It's very simple:

A job is a 40 hours week.  Owning a business is doing whatever it takes!

Have a great day and realize that you have the power to be the best Realtor in the industry.  You simply need to not stress about those things that are items beyond your control, have a plan, and go for it at all times!

I hope you are having an awesome weekend so far. I've been thinking a lot lately why I'm so determined to help all of you reach your potential. I have been alone most of the weekend while my wife is in Chicago. Lot's of time to think about things....which as you know, may or may not be a good thing for me! But today, Memorial Day, has always been one of my favorite holidays. I don't know how many of you take what we have for granted, but you shouldn't. We have everything we have today because of our brave soldiers who have fought for our country throughout its existence. If it weren't for those brave men and women over the years, our country would look much different than it does today. I think about this often, but today I think about it with the memory of all those soldiers...all those kids. So why should you put forth the effort to grow your business? If for no other reason, do it in their memory. They gave their lives and they continue to do this today, so you can have the opportunity to be all you can be. (ok, that line might have been a little corny). You have so much opportunity and so much potential and it's totally up to you to deliver. It's not about delivering to me, it's about delivering to yourself. Sometimes we get caught up in just how difficult life can be...but you must take a look at your opportunities, not the difficult parts of life. These kids who gave their lives for you did not have a chance to live like you and I. They were 19, 20, 21 and their short lives were given so you and I can pursue our goals, our dreams and cherish our families. So as you enjoy your memorial day with your family, and I certainly hope you do, think of these young adults and use this as the wheel in motion to help get you going where you are destine to go. It's your life, you have complete control over whether you get up each day and take the bull by the horns or make another excuse on why you couldn't do whatever you had to do. There will always be excuses, it's up to you if you let them control your destiny or if you take control and go for it! Happy Memorial Day! Thank you so much our veterans, our current soldiers and our fallen soldiers. You inspire me!

This is my favorite holiday of the year.  It's full of thoughts of all our past and current heros.  Our country might be a mess right now, but our true core of being American's is strong.  One of the greatest gifts we have as a country is our freedom.  Many of take this for granted but most of us know that this freedom we enjoy came at great human sacrifice.   It's this weekend that we are given the opportunity to reflect and thank all our soldiers who have fought for our freedom.  

So, to the veterans:

Thank you so much for all your hard work and dedication to our country.  Thank you for making the ultimate sacrifice so that I am able to raise my children, play with my grandkids, go to work, own a home, eat plenty and enjoy knowing I can do anything I want.  Without you, none of us have this great gift.  Know that not just on Memorial Day weekend, but every weekend, we are grateful and thankful for your service.  

To our active soldiers:

Thank you so much to the men and women who are currently serving in our military.  You may not have signed up for the situation we are in right now, but you certainly have stepped up to the challenge.  Your dedication to keeping our country safe is amazing.  I'll be thinking of you this weekend.  

Thank you!

Whether you think you can or whether you think you can't, you are right!  Henry Ford

This is one of my favorite quotes.  You are in complete control of your destiny.  Believe you can't do it and you certainly won't.  Believe you can and you can accomplish anything.  What does the Agent in your office who always kicks butt have over you?  They believe!  

So for the first time in my recent life (past 10 years or so), I slipped into negativity.  I'll admit it.  Between everyone feeling bad for me because I own a brokerage and the media constantly telling us how bad our business is, it affected me.  How did it affect my business.  We had the worst first quarter since I've opened the doors in 2005.  However, I decided to try something to see what I could do to turn things around.  I decided in March to stay out of the way of the office and play more golf.  I played and 3 times a week, brought my handicap down from 13.5 to 12.7, and only went to the office a couple times a week.  A funny thing happened, we wrote 44 contracts (18 Agents) for $8.7 million...a record for our office!

On April 1st, I started back to the office daily again and our sales plummeted.  In mid April, I changed my attitude.  I'm a huge believer in you get what you give.  If you give negativity, you will receive it right back at you.  If you give positive thoughts and attitudes, good things start to happen.  I bottomed out the second Sunday of April and I knew I had to make some changes quick.  I knew, based on my not going to the office and then going back to the office that the problem with my company was myself.  It had nothing to do with the agents.  I was putting off negative thoughts.  I was bashing my Agents to my admin and LCA staff.  I was not in a very good mood.  No matter how I tried to get out of it, it just got worse.  Once I decided to make the change, things got better immediately.

How did I make the change?  I started looking at all the great things in my life.  I have a great wife, awesome kids, even awesomer (not a word) grandkids and have lived a pretty great life so far.  I'm truly blessed.  Once I looked at the great things and realized that my life was pretty darn good, I created a contingency plan on what to do if I have to change my office situation.  Once done, the stress was gone.  My attitude adjustment worked great and we are back on track doing well again. My software company, 100mph marketing started growing again and my membership training company, The Real Estate Success Network started growing again too.  The only thing I changed was my outlook.  I went from being negative to being positive...not being positive, but feeling positive.

There are so many aspects of our business that can get you down.  Look at the positive side and good things start to happen.  It's all about attitude!

Ok, that's a long title!  It seems these days, I am hearing this more and more.  Then, the disturbing part, is once we get down to the offer, the other agent say something stupid like "You were the only offer we got".  This has happened probably each time in the last 5 offers I wrote...and I don't sell that many homes being the Broker. Each time the other Agent said something stupid letting me know that there really wasn't an offer.

The number one thing I dislike about our business is the dishonesty of so many Agents.  I really believe that until we start truly policing our own, we will always have this bad reputation.  After all, so many people, not just Agents, will do whatever they can to make a buck.  I have always believed that if you do EVERYTHING with truthfulness and honesty, you will always come out on top.

I like to say, I have made millions in the past 30 years of owning different businesses.  Unfortunately I have lost just a little more!  However, I have always done it on my terms and I have ALWAYS done it honestly and ethically.  

It's time to start filing grievances and get rid of the bad apples in our business.  Look people in the eyes, do what is in their best interest and always have a smile and this business is not hard.  People will want to work with you.  

Internet Marketing, Social Media, Lead Capture, Lead Conversion and so on.  We keep hearing every day that these are the tools of the future.  Do you get calls almost every day from someone telling you they are the next best thing to generate sales?  You simply pay them money and the sales roll in.  I get over 5 calls a week from someone trying to sell me something about how I'm missing the boat on the Internet.  Obviously they didn't do their homework as we are doing great with our Internet program and generated 329 sales in 2010 through the Internet with 14 Agents.

So why aren't you getting more sales from the Internet?  It's obvious to everyone that the future of our world, not just Real Estate, is the Internet.  Well I have to tell you, it's not in the future, it's the now.  If you aren't generating business from the Internet, you are missing the boat. Over the past few years I have been traveling around the country teaching Realtors and Brokers how we are able to year in and year out generate consistent sales.  It's not rocket science, but my guess is you are not doing as well as you would like and these are a few of the reasons why:

Systems - Most of the Agents and Brokers I teach through The Real Estate Success Network are missing the most important aspect of Lead Conversion.  They don't have any systems.  I don't care what type of business you run, you need to have solid duplicatable systems in place to succeed to the top level.  Systems are not hard to follow but you have to be persistent as it takes a few months to really get the ball rolling.  Just follow steps 1-5 and the sales will happen! 

Patience - Internet Leads take time to buy. In my experience, leads take over 6 months (actual number in 2010 was 233 days) to buy a home.  Most Realtors don't have the patience to wait 6 months.  They tell the customer, "call me when you are ready".  That may have worked in the days before the Internet, but these days you are leaving a lot on the table.

Phone Call Follow up - I have heard so many different experts on lead conversion saying things that just don't make sense.  For instance, a few of the products out there are trying to tell you that you shouldn't and don't have to make calls to your leads.  In fact you shouldn't even ask for their phone number.  I got an email from a guy using one of these systems and he got a good lead in the first month.  This was one lead that said they were interested in buying a home for $1.8 million.  He has no phone number and no way to create loyalty.  Yes, you don't have to call your leads and you will get sales.  Of course you will!  The question is though, how many sales are you leaving on the table?  

Let's look at a scenario.  You get a lead who is buying a home in a year.  You call him or her once (if you call at all).  You tell the person that you will gladly send them updates and for them to call you when they find something interesting.  You are always there to help.  So after this great call you never call these people again. These people are still going to go on more websites and register on many of them.  Now we are 11 months into the 12 month buying process of this buyer and they register on another site.  The Realtor calls.  The Realtor (sometimes) asks if they are working with a Realtor.  The lead/customer says "I've been getting listings from some guy (or girl) but I'm not working with them.  The other Realtor says "Great, when would you like to go and look at properties".  You just lost a customer for life!

So how is your Internet program going?  If you are not where you want to be, then it's time to make some changes.  You all know someone who is selling a lot of homes on the Internet.  It takes great systems, lots of patience and great follow up skills.  The better you follow up, the more homes you sell.  It's that simple! If you have questions about how you can increase your Internet program, please feel free to contact me.  I'm always glad to help!

If you are a buyers agent and have a large short sale market as we do here in Melbourne Florida, you are waiting much to long when dealing with short sales.  Yes, they are a major part of our market.  However, if you can show your buyer the benefit of buying a resale or foreclosure over a short sale, you will enjoy commissions sooner than later. 

One of the main problems I see with short sales is that we may be giving the buyer false hope without realizing it.  For instance, how many of you say, "It's going to take 4 - 6 months before we have approval"?  Even though that doesn't sad bad, it's really giving the buyer false hope.  We are currently averaging 25% approval rate on short sales.  The reality is, most of these do not go through because either the bank rejects the offer, the buyer ends up not wanting to wait (and blames you) or the bank wants the seller to hold a note and the seller refuses. 

When talking to a prospective buyer this should be your conversation.

 "I understand that you have heard that short sales can be a great deal.  In reality, they are not any better deals than foreclosures and resales.  In the end, the bank is going to require you pay market value or they will not move forward with the short sale.  Here is the problem, you are going to wait 4-6 months and have a 75% chance that the offer will not be approved or that the seller is required to hold a note in which they won't. 

 I have pulled these homes, which are similar to the short sales you have inquired about both in price, size and condition and based on my experience, buying one of these homes will save you a ton of stress and frustration."

 In the end you can say this however you want.  But, if you accent the positive, that is what they are going to hear.  If nothing else, just say "You are going to wait 6 months to not get approved or the seller walking away because they are asked to hold a note.  Whether buying a short sale, foreclosure or resale, you are going to pay market value."

 This should help some of you convert your short sale customers to buyers today!  If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask.  Remember, it's all in the meaning we give things.  Change the meaning and you can change the outcome!

I've been pretty quiet on this subject the past couple of years.  Maybe because up until a year or so ago we hadn't been doing listings.  The past year we started taking listings and have done very well with them.  As with all of us, we do a lot of short sales.  I wanted to share a couple of conversations I have had lately with a few consumers, realtors and investors.

Investor - I got a call yesterday from a guy I know from the golf course.  He is a real estate investor and made a tremendous amount of money in 2004-2005 flpping properties.  He called me to list a condo he bought in 2006 for $480k.  Firstly, let me make something very clear on my position.  I feel that anyone who has invested in property and now expects the bank to eat the loss of the investor is immoral and unethical.  It's not up to the bank or the taxpayer to eat your losses. This one investor, in his words, told me that he hasn't paid the mortgage on this property for almost a year.  However he has been collecting rent, $2,500 a month. 

His attitude was pretty straight forward.  He said he was not going to lose money on this deal and then said that the bank shouldn't have loaned him the money in the first place.  He was actually saying this in a proud manner...have you noticed that these days with people who are giving their homes back to the bank?  I personally would be embarrassed to tell anyone I short sold my home or went to foreclosure...these days people are proud of this action. 

In the end, I told him that he would have to find another Realtor as I wouldn't be a party to fraud.  He can afford to keep the property.  He can afford to pay his mortgage. He made several million in profits.  Do you think if he sold the condo for $800k he would spilt the profits with the bank?

Homeowner - So next was an old customer of mine who paid $320k for their home in 2004 with a 100% (80/20) mortgage.  They owe $320k and the home is currently valued around $260k.  Actually that's pretty good in our area.  She sat down and told me they want to short sale their home.  The first question I always ask is, "what has changed in your income since you bought the home?"  Her answer, like most I hear these days, is "nothing"!  I looked at her and I asked her why she was selling then....did you buy this home as your home I asked? She said that since it has lost $60k they didn't want it anymore.  I then asked her if that was a good reason for her to shirk her moral responsibility to pay her debt.  After about a half hour she realized that what she was thinking about doing was immoral and unethical.  

Realtor - A Realtor from another office (no way he would be able to work for me) bought and sold approximately 100 homes during the build up to the peak of the market.  I have heard that he made upwards to $10 million in profits in the two to three year period.  When the market crashed, he had about 30 properties that he closed on that he could not sell. Last year he came to my office wanting to work for me.  The conversation was disturbing.  He had hidden the money he made and his bank accounts were virtually empty.  He then short sold the 30 homes (all that were rented for $1,000 a month) without every making a payment on these homes.  Basically he took a ton of profit out of these homes through rent and then gave them back to the bank.  I had thought that we were supposed to be held to a higher standard.  

Another Realtor who lives across the street from one of my friends.  They bought a house across the street from his house at a very discounted rate through a foreclosure. Then turned around and did a short sale on his other house that he moved out of.  My friend couldn't believe it and commented on how many sleazy Realtors have been walking away from their investments and homes because they lost value.  NOT, because they couldn't afford them, but because they lost value.  Wouldn't it be nice if you could buy stocks and if they went down you could just walk away without losing any money but you could keep any profits if they made money? 

Last one - A Doctor - A local doctor called me this past week.  He paid $1.9 million for his home that is now worth $800k.  He called me to short sale his home. I went through my usual questioning and believe me, this guy has a ton of money.  He told me that he wasn't going to keep the house because of the value it lost.  I asked, as always, about morals and ethics and he basically said even though nothing has changed and he can easily pay the mortgage, he has no intention of keeping a home that is not valued what he paid.  Again, as always, I asked if he had gained value like he thought it would, if he would give some of his profit to the bank.  No morals and no ethics.  It's rampant right now!

Have people changed the way they feel because our government has made the banks the scape goats and villains in our country right now.  Since when is it ok to not honor your commitments and debts?  Personally I'm embarrassed to even know some of these people.  Worse, to see Realtors who made a fortune and have a bunch of money doing this is even more shameful.  Believe me, if you have lost your job or if things have happened that have financially hurt you bad then that is what short sales are for.  I have no problem with that.  When I see people give up their credibility and think that is ok to screw over the people that in good faith lent them money, I put my foot down.  I won't touch these properties and I'll gladly tell these people, coworkers or not, that they should be ashamed of themselves and the lessons they are passing down to their and our children.

As most of you know, I spend my life working on Internet Marketing and Lead Conversion for Real Estate.  Our brokerage had another great year selling 329 homes with 14 Agents with over 95% of our sales coming from our Internet program.  It's been 9 years now since I started using the Internet after becoming a Realtor on Sept. 10, 2001.  Over these 9 years I have figured out how to capture tons of leads and how to turn them into sales.  The problem for all my fellow Realtors is all these vendors trying to sell you leads or other Internet related products.  The difference between myself in them of course is that I'm a Real Estate Broker in one of the worst markets in the country, Melbourne Florida.  I had to figure out this stuff to survive!

So even though I am the coach for The Real Estate Success Network, my full time job is being a Broker and developing programs to help my company succeed.  One of the hardest parts of my job these days is keeping my Agents smiling.  Even though we are selling a lot of homes, our prices are so low that we have to sell a ton of homes to make a living! 

Ok, with all that said, I am holding a webinar  Thursday, Feb 3rd at 2pm est. which will help you understand the truth about the Internet and how to use it.  It has nothing to do with social networking (which I have still not met anyone making any money).  It has to do with understanding why you have a website, how to market it, how to capture leads and how to convert those leads to sales.  As the headline says, if you are not making at least 15 sales per year from the Internet, you are missing the boat.  This is not rocket science.  The problem is there are very few people besides myself who will teach you the truth.

If you want to start making sales, register at:https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/747415729

I hope you are able to attend!  This could be the most important training session of your real estate career!