested we use the phrase my pleasure when clients, agents, or anyone really, said thank you for something. This one little phrase creates a connection between you and the client that builds rapport and makes them feel more confident in you as an agent. It also builds your confidence in your ability to help clients. Take more credit for your hard work and let your client know how hard you are working for you. Try phrases like, "my pleasure, that is what long term business partners do for each other." or "my pleasure, I like you guys so much that I will do anything to make sure you are satisfied." or maybe " my pleasure, I am happy I have been able to help you and I look forward to working with your friends and family when they want to buy or sell a home." I suggest changing your unconscious response if you don't already have this in place, no need to thank me for this advice, its my pleasure. 

What is the mentality of a For Sale By Owner? They think they can sell their home on their own and save the 7% commission. As real estate agents, we look at these people and think they are crazy. We know that the offers they get will be extremely low, their homes will be on the market longer, and they will end up paying the 7% commission anyway through accepting a lower offer and waiting longer. What most agents don’t realize is that they are For Sale By Owners when it comes to running their business. Most agents aren’t willing to allow others to assist them in their business because it will cost them money. In actuality, when you allow others to help you, you will end of making much more than if you did it on your own.

Make sure to involve others in your business and pass off things to those who are better qualified.  Find your strengths and hire others to fill in for your weaknesses.

With the media introducing lots of negative press about the housing market, it is easy to get down and think that the market will never get better, and to wonder if you should stay in the business. When you see the weather forecast have you ever noticed that the forecasters never say a day will be partly sunny? Rather they always state that it will be partly cloudy? To stay in this business make sure to look at the forecast of the market as partly sunny. Look for the positives. Forbes listed Salt Lake City as the best bargain market. Look for the positive press and take the negative with a grain of salt. If you do this it will all work out in the end.