all blogs: Time Management for Real Estate Agents - the Favorit-est Tips! - 06/17/13 04:49 AM
Last week we did a teleseminar show in the SWS Virtual Studio called "Time Management for Real Estate Agents" (catchy, eh?) where we shared tips and strategies for getting the most out of those 24 hours we all have in which to get stuff DONE. At the end of the show we polled the audience to see which of the dozen+ tips we shared were the Favorit-est, and this is what they told us: Favorit-est Tip #1: Use a white board (dry-erase) to list your long-term projects. Put the board somewhere in your office where you don't see it every day,
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all blogs: Ten Ways to Show Your Seller You Don't Care (2013) - 06/05/13 05:35 AM
Continuing on my latest theme of Ways to Make Your Seller Happy (or not!), here's another re-post of a blog I wrote several years back after a disappointing experience I had personally with a listing agent... "Ten Ways to Show Your Seller You Don't Care!" It's easy! Just follow these simple steps... 1. Don't send your seller a copy of the MLS listing entry to get his feedback. 2. Don't let him know when his house officially goes "on the market." 3. Don't offer to do an open house, and be sure to argue with him if he asks you to.
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all blogs: Problem-Solving with Soul: The Favorit-est Tips! - 06/03/13 06:29 AM
Did a little teleseminar show last week in the SWS Virtual Studio called "Problem-Solving with Soul" where Blake Farley and I shared various tips and strategies for becoming a Master Problem-Solver. We first focused on strategies to head off problems before they occur and then moved onto ways to solve those darn problems that you weren't able to head off in the first place. At the end of the program, we asked the audience for their feedback on which tips were the most brilliantly insightful, and here's what they told us: Favorit-est Tip #1: Learn to Love a Checklist - at least
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all blogs: "Problem-Solving with Soul" a Free SWS Teleseminar - 05/29/13 05:09 AM
A lot of people go into real estate because they "love people and love houses" but quickly find that this business is far more about solving problems than loving on people or houses. Yes, those problems can be frustrating, but there's nothing like the satisfaction of being confronted with a potentially deal-breaking problem, going into temporary panic-mode, THEN settling down, sorting it out, making some phone calls, solving the problem (yahoo!) and moving forward. And believe it or not, once you have the confidence that you CAN overcome the challenges of a real estate transaction, you might actually welcome them just
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all blogs: Even if They Don't Complain... Sellers Notice - 05/28/13 04:12 AM
A few weeks ago, I wrote a blog called: "How to Wow Your Seller - The Favorit-est Tips" where I listed the results of a little survey I did following a SWS Teleseminar on the subject of knocking the sox off your seller client so that they'd be delighted to tell everyone they know how awesome you are. One of the final comments on the blog was from my friend Charles Stallions who said "Certainly a lot of great points, I often wonder if the sellers forget that their home is even for sale as they never seem to call either
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all blogs: How to Wow Your Seller - the Favorit-est Tips! - 05/13/13 05:38 AM
Last Thursday we did a little show in the SWS Virtual Studio called "How to Wow Your Seller" where Susan Haughton and I discussed various things a listing agent can do to ensure that her seller clients are talking about her behind her back, letting everyone they know how thrilled they are with the service they're receiving. At the end of the show, we asked the audience to share their Favorit-est Tips and below are the results of that survey. But first, know that your sellers aren't going to be "wow'ed" by a big flashy display or expensive closing
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all blogs: How to Wow Your Seller - a Free SWS Teleseminar - 05/08/13 06:05 AM
If your new seller client is happy with you, you know what they'll be doing? Talking about you behind your back to every one they know! And that's a great thing! But that doesn't happen just because you put a sign in the yard and show up 6 weeks later with a price reduction amendment... no, WOWing your seller takes a little more effort and commitment than that. But it's not rocket science and it's not too terribly time-consuming, I promise! Join us for a Top Ten (or maybe even Top Twenty) Ways to Wow Your Seller Client so that they
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all blogs: "Lose the Drama, Find the Fun!" Ten-Week Workshop at SWS - 05/06/13 05:53 AM
This Friday, May 10th, we're kicking off the "Lose the Drama, Find the Fun" Live Workshop. What, you ask, is the "Lose the Drama, Find the Fun" Live Workshop? It's a ten-week program, created to help you (re?)-discover the joy you always believed was possible in your real estate career. To help you build the real estate business of your dreams where clients are loyal (and plentiful), transactions close easily (and frequently) and you are able to sleep peacefully at night because your business (and your life) are in balance and in control. In other words... low on drama and high on fun!
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all blogs: Getting Busy? Seize the Opportunity to Care for Your Clients! - 04/12/13 05:21 AM
This blog was actually written back in 2009 (I think) as some of our markets were showing some hints of recovering... but from what I'm hearing out there now, it's even MORE applicable today! Getting Busy? Seize the Opportunity to Care for Your Clients in 2013! A lot of agents I’m talking to are seeing a glimmer of hope – that is – they’re busy! The phone is ringing! The email’s jangling! Listing contracts are being signed and buyers are getting approved! Woo hoo! I always say that when you’re busy and feeling like hot stuff, go look for more. You
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all blogs: "Why Hasn't My Listing Sold?" Free Teleseminar at SWS - 01/16/13 05:52 AM
So, have you ever had a listing that didn't sell? Or, even if it did sell, took WAY longer than you thought it would and the eventual selling price wasn't anywhere close to being satisfactory to your seller, thus making the experience a painful one for all? Ugh, right? If you haven't yet enjoyed your first tough-to-sell listing, you probably will; it happens to all of us and yes, can be a painful experience. So, when a listing isn't selling, what is the solution? Price, right? Reduce the Price and watch your troubles go away? Eh, not so fast. A price
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all blogs: Giving... and Getting... with SOUL - The Last SWS Teleseminar of 2012 - 12/12/12 05:19 AM
It's the time of year our thoughts turn to Giving... and not just presents under the Christmas tree! Whether it's because the deadline for making tax-deductible donations is looming or because the holiday season puts us in the mood to help others less fortunate than ourselves or even as a part of our New Year's Resolutions, many of us are looking for ways to Give right about now! As self-employed real estate professionals, we also can't help but wonder if we can somehow incorporate our charitable giving and volunteer activities into our business models to kill two birds with one stone, so
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all blogs: "Inside the Mind of the Buyer" Free SWS Teleseminar Show - 11/27/12 06:20 AM
Buyers... one of the cornerstones of a real estate practice... yet so often the cause of sleepless nights, gray hairs and general frustration for the agents who work with them. Have buyers really changed all that much since the economy took a dive back in 2007? ARE they more difficult, more demanding and less loyal as we keep hearing in real estate circles? Maybe they are... maybe they aren't, but it doesn't really matter. What does matter is that you are able to effectively work with your buyer clients - creating a refer-worthy experience for them without losing your mind in
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all blogs: PLAN to Make 2013 Your Best Year Yet! A Free SWS Teleseminar - 11/13/12 04:08 AM
According to the calendar, it's already November - where has the year gone? Rhetorical question of course, but seeing that 2013 is sneaking up on us; we have to ask... are you ready for it? No, we're not asking if you've started your holiday shopping or if you've made your reservations for New Years Eve, but rather if you've given any thought to how you might make 2013 your Best Year Ever? Because it can be, you know... the economy in most areas is recovering, buyers are buying and sellers are selling... and there's no reason in the world you can't
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all blogs: "It Really IS That Simple" - Favorit-est Tips! - 10/15/12 09:02 AM
Last Thursday, we did a show in the SWS Virtual Studio called "It Really IS That Simple - Low-Tech Ways To Build Your Business with SOUL." The gist of the show was that while gizmos and gadgets and programs and systems are fine and dandy and fun and interesting, success in a real estate business is much less complicated... and less expensive... than the companies who are marketing these gizmos, gadgets, programs and systems would like us to believe. Basically... the more people who KNOW you... and LIKE you... and TRUST you... the more successful you'll be. Simple as that. So,
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all blogs: "It Really IS That Simple" Teleseminar in the SWS Virtual Studio - 10/10/12 04:58 AM
Yesterday, I spoke at the Northern Virginia Association of Realtor's annual convention - the theme of which is: "Let's Get Personal - There's NO App for that!" It was so nice meeting so many of my Northern VA/MD/DC readers! Thanks for your support! Okay, so how is that relevant to our next SWS Teleseminar? Well, since most of you weren't able to to attend the NVAR convention and say hello in person, it seemed like the obvious thing to do to recycle the presentation I did there for the rest of the SWS crowd! While the material will be familiar to you if
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all blogs: RE Consulting: "Sounds Interesting, But No One Will Pay for THAT!" - 10/09/12 04:24 AM
To continue my series on "Real Estate Consulting: Sounds Interesting, But It Will Never Catch on..." today's subject is the concern that "No one will pay for services they can get for free elsewhere!" A common misunderstanding about real estate consulting, specifically surrounding the practice of charging non-contingent fees instead of contingent commissions, is that the consultant basically charges for services everyone else offers "free." Which raises the obvious concern of "why on earth would anyone be willing to DO that?" Why indeed? Why WOULD anyone pay one real estate professional a fee for a service they can get free on every other
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all blogs: Real Estate Consulting in the Real World - the Favorit-est Ideas! - 09/28/12 08:05 AM
We did a teleseminar show in the SWS Virtual Studio yesterday called "Real Estate Consulting in the Real World - The First Steps" where we talked about what a new real estate consultant might do to get his or her consulting practice off the ground. One of those "first steps" was to come up with a list of two or three specific alternative services you could offer (by "alternative" we mean a service that is real estate -related but not the traditional buyer or seller representation paid by a contingent commission); services you're really jazzed about - that you feel you
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all blogs: "RE Consulting-Sounds Interesting But It Will Never Work in My Market" - 09/26/12 06:04 AM
A few weeks ago I started a series of blogs on real estate consulting and the most common objections I hear as the newly annointed Commander and Chief of the Accredited Consultant in Real Estate (ACRE) program. The first objection I addressed was: "... my broker will never go for it" - you can read that here. The next objection I hear a lot is: "...it will never work in my market!" The rationale behind this objection seems to be that if you work in a market with a low price point (e.g. the average price of homes is less than $100,000),
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all blogs: "RE Consulting- Sounds Interesting But My Broker Will Never Go For It" - 09/18/12 06:01 AM
Last week I posted a blog promising a series of subsequent blogs on the subject of "Real Estate Consulting, Sounds Interesting But It Will Never Catch On..." In that blog, I listed 7 common objections agents have toward the concept of consulting - here they are: …my broker will never go for it. …it will never work in my market. …why would someone pay me to do what everyone else does for free? …why would I want to make less money? …charging upfront fees is illegal in my state. …prices are too low in my market to make charging fees viable.
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all blogs: RE Consulting: "Sounds Interesting, But It Will Never Catch On..." - 09/11/12 05:01 AM
Real Estate Consulting (as defined by ACRE, the Accredited Consultant in Real Estate Designation):1.To take a consultative approach (as opposed to a sales approach) when working with clients; and2.To offer choices in the services provided and how those services can be paid for. As the recently-anointed Commander in Chief of the ACRE program, it falls upon me to spread the word about the real estate consulting movement, at least as far as ACRE is concerned, and to help people understand what consulting is… what it isn’t… and why it’s cool ;-] Which, of course, I believe it to be. Cool, that
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