"3 Things That Sell A Home Script"

Harris Real Estate University  recently received this great question from a Realtor whom had requested a Free Coaching Call….

"Dear Tim and Julie,

My challenge is the dramatic swings in my income…one month I will do great…and for the next couple months I will be in survival mode. How can I get my business to the point where I can have cash flow…vs cash spurts?

Connie, Realtor from Arizona."

Tim and Julie’s response:

Hi Connie,

Your question is symbolic of a major problem that 99.9% of all real estate agents face. So, if it makes you feel any better…you are not alone!

The problem is that agents think too much like sales people and not enough like business people.

Let me explain…

Agents will go from intense periods of looking for business…followed by intense periods of servicing the business they found.  The challenge is to learn to do both simultaneously.

For example, if you were to decide to list 2-3 houses..what actions would you take? Listing those homes would be your mission in life…nothing would stand in the way of you accomplishing that goal.  You would be a focused, driven house listing machine.  You would be in 'looking for business mode'.

In order to accomplish that goal you have to become more intense, more focused…..you become what we call at Harris Real Estate University …a Real Estate Navy Seal. You are intensely focused on:

1.  Asking for business. When you are in the "Real Estate Navy Seal" mode you have NO fear. Everyone is a prospect! Your mind is focused like a lazer beam.

   

2. Lead generating, prospecting. You don't stop until you have accomplished your goal. Its not about how many contacts or how long it takes...your focus is only on results!
3. Real Estate Tip: Everyone you know is interested in a loan mod. Who doesn't want to save money on their house payment? Want to make money now helping others...start your own loan mod business. Do this in addition to your real estate business. Start now by modd'ing your own loan..save yourself $100s per month...$1000s per year. Next, make money doing mods for everyone you know! Watch the FREE Agent Loan Mod Secrets video now!
4. Going on appointments. Almost magically when you are in Real Estate Navy seal mode you are flooded with appointments!
5. Doing lead follow up. (have you ever noticed the amount of time you take to call a lead back is directly related to the size of your checking account and number of pending deals?) When you are in Real Estate Navy Seal mode you call all leads back within minutes if not seconds!
6. Taking action..you are going on appointments, follow up on every lead...nothing (and I mean NOTHING is getting by you) You are doing the things you must do to accomplish your goal.
7. Being truly of service. Start every day with this affirmation, "Today I will be of service to 'x' number of buyers and 'x' number of sellers. My mind is intensely focused on helping others. I know when I have the mindset of service everything else will follow."
8. Give the people what they want. It absolutely amazes me that there are still sooo many agents who have no clue how to successfully list and sell short sales. In virtually every real estate market the fastest way to build any real estate business is learning how to easily list and sell short sales. YOUR area sellers are in desperate need of agents who have these skills. Watch the FREE Agent Short Sale Secrets video and download the FREE Agent Short Sale Secrets book NOW.

As a Real Estate Navy Seal you are more intense, more focused, more driven. If someone from a mile away mentions selling a home….your heightened Seal ears pick up on the words and you are asking for the business…

The Real Estate Navy Seal is proactive…taking action now. Where the normal mode most agents are in is being reactive. They only take action as a result of something happening..or trying to avoid something bad happening.  This is the typical 'fire putting out mode' that many reactive agents fall into.

Ask yourself this question: Are you being PROACTIVE and taking the actions necessary to make things happen... or are you being REACTIVE and only doing things as a they happen?

So, because you were in Real Estate Navy Seal Mode..you indeed accomplished your goal of listing 3 homes. You did it…goal accomplished!

Now what happens?

You go from being from being a  Real Estate Navy Seal Mode (RENS) into…..a……

Not so intense, slower moving, not all that motivated…Real Estate Sloth (RES). As a sloth you move slower, talk slower, think slower….you are no longer in Proactive take ACTION NOW MODE….you are now in reaction mode.

Your focus and energies are no longer on generating the business. That powerful, focused intense agent that you had to be has been replaced by its alter ego…the the Real Estate Sloth.

You are now focused on doing things like:
1) Making home brochures.
2) Realtor tours and maybe open houses.
3) Putting the homes on 6 bazillion web sites.
4) Servicing your sellers.
5) Speaking with potential buyers
6) Working on your websites.
7) Going to endless office meetings….

Obviously, this list could go on and on.

The real question is..how much time are you spending being the Real Estate Navy Seal vs the Real Estate Sloth?

You can spot a Real Estate Sloth from a mile away. They walk slow, they talk slow, they think....slow. The Real Estate Sloth often times will have a less than professional appearance. The sloth is the agent who spends their day with no schedule, no goals, no accountability....

Real Estate Tip: Have you ever wanted to write your own book? What is more respected than an expert, published author? Imagine the power, the confidence that would come when you present to your real estate clients a copy of your very own book? But, you are busy and writing a book takes a ton of time...right? Well, not now. Become the co-author of our book, "Should I Short Sale My Home". Learn now how you will become our co-author. Watch the FREE Video now. (P.S. you will literally have books with YOUR name and YOUR picture on the cover....on your next listing presentation how will the sellers react when you show them an actual copy of YOUR book?)

Here is a great question for you.....

How much time did you honestly spend in the last 30 days being in Real Estate Navy Seal Mode vs being just another Real Estate Sloth?

Chances are, if your income is constantly going up and down…or maybe you aren’t earning what you need/ want to earn…its because you have yet to understand that being a RENS is actually LESS work than being a RES…..

Why? The Real Estate Navy Seal has no fear.They are confident. They know that their actions will assure their success.

They aren't worried about their next paycheck they are focused on bigger picture goals. At the end of the day the Seal can relax and enjoy their non-working time.

The seal actually works LESS hours...fewer days..Often times Seals don't even work in the evenings or weekends.

You see, the Real Estate Navy Seal works less because when they are proactively working..they are actually getting things done. Think of it this way..if you successfully listed 2 homes today and had a closing...how do you feel at the end of the day? Are you feeling like a Rock Star or are you stressed, worried and feeling burnt out?

Every day at HREU we have literally thousands of Realtors participating in a coaching program. I am not telling you that to brag. HREU is now the nations largest online real estate univerisity. Know that what you are experiencing is common. We have helped literally 1,000s of Realtors create a consistent, reliable and secure real estate business.

Believe it or not…there is a proven path for you to follow so you too will learn how to go from being the Sloth to being a Seal. Once you learn how to become a Real Estate Navy Seal you can stay in that mode...forever.

How much better will your life be when the ups and downs in your income are no more?

Your success in this business doesn't have to depend on...the real estate market...your broker....other agents....etc. Your success, your outcome is directly related to you actions..

Ok, now what...how do you take action ?

The first step in creating consistent income is learning how to work consistently.

Real Estate Tip: Here is a well known secret..Consistent Effort and Actions = Consistent Results. What actions your take TODAY will pay you in 90-120 days. Listed a home today, priced it to sell? Perfect, you will earn money in 90-120 days. What more tomorrow..take more actions NOW.

The Navy Seal is in GO mode at all times. He is ready for action NOW. Even more so…he makes things happen. He IS the action. Most importantly, the Real Estate Navy Seal has learned how to be intense..focused…even when he doesn’t feel like it.

Here is a secret...(this one changed my life when I learned it..and took action)

"One of the greatest secrets to success is doing what you don't want to do when you don't want to do it....at a very high level. Your feelings will follow your actions"

In other words, do you only get results when you feel like it. Do you only become proactive and take action when you feel motivated, when you feel 'happy', when you feel excited...etc…(or on the negative side do you only take action when you feel scared because you are broke etc)?

Real Estate Tip: Its NOT too late to become an REO Listing Agent. Over the next 6-12 months the largest wave of foreclosures will be landing. Make no mistake...the banks ARE hiring agents now to list their REOs. Watch the FREE Agent REO Secrets video and grab your FREE Agent REO Secrets book NOW.

Think about that question. If you are honest with yourself you will probably discover that you only DO get results when you feel a certain way. How much better would your business be, your life be if your results were no longer tied to your 'feelings'. Remember, do what you don't want to do when you don't want to do it at a very high level. Your feelings will always follow your actions"

Look around your market place…you know who the Real Estate Navy Seals are.

They are the agents who produce month in and month out. These are the agents who are growing their businesses in this market…helping more people…making more money than ever before. In case you haven’t discovered our FREE Realtor Superstar Interview site…check it out. Free Weekly Interviews with the nation's real estate movers and shakers.

On the other hand, the Real Estate Sloth is rarely if ever intense....maybe 10% of the time are they truly taking action. The rest of the time…they are just hanging out doing stuff that..... ‘fills your day…but, empties your wallet.’

Are you being consistently inconsistent? Be honest how much time do you REALLY spending at these activities:

Take this simple test:

1) How much time are you devoting to lead generating? Old school over the phone prospecting to 21st Century methods…they are all valid and great ways to generate business. How much time (honestly) did you spend this week…heck, all month…on proactively going AFTER business?

(If you don’t know the answer to this question its a sure sign you are currently in Sloth Mode.)

2) What is your lead follow up plan? I can tell you from our personal real estate selling experience that lack of effective lead follow up is costing you at least 20 sales per year. (easily). In THIS housing market you have to call every lead back within no more than 5 minutes. And your new lead follow up rule should be:

“I will follow up with this lead until one of two things happens…they list or buy with someone else or they file a restraining order against me.”

Hopefully you know that I was joking about the restraining order. But, its my intention that you understand the intensity that is absolutely required in this market for lead follow up.

(Real Estate Navy Seals have pre-qual forms, scripts, systems…they are ready for action!)

3) Are you pre-qualifying 100% of your leads…100% of the time? Do you use anything resembling a script when you pre-qual? Do you ask them questions that are designed to….you know…generate business? How much more time would you have, how much more…dare I say….money would you have IF you were to actually learn how to truly prequalify every buyer and seller lead you speak with?

4) Presenting. At HREU we coach our students to have an organized listing AND buyer presentation. But, no presentation is worth anything unless YOU are out there..in front of potential buyers and sellers…presenting. Are your listing (and buyer) presentations just a mish-mash of things you have picked up along the way? A little of this..a little of that? Maybe your presentation has ‘worked’ for you 50% of the time. In other words, the buyer and seller prospects you were presenting to didn’t run and hide from you as a result of your ad-hoc presentation. Think about this, what happened to the other 50%? How much more consistent would your income be if you not only had a very professional sales presentation…and you were using it on a regular basis?

5) Closing. How much time are you spending….asking for the sale?

Julie and I occasionally watch HGTV real estate shows…Seems like most of the shows feature Realtors showing endless homes to their weary buyers.

It’s interesting to watch as the agents seem to always complain about how many houses they have to show….and at the same time the buyers complain about how many houses they are being dragged to see.

I can tell you from personal experience that when we had our real estate team, we sold many homes to many buyers who came to us having grown discontented with their previous agents.

In the course of pre-qualifying them we would learn that the previous agent had been working with them for months (and months). I can clearly remember many of these wayward buyers telling us that they had seen a home with their previous agent that they had indeed liked…but, didn’t buy it. (and it had subsequently sold). When we would ask why they didn’t buy it they would always tell us the same thing..

”The agent we were working with didn’t ask us to…or we didn’t know that it was out job to tell the agent….we wanted to buy…”

In other words, their previous agent never asked for the sale. Generally speaking if a buyer is in your car, and they have been fully prequalified..ready to buy….they are indeed ready…to buy! So, close them. THAT’S YOUR JOB.

Hopefully at this point you have woken up to the fact that you do have a choice. You can choose to take the action required to even out the ups and downs in your income. Your real estate business (and the quality of your life) has everything to do with the actions your take consistently.

Bottom line, consistent organized actions will create consistent income. If you are ready to make the leap to become a Real Estate Navy Seal start by requesting a FREE Coaching Call.

How-To Use Facebook For Realtors….what NOT to do!

15 Facebook Deadly SINS.

Facebook has become a crucial aspect of any agents online marketing plan. Facebook is proving to be a powerful, effective (and mostly FREE) way to get the word out about your real estate business.

Its important that you know the public (and secret) rules for using Facebook.

Its crucial that you understand that you DON’T own your content that you post to FB. They do. You could spend hours and hours posting, updating content to your FB account just to have your account ’suspended’ for breaking one of these ‘rules’.

1) Don’t add too many friends. FB will send you a warning if you are seen as adding too many friends…but, once you get that warning it may be too late. There is no published ‘official’ info on how many friends you can add per day…so, be careful. You can have only 5000 friends max.

2) Not completing your profile. You wont have your account shut down for an incomplete profile but, if will make you look unprofessional. Remember, your real estate clients ARE searching for you on Facebook. Make it so when they land on your FB page your presentation is professional.

Read the other 13 Facebook Deadly Sins HERE.

It's going on more and more. Homeowners who have little difficulty making their monthly payments are "strategically" opting to walk away from negative equity...  Do you blame them? Would you do the same? (Have you?)

Click Here To Read The Blog Post and Join The Conversation Going On Over At TimandJulieHarris.Com

Why are we posting a picture of this great looking doggy? Explanation here...

You want to read this if you are serious about becoming a REO Listing Agent….

 

Today at 3PM, ET we're holding another one of our intense live 90 minute teleconferences where you get direct access to all the secrets you must have to get started in the make-money-now business of bank owned homes, REOs.

On the last call we announced that we were closing the doors for the Agent REO Secrets class……for at least 30 days…

….and that is exactly what we have done.

Why? Here is what happened…we received many requests from agents who missed that REO Secrets Teleconference….

They were all asking (make that demanding) that we provided another call. So, thats what we are going to do….. THURSDAY JUNE 25th We're setting aside 500 spots for this weeks Agent REO Secrets teleconference (or webinar). I suspect that (like the call before) all of these spots will be taken…. In other words, we have limited space and its first come…first
served. (So Call in or log-in at least 10 mins early)

Here is the information for the call..

THURSDAY June 25th, 2009 you are invited to attend Agent REO
Secrets Teleseminar.

Go here now for all the call in info:

Important Link—> http://instantTeleseminar.com/?eventid=7996557

This is going to be another fantastic call. You will get direct take-action-now access to real agents who are making real money
listing and selling REOs…. We are interviewing 2 fellow Realtors who have become REO listing

machines…

1)  An agent from LA who is listing REOs like a mad man…
he is now taking 4-6 new listings directly from REOs per week.
He is making more money and its taking 50% less time and effort.

2) You won’t believe our next agent expert’s REO experience…he is
listing dozens of homes directly from ONE REO source this month.
That is not a typo…20+ listings. You will learn exactly how he is
doing it…we are holding nothing back!

Here is the best part about these 2 agents…neither had any REO
listings 6-7 months ago. They applied what they learned from Agent
REO Secrets and are now having their best years ever.

Here is that link again: http://instantTeleseminar.com/?eventid=7996557

Some Realtors get lucky.  They finish their pre-licensing courses, take the tests, pass, then happen upon a broker who really takes responsibility for the education and career success of their new recruit.

But how often does a new agent get the guidance he or she needs?

We know that many brokers don't have the time or desire to make sure their agent partners succeed, and we also know that many new agents don't even make it to the first anniversary of their licensure date...

So what's a new agent to do? Where's a new agent supposed to go to find the guidance they need to succeed in the Real Estate business?

There are some options.

Real Estate Training Option #1 - The Company

Many large companies such as RE/MAX and Keller Williams have well established training programs, and for any agent just starting out, gravitating to a shop with established support systems might be a good choice.

Real Estate Training Option #2 - In House Company Mentoring

Sure, this works...sometimes. When the top producer you're paired with isn't too busy, or is motivated enough to do enough to get a juicy slice of each of your first 5-10 sides :)

Real Estate Training Option #3 - Hire A One-On-One Real Estate Coach

This works for many, but is pretty expensive...anywhere from around $400-1,000 or more/month...For the self motivated, the 30-60 minute call every few weeks might work...

But what's the agent who doesn't have #1 or #2, and can't afford #3 supposed to do?

Hmm....

Maybe take an affordable course that's targeted to helping the agent excel at one aspect or niche focus within their overall practice?

Enter Real Estate Training Option #4... The Real Estate University!

University? Why not? Why not take your pick of a number of different "courses" of study available to Real Estate professionals like you?

Want to learn how to list REO's? Follow the course...

Want to list tons of short sales? Follow the course...

Need some scripts for dealing with fussy buyers? Follow The Course

Feeling like you might need to brush up on your tech skills? Follow the Course...

Every day, Harris Real Estate University students are turning around, turbo charging, and reaping solid financial returns out of their Real Estate businesses.

Are you?

Hello, Tim Harris here... You want to read this if you are serious about becoming a REO Listing Agent....and I know you are..

Afterall, everyone knows that REO listings are the listings to have in this market..As you may recall 4 weeks ago we held the *F-R-E-E* Agent REO Secrets teleconference.... As we expected, that call was completely full.

This is the intense live 90 minute teleconference (or webinar) where you get direct access to all the secrets you must have to get started in the make-money-now business of bank owned homes, REOs. On the last call we announced that we were closing the doors for the Agent REO Secrets class......for at least 30 days... ....and that is exactly what we have done. Here is what happened...we received many requests from agents who missed that REO Secrets Teleconference.... They were all asking (make that demanding) that we provided another call. So, thats what we are going to do.....THIS THURSDAY.

We are setting aside 500 spots for this weeks Agent REO Secrets teleconference (or webinar).

I suspect that (like the call before) all of these spots will be taken.... In other words, we have limited space and its first come...first served. (Call in or log-in at least 10 mins early) Here is the information for the call.. THIS THURSDAY June 25th, 2009 you are invited to attend Agent REO Secrets Teleseminar. Go here now for all the call in info: Important Link---> http://instantTeleseminar.com/?eventid=7996557

This is going to be another fantastic call. You will get direct take-action-now access to real agents who are making real money listing and selling REOs.... We are interviewing 2 fellow Realtors who have become REO listing machines... 1) An agent from LA who is listing REOs like a mad man... he is now taking 4-6 new listings directly from REOs per week. He is making more money and its taking 50% less time and effort. 2) You won't believe our next agent expert's REO experience...he is listing dozens of homes directly from ONE REO source this month. That is not a typo...20+ listings. You will learn exactly how he is doing it...we are holding nothing back! Your spot on this THURSDAY June 25th Agent REO Secrets teleconference has been reserved. Remember, this teleconference is no cost to you. Go to this link now for important call-in information: Click This Link---> http://instantTeleseminar.com/?eventid=7996557

Remember, we only have 500 spots available for this teleconference. Once those 'seats' are taken..they are gone. To guarantee your seat... here is what you need to do... You will want to call in (or log in using the webinar) at least 10 minutes early to be guaranteed your spot. When you attend the event this THURSDAY here are a few of the things you will learn:

1) How to contact the lenders...YES...we are giving out names and numbers of the largest REO companies.

2) We will tell you exactly how to 'present' to the REO companies so they will want to list their homes with you.

3) You will learn the 3 biggest mistakes you must avoid at all costs.

4) How to make money now from BPOs.

5) Here is a new topic...IF you have REO listings we will tell you the top 3 reasons you will lose those listings...YES, the banks are pulling listings...you must know these 3 crucial mistakes to avoid. On this 90 minute call you will learn our proven step-by-step process to becoming a REO listing agent. We aren't holding anything back on this call. Get ready to take pages of great notes. Here is the best part about these 2 agents...neither had any REO listings 6-7 months ago. They applied what they learned from Agent REO Secrets and are now having their best years ever.

Here is that link again: Last Chance-----> http://instantTeleseminar.com/?eventid=7996557

One more thing....I know this sounds crazy. Please don't share the info about this call with other agents. We expect the call to be completely full. Speak with you soon! Tim and Julie Harris P.S. This is not a 'fluff call'. We respect your time and will be giving you the information you must have to cash in on the REO listings explosion that is taking place now. P.P.S. This call is taking place at 12:00 pm PST, 1:00 pm MTN, 2:00pm CTR, 3 pm EST.

Want to refinance your mortgage? If you wanted to qualify for a Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac mortgage, you needed to have at least 20 percent equity in your home. But with home values dropping dramatically over the past 18 months, it’s getting tough to find homeowners who have any equity in their properties at all. In fact, one-third of all homeowners are underwater with their mortgages - meaning that they owe more than their homes are worth.

If you owe more than your home is worth, you can’t refinance your mortgage to take advantage of today’s close-to-jaw-dropping mortgage interest rates. Or, at least you couldn’t until the federal government took over Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and then asked mortgage lenders to refinance home loans that were up to 105 percent of the value of the home. In other words, if your house was worth $100,000, and you owed $105,000, you could still refinance your mortgage. The problem is so many homeowners today are much farther underwater with their mortgages that they can’t take advantage of interest rates that are near 50-year lows. Last week in Washington, D.C., Federal Housing Finance Administration director James Lockhart admitted that the Making Home Affordable refinancing program could be more aggressive. When asked how high the loan-to-value ratio could go, Lockhart said his team was looking at raising it to 125 percent. That means if your house is worth $100,000 but you owe $125,000, you could still refinance your mortgage to take advantage of lower interest rates - provided you qualified for the loan. That’s a very signficant difference and it will allow millions of homeowners to refinance their mortgages who currently cannot. The 125 percent loan-to-value ratio hasn’t been finalized, but Lockhart said several times that the government has to finalize the loan modification and loan refinancing programs so that mortgage lenders can develop the necessary software, train their people and get moving. “There are different alternatives and ideas being floated around. We want to concentrate people around one idea and go for the refinancing or loan modification. What we don’t want is for people to wait for the next best program. We did the streamline loan modification program and since there were rumors a better program was coming, we had no takers for that program.”

Well, who wouldn’t want to wait for a better program? Throughout the housing crisis, there’s been one better program after another. If you bought a house in 2008, you only got a $7,500 tax credit that you had to pay back in $500 annual installments over 15 years. If you buy this year, you get an $8,000 tax credit that you don’t have to pay back, ever, and you’re even permitted to use it for your closing costs and down payment above 3.5 percent with an FHA loan. Now, there’s talk about making it a $15,000 refundable tax credit. Lesson learned? It’s worth waiting for the next great program that will stabilize the housing market. Lockhart said another big problem is that a lot of homeowners aren’t answering their phones or reading their mail. That’s the benefit of (or problem with, depending on your perspective) Caller ID. He wants homeowners in trouble to realize that getting a 2 percent loan for five years, which will work its way up to 5.4 percent over an additional four years is an opportunity too good to pass up. Great idea. Now, if he could just get people to realize that interest rates on the loan modification program will never drop below 2 percent - or will they? Source: Moneywatch.bnet.com

Those seeking a home-price bottom should beware that price gauges can send false signals. On Tuesday, the National Association of Realtors releases May home-resale data. Economists expect an annualized sales pace of 4.8 million units, down 33% from May 2005, near the bubble's peak. Wednesday brings Commerce Department data on May new-home sales, and economists see an annualized pace of 360,000 units, down 72% from May 2005.

Both reports will include pricing information, helpful for seeing how much pain homeowners have suffered and how much more banks will lose on their mortgage-backed securities. Happy pricing news has been scarce. Median new-home prices fell 14.9% in April from a year ago, nearly matching the worst decline of the housing bust. Things have been slightly more promising for existing homes, where median single-family home prices also fell 14.9% in April, an improvement over January's record 16.7% decline. Alas, that small uptick was merely "noise," says NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun, who wants to see three more such months before declaring price stabilization. Even then, Mr. Yun warns, investors shouldn't assume that home prices are rising broadly.

The trouble, notes Ivy Zelman, chief executive of housing research firm Zelman & Associates, is the NAR's sample will increasingly include more-upscale homes as a glut of distressed, low-priced houses leaves the market. Lately, as much as 50% of home resales have been foreclosures, and most have been lower-priced homes. Now the foreclosure vortex is gripping higher-priced homes. A house that sold for $600,000 during the boom and $400,000 in foreclosure will be recorded by the NAR as a $400,000 sale, lifting the national median but suggesting no real improvement in housing.

"It will be very difficult for investors watching the median existing-home price to realize it could be masking deflation at higher parts of the housing food chain," says Ms. Zelman. The Standard & Poor's Case-Shiller price indexes, updates of which are due next week, have their own issues, but track repeat sales of the same house and might better reflect the true losses of banks, mortgage companies and homeowners.