relationships: Being A Dad and A Realtor - How Do WE Do It? - 06/21/09 02:00 PM
I am reposting this (originally on 4/4/09) on Father’s Day as a tribute to all of the fathers who are fathers indeed – doing the job of not just helping to create a life, but actively shaping, providing for, teaching, encouraging, disciplining, and nurturing that life . Happy Father’s Day!
 
I have to confess, this was inspired by Jennifer Allen's upcoming series on Realtor Moms.
Being that the next major event after Easter is Mother's Day, it reminded me of a gripe that my pastor has been echoing for the last 20 years: On Mother's Day, you can't … (1 comments)

relationships: Great Advice: Reflections On Life... - 06/09/09 03:01 PM
This was something that my mother sent me via e-mail. I found it both encouraging, enlightening, and entertaining.
This is something we should all read at least once a week Written By Regina Brett, 90 years old, of The Plain Dealer, Cleveland , Ohio  
"To celebrate growing older, I once wrote the 45 lessons life taught me... It is the most-requested column I've ever written.   My odometer rolled over to 90 in August, so here is the column once more:  
1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.   2. When in doubt, just take … (9 comments)

relationships: Celebrating the Small Steps, Part 6.... - 05/20/09 05:37 AM
 Every time I write this saga, I am reminded that indeed that it is not the end result that is the most important, but the many little things that I have done to get there.
Thanks to an excellent post by a fellow Rainer, Tim White, I sent a mailer to several expireds and fsbo's in my area. I packed the mailer with information that both parties could use, and a keychain to entice the prospects to open the letter. I mailed them out on Saturday.
Tuesday afternoon, as I was checking my voicemail, I had received a call on Monday … (5 comments)

relationships: Are You Worthy of Respect??? - 05/14/09 10:47 AM
It seems as if there is a need for a few lessons to be taught here in the Rain. 
After reading The Lovely Wife's latest post, I had to go back to Lenn Harley's post on the need to qualify buyers -and there, to my amazement, I found some of the rudest, most obnoxious comments I have ever had the unpleasure of reading.
Then, of course, Lenn writes a scathing rebuke of the most onerous offender in How To Get Your Comment Deleted on Lenn's Blog. Hijack My Blog. Very classy and well deserved, and done in a very respectful manner, I might … (5 comments)

relationships: Celebrating the Small Steps, Part 5.... - 04/27/09 04:50 AM
I haven't written one of these for a while - only because I have been rather busy pursuing other avenues of generating business for myself.
However, I have to say that the steps that I've already taken have led to some very positive outcomes - well after the fact.
Back in October, I ran into one of the teachers at my neice and nephew's school at a tag sale. Her sister was with her that day. After we chatted about the available merchandise, I glibly asked if either one of them was looking to buy a house, and the sister mentioned that … (3 comments)

relationships: Top Ten Reasons Why I Love Being A "Part Time" Agent - 04/24/09 06:51 PM
 Although I don't use the term "part-time" to describe myself as a realtor, there certainly are perks to doing this and another job at the same time. Of course, that all depends on what type of job you have besides real estate. A colleague of mine at the school I teach at has a wife who is a realtor - who also does bookkeeping for the local grocery store. Without that bookkeeping job (which she does part-time), things would have been really tight for them. That's not to say that things aren't tight for me as well, but I have certain advantages … (8 comments)

relationships: Being a DAD and A Realtor - How Do WE Do It? - 04/04/09 04:47 AM
I have to confess, this was inspired by Jennifer Allen's upcoming series on Realtor Moms.
Being that the next major event after Easter is Mother's Day, it reminded me of a gripe that my pastor has been echoing for the last 20 years: On Mother's Day, you can't find a place that isn't jam packed to have dinner. On Father's Day - there are many places to choose from.
I know, I know - there are fathers who are not there, who give all of us a bum rap.
What about those of us, the millions of us who are doing … (6 comments)

relationships: What Do You Do To Keep And Draw People Into Your Circle? Show Them This! - 03/24/09 05:56 AM
What Do You Do To Keep And Draw People Into Your Circle? Show Them This!

I am a teacher in an urban high school, as well as a realtor, and I really don't believe that I didn't think of this before.
I was reading and commenting on a recent post by Matt Stigliano about Growth Leader's response to a suggestion he made on his blog. I do believe that their response made Matt's day.
How many opportunities do we waste or fail to grab because of overlooking this one simple rule?
I do believe that Dale Carnegie, in his book How … (4 comments)

relationships: Making Your Blogs Count... - 03/18/09 04:51 AM
I recently read Jon Zolsky's blog How To Decipher AR Statistics and it got me wondering: how did Missy write all of those blogs?
As Jon pointed out, just sitting down and writing is not enough to attract subscribers and get comments made to your posts. There has to be substance of quality in your blogs in order for people to want to comment on it, and there definitely has to be enough information in them for people to want to subscribe to your blog.
Which again had me wondering: how did Missy write all of those blogs?
I took a stop … (5 comments)

relationships: Celebrating the Small Steps, Part 4.... - 03/17/09 04:25 AM
Well, it seems that I had another excellent weekend.
I took the advice of some seasoned realtors who visited my blog post The Luckiest Agents in the World, and took my wife out on a date Friday for some alone time, without the kids. She even let me visit the computer center in the hotel while she was doing her hair! So, I was able to follow up on some prospects and enjoy the rest of my weekend.
Which, of course, ended on Sunday, as I had an open house scheduled in the afternoon. It wasn't my first open house, but … (2 comments)

relationships: Striking the Balance...... - 03/11/09 02:15 AM
I recently received a request from another agent who finds themselves in the same boat as I am in -working a day job while being a Realtor.
I have posted some of my thoughts on how that situation is perceived by some as being a difficult thing to do, and I have responded to the many comments both congratulating me on my efforts and those that slammed me for not being totally available for my clients (which, of course, is untrue).
I will say that the type of job that I have is one that is conducive to being a real … (11 comments)

relationships: Discover the True Power of ActiveRain - 03/10/09 09:39 AM
I had written a post some weeks ago, Outside of the Box..., in which I expressed my frustration with finding many of my colleagues' only use of AR for promoting their listings.
It's time for me to take this to another level.
First and foremost, ActiveRain is a real estate networking site. So, what does one do on a networking site? Network! There are boundless opportunities for all of us to do just that. Because AR is open to anyone who has any type of connection to the real estate business, there really is no limit to who you can connect … (51 comments)

relationships: No Such Thing As A "Part Time" Agent... - 03/09/09 02:58 PM
I know I'm going to get into some trouble for this, but here it is:
I had written Getting Rid of "Full Time/Part Time" Labels.... back in January as a reflective piece on how I was not going to allow the label of part time to hinder my success as a real estate agent.
Today, I went into my local realtor board's office to make payment on my dues and got a whole new perspective on the subject.
I was, of course, talking up AR with Anne, the member services person and had mentioned my post on the topic of part-timers, as I … (11 comments)

relationships: Words to Ponder - 03/07/09 05:47 PM
"Do good today, better tomorrow, seek to excel - in all that you do, with everyone you meet, make a positive difference in the lives of all you know."
These are the keys to a life of content and satisfaction. Don't you agree?
We can only achieve true happiness when we realize that success is not defined by material things that money can buy, but by the connections that we make with the people around us. Having someone who I don't remember remember me in a positive way is so much more satisfying than having a house worth a million dollars.
… (2 comments)

relationships: Celebrating the Small Steps, Part 3 - 03/07/09 05:08 PM
It seems that Saturdays are just my day to be blessed when it comes to prospecting.
I woke up Saturday morning at 11 and made two cold calls. That's it? Well, I spent so much time on the second one that it almost made making any more pointless. Nice lady, who still wants to sell her house and is considering also leasing it out as a rent-to-own. She is also an investor who owns properties in Florida, so I not only have a potential listing, but also a potential buyer.
Fast forward an hour after that, when I go to my office. … (1 comments)

relationships: Waiting for ..... - 03/07/09 04:45 PM
My wife and children to come home. I haven't gotten any sleep in three nights. She had to go down south for a funeral. I hope she hurries back. I miss my little man and daughter. And yes, I miss my wife.
Buyers on the fence to get off. If they don't seize the opportunity now, then what will they do when things start getting better?
Things to get better. All of the bad economic news would have me depressed, if I wasn't such an up-beat guy.
These blasted NCLB-mandated state tests to be over. Then I can go back to … (5 comments)

relationships: Using Century 21 Access America in the 21st Century - 03/07/09 04:28 PM
 
Now, I hope that I don't cross any lines here - but I figured, hey, if I'm going to start a group, the least that I can do is talk it up. After all, I made the decision to become a Century 21 Access America agent, and, no offense to all of you other excellent realtors out there  - we are simply the best. Why? Because, as our slogan says, WE KNOW OUR BUSINESS!
Especially in this day and age, Century 21 has maintained its status as the most recognized brand of real estate in the world. Not just in … (0 comments)

relationships: Outside of the Box... - 03/02/09 03:17 AM
What truly amazes me is the total depth and breath of the wealth of information that can be gleaned here on AR.
As many of us as there are, you would think that we could all share info, get referrals, and expand our customer databases without using this forum solely as a marketing tool for our listings, or to troll for buyers.
Yet I have found that many agents have not yet gotten outside of the box when it comes to AR.
To date, I have yet to post any of my listings on AR. Even if I had 100 listings, … (6 comments)

relationships: Are You Happy With Your Broker? - 02/27/09 11:32 AM
At first, I thought about adding a little something to the title to take the edge off.
At first glance, it sounds like I am about to commit one of the cardinal sins of blogging on AR. After all, I know that my broker doesn't read this - he's too busy making deals, etc.
This is one of the many times that I wish he would read the blogs. Why?
Trust me, I hate sycophants, suck-ups, apple-polishers, butt-kissers, etc. WITH A PASSION. Never been one, never will be.
Nor have I EVER been anyone's "yes" man, going along with things for … (4 comments)

relationships: Getting Rid of "Full Time/Part Time" Labels.... - 01/11/09 08:57 AM
It was something that our coach Ralph said to me yesterday that I have had flipping in my mind ever since he said it.
 I have been a real estate agent now for a year and a half, and I had always figured that beacuse I wasn't a "full time" agent, that it meant that I could not achieve the level of success at real estate that "full time" agents did. After all, with a regular salaried job that consumed my time even after I left the building (I am a high school history teacher in an urban district, btw), I … (17 comments)

 


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