Mitch 's Blog

What are your Three Challenges to success in this business?

Mitch Ribak - The eHomes Realty Network — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 21:56:50 -0500

Hi Everyone!

Sorry I haven't written much lately. I have been swamped with my companies. Just a quick update. Tropical Realty of Suntree, my Real Estate Brokerage is doing great. This past month we wrote 44 contracts. Not bad for only 20 Agents in this market. We have 41 scheduled to close this month. Very exciting! 100MPH Marketing is finally in beta launch with a couple of small brokerages being set up. We are just about to launch our basic crm which is great! The eHomes Realty Network continues to be the source for over 100 members who I help whenever I'm needed...a lot these days! Finally, our new company, 100MPH Referrals is brining on it's first market in Orlando Florida. We don't have a website on this yet, but will soon. If you are in a market where the average sales price is over $400k, we are looking for Realtor partners to work our leads. Drop me a note if you are interested in finding out more. All in all life is good and exciting! On top of that my wife hasn't left me yet! That's a good thing.

So one of the things I mentioned to my members the other day was what are the Three Biggest Challenges that affected them from getting what they want out of this business. There were a ton of things. Here is a short list.

Converting Internet leads to customers
Motivation - Self motivating yourself is quite challenging to many of us
Short Sale - Is there a great place to find the answers
Lead Capture - How do I get more Internet leads from my traffic
How to not lose listings to agents who over price their homes to get the listing
How to keep deals from falling apart
Market Data - Is there a way to use Market Date and if so, how
Focus
Time Management - Is there really enough time in the day to do everything
And more!

These are all challenges to all of us. It's so hard to beat all of these things, but what would happen to your business if you were able to beat two of these or three of these. Your business might double or triple. In the end, you have two choices in this business. You can either work and run this business as a business or you can treat it as a hobby and not put the effort in your business. For me, I believe in doing things the best of my ability. Does that mean I don't ever have my moments when I want to be lazy? Of course I do. I get burnt out like all of you. I know how hard this business can be on you. However, I also know, with a little effort, this is one of the best businesses in the world. Yes other Realtors can be pretty difficult and many have little ethics. But, where else can you start a business for a couple thousand dollars and earn a good income your first year. This business offers you a lot of benefits, but, it is a business. It must be run like a business and you must put the time and effort in, especially at the beginning, if you want to build your future. The only thing that separates you from the Agents that are selling 50 homes a year is a great plan and work ethic. If you have both these ingredients you can't help but be successful.

Tomorrow, Thursday at noon est, I will be holding a webinar for my members. I don't usually make these available to the public anymore, but as I was going through my presentation for tomorrow, it made me realize that there are a lot of people that would benefit from this webinar. If you are interested in attending please register at: https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/842832594

100MPH Marketing CRM and lead conversion software - Demo tomorrow!

Mitch Ribak - The eHomes Realty Network — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 09:34:16 -0500

Hi Everyone!

Well after 3 years of development, we are just two weeks away from launching our 100MPH Marketing Software. This system has three levels of usage from our basic service to our CRM on Steroids!

Tomorrow, at 2pm est, I will be doing an online demo to all those who are interested. If you have been struggling with your online lead conversion, this software might just do the trick for you. It's had a great impact on our office as we are headed to 350 sales this year from the Internet.

To register go to: https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/451459363

I look forward to showing you the easiest yet most effective Real Estate CRM on the market.

Mitch

Melbourne Real Estate - June 2009 Housing Stats for Brevard County Florida

Mitch Ribak - The eHomes Realty Network — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 07:44:39 -0500

Hi Everyone!

June was another good month in the world of Real Estate in Brevard County. For the month, 759 homes were sold which is a small increase over the 738 homes sold in May. However, this is a nice jump from 678 in April and 562 in February. It's also up significantly from the 620 homes in June 2008.

All of this is good news for the local real estate market. We are seeing homes that are priced correctly going within a week or so with mutiple offers. Foreclosures and short sales are all selling very quickly too with multiple offers. There are still so many homes on the market that offer a great value for the product. The key is to be open minded and a little flexible. Most homes in Brevard County are up to 44% lower than their 2005 prices.

With interest rates so low and the inventory shrinking, this is probably one of the best timesl we have had to buy in a long time. Actually, a few months ago was probably the best prices, but it's still a great time to purchase your home! This is especially true if you are planning on taking advantage of the $8,000 tax credit.

As always, if there is anything we can do to help, just email us at thestaff@mitchrealty.com . You can click here to view all homes that are for sale in Brevard County. Our office can show you any listings any where in the county. We look forward to helping you!

Mitch

Why bother having a website - so many Agents just don't get it

Mitch Ribak - The eHomes Realty Network — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 07:23:02 -0500

Hi Everyone!

It's been a while since I have written a blog about websits but while observing so many on here going in the wrong directions, I figured it was time. Over the past 5 years I have built my team to 34 Agents at its peak and currently down to 25 Agents as I weed out the Agents who are there to work and those who are there to play. It's amazing to me how many Agents get into this business with no real desire to succeed. They may want to succeed, but they certainly don't have the work ethic to succeed. I can go on about that subject for an hour or so, but we will keep this one to leads.

So what are you doing to capture leads? Do you have forced registration? Do you have teaser listings? Or do you just let people visit your site, use your tools and hope that they hit that "contact me" button. If you want to see what most Agents are doing, just go to Google, type in "anytown Real Estate" as a keyword and then click on the top 3 sponsored listings. I'll pretty much guarantee, but I could be wrong in a few areas, that the Agents listed are paying top dollar per click yet do not have a correct landing pages or capture tools.

Recently I was doing a demo of my 100MPH Marketing Software. We will be launching both our basic crm product and crm on Steroids in about a week. Finally after 3 years of development and 1 year of using the software in my office, we are ready. Anyway, I told my potential customer to pick anytown real estate which he picked Coral Gables Real Estate. Here are the results of my findings of the top three sponsored listings.

Agent 1 - Top Sponsored Listing - We clicked on her site and it didn't open...it just kept trying to open. We closed it down a few times and tried again with no success. The final time we waited a full minute and yet the site didn't open. Unfortunately for this Agent you have about 10 seconds to capture a visitors attention or they are gone. After a minute we opened another browser and went to the next Agent site. Once the site opened it was full of graphics. It was nice looking, but the graphics to the site were so big it would be tough for anyone to get into this site in 10 seconds. On top of that the landing page was her home page and there were no capture tools accept for...you guessed it, "contact me".

Agent 2 - 2nd Sponsores Listing - Not much better than the first. This site did open quickly which was great. I clicked on the area to search the MLS and went in and did multiple searches. This person had an IDX solution that allows for registration, but this Agent chooses not to ask for registrations. I'm sure if you talked with this person they would be excited about all the traffic coming to their site and maybe even about the one or two sales they received the last few months. However, my question is not about what this Agent received, but how much business did they lose. Just think, if you are paying on a per click basis, then wouldn't it make sense to try to capture the information of as many as possible of those who clicked?

Agent 3 - 3rd Sponsored Listing - This site was very basic, which I actually like. It didn't have any of the bells in whistles that would distract visitors away from the IDX. When I clicked on the IDX, it was a link to the local association IDX which has no potential means of capturing leads.

So as I went through these sites with my newly enlightened customer, he was amazed at the difference in how much registration is important in Internet Marketing. Now I know that some of you out there believe this is taboo and bad to do. In reality, this is a business. Do you market in other areas just so people can see your listings, or do you do it so the phone will ring? The Internet is no different than print. It's all about getting leads. If you don't believe that, then look at your numbers. Are you getting anything out of your website? I'm sure many of you are getting a sale here and there because someone clicked the "contact me" button. However, have you ever thought of how much business you are losing?

A few years back I did a test and found that my lead capture rate without any capture tool accept contact me was less than 1/2%. Basically less than 1 person out of 200 contacted me. I don't remember the exact numbers as this was probably 5 years ago. We currently have about a 12% capture rate or 12 leads out of 100 visitors. Sometimes this is as high as 15%-18%. But let's use 12% as our example.

When we did our non registration test we receive 1 sale out of 10 leads. Not bad. However it took 2000 clicks (around $2,000) to get that sale. Hmmmm...did I really make a profit. Sure if we sold homes in California or NYC. However, in Melbourne Florida that's our average commission check. On top of that, most of you don't spend anywhere near that amount of money even in 6 months. So are you getting one or two sales per 6 months. Say you did double my numbers, that's still $1,000 cost per sale.

Let's compare that to what $2,000 in marketing does for even my average Agents who close 1 lead out of 40 leads (my best Agents close 1 out of 24 leads). 2,000 clicks equals 240 leads which equals $8.33 per lead. This means that each sale (8.33 x 40) cost me $333. Also, that same $2,000 spent on marketing equaled 6 sales. Of course this get's even better for my better Agents, but I think you can see the numbers. They don't lie.

I have to run to get ready to drive to Atlanta. My son is turning 30 this weekend which I can't quite fathom. I was just 30 a few years ago wasn't I? However, take a look at this and see if it makes sense to you. There are definitely exceptions out there from Agents who have done well without the forced registrations or teaser listings. However, based on the hundreds of Agents I talk to from my eHomes Realty Network, this is not the norm. Being in Real Estate means being in business for yourself. I can't imagine that anyone would spend a penny on marketing and not want to generate leads. It's like throwing money away and most importantly, it certainly isn't good business. I will hear from a few people now and then who think it is just wrong to make people sign up to use your IDX. Those are the Agents that really need to decide why they have a website. If it's to generate information for your visitors in the hopes that they like the info enough to contact you, then great. If you are actually looking at your site as a potential money maker, then you need to rethink your strategy.

I hope that helps some of you in making your decisions. Don't hesitate to contact me with any questions as I'm always available to help Realtors take their business to the next level. I'm not just a coach, I'm an active Real Estate Brokerage that has been the number 1 Brokerage in Brevard County in Buyer Transactions for our 3rd year in a row (we have only been in business for 4 years). A strong Internet program with strong capture and conversion programs will take you to the next level and beyond!

It's half way through the year, are you where you want to be?

Mitch Ribak - The eHomes Realty Network — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 19:46:12 -0500

So here I am, it's 8:30pm and I'm about ready to call it quits for the night and go home. My wife is waiting and I'm sure she isn't happy that I'm still here. I am in the middle of training a couple of new Agents and sometimes that takes longer than expected. We are just getting ready to start their training on goal setting and action plans. If you have read anything that I have wrote, you know how important I believe this is for your business. You must have a goal and a plan to really acheive the next level in this business.

With that said, it made me realize that I need to have a new meeting with all my Agents to see where they are in their plans for 2009. I actually know exactly where they are right now and which ones are not going to make it in this business and especially in my office. The hardest part of that for me is that I truly like and care about all that work for me, but in the end, it's a business and they are costing me much more than they are making me. So why is that? I ask myself that regularly. Why would I have some Agents that are on track to hit over 36 sales this year and others that will be lucky to hit 10 sales. It all comes down to work ethic.

So where are you right now compared to where you wanted to be at the beginning of the year? How many of you are hitting your numbers? Who has exceeded their numbers? Who is failing miserably and can't figure out exactly why this is happening to you? My first question for you is about your work ethic. Are you working 40-50 hours per week? If I paid you $100,000 a year would you work 40-50 hours per week? I bet you would. However, I bet you don't now. I'm not a big believer in the theory that you can work part time and make full time money in this business. I know there are a lot of Agents who think otherwise, but I'm not one of them.

Secondly, what was your plan at the beginning of the year? Did you follow your plan? Did you do it for a month or two and then abandon it because you got off track? Maybe this is the time for you to really look at your goals and action plans and started revamping them. There is nothing saying you can't change your mind or your approach to anything. If it ain't working, then change it up a little.

In the end, regardless of the market, there are going to be some of you who do well and some of you who really could use some help. Of course that's the purpose of my eHomes Realty Network. You can be successful if you choose to be, but you can be failing in this business if you choose also. What are you going to choose? Where do you want to be at the end of the year? Where are you going to be in a year from now....are you going to be in the same place you are now or are you going to take my advice and get on the ball.

Hopefully you will realize that you can do so much more. Hopefully you will realize that this just isn't that hard when you have an understanding of how to create a plan and stick to it...and be successful.

As always, if you have any questions or need any help, that's what I do. Please feel free to call or write.

Good luck the second half of the year!

USP's - Unique Selling Proposition - Do you use these?

Mitch Ribak - The eHomes Realty Network — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 16:41:12 -0500

It's been a bit since I wrote here. We have been so busy at my Real Estate office and with The eHomes Realty Network. Both are going great!

This week, tomorrow (Thursday) actually, I am hosting a webinar on the use of USP's. You have all seen them, they are things such as "If we don't sell your home in 60 days, we will buy it!". I'm not a big fan of some of these as they are all relying on using the fine print. However, there are many USP's that you can use in Real Estate that will get your phone ringing and your website visited.

USP's are a great tool if you are limited on cash. Many of these can be advertised through the Internet or in local classified advertisements. If you can come up with a great USP, you don't need to break the bank to get great results.

A couple of great USP's that have been used over the years...

"If it's not delivered in 30 minutes, it's free!" - This of course was made famous by Domino's Pizza and it's the one line that changed their business forever.

"When it absolutely, positively, needs to be there overnight." - This is the line that grew FedEx.

There are so many great USP's that have been developed over the years. Our goal tomorrow is to help teach our members, as well as those of you who decide to join us, how to come up with your own USP to help drive more traffic and customers to you.

To register, go to: https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/838640010

Have a fun night!

Brevard County Real Estate is going quickly these days!

Mitch Ribak - The eHomes Realty Network — Fri, 29 May 2009 22:32:52 -0500

Well it's been an interesting few years to say the least. We have been extremely busy at Tropical Realty in Brevard County Florida. Over the past few months our sales have doubled and it's very obvious to us that we finally have hit bottom. Most people don't realize that we actually started our decline about 6 months ahead of most of the country. With that said, it makes sense that we would hit bottom first.

So how do I know we are at the bottom? It's pretty easy to see. Our inventory is down from 8,000 at the peak to 4900 right now...almost half. On top of that, just about every home that is priced correctly is selling within 30-60 days and the best properties have multiple offers on them.

It's pretty funny actually what happens. We work hard to educate our buyer by supplying them with stats. For instance, homes right now are selling at 91.8% on the list price on average with the lower homes selling at over 95% of the list price. Of course our customers don't believe us. I can understand that with all the national media saying that Florida is in so much trouble. However, once they lose a house or two to other buyers they start paying attention. An Agent of mine said it well. She said that everyone is paying attention to the national media, but Real Estate is a local commodity. She is so right.

If you are seriously thinking about buying that retirement home or vacation home or even your first home so you can take advantage of the $8,000 credit currently available, then this is probably the time to get your best deal. Actually it was two months ago, but right now our prices are stable and with interest rates at or around 5%, I can't think of a better time.

And if you are looking for condos, there are some great deals. A few years ago you couldn't touch an Oceanfront condo for under $500k. Now we have some that are at $300k and some less. There was a one bedroom one bath last week, on the Ocean, for $89k. As you can guess, this was gone within a day or so....it's also not the norm!

At Tropical Realty, most of our customers come from out of state. Last year we were the number 1 Brokerage in Buyer Transactions than any other office in the county (out of 500 offices). We are very proud of this as it shows that hundreds of customers have put their trust in us to help with their relocation to Brevard County. If you would like to look at homes, you can click here to start.

We are always here to help. If you would like to talk to an Agent, call 321-259-9115. Our phones are answered by real people every day, 7 days a week.

What Memorial Day means to me.

Mitch Ribak - The eHomes Realty Network — Fri, 22 May 2009 09:48:07 -0500

It's Friday, the beginning of a long weekend of sun (maybe not for us in Brevard County Florida this weekend) and time to get together with our friends and families to eat hamburgers (or veggie burgers) and hot dogs. This is probably my most favorite holiday of the year. It's certainly the most emotional holiday for me.

While we are here enjoying our families, the smell of hot coals and the beauty of a late spring day in America, we have thousands of our children fighting our battles oversees. I think that it's so important on this weekend to recognize these kids and what they have done for all of us throughout the generations. Every day these sons, daughters, fathers and mothers put their lives on the line to ensure that we maintain our lifestyle and freedoms that we sometimes take for granted.

Since the beginning of this great country, we have had soldiers spilling their blood so we can enjoy the moments in our lives. Sometimes we do take our freedom for granted. We shouldn't. Especially in todays climate where every day someone wants to take away another piece of our freedom. I for one will never take this freedom for granted. I wake up each day and drive to work to have fun selling real estate, meeting new people, training my Agents and training my members of The eHomes Realty Network. I love what I do and I love that I am free to do it.

Today, like every Friday since we went to Iraq, I am wearing my red shirt and my American flag on my collar. I had heard somewhere back in 2003 that this is what we should do to show support for our troops. So, every Friday I wear my red. In fact, today, I actually was half way to work when I realized it was Friday and I didn't have my red shirt on. I turned around and drove back home to put my shirt on. I feel better now! I figure if those kids can risk their lives every day, then I can show my support on Fridays by wearing my red shirt!

After I changed and was back on my half hour ride to the office I heard a beautiful rendition of God Bless America. I know this might sound wimpy, but it caused tears to roll down my cheek. In fact, as I'm writing this I'm getting misty. I have been thinking lately of all that has and is going wrong in our country. I usually don't let negativity get into my life, I'm much stronger than that. But lately it's been hard to watch our politicians ruin our country. It amazes me every day when I hear the garbage that comes out of the Washington Elites mouths. So this morning, when I heard this song, it really hit home. I love our country and everything that we stand for. I love that fact that when any country in the world is in trouble we do our best to help. I love when there is a natural disaster we are the first ones to offer aid and money to those affected areas. I love that when I walk down the street I don't have to look over my shoulder and wonder who is spying or following me. I love that I am free to teach my kids to be free and to go after their goals and dreams. I love that they can still do that.

So as I said prior, please thank a soldier or a veteran for their service. Thank them for doing their part in keeping American safe and free. Thank then for doing the dirty work of fighting our wars so most Americans don't have to fight. Be sure my heart and mind will be on all our kids oversees fighting right now. Please join me in saying a prayer and well wishes to all our service men and women.

Have a great free weekend and God Bless America

Last chance to sign up for our free short sale webinar

Mitch Ribak - The eHomes Realty Network — Wed, 13 May 2009 14:30:48 -0500

Hi Everyone!

Just a quick reminder to sign up for our free short sale webinar from The eHomes Realty Network. This is a great informative webinar on how to do short sales. Chris Badger from Strategic Loss Mitigation is excellent!

If you would like to register, go to: https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/951130658

Hope to see you tomorrow!

Short Sale Webinar Part II

Mitch Ribak - The eHomes Realty Network — Mon, 11 May 2009 10:12:15 -0500

Last week The eHomes Realty Network held a free, open to the public webinar on Short Sales. Our guest speaker, Chris Badger, from Strategic Loss Mitigation did a great job presenting a basic outline on understanding short sales. One of the biggest things I learned about Short Sales last week was the fact that even if the bank only says it will pay a smaller percentage than advertised, they will settle on your original number. This alone will save me thousands of dollars in lost commissions. Who would have thought?!

This week, on Thursday, May 14, at 1:30pm, Chris will be back with a detailed look to dealing with Short Sales. In this webinar he will be getting to the nuts and bolts of participating in the short sale game. If you are involved with Short Sales or thinking about getting into Short Sales, you won't want to miss this free webinar!

To register, go to: https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/951130658

If you have any questions, feel free to ask. These free webinars that we offer from eHomes is our way of helping our fellow Realtors succeed in this business with straight honest advice and education.

Have a great day!

Do you know everything you need to know about short sales?

Mitch Ribak - The eHomes Realty Network — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 16:01:05 -0500

How many short sales have you done in your career so far? Up until a couple of years ago, most Realtors, including myself, never really heard of a short sale. Now this is a daily part of our language yet many Realtors still don't understand these listings enough.

On Thursday, April 30, at 2pm est, The eHomes Realty Network will be hosting a free webinar with special guest Chris Badger of Strategic Loss Mitigation will be helping my members along with any Active Rain members who would like to learn more about Short Sales.

To register for this two part event, please go to: https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/511191650

I look forward to seeing you there!

Two Part Short Sale Webinar

Mitch Ribak - The eHomes Realty Network — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 10:59:36 -0500

Hi Everyone!

Next Thursday, April 30th at 2pm The eHomes Realty Network will be holding a two part webinar series on Short Sales. In this market it's vital to understand the ins and outs of short sales. We have an expert on short sales, Chris Badger of Strategic Loss Mitigation, handling this webinar to help answer all your short sale questions.

To attend this free webinar, go to: https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/511191650

If you have any questions in the meantime, don't hesitate to ask!

Would you like your questions answered? Ask a question and get an answer!

Mitch Ribak - The eHomes Realty Network — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 16:31:17 -0500

Hi Everyone!

This Thursday, at 2pm est., I'm going to be holding a webinar to answer real estate business questions for both members of The eHomes Realty Network and members of Active Rain. We will be answering questions about Internet marketing, lead capture, lead conversion, Conventional marketing, floor calls, fsbo's and anything else that anyone wants to know to take their business to the next level.

If you are interested in attending, register at: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/843860425

Time Management - If you don't get control now, your business will suffer.

Mitch Ribak - The eHomes Realty Network — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 15:00:33 -0500

Hi Eveyrone!

I wrote a blog the other day about time management and received a few emails with questions about what I am going to talk about in this webinar. The main purpose of this webinar is to teach you an excellent means of using a solid time management system to help organize your time.

I have a little test for you. Over the next few days, keep a running chart of everything you do that is business related. Keep everything for every minute of work you do. What most of you will find, is that you are only working about half the hours you really believe you are working. We did this in my office for a week and my staff was blown away by how little they actually work. You will find that much of your day is filled with non productive busy work...usually 80%. Only 20% actually goes toward your business. Just think what you could accomplish if you were 80% productive. I personally implemented this program I am going to teach and it has changed my productivity like nothing else I have ever done. It's amazing!

Anyway, if you really want to maximize your time, be able to accomplish twice what you are currently accomplishing, and still have more time to enjoy life a little, this is a must attend webinar. This program is aweseome!

To register, go to: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/211903365

Mitch

Do you ever ask, where did all the time go? Help is here for you!

Mitch Ribak - The eHomes Realty Network — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 05:06:39 -0500

Hi Everyone!

It's been a little while since I've written. I've been extremely busy putting together new training programs for The eHomes Realty Network. Of course when I can, I like to open some of my webinars up to the public. This webinar on Time Management is so important, that I knew once I learned how powerful it was, that I would have to share it with everyone.

Have you been running around with your head cut off? Have you wondered how you could possibly get everything done you need to do? Have you been so busy that you are not accomplishing anything? If you are a busy Realtor, then you need to be at this webinar. Time Management is the killer of most Agents and business people. If you can't mangage your time, you can't expect to win this Real Estate game. It's all about being prepared each day to accomplish your most important 6 things to do. In this webinar, I'm going to teach you how!

The question you should ask yourself is, how much business do I lose each year because I didn't take an extra 5-10 minutes per day to prepare my day? My guess is you lost a lot of business. I know my Agents probably lost an average of 10 sales each last year. I can attribute that mostly to poor time management.

If you are interested in increasing your business, then this webinar is a MUST!

To register, go to: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/211903365

As always, I look forward to helping you. Have a great day!

A message to start your week...

Mitch Ribak - The eHomes Realty Network — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 07:16:59 -0600

I sent this to my staff and my members of The eHomes Realty Network yesterday morning an I had such a response from all of them, I figured I would share it with you.

As most of you know, I read a lot of books these days. That's a
pretty amazing thing because I have major reading disabilities. In
fact, if you don't know, I flunked out of college after my first
semester and was 326th out of 328th of my high school class. I had a
96 IQ and was told that I should learn a trade because that was what
someone with an IQ that far below the average of 110 would be able to
accomplish. Good thing I didn't listen!

Stay Positive - An exerpt from The No Complaining Rule

It's easy to be positive when everything in life is going great. The
hard part is staying positive when you get kocked down and kicked
around. The fact is, no one goes through life untested. If you study
history, sports and business, you will find that every great leader
and team had to overcome adversity and challenges to define themselves
and their success. With so many people telling us we can't do it, we
have to be positive and believe we can. We have to have faith and
trust in a bigger plan for us and our team. The concept of the
"overnight success" is a myth. Life is a test, and a deciding factor
of whether we pass or fail is the answer to the following question:
"Are you going to stay positive in the face of your doubts, fears, and
challenges?" Staying positive is not about putting on a fake smile or
believing you can do it all yourself. Rather it's about being
optimistic and living with hope and having faith. The measure of our
success will not be determined by how we act during the great times in
our life but rather by how we think and respond to the challenges of
our most difficult moments.

The media, your co-workers, and your customers can tell you how bad
the market is and how difficult it must be to be in the Real Estate
business these days. The reality still states that it's the best time
we have had to buy a home in the past 10 years and it's a great time
for you, the Realtor, to exploit the opportunities verse dwell on the
negatives. Take a look in the mirror and ask yourself, are you going
to be one of the thousands of Realtors that fail this year because of
their attitudes and negativities, or are you going going to be one of
the 10% who decide to take control of their lives, their customers and
their business and have a rocking 2009? The choice is yours!

Lead generation doesnt mean anything if.....

Mitch Ribak - The eHomes Realty Network — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 22:07:58 -0600

So I'm sitting here watching tv and thinking of how I teach things at The eHomes Realty Network. It's very interesting reading this blog as opposed to so many others that are out there. Firstly, most of you are at a higher level with technology than most Agents I meet. Of course many of you have been joining the Network and together we are going to do great things. I'm very excited about that and appreciate helping all of you. It's truly an honor.

So, like I started, I was thinking about all of you out there in Active Rain land and how driven you are with your websites, lead generation, SEO and so on. However, I very seldom see many of you talk about what is really more important than all of this. The reality, all the SEO and lead generation in the world will not replace what it really takes to succeed in Real Estate. That is, being a great Realtor. Our business is made up of so many mediocre Realtors and I believe that is because of the lack of training from Brokers and the lack of desire of most Agents to be the best, not only at sales, but in all aspects of the business.

One of the things that most of you don't know about me, is that before I built a very successful Internet program, I made a decision to become a great Realtor first. That doesn't mean that I know everything there is to know about being a Realtor, but it does mean that I became a professional Realtor before I spent a ton of money and effort on marketing. To me, a great Realtor starts with excellent, actually outstanding, customer service. I read so many blogs on so many sites and it's almost always about how many sales we get. Heck, I get caught up in it too. However, the most important comment I believe there is in this business I very seldom hear is, how many referrals Agents receive from their past customers.

To me, Referrals are the lifeblood and the true value of success. They are the real measuring stick of how you are doing in business. Referrals only come when Agents do an oustanding job and their past customers believe there is nobody better to handle their friends, or family's transactions in Real Estate. Because of my becoming an outstanding Realtor before I threw myself into my success, I have been able to build a very strong referral base of business.

I took my last lead on Jan. 5th, 2005. I also sold over 75 homes that year without taking a lead. (I started my real estate business on Sept. 10, 2001)Btw, I'm not telling you this to brag about anything, there is a point to this post. In 2005, I stopped selling homes because I opened my brokerage. I still sold around 15 homes and gave away over $5 million in sales. The following year, in 2006, I sold 8 homes and gave away around $3 million in sales. In 2007 and 2008 I didn't really keep track of this because it just wasn't important to me anymore since I had more important stats to keep. The point of this is that if you plan your business properly and strive to be the best Realtor you can be, without cutting corners, you would not need to be generating 5 -10 leads per day for yourself. The business would be coming to you from all your referrals.

I'm not saying that you are or are not an outstanding Agent. What I am wanting Agents to realize out there is that nothing replaces hard work and outstanding customer service, to build your business to the Next Level. You can learn my lead conversion system or someone elses. You can develop your own lead conversion system. However, if you don't put your best effort into being an oustanding Agent you will become one of the many "one sale" wonders of our business. There are so many Agents that work for the transaction and not their customer. These Agents might be around for a while, but they will always be wondering if they will have enough transactions next month to pay their bills. In the end they will burn out and quit the business.

Hopefully nobody took this the wrong way. By providing outstanding customer service and putting your customer first, you are building sustainable business. You have a great opportunity through all the leads you receive to build your business quickly and successfully. However, don't get ahead of the customer you are working with today. Build customers for life, not a customer for the day. If your business isn't what you want it to be or you are losing customers and not getting referrals, take a long look in the mirror and go back to the basics. Great Realtors will last forever and have a very fullfilling life!

Good luck!

Drip Campaigns must be relevant.

Mitch Ribak - The eHomes Realty Network — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 18:40:19 -0600

Hi Everyone!

Mitch from The eHomes Realty Network here. There has been a lot of conversation both on here, with my members and other blogs around the country on drip campaigns. Most of the campaigns out there are information that is just not important to the customer. Then, when the customer uses another Agent, the Realtor gets upset. The most important part of your drip campaign is to keep it simple and useful. It must be relevant. Below is a quick exchange from one of our drips. Keep them short and sweet and you will reap the benefits! The drip is on the bottom, the response is on top. If you need any help or have any questions about drip campaigns, feel free to contact me. Have a fun night!

Hi Julie,

Thanks you so very much for the information. I will certainly put them to good use.. You're sure making it hard for me to use someone else.... (just joking) your the best - Thanks alots

All the best,
Marcie

Date: Mon, 2 Feb 2009 14:02:28 -0500

Subject: Things to know about Brevard County from Tropical Realty

Hi Marcie!

There are many contact details you will require when moving to a new area. I have attached some useful links to provide you with everything from utilities to theatres, an A-Z of government organizations and also an education booklet. These are easily accessible by clicking the links and can be printed out for your convenience. I hope this proves useful to you.

Tidbits Guide: Click Here
Brevard Directory: Click Here
Education Booklet: Click Here

Don't hesitate to let me know if there is any further information I can provide you with to make your transition to the area smoother.

Julie Cambe, Realtor
Tropical Realty of Suntree, Inc

Good is The Evil of Great!

Mitch Ribak - The eHomes Realty Network — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 22:41:42 -0600

Hi Everyone!

That is one of my favorite sayings from one of my favorite books, Good to Great by Jim Collins. If you haven't read this book, I highly recommend reading it soon. It's not good, it's great! It is listed as the 2nd best book on The eHomes Realty Network, right behind e-Myth by Michale Gerber

I have often wondered why some Agents are more successful than other Agents or why is anyone more successful than anyone else. The line Good is the Evil of Great really answers the question for me and most likely for you.

What does it take to be a Great Realtor vs. being a good Realtor? To me, it takes giving your customers 150% while everyone else gives 85%. It means treating your customers like they are family and doing whatever it takes for them to be successful in their home search or selling goals. It means that you work honestly and sincerely with your customers best interest in mind all the time. The problem is, it's much easier to be good. Being good is working hard for your customer and doing a good job. However, how many times have you had a transaction that you know you didn't give it everything you had? You know that you could have given better customer service, kept your customer informed better, or skirted the line a little to get the transaction done. Was the transaction more important than your customers needs? I know many Agents that their goal is the transaction, not the customer. Many of them are good Realtors, none of them are Great Agents.

I'll give you an example. Keep in mind that I haven't really sold homes now since the beginning of 2005 when I opened my Brokerage. I'm not a believer that Brokers should be selling homes when they have Agents, they should be managing and helping their Agents grow, not competing with them. With that said, I still sell a couple of homes a year to keep in practice and it's always a referral. My last transaction was a challenge. The couple, who have bought homes from me in the past, were buying their retirement home in Florida. Without going into a ton of detail, I ended up putting about $650 of my money into different things to help my customer out. For instance, the seller gave a basic home warranty, but I wanted them to have a better one that cost an extra $200. They wanted to take the pool as is without an inspection, but they were not here to see what I saw and how it looked. I had a pool company come out and do an inspection at my expense. There were a couple other things not to mention they were always wanting more pictures and room measurements so they could make plans. I went above and beyond in many ways. Near the end of the transaction my closing coordinator asked me why I was doing so much for this customer. Of course she had never seen me selling to many homes in the past because when she came on board I was already the broker and had stopped selling homes. I told her that was the difference between me and most other agents. I will do whatever it takes to help my customers accomplish their goals.

I have worked hard to instill my beliefs onto my Agents about being the best you can be and to sincerely do what it takes for your customer and not for yourself. Recently two of my Agents on two different occasions spent a weekend and several hundred dollars making repairs on their customers homes so they would pass FHA. They didn't do this to get a closing, both homes were very inexpensive homes, they did this because they wanted their customers to get the homes they wanted. They did it out of the goodness of their hearts and knowing that their customers would be very happy when they found out what my Agents had done for them. Both their customers were elated and both gave awesome reviews on my Agents. I was smiling from ear to ear.

So what's stopping you from being great. Usually its Agents and people who are good that keep them from being great. Good is the evil of Great because most everyone is very happy and successful being good. Why put so much effort into something if you can get it done with less effort. The only person who will know that you didn't do a great job is you. Everyone else will think you did a great job...maybe, but you will know you didn't do your best. Our society is moving more and more toward being good and not being great. It's very acceptable for everyone to be good. Nobody expects anyone to be Great. That's why when you are Great, you stand out from the crowd. My dad taught me that no matter what you do in life be the best at it. I live by those words.

The next time you are doing a transaction, go above and beyond. Do a Great Job for your customer and make it their best home buying or selling experience of their life. Make it memorable. Don't just do a good job, take your business to the next level and do a Great job!

Are you still wondering how to blog?

Mitch Ribak - The eHomes Realty Network — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 21:35:43 -0600

Hey Everyone!

I know many of you have registered for this webinar, but I still have room for a few more so I figured I would post one more time. The eHomes Realty Network is holding a free webinar tomorrow at 2pm est. with guest speaker Brian Brady. Brian is one of the best in the business when it comes to blogging. I was lucky enough to see him speak at NAR and he was awesome. If you are still wondering how to use blogging effectively, Brian is your guy. As with all our webinars that we open to the public, there is no obligation. Just come visit and learn!

To register go to: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/752637681

Blogging for Dollars!

Mitch Ribak - The eHomes Realty Network — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 18:53:48 -0600

Hi Everyone!

This is just a quick reminder that The eHomes Realty Network is holding a free webinar on Thursday, Jan. 29th at 2pm est. This webinar, in our webinar series is on Blogging. Brian Brady, one of the best known blogging experts in the industry, is going to share his thoughts on how to use blogging to generate business for you. If you have never heard Brian speak, you are in for a treat. He is awesome!

To find out how you can increase your business through Blogging, attend our free webinar by registering at: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/752637681

If you have any questions please let me know!

What are you looking for in a Real Estate coach?

Mitch Ribak - The eHomes Realty Network — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 19:59:13 -0600

Hi Everyone!

As most of you know, I spend a lot of time writing on Activerain about how to help expand your business and your personal life through The eHomes Realty Network. My goal is to touch as many people as possible and help them with whatever is needed. Most of my teachings around the country have to do with lead conversion and lead capture. Of course when I get to my classes and seminars I spend more time on how to be a great Realtor and how to build your business before I spend any time on lead conversion. In the end, no matter what I teach, it won't matter if you don't have the desire and the goal of being successful. I have learned this past year that I can only spend time helping Agents and Brokers who actually want to be successful. I have spent a lot of time and money on those who want it, but are not really willing to work for it. It was a big awakening for me this past year but also a huge break through.

There are so many of you out there that need help with your business which is why I chose to open The eHomes Realty Network versus Franchising my company which was my original plan. I spent a ton of money being set up to franchise and am licensed to do so in Florida at this time. Our model is very strong and successful. During this down turn, we have grown by at least 25% each year and has made us the Number 1 Buyers Agency in Brevard County two years running. So why am I not franchising? I couldn't help the amount of people I wanted to help by franchising...but with my Network I could help the masses! It's a ton of money to start a franchise but not to join the Network.

My wife and I were talking about the Network and what my goals are in helping people. I have gone back in forth on pricing. Right now we charge $40 a month. I was trying to make it accessible to basically anyone that wanted my help. After all, I spent $500k just learning what I learned the past 8 years. Almost all my members are following my systems and have started or are doing well with them. That's a great thing. I know what I teach is easily worth what most coaches charge, around $1,000 a month. In fact, I talked with a coach who charges twice that amount for his clients and he admitted that he didn't even know anything about the Internet. I'm not sure how you can coach in Real Estate with no knowledge of the biggest thing in Real Estate in the past 10 years.

With all that said, I'm looking for some feedback on what you would look for in a Coach. If you could answer this, either on here or by emailing me at mitch@mitchrealty.com, I would appreciate it. You can be sure that I'm not going to contact you about joining my Network. It's not my style and if you have read anything I write, you know that about me. Please believe that I am 100% sincere when I say I am just looking to learn from what I consider the smartest Realtors in the business, the members of Activerain. If you could design your own coach from scratch, what would his or best qualities be? What would you feel is the most important aspect of your business you don't feel strong in? What can I do to help you become all you can be? Any answers would be very much appreciated. To show my appreciation, I will offer a free year membership, a $480 value, for the person who shares the most with me. For this person, I guarantee that your numbers will increase tremendously by following just a few of my tons of tips and concepts. I look forward to helping you! Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

If you are not marketing now, you are missing the boat - This is a must read!

Mitch Ribak - The eHomes Realty Network — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 09:27:24 -0600

Hi Everyone!

I just sent this to everyone in The eHomes Realty Network, and I thought it was important to share with everyone. During economic slow downs, companies tend to pull back on their marketing efforts. Read this below and you will understand that not marketing right now could be the biggest mistake of your career!

Why did you stop marketing? You should be marketing like crazy right now!

A McGraw-Hill Research study of over 600 businesses found that:

1981-1982 - businesses that maintained or increased their ad spend during the 1981-82 recession...

Averaged higher sales growth during the recession and in the following 3 years!

By 1985 - sales of the businesses that maintained or increased their ad spend during the 1981-82 recession...

Had risen 256% over those that had cut back on advertising.

Likewise in 2001 - another study found that aggressive recession advertisers increased market share 2½ times the average for all businesses in the post-recession.

In 2002 - the Strategic Planning Institute illustrated that during economic expansion...

Although 80% of businesses increased their advertising spend there was NO improvement in market share

Why? - Because everyone increased ad spending during the upturn.

The point to note ... as hard as it is to believe right now, the seeds of the next expansion are being planted in this midst of all the current chaos.

-------------------------------------------

Here are some of the facts from past recessions:

1970 recession year - American Business Press (ABP) and Meldrum & Fewsmith study showed that "sales and profits can be maintained and increased in recession years and [in the years] immediately following by those who are willing to maintain an aggressive marketing posture, while others adopt the philosophy of cutting back on promotional efforts when sales appear to be harder to get." 1

1974-1975 recession years - ABP/Meldurm & Fewsmith 1979 study covering 1974/1975 and its post-recession years found that "Companies which did not cut marketing expenditures experienced higher sales and net income during those two years and the two years following than those companies which cut in either or both recession years." 2

1981-1982 recession years

McGraw-Hill Research's Laboratory of Advertising Performance studied recessions in the United States. Following the 1981-1982 recessions, it analyzed the performance of some 600 industrial companies during that economic downturn. It found that "business-to-business firms that maintained or increased their marketing expenditures during the 1981-1982 recession averaged significantly higher sales growth both during the recession and for the following three years than those which eliminated or decreased marketing. 3

Cahners and Strategic Planning Institute (SPI) produced their report, "Media Advertising When Your Market Is In a Recession." It disclosed, "During a recessionary period, average businesses do experience a slightly lower rate of return relative to normal times. However, expansion times do not generate a higher level of profits than normal periods as might be expected." This phenomenon was explained by an analysis of changes in market share."

During recessionary periods," said the Cahners/SPI report, "these businesses tended to gain a greater share of market. The underlying reason is that competitors, especially smaller marginal ones, are less willing or able to defend against the aggressive firms." The study then pointed out that businesses that increased media advertising expenditures during the recessionary period "gained an average of 1.5 points of market share." 4

1990-1991 recession years - Management Review asked AMA member firms about spending during the 1990-1991 recession. "Fortune follows the brave," it announced, noting that the data showed that most firms that raised their marketing budgets enjoyed gains in market share. Among the magazine's sample, 15 percent reported "greatly decreased" ad budgets. Advertising was "somewhat cut" by 29 percent. "The keys to gaining market share in a recession," concluded Management Review" seem to be spending money and adding to staff. Firms that increased their budgets and took on new people were twice as likely to pick up market share. 5

Beyond the statistics, why might it be more important than ever to market despite economic downturn? Strong consideration should be given to the idea that marketing plays a more critical role now than it did during previous recessions. While marketing's role was once more informational than brand identity building, and considering that never more than today has the clutter factor been so great, relationships between customers and brands are critical. Relationship marketing has surged to the top of effective marketing campaigns as a means to keep an appropriate level of share of mind for purchase loyalty. Marketing serves to foster and maintain consumer-brand relationships. 6

The effect on profits. From the Harvard Business Review, "Advertising as an anti recession tool," comes the effect of cutting advertising on the bottom line. "The rationale that a company can afford a cutback in advertising because everybody else is cutting back [is fallacious]. Rather than wait for business to return to normal, top executives should cash in on the opportunity that the rival companies are creating for them. The company courageous enough to stay in the fight when everyone else is playing safe can bring about a dramatic change in market position." In addition, the article points out "Advertising should be regarded not as a drain on profits but as a contributor to profits, not as an unavoidable expense but as a means of achieving objectives. Ad budgets should be related to the company's goals instead of to last year's sales or to next year's promises."

REFERENCES:

"How Advertising in Recession Periods Affects Sales," American Business Press, Inc., 1979
ABP/Meldrum & Fewsmith study, 1979
McGraw-Hill Research. Laboratory of Advertising Performance Report 5262 New York: McGraw-Hill, 1986.
Kijewski, Dr. Valerie. "Media Advertising When Your Market Is in a Recession," Cahners Advertising Research Report. The Strategic Planning Institute, 1982
Greenburg, Eric Rolfe. "Fortune Follows the Brave," Management Review, January 1993
Khermouch, Gerry. "Why Advertising Matters More Than Ever," Business Week, August 2001
Dhalla, Nairman K. "Advertising as an anti recession tool," Harvard Business Review, Jan.-Feb. 1980

A lesson in Team Building from a Broker, Coach and Long Time Business Person.

Mitch Ribak - The eHomes Realty Network — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 05:07:47 -0600

Team building is the difference between doing ok and doing great! It wasn't until I started building my team that my business exploded. I went from myself and $6 million or so to myself, two buyers agents and an assistant and $18 million production in 1 year. A couple years later and I have 20 Agents But starting and managing a team can be very challenging and extremely frustrating for the Agent/Team Leader who is successful and motivated.

Among many challenges, to me, the biggest challenge is realizing that my Agents are not me. It's a hard pill for me to swallow. I have managed medium and small staffs my entire life and managing a Real Estate staff, at least the way I run a business is one of the more challenging feats. I have always managed by creating opportunity for my employees and Agents. Our systems are very strong and for Real Estate I created even stronger systems than normal since I don't have control over my income. I had to create the "MacDonalds" of Real Estate, which I believe have done. However, no matter how good the system, if the Agent doesn't want success, there isn't much I can do.

Back to the first ime of the second paragraph. When I first started hiring Agents I trained them to follow my system and to have a high degree of integrity and ALWAYS be ethical when dealing with everyone! On top of that, I expect them to maintain a work ethic that will propel them to the level I was at in selling homes. That was my mistake. For the past few years I have found myself very frustrated with my Agents for not wanting to become successful as much as I wanted them to become successful. My goal is always to make my Agents successful therefore, as a team, we all become successful. The problem is, nobody, and I don't mean this in a cocky way, but nobody puts the effort into their success the way I do and did when I was selling homes. With this in mind, I built even better and stronger systems which I thought would make the change in my Agents....didn't work either.

I was lucky enough to go to a Tony Robbins seminar in November and then another one in December. If you ever have the chance to go, I highly recommend it. I can't tell you how much it has done for myself, my relationship with my wife and my business. While in these seminars I had many breakthrough moments. I believe my biggest for my business was understanding that no matter what I do, they will never be like me. If that's the case, then accept it and stop wasting time thinking about how you can make them better. If they don't want it, no matter what you do, they won't acheive it. It's really that simple...right in front of me all this time, but it never dawned on me that even though Agents say they want success, very seldom are they willing to do what it takes to actually obtain success. I even know that most Agents are not successful because their mind gets in their way. They are simply afraid to do what it takes because of the fear of failure or embarassment or whatever fear is holding them back. You see, if they don't put their best foot forth, they can't fail because they didn't try it. In reality of

Find out how to use Blogging by one of the best Bloggers around!

Mitch Ribak - The eHomes Realty Network — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 21:58:39 -0600

Hi Everyone!

This coming Thursday, Jan. 29th at 2pm est. I have a special guest joining me as part of The eHomes Realty Network webinar series. Brian Brady will be discussing how he has used Blogging to build his business and how it can help you accomplish the same. I was never a huge fan of Blogging until I had the pleasure of seeing Brian speak at NAR. He was awesome and I know you will learn a ton from him!

To register for this excllent free webinar, go to: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/752637681

I look forward to helping you!