ma: Sitting with a friend--Social Media Primer - 10/20/10 10:27 AM
My friend Gerry Hailer, the greatest appraiser in Eastern Massachusetts, and I had lunch together last Friday.  He has been dragging his feet for years on social media, blogging and promotion of his incredible skills in any way.  What is really interesting about this is that he spent a career as an advertising writer before deciding he wanted a more sane life with fewer brown liquids to drink.  (That is another story for another day).  I have been talking to him about how to communicate out here on the web for a long time.  He wrote me this note yesterday and … (7 comments)

ma: The power of vision and will - 10/20/10 01:11 AM
So it’s a tough market, right?  You and your Realtor® friends get together and commiserate.  You feel good in this group knowing it is bad for everyone.  In this thinking of no one is doing anything, so it is ok for me to not be doing anything.  WRONG!  With this type of thinking, just take off your pin, turn in your jacket and get another job.  You are right, you can’t do anything and this will create a do nothing action plan and that will create another dark hole in the industry.
The fact is houses are being sold.  The new … (9 comments)

ma: The hardship letter - 10/19/10 01:04 AM
Whether you are looking for a modification, or a short sale the bank is going to require a letter from you explaining in detail the hardship you have encountered which is causing you to be unable to pay your mortgage in a timely fashion.  These letters are business letters and not the time to complain about any political party or bank procedure.  Explain why you can not meet the commitment you agreed to when you first signed for your house.  Loss of job, death or divorce, long term illness are all legitimate reasons that the bank will listen to. Sharing a … (6 comments)

ma: All those business cards Q&A - 10/14/10 01:12 AM
I have wondered throughout my career what to do with all the cards I collect in a week. Best practices tell us that we should load them into our database and begin to stay in touch with the people. The ability to grow your sphere of influence day in and day out is dependent on this process. Well, I decided this week to make a video that let’s people remember who I was and to also let them know what I do. I have worked in and on video for the web since 2001. Since most people will first click on … (12 comments)

ma: Small hurdles; Spam alerts - 10/12/10 01:33 AM
With a smile more like a smirk than anything like joy I opened up my blog today to see I have close to a million hits.  You would think I the smile would be broad, but you would be wrong.  More than two thirds of the hits are from Spam sites.  Yeah, I got that going for me.  The smirk is because I know I am doing something right, spammers know where I am.  So now the question is, how do I better reach the people I work with in my real estate career?
Mario Jannatpour, author of the Spoken Books … (6 comments)

ma: Playing up - 10/09/10 02:11 AM
As a young athlete it was always suggested to me to play with people who are better than you are, and you will get better.  I found that to be good advice then and good advice now in business.  Sadly I find the opposite to be true as well.  If you are in an office that is not doing much in sales, is not doing much in showings, is not doing anything in marketing, RUN!  A bad office, a bad agent who bends your ear everyday will bring you down to their level.  Not that you will be as bad as … (6 comments)

ma: Driving the Bus - 10/08/10 12:50 AM

We are challenged every single day aren’t we?  Whether it is the media screaming that the economy is horrible, the single family housing sales are down from last year, the mythical shadow inventory, or in your office where you hear moaning and groaning we are challenged.  Your personal ability to stay above or away from these kinds of negative influences will mean the difference between a good day and a bad one.  Many of us have lived through bad offices where there was no support, no training and filled with people who closely guarded any information for fear you might … (2 comments)

ma: Relieved, not surprised - 10/04/10 01:14 AM
Ally Bank, Bank of America, Chase and a number of other banks have suspended foreclosures in 26 states due to the fact that it has become common knowledge that they have not followed any of their own normal protocals for review of final documents.  It was reported that a Bank of America official in New Englands signed off on 8000 foreclosures without reading them.  A representative for Ally in New York signed off on 10,000 without reading them.  The economic hardships of the last several years are affecting everyone, even those who still have their jobs.
“Maybe this is like shock … (10 comments)

ma: Persistence Pays - 10/03/10 04:05 AM
I am not the only, nor am I the first person who has been lied to and cheated in real estate, this I know.  I had been wooed over a period of 2 years before joining my first agency and felt comfortable with what I was being asked to do when I joined their ranks.  I knew I could go into an agency and update their websites, provide compelling content that would produce and drive leads to the agents and upgrade their “old school” mentality.  This was a lot to chew, but I was confident on my ultimate results based on … (9 comments)

ma: Looking for discount agent. - 10/01/10 01:38 AM
Yesterday I got a call from a woman who asked, “I got your name from someone, somewhere I heard about your office, I am looking for a discount broker because I want to sell my house.”  I first repeated what she said so I could hear a “yes” from her right away.  So you are looking to sell your property and want to work with an agent who will discount their services?  She said, “yes.”  I quickly explained to her that I was no longer living in her area, and no longer working for that agency, but could I suggest someone … (8 comments)

ma: Focus is good but, - 09/30/10 01:31 AM
Don’t get me wrong focus is good, but the question is, focus on what?  If you are focused on the wrong things you will not get anything of substance completed. All of the real estate pundits have varying punch lists of activities to be productive.  We know we have to spend time every day on prospecting, but what is the percentage?  We know we need to be marketing every day, but what and how?  We have to be making presentations, by following our leads and converting them to the presentation step. Those are all income producing activities.
How about when you … (5 comments)

ma: By the numbers - 09/28/10 01:18 AM
In business there is real value in statistics and systems.  They allow you to assess how you are doing along that set of criteria you establish.  But if you think following a single system and looking at statistics in one particular way will always show you the right way, you are wrong.  Real Estate is a fluid business that is constantly altered by the people who are transacting business together.  While you can make a case for statistics in determining what the outcome will be, you can’t bank on that.  I have heard all kinds of statistics and tales that are … (4 comments)

ma: Compare-Contrast - 09/27/10 12:19 AM
Comparing is a big part of real estate. We compare and contrast all the time. One house has more yard; another a new kitchen, one lender allows an explanation for an issue; another will not…and so goes the day. Yesterday I had the joy of sitting and talking to two highly successful women and picking their brains. The overarching conversations were about Brand Identity and Market in real estate. We talked “old school” and new techniques to accomplish the same results for less time, or money.
Studying land values and real estate in Texas which has a rich history of land … (2 comments)

ma: Putting yourself on the Injured Reserve list. - 09/24/10 04:49 AM
Have you written off this year and waiting for the economy to be working easier for you?  Have you started just phoning in rather than showing up and practicing?  Your results are a direct result of your actions.  What actions are you taking on a daily basis to get any better.  Are you even doing the work that is in front of you and has to be done, or are you putting that off too. That is what I am talking about being on injured reserve.  You are taking yourself out of the game and not even trying.  That is a … (6 comments)

ma: Review: Must See Inside, Mario Jannatpour 2 - 09/22/10 01:15 AM
Maria Jannatpour’s audio book Must See Inside is a great listen.  In late August I reviewed the first of the three cd set describing The Shark Principle of Mario’s.  What I like best about this series is that Mario is a guy who has been there and is doing it.  More importantly he is a professional who wants to continue to do it and he is not interested in selling you a consulting package, or have you buy into some series of future coaching materials.  He wants you to benefit from his years of successful sales training in real estate and … (3 comments)

ma: Getting it right - 09/21/10 01:09 AM
Quite often I look to sports for a metaphor for my activities.  Now that football season is upon us and I watched both my favorite teams go down in defeat yesterday,  I have lots of content to draw from this morning.  Yes, the economy is difficult right now and even more so getting someone through the loan process.  The banking industry  in it’s kneejerk reaction to giving away loans to anyone who asked and getting burned, is now making it so difficult to get an approval that they are standing in the way of progress, again.  So what is a Realtor® … (6 comments)

ma: Ted Turner's take on loosing. - 09/20/10 02:34 AM
A very good friend of mine and noted MA appraiser, Gerry Hailer, shared this with me this morning and I think it is worth a post here because what Ted Turner has said about failure is so important to each and everyone involved in Real Estate every day.
I am currently re-reading Jim Mullen's The Simple Art of Greatness.  I just read something reminicent of your blog from last week that I thought I'd share: "Unfortunately, there is another, less lovely quality that seems to be required of every true entrepreneur:  the ability to endure adversity.  While I cannot speak for entrepreneurs … (5 comments)

ma: A day in Milton, MA 02186 - 09/18/10 05:42 AM
Today I moved my Active Rain blog from Dallas TX over to Milton MA where I live.  Turns out that no one in Milton blogs so I went to the head of the line on that platform in that area.  While these rankings measure only blogging and not real estate success you can’t get too excited about being featured.  My goal here in Milton is the exact same goal I established in Dallas when I landed there on Jan 6, 2010.  I will share with my readers timely and pertinent information about real estate and the real estate industry. Using stories … (6 comments)

ma: Let the Games begin. - 09/17/10 02:56 AM
I arrived back in my home town last night after 8 months building a web presence for a company in Dallas Texas.  I learned so much from the good people of Texas, both the good and the bad.  I learned that real estate is hard work these days, when it wasn’t always this hard.  I learned what worked before, does not come close to working now.  I learned that circling yourself with talented, smart, hard working real estate people is the way to grow.  I also learned it’s opposite, having people who aren’t working hard and aren’t staying up to date … (5 comments)

ma: Miles and Miles - 09/16/10 02:01 AM
How do you choose the right agency for yourself?  What is the process that most people go through to find their second, third or ultimate office from which to work?  How do you approach a new market, or as a new agent into an area, how do you choose that area?  Does it make sense just to look at the statistics?  Where do most of the houses sell?  Where do the houses with the largest price sell?  Where do the top producers work?  On the other side is being practical about your choice of where to farm.  Everyone says to farm … (3 comments)

 
Larry Lawfer, "I listen for a living." It's all about you. (YourStories Realty Group)

Larry Lawfer

"I listen for a living." It's all about you.

Newton, MA

More about me…

YourStories Realty Group

Address: 837 Beacon Street, Newton, MA, 02459

Mobile: (617) 774-8292

Office: (617) 964-3300

What would you do today, if you knew you could not fail? What actions would you take, what would you share and how would you treat the people around you. Storyteller Marketing in Real Estate by Larry Lawfer will explore the real estate industry in MA and beyond through the eyes of the community it's people and stories.


Listings

Links

Archives

RSS 2.0 Feed for this blog