advice: Mike Ferry: Using Accountability to Increase Productivity - Part 2 of 2 - 03/23/12 04:54 PM
Today I'm going to continue the discussion about accountability. I'm going to teach you how to use accountability in your own office to increase productivity to an even higher level than you are today and, if you’re not doing it, teach you how to get it started. To do this we’re going to go through a series of ten questions and thoughts. So, let’s begin.1.  How strong are you as a broker/manager or leader? Do you have agents who know more about how to list and sell Real Estate than you do? Do you have agents who you are afraid of … (0 comments)

advice: Mike Ferry: Using Accountability to Increase Productivity - Part 1 of 2 - 03/15/12 10:08 AM
If we were to identify the biggest problem in the Real Estate industry in terms of building agent production and building office production, what would you say the problem is?My belief is that we have an industry full of people who we refer to as independent contractors. If you will notice, there are not many industries in the world that operate with such a large portion of their work force acting as independent contractors. The few industries that do are not at all like Real Estate. Real Estate has a huge physical facility, expensive assets that are being used daily, and … (4 comments)

advice: "Have you had a record year in 2011?" - Mike Ferry - 12/09/11 05:31 PM
It's hard to believe that it's December and we only have 1 month left in what has been, for so many, their best year ever. How well have you done in comparison to year's past? The good news is the majority of our Coaching Clients have had a record year in 2011 and that followed a record year they had in 2010. There are several very specific reasons why that is taking place.

1. They've intensified dramatically their lead generation time, contacts, and conversations.

2. Their ability to do lead follow-up has gone up 10 notches on the scale. … (1 comments)

advice: Mike Ferry's Thoughts on Independent Contractors ... An Asset or Liability? - 10/31/11 11:59 AM

I've recently had two different people interview me for articles on the topic of Independent Contractors in the Real Estate business. It's an interesting topic for each of us, whether we are a Real Estate Agent/Broker/Manager or an individual like me, who has spent my entire life working within this industry.

The first question the first interviewer asked me was, "If you could change one thing within the industry, what would you change?" I said, tongue in cheek, that I would make all agents employees, so when the boss told them what to do, there would be a better chance … (1 comments)

advice: Mike Ferry - "Who's Coaching You?" - 09/09/11 01:34 PM
One of the things that amazes me the most is the wide variety of coaching services that are available in the Real Estate Industry today. Most agents are not wanting to hear this ... but a major portion of the Coaching services available in North America today came out of the Mike Ferry Organization ... meaning either they were coaches for us at one time, or they were trained by us as Real Estate agents and then became coaches.
When people talk to me about our Coaching, they are many times, and understandably so ... very aggressive with me in asking … (6 comments)

advice: Profitability by Mike Ferry - 08/23/11 03:03 PM
Profitability
By MIKE FERRY
If you look at all the “Buzz” words in and around the Real Estate Industry, “profit” is definitely not the one you hear being used in most offices.  You’ll hear all about how this person made this, and that person made that, but rarely, if ever, will you hear about how much an agent profited.
So what is “Profitability?”  To define the word profit, we simply take the gross revenue of the business … or the total amount of commissions the agent receives after the house split, then total all the applicable business expenses (remember, the IRS … (3 comments)

advice: Mike Ferry's Thoughts on Communicating with People - 07/27/11 05:47 PM
It's interesting that the Real Estate world is convinced that the web ... the internet ... social media ... are the answers to all the problems that we deal with. As most of you know, I get criticized on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis on the fact that I don't support this type of thinking. If you really do spend any time on the internet today (which I hope you don't) you'll see that the amount of information that is being put out is so extraordinary that it makes getting to good solid information more difficult every day. For those … (39 comments)

advice: Mike Ferry - "We are Involved in the People and Communication Business" - 07/01/11 08:38 PM
You've probably heard me say time and time again that we are involved in the people and communication business.

Below are two interesting examples of how communication can backfire ...

Yesterday afternoon my wife and I were sitting with two people involved in very interesting conversations. I'm not exaggerating this one iota ... one of the two people we were talking to virtually spent the entire 30 minutes texting while the 4 of us were supposed to be conversing about a particular topic. Every once in a while he would look up and kind of nod as if he … (2 comments)

advice: Mike Ferry's Thoughts on Always Having a Strong Positive Mindset - 06/27/11 12:39 PM
One of the fun parts of the exciting and crazy schedule I've been on, and will continue to be on over the next couple of weeks ... is seeing and talking to not only a huge number of great people ... but also being involved in some very interesting conversations regarding selling Real Estate.

One of the points that I'm bringing up each day is that we have to, at some point, quit telling the crazy stories that we tell ourselves as to why we can't succeed. It's interesting how through time we can tell ourselves a story about something … (3 comments)

advice: Mike Ferry on the Importance of Having a Coach - 06/13/11 11:10 AM
Yes ... I'll never stop talking to you about the importance of coaching. The only part of the conversation that concerns me at times is when an individual fails to grasp how important coaching can be in their day-to-day business life. As you've heard me say time and time again ... "Professional athletes in all sports have coaches. Professional singers and dancers always have coaches. Professional actors will have a variety of coaches working with them."

If you are very unique in the fact that you have a coach make sure that you always take advantage of it, because it's … (1 comments)

advice: Mike Ferry on the Importance of Pre-Qualifying a Listing Presentation - 06/06/11 11:11 AM
I received a great email from one of our clients several months ago. He told me that he had decided not to use all the pre-qualifying questions before a listing presentation and as a result lost a listing and lost over $10,000 in commission. He then said he was "committed" to never making that mistake again. I received an email from him this past Friday and I wanted to share it with you today.

"Thought I'd give you a quick update on the good news that came from my not following the pre-qual script and losing a listing because of … (6 comments)

advice: Mike Ferry - "Let's make last night your New Year's Eve." - 05/27/11 12:35 PM
I recently had a very interesting conversation with one of our clients. He told me that he's had a very, very bad start to the year, and he asked me what he should do.
I asked him ... "Do you like New Year's Eve?" He said "I love New Year's Eve!" and I said to him "Let's make last night your New Year's Eve."
It's a fresh day, a new week, a great time to start, so let's go get 'em ... effective immediately!
The best part of our business is we get to start over fresh and … (1 comments)

advice: Mike Ferry on the Importance of Strong Communication with Clients - 05/23/11 11:38 AM
I recently spoke about the importance of being highly responsive to the needs of clients, prospects, and friends.
I'd really like you to think about how responsive you are to a seller when you have a listing. They need to really feel comfortable with the communication that they have with you, and they need to feel comfortable with the fact that they can reach you, and talk to you, and know that you're there for them during what all of us would call "still some trying times."
In Real Estate today, as each of you know, the level of … (0 comments)

advice: Mike Ferry's Thoughts on Maximizing Performance - 05/09/11 11:36 AM
As we all know, there are many, many incredible agents that we get to work with who are doing incredible volumes of business at this very moment. I had a great phone call come in today from a Mike Ferry Organization Real Estate Coach. He shared with me that a husband and wife team out of Calgary, Alberta had a record setting month in April.

When he gave me the numbers, I was actually stunned, and said to him ... "Did you misquote them, or did I misread them?" and he said, "No, the numbers are right!"

32 listings … (2 comments)

advice: Mike Ferry's Thoughts on Prospecting/Cold Calling - 04/29/11 04:38 PM
Good Morning,

One of our great Real Estate Coaching clients in Florida sent me an email recently; I dug it out today so I could share.

The client was quoting the Governor of the state of Florida ... Mr. Rick Scott, who in a recent speech said "In my business career, I was never shy about picking up the phone and making a cold call to try to make something good happen within my business. As Governor, I've been making these same cold calls every day to recruit companies to bring jobs to the state of Florida."

He … (6 comments)

advice: Mike Ferry discusses Common Challenges to overcome while dealing with Buyers and Sellers in today’s Market - 04/13/11 12:42 PM
Over the last several months, I've asked agents who have attended our Prospecting School here in Las Vegas, NV what their biggest challenges are while dealing with Buyers and Sellers. I have received great questions, so I wanted to use this forum to answer them for you.

Common Challenges to overcome while dealing with Buyers and Sellers in today's Market:

1. What do you say to a buyer that wants to write a "Low-Ball" offer?

Answer: Are you aware, Mr. and Mrs. Buyer, that the sales prices in most of the country have dropped far beyond anybodies wildest … (1 comments)

advice: Mike Ferry's Thoughts on Great Salespeople - 03/25/11 02:09 PM
As some of you know, one of the things that I've enjoyed the most over the last 30 to 40 years is researching and studying great salespeople and great people in all fields of endeavor. I’d like to share a couple of things that I've learned over the years and specifically ... what are the most important things I've learned about great salespeople:

Did you know ... that great salespeople spend a major portion of their time in the development of business? It runs their life.

Did you know ... that great salespeople are 100% canned in their presentation … (9 comments)

advice: Mike Ferry on Social Networking - 03/18/11 06:39 PM
At one of the large Real Estate company conventions I attended in Las Vegas this week, I came to the conclusion that this company has adopted social marketing/social media as the primary method of how they expect their organization to do business. If this wasn't the exact philosophy that they've adopted, they sure gave most of the attendees that impression ... and that's fine, it's their company.
To start the convention, they did something very interesting on the stage in front of their approximately 2,000 attendees. They actually had a debate take place between me and the fellow that is … (5 comments)

advice: Mike Ferry's Thought of the Week - March 14, 2011 - 03/14/11 11:49 AM
Here's a question which I think needs to be addressed. How saleable are your listings? And I'm not just referring to the price ...
As most of you are aware ... the inventory today compared to 2 to 3 years ago is substantially less. This of course is good news. What's interesting about the inventory is the fact that even in the hottest markets that most of us have ever seen, there were still properties that were on the market for 6 to 8 months ... properties that virtually never sold ... and properties that expired on a regular basis. IF … (2 comments)

advice: Mike Ferry's Thought of the Week - February 28, 2011 - 03/01/11 08:27 PM
Over the years, I have often spoken about how critical it is to follow the scripts verbatim, and the pre-qualifying script is no exception. A perfect example comes in the form of one of our great clients who recently skipped one question from the pre-qualifying process, and as a result ... it cost him over $20,000 in commissions.
Although I've said this to you time and time again, and will continue to say it to you time and time again ... "What is your hang-up regarding the scripts?" As you've heard me say time and time again, it's usually one … (0 comments)